\u201cThere are huge vested interests in keeping this quiet,\u201d Neill-Fraser tells 60 Minutes.<\/p>\n
![\"Sue](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/03e183ba25254318045376d23174aa2d6ada9dd7903b532b2bc991ccf264b9d3.jpeg\")
Sue Neill-Fraser speaks publicly for the first time since a gag order imposed as part of her parole conditions was lifted.60 Minutes<\/p>\n
Fearful for her safety, Neill-Fraser says she wants it known she\u2019s \u201cnot depressed\u201d and if she was to die in suspicious circumstances, no one should believe it was self-harm.<\/p>\n
The unlikely murderer<\/p>\n
Sue Neill-Fraser is a softly spoken and extremely articulate lady, with kind but tired eyes. She\u2019s also one of Tasmania\u2019s most notorious, cold-blooded killers.<\/p>\n
At 72, she\u2019s strikingly beautiful, although she insists her face is weathered from her years working in paddocks with horses.<\/p>\n
When Neill-Fraser talks about her grandchildren over a cup of tea, it\u2019s almost impossible to reconcile the person in front of you with the violent murder she was convicted of committing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve never physically harmed anybody, ever,\u201d Neill-Fraser says in the exclusive interview.<\/p>\n
![\"Sue](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/55754c984b68a64736319a1af8575ee85fa61e6bdfa89f6a96e549bcb679aac0.jpeg\")
Sue Neill-Fraser and Bob Chappell had been a couple for nearly 20 years before he was killed.60 Minutes<\/p>\n
It\u2019s the first time she\u2019s spoken publicly since leaving jail in 2022, and Neill-Fraser admits she\u2019s nervous about finally telling her version of events. But she\u2019s determined to explain herself.<\/p>\n
Because four years into her parole, Neill-Fraser says she feels far from free.<\/p>\n
\u201cSitting with a wrongful conviction is like having an infected thorn in your mind,\u201d she says quietly.<\/p>\n
\u201cNever in my wildest dreams did I imagine that I could be convicted in Australia if I hadn\u2019t done anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
Body overboard<\/p>\n
It was Australia Day 2009, and Neill-Fraser and Chappell, her partner of nearly 20 years, were pottering about the 53-foot yacht they\u2019d bought months earlier with plans to spend their retirement sailing.<\/p>\n
The Four Winds was moored at Hobart\u2019s Sandy Bay, and Chappell was fiddling with the electrical wiring when Neill-Fraser decided to head back to land, to the home they shared.<\/p>\n
Chappell planned to spend the night onboard, as he regularly did, and Neill-Fraser says their last words, down in the boat\u2019s saloon, were the sort of idle chit-chat you\u2019d expect between long-term partners.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said, \u2018yep, all right, bye!\u2019 And that was it,\u201d Neill-Fraser says.<\/p>\n
According to Tasmania Police, Neill-Fraser picked up a large wrench, bashed Chappell to death, and winched his body up two sets of stairs to the deck before manoeuvring him over the edge of the vessel into an inflatable dinghy below.<\/p>\n
She then dumped his body somewhere in the Derwent River.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t make it real, even now,\u201d Neill-Fraser says.<\/p>\n
![\"Released](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/8980e41dde456b25c56b8258bd09503785ed3b998deed234d0153adb7bcaacdf.jpeg\")
Released from prison, Sue Neill-Fraser says she will fight to clear her name.60 Minutes<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t understand how you would get somebody up two flights of stairs \u2026 I have a slipped disc that I\u2019ve had for about 35 years, and I would\u2019ve had trouble lifting anything over about 10 or 12 kilos.\u201d<\/p>\n
The police case was circumstantial; Chappell\u2019s body nor a weapon were ever found.<\/p>\n
But there were signs of foul play; the Four Winds was found sinking and sabotaged the following morning and Chappell\u2019s blood was splattered about the saloon.<\/p>\n
In the absence of witnesses or suspects, police quickly narrowed in on Neill-Fraser. As the victim\u2019s partner and the last person to see him alive, she was the obvious culprit.<\/p>\n
Investigators claim she stood to inherit Chappell\u2019s assets and was motivated by money.<\/p>\n
Neill-Fraser disputes this, and while usually private about finances, wants to set the record straight.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen Bob went missing, I had over $80,000 in cash in a bank account,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
![\"Bob](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/0ae01e4905a2e8c97bc4d8c5a7ba654890b1d6066f1ce67262fdc70e036295d6.jpeg\")
Bob Chappell was last seen onboard his yacht Four Winds.60 Minutes<\/p>\n
\u201cI paid for my half of the yacht outright. I had two rental properties and a farm. I didn\u2019t need money.\u201d<\/p>\n
But she did nothing to dispel police suspicions.<\/p>\n
In fact, in the days following Chappell\u2019s disappearance, Neill-Fraser gave authorities every reason to believe she had something to hide.<\/p>\n
Related Article She told police she left Chappell on the yacht and went from the Four Winds to Bunnings Warehouse on Hobart\u2019s Brooker Highway.<\/p>\n With the help of CCTV, officers quickly established she didn\u2019t visit Bunnings that day.<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t to this day account for it,\u201d Neill-Fraser says.<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t describe what it\u2019s like to lose somebody after a long time … your brain doesn\u2019t work properly.\u201d<\/p>\n With her alibi already questionable, Neill-Fraser had also told police a deliberate lie \u2013 that she stayed home the night Bob disappeared.<\/p>\n In fact, in the late evening she walked down to Sandy Bay, where their boat was moored.<\/p>\n She says she had received a distressing phone call about Chappell\u2019s youngest daughter.<\/p>\n Neill-Fraser had reason to believe the young woman may be down at the Sandy Bay beach that night. So she went down to check.<\/p>\n The next day, she says she lied about it because the issue was a sensitive topic within the Chappell family.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was probably the greatest mistake I ever made,\u201d Neill-Fraser says. \u201cBut I think if I had told police the reason [I left the house], it would have caused a lot of family issues.\u201d<\/p>\n Adding to police and public sentiment was Neill-Fraser\u2019s perceived lack of emotion.<\/p>\n \u201cThe sort of upbringing I had, you didn\u2019t show your emotions in public \u2013 you kept everything private,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd of course, that was used against me.\u201d<\/p>\n Model prisoner<\/p>\n In October 2010, nearly two years after Chappell disappeared, a Tasmanian Supreme Court jury unanimously found Neill-Fraser guilty of his murder.<\/p>\n The Department of Public Prosecutions\u2019 circumstantial case was based on evidence that Neill-Fraser maintains was fallacious, or inaccurate.<\/p>\n For example, the jury was shown a photo of the Four Winds dinghy after being sprayed with luminol, a testing agent that detects blood and about 100 other substances.<\/p>\n With the luminol activated, the boat was glowing blue; anyone who\u2019d ever watched a crime show would have thought it was a bloodbath.<\/p>\n It was presented to the jury as Chappell\u2019s blood; evidence that Neill-Fraser had moved his dead body in that dinghy.<\/p>\n But in fact, the photo was from a preliminary test.<\/p>\n Confirmatory tests later proved there was no blood in the dinghy, but that was never explained in court.<\/p>\n Then there was the Crown\u2019s theory that she killed her partner with \u201ca large wrench\u201d which would have left marks on his body.<\/p>\n But there was no body, or murder weapon.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I\u2019d been on the jury, I would\u2019ve thought \u2018this is a wicked woman\u2019,\u201d Neill-Fraser says.<\/p>\n \u201cI too would have thought I was guilty.\u201d<\/p>\n She was initially sentenced to 26 years in jail, which was later reduced on appeal to 23 years, with 13 years non-parole.<\/p>\n Neill-Fraser spent those 13 years in Hobart women\u2019s prison, poring over police reports and legal documents. She launched two unsuccessful appeals.<\/p>\n Remarkably, when she returns to visit the prison with 60 Minutes, she doesn\u2019t have a bad word to say about her time in jail<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe deprivation of liberty is quite a startling thing, but I met some wonderful people, custodial officers, healthcare workers, inmates,\u201d Neill-Fraser says.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was absolutely nothing like the American movies we see.\u201d<\/p>\n When she was released, she recalls feeling \u201can anti-climax because I knew that the real fight was only just beginning\u201d.<\/p>\n Not long after her release, she was slapped with a highly unusual parole condition, preventing her from speaking publicly about her case.<\/p>\n When Neill-Fraser challenged the gag order, her legal team discovered the parole board relied on a document prepared with the help of AI and cited case law that didn\u2019t exist<\/a>.<\/p>\n Her gag order was revoked last month.<\/p>\n Miscarriage of justice?<\/p>\n It would be easy for Neill-Fraser to keep her head down and enjoy her long-awaited freedom.<\/p>\n Instead \u2013 despite two unsuccessful appeals and the parole board attempting to silence her \u2013 the 72-year-old is assembling a new legal team to pursue avenues to quash her conviction.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t remain quiet about this sort of thing,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t just go and hide away and pretend it didn\u2019t happen. It did happen and we need to fix it.\u201d<\/p>\n She believes the police case against her was based on mistruths and that the jury was presented with a theory about Chappell\u2019s murder that was not backed up by solid evidence.<\/p>\n Call it paranoia, but Neill-Fraser fears speaking out could cost her her freedom, or even her life.<\/p>\n But that\u2019s not stopping her fighting to overturn what she maintains is one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in Australian criminal history.<\/p>\n If you or someone you know needs help, phone Lifeline on 13 11 14, beyondblue on 1300 22 4636, or 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732).<\/p>\n![\"Neill-Fraser\u2019s](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/20f2013cab82bec395d629f55889ae5971b1386c.jpeg\")
<\/a>Death, lies & CCTV<\/p>\n![\"Sue](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/a04f25b1778e37cd25d9f4d6a42b4d0277b5ee957e123a3ad40563a645c0bd4c.jpeg\")
Sue Neill-Fraser and Bob Chappell bought the Four Winds with plans to spend their retirement sailing.<\/p>\n![\"Sue](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/418693b8d31c918231d15840ef1f56fb27271bd3bc275248d9cc31b25178c260.jpeg\")
Sue Neill-Fraser with 60 Minutes reporter Amelia Adams.60 Minutes<\/p>\n