Henry Keogh
South Australia
Date of Alleged Crime: March 18, 1994
Henry Vincent Keogh was convicted of the murder of his
29-year-old fiancée, Anna-Jane Cheney. Cheney was found dead in the
bathtub of the home that the two shared on Homes Ave. in Magill, an Adelaide
suburb. On the day of her death, Cheney finished work and met Keogh in
a local hotel where the two had wine and potato wedges. Both of them went
home to Anna's house but drove there in separate cars. Cheney then
took her dog to her sister-in-law's house and the two women walked their
dogs in a local park. After Cheney returned home, Keogh went to visit
his mother. Keogh returned home around 9:30 p.m. and found Cheney
slumped in her bathtub with her face underwater. He claimed he tried
to resuscitate her, but neither he nor paramedics were successful. Cheney's blood alcohol level was later determined to be .08%, a moderate
level of intoxication.
Police who visited the scene of Cheney's death determined that
there were no suspicious circumstances. Cheney's death occurred just
five weeks before she and Keogh were due to marry. Two days later Dr.
Colin Manock performed an autopsy on her. Although Manock was South
Australia's Chief Forensic Pathologist, he did not possess proper training
as a pathologist. He was also under investigation for evidence of
incompetency in past work as a pathologist. Manock began to raise
suspicions about Cheney's death, but he did not have a second pathologist
check his work and he allowed Cheney's body to be cremated. Since the
cremation occurred long before Keogh was arrested or charged, neither he nor
a defense lawyer were afforded the opportunity to check the pathology
evidence or test for medical conditions which may have caused Cheney's
death.
Keogh had five life insurance policies totaling $1.15 million
on Cheney taken out some 12 months previously. Cheney knew about at
least some of the policies. Keogh explained that in his work for the
State Bank he had agencies with the five life insurance companies. He
had a policy with each insurance company to encourage them to keep his
agencies open. The policies cost $1831 annually. Keogh said that
the commissions he would earn on the policies would cover their cost, and he
could give the impression of doing some business without it actually costing
him anything. Keogh also said that when he took out each policy he had
stated in writing that he had no other life insurance policies. Such
statements would have invalidated four out of the five policies. Keogh
said he might be able to collect on several policies if they were taken out
in a large city like New York or London, but in a small city like Adelaide,
insurance companies would learn about the other policies. Keogh
continued to pay the premiums after Cheney's death, suggesting they were
used to maintain his agencies. Keogh had also taken out two policies
on himself totaling $700,000.
Keogh had been seeing other women including his ex-wife,
although it is not clear what relationship he was having with them. He
had three children with his ex-wife and regularly saw her when he visited
them. Keogh was arrested and charged with murder before any medical
evidence was asserted against him. Medical evidence was required to
prosecute Keogh as the law did not permit him to be convicted on motive
evidence alone. Dr. Manock eventually asserted that Keogh drowned
Cheney by holding up her legs so her head would be forced under water. Black and white autopsy photographs showed three marks on Cheney's outside
left calf and one mark on her inside left calf. Manock alleged these
were bruises caused by Keogh's fingers and thumb while holding Cheney's leg.
It would appear, however, that even if Keogh had tried to
drown Cheney in this manner, she would still be able to hold her head above
water with her arms, and if need be, would have struggled violently,
sustaining many bruises before she drowned. Evidence of such bruising
was largely absent. The bath was only one-third full. Also, such
a manner of drowning would have left Cheney's right leg free to kick Keogh
in his head and torso and presumably overcome Keogh's hold on her. Thirdly there were serious reasons to doubt that the marks on Cheney were
caused by Keogh's hand. The alleged finger mark bruises were not of
the same approximate size as one would expect. A sample of the alleged
thumb mark could not be determined to be a bruise. Fourthly if Keogh
did hold up Cheney's leg, it would have been more natural for him to hold it
more strongly by wrapping his hand around her ankle rather than gripping it
near the middle of her calf.
At the time of Cheney's death, her body was checked and no
marks were found on it. It was only at the autopsy that the alleged
grip marks were found on her left leg. Seven marks were also found on
her right leg, and two marks apiece were found on her head and neck. It was suggested that these marks could have been caused after Cheney's
death by rough handling of her body.
Following Keogh's conviction, several medical experts provided
affidavits indicating that the autopsy done by Dr. Manock was grossly
inadequate to determine cause of death. The autopsy failed to rule out
other possible causes of sudden death such as anaphylactic shock, heart
disease, or brain aneurysm. Cheney suffered from allergies and an
allergic reaction can cause anaphylactic shock. She was found with
swelling of the face and lips which is a symptom of such shock. Other
symptoms of such shock include difficulty in swallowing and breathing, along
with fainting. Ambulance personnel reported having difficultly
establishing an airway to resuscitate Cheney, suggesting her windpipe may
have swollen due to such shock. Cheney's past medical records were
never made available, without which it is impossible to determine her prior
health.
Keogh appealed his conviction many times, but as of 2010, he
has been unsuccessful in getting it overturned. Dr. Robert N. Moles
published a 2006 book about Keogh's case entitled
Losing Their Grip: The Case of
Henry Keogh. [2/10]
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Reference: Networked
Knowledge
Posted in:
Victims of the State,
Australia/New Zealand Cases,
Self-Caused
Accidental Deaths (Involuntary Suicides)
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