Remembering Anita Cobby

Book excerpt: John Cobby finally tells his story, 30 years after the murder of his wife, Anita. On 4 February 1986, John Cobby's life imploded. He was driving up the coast looking for his missing wife, Anita, when over the radio he heard: 'The body of a naked woman has been found in a paddock in western Sydney.' . . . As details emerged of the rape and murder of the gentle nurse and former beauty queen, outrage engulfed Australia. Five men were caught and, amid unprecedented security, jailed for life. For young reporter Mark Morri, the case was a baptism of fire. Told to 'find the husband', he despaired: Cobby had changed his name and disappeared. But the Daily Mirror found him, and Morri's interviews sold like hotcakes. For nearly 30 years, Morri and Cobby kept in touch. In this book John finally opens up, recounting how he and Anita fell in love, suffered the pain of miscarriage and then went travelling. He also explains why they were apart at the time of the murder. Weaving in chilling material from the autopsy and police files, and interviews with detectives who hunted down the killers, Mark Morri explores the ripple effects of the murder that still shocks a nation.