Police backdown on photo request

In a last minute backdown, Victoria Police have agreed to the conditional viewing of contested photos in relation to the case of Jamie Koeleman.

Frits Maaten took Victoria Police to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) to gain access to the photos after making an unsuccessful Freedom of Information request.

Koeleman was jailed in 1999 for the murder of gay businessman Francis Barry Arnoldt, stabbed in Brunswick in 1991.

Maaten said the photos are -œcrucial to a petition of mercy he is fighting for on Koeleman’s behalf, and believes they may prove the convicted man was not implicated in Arnoldt’s murder.

A petition of mercy is a request to the state governor who has the power to grant Koeleman an early release by fresh appeal, a retrial or a pardon.

The pictures in question show the injuries sustained by Arnoldt, including a number of bruises which Maaten said warrant further investigation as to how they occurred, claiming they are inconsistent with evidence heard at trial.

Copies of the photos were available at the trial but were later misplaced by Koeleman’s defence team and have been in police possession since.

Maaten said police argued he was unable to have the pictures because he was a publisher and might publish them.

Maaten has commissioned a forensic pathologist, Dr Byron Collins, on a pro bono basis to assist with the report into the photos. He expects the report to be handed down by the end of January.

The report will then be sent to the Justice Department to form the basis of the request for reviewing the case.

-œI’m over the moon that after all the knockbacks we’re finally allowed access, Maaten told Southern Star.

-œWhat’s said about these photos in the report might be the key to a favourable recommendation to the Attorney-General.

Koeleman has served 10 years of a minimum 15 year sentence.