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[Music]
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the 7th of May 2005 began there's a
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typical run-of-the-mill day for Shirley
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withers she worked the full day in her
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fashion boutique and once the shop had
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closed
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she bought a takeout meal and then
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headed to a boyfriend's house in
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Caulfield in Melbourne Australia but
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what she found when she arrived there
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about 7 p.m. was anything but
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run-of-the-mill
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[Music]
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[Music]
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PETA shalad was a 56 year old self-made
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millionaire he lived in a luxury North
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Caulfield mansion worth about six
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million dollars at the time he was the
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type of person that everybody had a
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story about he was described as a bit of
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an oddball a little bit out there many
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referred to him as the eccentric
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millionaire and he lived up to that tag
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when he appeared on The Today Tonight TV
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show and outlined his plans to purchase
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the entire rolls-royce Factory worth
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about sixteen billion dollars he's said
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in that interview well I probably am a
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bit mad but it's nice to be a bit mad
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isn't it he made these fortune in real
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estate and then he bought into a
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successful high-end car dealership
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specializing in BMWs Jaguars and his
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favorite rolls-royce he ended up being
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the director of several companies and
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would go on to own numerous residential
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and commercial properties at the time of
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his death his estate was estimated to be
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worth around fifteen million dollars not
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only was Peter a successful businessman
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he was known to be a ruthless
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businessman he wasn't the type of person
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you'd want to get on the wrong side of
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he never resorted to violence
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he's method of battle was to try and
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financially crippled people he would
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fall lawsuits at the drop of a hat
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if there was a problem Peter was suing
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in the year 2000 Peter aged 51 at the
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time met Shirley withers who was 33
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years old
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surely isn't the type of woman you
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picture a multi-millionaire property
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developer and luxury car dealer going
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for
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she wasn't your glamour type so to speak
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regardless peter was smitten when he
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first met Shirley Peter had previously
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been married twice and had three
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daughters Shirley herself had been
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divorced once and had two sons their
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relationship blossomed and moved quickly
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all of a sudden Shirley found herself in
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a completely new lifestyle filled with
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every luxury she could imagine
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Peter was smitten so whatever Shirley
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wanted she got Peter bought her an
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upmarket fashion boutique in the
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Melbourne suburb of Brighton Shirley ran
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the business but Peter financed
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everything and it wasn't long before
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Peter had another surprise for Shirley a
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brand new house being divorced twice
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Peter was in no hurry to move in
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together so he stayed living in his
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Caulfield mansion and Shirley could have
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her own house to live him Shirley of
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course had a key for Peter's mansion and
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vice versa Shirley was a bookkeeper so
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Peter decided to make use of his skills
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he put her in charge of the books at his
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luxury car dealership on the 7th of May
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2005 Shirley withers spent the full day
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working in her fashion boutique in
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Brighton at the end of the day she
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finished up all the book work or to take
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our meal and then headed to Peter his
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mansion in Caulfield when she walked
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inside she found Peter dead on the floor
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yet being tied up with dog leashes
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electrical cords and ropes he's me after
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being gagged shut
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that's when Shirley made that frantic
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triple low call
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detectives arrive soon after and they
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were confronted with one of the most
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bizarre crime scenes they had ever seen
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they look more like a movie set than
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real-life it's he that the secret world
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of Peter Schiller had started to make a
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very public appearance there was a great
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deal of bondage equipment at the scene
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there were leather masks leather outfits
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whips dog leads chains harnesses belts
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and other equipment the initial
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impression of the crime scene was that
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it appeared to be a sexual encounter
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that had gone horribly wrong
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payda had bruising all around his body
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as well as facial injuries had somebody
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gone too far a thorough examination of
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the crime scene was conducted and the
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police were in luck a bloody fingerprint
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was found on Peters home phone and a
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cigarette butt was found in the kitchen
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did these belong to Peter but would they
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turning out to be vital clues
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unfortunately there was no way of
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knowing straight away detectives would
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have to wait until the results came back
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from the lab which could take a little
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while in the meantime they had to get to
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work to find out what exactly happened
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to Peter
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the first obvious person to question was
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Shirley with us Peters girlfriend
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shared fam paid a dead and made the
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frantic emergency telephone call they
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asked her about Peters interest in
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bondage but she was unable to offer them
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too much information Peter had asked her
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to participate in bondage previously but
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she declined Shirley told detectives
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Peter respected her decision and didn't
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pursue it any further with her she was
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completely oblivious to any acts of
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bondage Peter was participating in
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detectives discovered that Shirley stood
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to gain nothing out of Peters death with
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the exception of $1 H he left the h of
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his two ex-wives paid his entire estate
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was left to his daughters this removed a
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very big very common motive for murder
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as far as detectives could tell Shirley
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had no other motive to harm him
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she appeared shocked and heartbroken and
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her actions didn't raise suspicion at
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all detectives started to look elsewhere
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for motive and opportunity despite what
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the crime scene look like they weren't
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completely sold on the theory that paid
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her died as a result of a bondage
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session gone wrong they were more than
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open to the possibility that the crime
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scene had been staged to make it look
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that way they started diving into Peters
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past business relationships and looking
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at the long list of people Peter had
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filed lawsuits against despite the
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thinking being there was a long list of
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people with a reason to harm Peter
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detectives really didn't find anything
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significant no obvious suspects jumped
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out at them this led detectives to go
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back to the bondage gone wrong theory
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and if this is what happened they need
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to establish who Peters partner or
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partners were on the night of his death
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despite his partner Shirley saying that
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Peter hadn't pursued his interest in
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bondage any further with her detectives
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soon found that it hadn't stopped Peter
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pursuing his interest in bondage
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elsewhere it was very much into it he
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had paid several visits to the Hellfire
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Club in Melbourne at the Hellfire Club
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you could do things such as get tied up
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get whipped have hot wax poured over you
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and so on alternatively
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you could do these things to somebody
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else if you so desired this was useful
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information but again detective still
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couldn't come up with any suspects from
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the bond in jangle a few days later the
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autopsy result came back and it would
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have a major impact on the investigation
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it was found that Peter suffered
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repeated blunt-force trauma to the head
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resulting in a fractured skull and not
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only that Peters body had been pumped
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full of heroin Peter wasn't a user of
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heroin in fact he wasn't a user of drugs
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at all he was known to be quite
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anti-drugs the theory that he may have
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died as a result of an overzealous
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bondage session was shot out of the
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water it was clear Peter had been
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deliberately beaten and then given a hot
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shot a hit of heroin designed to kill
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there was neon no doubt somebody had
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intended to kill Peter and it wasn't
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long after this that detectives got the
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break in the investigation they had
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matched the bloody fingerprint and it
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didn't belong to Peter the fingerprint
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matched a girl by the name of Sofia
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stupas not only that her DNA was found
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on the cigarette that had been left in
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the kitchen Sofia was known to police so
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was a boyfriend Stanley there were
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small-time petty criminals and known
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drug addicts they'll both particularly
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fond of heroin
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but despite their long criminal records
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neither was known for violence there was
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all drugs and property theft type stuff
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to support their drug habit but what was
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interesting for police was that Sophia
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had a history in bondage police knew
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these softer bondage equipment was found
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at a place during a police raid that had
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been conducted previously for an
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unrelated matter Sofia had definitely
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been at the crime scene and wherever
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Sofia went stealing it was usually there
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as well their involvement could explain
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both the bondage angle and the heroin
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angle police now had their prime
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suspects but as detectives were getting
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ready to make their move on Sofia and
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Stanley the case took an unexpected
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twist a telephone call had just been
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intercepted by police and this telephone
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call had massive significance for the
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murder investigation a contract had just
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been put out for the lives of Sofia in
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Stanley also both had long criminal
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records there were small-time low-level
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drug addicts petty criminals they didn't
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mix in the circles where people put hits
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yet on each other but it turns yet it
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wasn't fellow criminals that wanted them
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dead the hit was ordered by Shirley with
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us
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this raised some very interesting
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questions how the hell did Shirley
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withers no Sofia and Stanley we're
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involved in Peter's death had somebody
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leaked the information to her
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what did Shirley know more than she was
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letting on
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[Music]
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either way detectives had to find out so
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they sent in Victor they hit men he was
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of course not a real hit man he was an
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undercover police officer Victor tells
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Shirley that he can do the job for
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$10,000
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but he needs photos of them in their
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addresses Shirley gave Victor this
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information handed over photos and a
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cash deposit she said to Victor they the
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ones that killed my Peter and they have
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to pay for what they've done I want
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blood detectives quickly made their move
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on Sofia in Stanley although Shirley had
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just hired a police officer to kill them
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they weren't too sure if maybe she'd
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hired a second person as well so they
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arrested them and took them back to the
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police station to find out exactly what
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they knew during the initial stages of
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questioning both of them deny having any
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knowledge about Peters death they put up
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the wall of silence
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but that soon changed when police told
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them Shirley had just put a hit out on
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them when they learned that they
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couldn't talk quick enough they admitted
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to police that they were there the night
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that Peter died and they know what
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happened to him
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but according to them they weren't there
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alone they both named a third person who
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was there with them detectives started
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to take a much closer look at Shirley
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Willis she was born in India before
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migrating to Australia
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she suffered abuse at just nine years of
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age and this led her to develop
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post-traumatic stress disorder after the
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birth of her second son she was in and
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out of hospital for over a year
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suffering severe postnatal depression
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and she ended up making three suicide
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attempts detectives started going
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through the books of Shirley's high-end
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fashion boutique from the outside
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looking in everything seemed to suggest
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the shop was successful and doing quite
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well but a closer look at the finances
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showed that the business was actually
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going backwards and was in significant
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debt the business side close to $300,000
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the truth was Shirley had no idea how to
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run a business
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she kept ordering high-end stock despite
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not being able to sell the stock she
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currently had on hand but it didn't
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worry her she had paid his large bank
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account to steal from as detectives dug
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further they found that Shirley had been
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stealing from Peter to keep the business
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afloat and to allow her to keep living
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the life of luxury she'd become
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accustomed to she started writing checks
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to herself using Peters bank accounts in
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total she stole around nine hundred
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thousand dollars from him
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a few weeks before his death Peter
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started to catch on to what surely had
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been doing
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he called his accountant to check his
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books his accountant told him there was
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more than enough evidence for surely to
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be charged peter was furious he
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immediately froze surely out of all
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these accounts
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Shirley's life of luxury had just come
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to an abrupt halt not only that
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Peter put Shelley's house on the market
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this stung Shirley and she started to
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formulate a plan to stop Peter from
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cutting her off she befriended Stanley
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and Sophia they came from a world far
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away from Shirley's upmarket lifestyle
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Shirley essentially groomed them for the
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job she had planned she gave them
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thousands of dollars in cash in order to
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buy their friendship and Trust she also
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won them over with stories detailing how
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Peter forced her to participate in
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bondage sessions she said that he tied
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her up and abused her Stanley and Sophia
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lashed on Shirley was throwing money of
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them and they saw her as an easy target
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they would do whatever she wanted
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Stanley and Sophia told police
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everything in their interviews it became
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clear to them they surely had set them
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up and had planned all along for them to
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take the rap for Peters murder
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they both said though of the belief that
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they were just going to rough Peter up
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for cutting off Shirley's money supply
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and force him to sign some documents for
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her
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this included him signing the house she
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lived in over to her so he couldn't sell
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it on the night of May 6th 2005 Shirley
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picked up Stanley and Sophia and drove
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over to Peter's house Shirley still had
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a key to his place so they got in easily
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they made their way to Pete his bedroom
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where he was found asleep they
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immediately jumped on him and started
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the attack during the initial struggle
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Peter was able to bite Sophia's finger
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which is what would cause the bloody
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fingerprint to be left later
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Sophia responded by belting him over
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they had Peter was knocked unconscious
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but he wasn't dead they dragged him out
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of his bed down to the floor and tied
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him up
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Shirley then injected Peter with heroin
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they left the house but then Shirley
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returned the next day to give Peter
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another shot of heroin just to make sure
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he wouldn't wake up Shirley then set the
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crime scene up to make it look as though
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Peter had been engaging in a bondage act
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she went to work for the day then
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returned that night where she made that
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fake frantic triple oh cool
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[Music]
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Sonia was the word of two drug-addicted
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petty criminals against the word of an
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upmarket boutique shop owner Shirley
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continued to deny she had any
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involvement in Peters deaths so police
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arranged for Victor the hit man to pay
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her another visit and they struck gold
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the undercover police officer expertly
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got Shirley to confess her involvement
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in Peters murder Shirley was arrested
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soon after Shirley refused to say
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anything to detectives so Shirley
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withers ordered a hit on Sofia and
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Stanley so they wouldn't talk and
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implicate her in the murder which is
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kind of ironic because they didn't start
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talking until they found out Shirley had
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put a hit out on them although to be
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fair it was still early days and it's
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doubtful they would have continued to
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stay silent about Shirley's involvement
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they probably would have started to look
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for a deal at some stage Sofia and
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Stanley both pled guilty to manslaughter
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in exchange for testifying against
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Shirley they'll bite given reduced
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sentences of six years jail with a
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non-parole period of three and a half
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years
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Shirley pled guilty to hiring a hitman
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conspiring to kill Sofia and Stanley but
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pled not guilty to the murder of Peter
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after a six-week trial Shirley was found
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guilty of murder and sentenced to 26
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years in jail with a non-parole period
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of 18 years but Shirley thought she
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could do better
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so she appealed this sentence she argued
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that it was never her intention to kill
00:18:54
Peter and that she had merely wanted to
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teach him a lesson she argued she had no
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way of knowing how much heroin would
00:19:00
kill Peter despite the brutal and
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premeditated nature of the attack the
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staging of the crime scene her attempts
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to have the people she hired for the job
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killed so they couldn't talk she managed
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to convince the appeal judges and have
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her charge downgraded from murder to
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manslaughter he is what one of the
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judges had to say the evidence fell
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short any of you of establishing an
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intention to kill or cause serious
00:19:31
injury even though in the weeks leading
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up to Peter's death Shirley had written
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a new will that she intended to get paid
00:19:38
at ass on then you will still have $1 H
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to paid his ex was but left the
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remainder of his estate to Shirley for
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her role in the brutal murder of Peter
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shalad Shirley withers was sentenced to
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13 years jail with a non-parole period
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of just 9 years she is eligible for
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release this year
00:20:12
you