The Lingering Shadow of Cheryl Grimmer: A Push to Name the Accused After 56 Years
The case of Cheryl Grimmer, a three-year-old British girl who vanished from a Wollongong beach over five decades ago, is poised for a significant development. A push is underway to lift an identity suppression order, potentially allowing the public to finally see the face and learn the name of the man accused of her murder. Cheryl disappeared from Fairy Meadow beach on January 12, 1970, just months after her family had relocated to Australia from Bristol.
The ensuing investigation has been a long and complex one, marked by a confession made by a then 15-year-old, born in Manchester, the year after Cheryl’s disappearance. While this confession surfaced, police at the time were reportedly not satisfied with the evidence to press charges. The individual, known legally only as ‘Mercury’, was eventually charged with murder in 2017 when his unverified 1971 confession resurfaced. However, his trial in 2019 faltered when a judge ruled the teenage confession inadmissible as evidence, and the accused continues to deny any involvement in Cheryl’s fate.
Now, New South Wales Legislative Council MP Jeremy Buckingham is spearheading a motion to unseal the accused’s identity. Scheduled to be filed on February 11, Buckingham stated his intention clearly: “We want the name published as well as his photos, there is no reason for the public not know who he is. The evidence against him is unassailable and he should be charged and convicted.”
This move is part of a broader parliamentary inquiry into missing persons and unsolved crimes initiated by Buckingham, slated to run throughout 2026. The inquiry aims to scrutinise evidence and highlight perceived failures within the criminal justice system that have left victims and their families without resolution. “We also want to fully ventilate the issues about how the police were unable to charge ‘Mercury’ in 1971 and were unable to prosecute him in 2019 for the abduction and murder of Cheryl Grimmer,” Buckingham explained. He also pointed to the retrospective application of legislation concerning the charging of individuals under 18 without an adult present as a significant hurdle.
In October, Buckingham, utilising parliamentary privilege, publicly identified ‘Mercury’. This action was reportedly taken at the behest of Cheryl’s family, who had reportedly given the accused a deadline to either explain his confession or face being named in parliament. Despite this, the man, now 71, remains shielded from public identification in media reports due to the charges stemming from an alleged act committed as a minor.
The tragic events of January 12, 1970, unfolded as the Grimmer family, who had arrived in Australia under the ‘Ten Pound Poms’ scheme, were preparing to leave Fairy Meadow beach. Young Cheryl, who had been playing with her family, ran into the women’s changing rooms and refused to come out. Her older brother, Ricki, too shy to retrieve her, went to fetch their mother. Tragically, within 90 seconds of his return with their mother, Cheryl had vanished without a trace.
In the days following Cheryl’s disappearance, a ransom note was delivered to Bulli police station. The letter, addressed to her father, Vince, and the police, demanded $10,000 for Cheryl’s return, with a meeting point set at the local library the following Saturday. Investigators appealed for help in identifying the handwriting on the note. However, Cheryl’s surviving siblings have since claimed that the police’s immediate public disclosure of the ransom note “completely ruined” any chances of finding their sister alive.
Approximately fifteen months after Cheryl’s disappearance, ‘Mercury’ allegedly confessed to police. He detailed an abduction with the intent of sexual assault, claiming he panicked when Cheryl resisted and wouldn’t stop screaming. His alleged confession, given on April 29, 1971, included graphic details: “I tied a handkerchief and a shoelace around her mouth to stop her screaming and with the other shoelace I tied up her hands,” he reportedly stated. “I was going to have sexual intercourse with her. I put my hands around her throat and told her to shut up… I guess I must have strangled her. She stopped breathing and stopped crying and I thought she was dead, so I panicked and covered her up with bushes and run for it.”
‘Mercury’ provided police with specific details regarding the location where he left Cheryl’s body, the disposal of her swimmers, and her beach towel. A coronial inquest in 2011 concluded that Cheryl had died, but the exact cause and manner of her death remained undetermined. The coroner recommended further police investigation.
This led to a re-investigation commencing in 2016. Detectives Damian Loone and Frank Sanvitale of Wollongong police located ‘Mercury’s’ typed and signed confession from 1971. During a subsequent interview, ‘Mercury’ did not repeat his earlier confession and was arrested in Victoria in March 2017. He was extradited to NSW and formally charged with murder. In September 2018, ‘Mercury’ pleaded not guilty, challenging the admissibility of the 1971 interview. The Crown acknowledged that without this confession, a trial could not proceed. The ongoing efforts by MP Jeremy Buckingham signal a renewed push for accountability and answers for the Grimmer family, who have endured decades of uncertainty and pain.
