Kevin Crump

Case record: Kevin Crump

Background

Kevin Crump and Allan Baker were convicted of raping and murdering Ian James Lamb and Virginia Morse. They were described as having committed the murders as well as offences connected to Virginia Morse.

The offence

On 3 November 1973, Kevin Crump and Allan Baker used a .308 rifle to murder Ian James Lamb, 43, who was sleeping in his car next to the road to save accommodation costs while he was in the area to look for seasonal work. The murder appeared to be a thrill killing as the pair did not know Lamb.

Three days later, Crump and Baker camped near the home of Brian and Virginia Morse in Collarenebri, where one of them had previously worked for as a migrant farm labourer.

After watching the house for two days, the pair abducted 35 year old Virginia Morse when her husband and their three children left the property. Crump and Baker drove via back roads towards Queensland, stopping at hotels and garages along the way, and buying beer and petrol with the $30 they had stolen from the Morse homestead. They drove mainly at night to avoid detection.

During the journey, Morse sobbed and pleaded for her life. The men stopped south of the Queensland border, tied Virginia Morse to a tree and took turns raping her repeatedly. They then threw her back in the car and continued their journey.

When they stopped by the Weir River near Moonie they again tied Virginia Morse to a tree. They raped and tortured her repeatedly before one of the men shot her between the eyes in an execution style killing. They rolled her body into the river, burnt her clothes then drove back to their campsite.

Investigation

On November 13, ten days after Lamb's murder, the pair headed towards the Hunter Region, intending to commit a burglary.

However, after their stolen vehicle was spotted near Maitland, the pair took flight from the scene.

A police vehicle responding to the attempted burglary intercepted their vehicle en route and a high speed chase ensued. The police car was rammed off the road, and the chase was taken up by a second police unit.

A police officer in this vehicle was seriously injured when the fugitives shot him in the face.

The car chase culminated at a police roadblock at Woodville, where the pair took to foot, shooting at police as they fled into the bush.

An intensive ground and air search of the area followed, and the two men were eventually arrested in a nearby river three hours later.

Arrest

Crump and Allan Baker were arrested in a nearby river three hours after the shooting at police at Woodville and their flight into the bush.

Trial

At their trial, Crump and Baker pleaded not guilty to the four charges of murdering Ian James Lamb, conspiracy to murder Virginia Morse, maliciously wounding a police officer with intent to prevent lawful apprehension, and shooting at police with intent to prevent lawful apprehension.

The jury convicted Baker and Crump on all charges after one hour and forty-five minutes of deliberation.

Baker showed no emotion at the verdict, while Crump appeared to stare at the floor and shudder.

Crump made a police statement after his capture attempting to evade responsibility for Morse's murder. Crump said:

"I was forced to kill Mrs. Morse by Baker, because he wanted me to be in as deep as him. He said he was going to kill me if I didn't. I admit that I was prepared to kidnap Mrs. Morse and even to sleep with her, but once again, as with Mr. Lamb, I did not want to be a part of her death...It was a choice of either me or Mrs. Morse."

The information about the torture Virginia Morse endured at the hands of Baker and Crump was suppressed during the trial as the information was deemed too graphic and disturbing for the public.

The trial dealt with jurisdictional matters regarding charges. Even though there was compelling evidence that Crump had murdered Virginia Morse, he was not charged with this crime because she had been murdered in Queensland, outside the jurisdiction of the Government of New South Wales. However he was charged with the murder of Ian James Lamb and with rape and conspiracy to murder Virginia Morse.

Sentencing

Mr. Justice Taylor sentenced both men to life imprisonment plus 55 years.

The judge said:

"You have outraged all accepted standards of the behaviour of men. The description of 'men' ill becomes you. You would be more aptly described as animals, and obscene animals at that. I believe that you should spend the rest of your lives in jail and there you should die. If ever there was a case where life imprisonment should mean what it says— imprisonment for the whole of your lives— this is it."

Appeals

In 1997 the NSW government passed legislation set to ensure that both Baker and Crump would remain incarcerated for the rest of their lives.

Allan Baker challenged this legislation in the High Court of Australia. In October 2004, Baker lost his challenge, with the high court ruling the legitimacy of the NSW Parliament's sentencing laws with respect to life imprisonment.

Kevin Crump had his sentence set at a minimum of 30 years back in 1997 and had three parole applications rejected.

In May 2012 the High Court ruled that Crump had no grounds to appeal the law keeping him in jail until he is physically incapacitated or close to death.

Outcome

Crump remained convicted and incarcerated following his 1974 sentencing.

In May 2012, the High Court rejected Crump's latest bid to seek parole.

The ruling stated:

“Neither the substance nor the form of the 1997 Supreme Court determination had created any right or entitlement for the plaintiff to be released on parole,” the judges said.

Aftermath

In 2012 reporting stated that Crump was jailed for life with the recommendation that he never be released for murdering Ian Lamb and abducting Virginia Morse from the family's northwest NSW property in 1973.

Reporting in 2012 stated that Crump's file was marked "never to be released" in 1974 when he was sentenced to life imprisonment for conspiring to murder Virginia Morse, whom he tortured and raped, and for murdering Ian Lamb. It also stated that Virginia Morse was kidnapped from her farmhouse in NSW and taken to Queensland bushland where she was raped, tortured and shot dead on November 7, 1973, and that the details of her murder were so grisly they had remained suppressed.

In 2011, Bill Millward said he wanted Kevin Crump kept behind bars, describing being shot in the face during the pursuit. Millward also referred to the judge and court suppressing the documents about how they tortured Mrs Morse before killing her. Millward said:

‘‘He shouldn’t be able to keep appealing like this and I think the pathetic creep should have been given the death penalty in the first place,’’ ‘‘All this stirs up the emotions and sadness of everyone involved, particularly his victims’ family. It’s not right.’’

Millward explained:

‘‘I thought he was undesirable, a part-time crim you could say, but nothing like it all ended up. ‘‘I was surprised like everyone else that he had this evil in him.’’

Millward said of the shooting:

‘‘One hit me in the centre of my forehead and I had to pull [the car] over. ‘‘Blood was spurting out of this wound and also from where the bullet had passed out near my ear.’’

Millward said:

‘‘We had a job to do and I just thought whether they would get them [culprits] or not.’’

Millward said:

‘‘They told me the one that got me was number 13 fired from the gun, because of the empty shells.’’

Millward said:

‘‘You know it was so bad that the court wouldn’t even release the documents about how they tortured Mrs Morse before killing her,’’ ‘‘The judge called them obscene animals.’’

Millward also said:

‘‘How can they let this man out of prison?’’

Millward said:

‘‘... but that was nothing compared to what Brian Morse [Virginia Morse’s husband] has had to struggle with,’’ he said. ‘‘My heart goes out to all of them. ‘‘Even now he faces this new appeal by Crump before the High Court. They really should put a finish to it once and for all.’’

Millward said that by 1981 he had left the force to return to working in the coalmines, and that he had since been awarded both the Queen’s and police medals for bravery in 1973.

People involved

• Kevin Crump (co-accused; convicted)
• Allan Baker (co-accused; convicted)
• Ian James Lamb, 43 (murder victim)
• Virginia Morse, 35 (abducted, raped, tortured, shot dead)
• Brian Morse (Virginia Morse's husband)
• three children (Virginia Morse and Brian Morse's children)
• police officer (seriously injured when shot in the face during the chase)
• Bill Millward (police officer described as having been shot in the face during the pursuit)

Timeline

• 3 November 1973 — Kevin Crump and Allan Baker murdered Ian James Lamb using a .308 rifle.
• (three days later) — Crump and Baker camped near the home of Brian and Virginia Morse in Collarenebri; they watched the house for two days and then abducted Virginia Morse.
• November 13, 1973 — Crump and Baker headed towards the Hunter Region intending to commit a burglary; after their stolen vehicle was spotted near Maitland, they fled and a high-speed police chase began.
• (during the pursuit) — The police car was rammed off the road; a police officer was seriously injured when the fugitives shot him in the face; the chase ended at a roadblock at Woodville where the pair took to foot and shot at police.
• (three hours later, after the roadblock) — Crump and Baker were arrested in a nearby river.
• 1997 — NSW passed legislation intended to ensure both Baker and Crump would remain incarcerated for the rest of their lives; Crump’s sentence was set at a minimum of 30 years.
• October 2004 — Allan Baker lost his High Court challenge regarding the legitimacy of NSW Parliament sentencing laws with respect to life imprisonment.
• May 2012 — The High Court ruled that Crump had no grounds to appeal the law keeping him in jail until he was physically incapacitated or close to death; Crump’s latest bid to seek parole was rejected.