Move stunned family

It clearly was the most significant matter listed in Border courts in 2015.

And yet the case dealing with the alleged murder of their teenage daughter, Bronwynne, would end up being noteworthy for reasons that left the family devastated

Colin Michael Newey was to have faced a committal hearing in Albury in late November.

This would have come more than 42 years after the brutal death of Bronwynne, just 17, on October 12, 1973.

When Mr Newey was arrested at his Murray Bridge home in mid-2014, the Richardson family felt they might be able to finally let Bronwynne rest in peace.

The South Australian man was charged with the murder, rape and abduction of Bronwynne and his committal was set down as a special fixture.

But late on the afternoon of November 2, Albury magistrate Tony Murray hinted at what was to come – and Mr Newey was probably the only one likely to be happy with the outcome.

Mr Murray was told by the Director of Public Prosecutions representative of the need for a special video link in the court the next morning.

It became clear, just before 9am, what this was all about

In what was the most notable result in the Border’s many courts across 2015, the charges against Mr Newey, 62, were withdrawn.

It was all over within a few minutes. Mr Newey was not in court, nor was the family of Bronwynne.

The Richardson family had already been forewarned of what was to happen, prompting Bronwynne’s sister, Fiona Hume, to pen a letter to The Border Mail.

In it she told of the devastation “that my sister’s murder will remain unsolved and go unpunished”.

“Our family has for 42 years been put through unimaginable pain and suffering, forced to relive the events of that night and living the nightmare since,” she said.

“Given the age of the case of course the evidence is going to be circumstantial – we accept that.

“But what we can't accept is it getting to this point to have is dismissed without test.”

Bronwynne was working as a cashier at Coles in Albury and was abducted from outside a church in Smollett Street.

It was another two days before her battered body was found in a lagoon west of Albury after a large-scale search.

The biggest court cases involving the North East undoubtedly were that of Jessica Fogarty and her alleged associates

While aged just 26, she carried a substantial degree of influence in Wangaratta’s methamphetamine scene.

This “queen of ice” reigned supreme over dozens of drug dealers – almost 60 was the police’s calculation – for almost four years.

Fogarty will now be sentenced in February when she fronts Judge Frank Gucciardo in the County Court in Melbourne.

While she revelled in her position, she admitted herself that she was “a real piece of work”.

Her role meant she ended up selling millions of dollars of ice into the community, creating a path of destruction that caused untold damage to many decent families.

For that she faces a long jail term, locked away from some of her former friends who the court heard wanted revenge.

Fogarty’s life of crime driven by greed came to an end in September last year when police launched a series of raids across Wangaratta.

She unsuccessfully tried to evade the police attention she already knew was upon her, including a surveillance system and multiple phone accounts.

Fogarty recently pleaded guilty to  charges including trafficking a commercial quantity of methamphetamine and trafficking cocaine.

One man told police he sold 170 ounces of methamphetamine to Fogarty in 2010 and 2011 alone at about $9000 per ounce for a total of $1.36 million.

But she will clearly need to finish the business degree she has now begun in jail – Fogarty lost almost $1 million in one failed drug transaction, as she often sold her wares on credit. And then didn’t get paid.

Back across the border, one of the most high-profile cases involved a former Albury police officer.

Regina Watson’s case faced numerous adjournments before finally being resolved in Wagga in late April.

Watson had been charged after she asked a serving officer to do a computer check to find out if she was being investigated. She got a 12-month good behaviour bond for her crime.

But that was not without a last-minute bid, in Wagga Local Court, to have the charge dismissed without conviction.

Watson had earlier pleaded guilty to making a collusive agreement with a member of NSW Police.

Her lawyer argued that Watson suffered from several mental health conditions at the time of the offence in August of 2013, ailments that led her to believe she was being persecuted by police.

While magistrate Erin Kennedy accepted Watson had mental health conditions, she ruled the offence was too serious to be dismissed under the Mental Health Act.

“The police system being untouchable is critical to our society running as it should. Any form of corruption is really serious, and that is what you engaged in.”