A top cop in South Australia has hit back at explosive claims made in a television special about the disappearance of four-year-old Gus Lamont.
During a special edition of Spotlight on Sunday evening, Gus Lamont’s grandmother spoke out for the first time since the boy was last seen.
Speaking to 7News journalist Hannah Foord, Josie Murray addressed the mystery in detail, having been told by the police she was the “main suspect”.
But the broadcast also included an interview with a close friend of Ms Murray, Bill Harbison, who levied a 𝓈𝒽𝓸𝒸𝓀𝒾𝓃𝑔 broadside at investigating officers.
Mr Harbison claimed police had subjected Ms Murray to “discrimination” due to her transitioning to live as a woman decades ago.
He said police were “targeting her because of her transgender situation – and they were mortally offended that I should say it”.
Gus Lamont’s grandmother Josie Murray has spoken about the four-year-old’s disappearance for the first time. Picture: Spotlight/Seven/Supplied.
However, following the broadcast, one of South Australia’s most senior cops bit back at these claims.
“I think the claim is nonsense,” Deputy Police commissioner Linda Williams said.
“When we conduct any investigation, we always do it impartially, and I am very proud of the professionalism shown by our officers.”
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She declined to comment on any ongoing matters of the investigation but added that she watched the broadcast with interest.
‘MAIN SUSPECT’
During the hour-long broadcast Ms Murray revealed that she was the police’s “main suspect” in the little boy’s disappearance and detectives believed she buried him after he died in an accident.
Gus vanished from his family’s Oak Park Station, near Yunta in the South Australian outback, on September 27 in what has become one of the country’s biggest missing persons cases.
Speaking to Spotlight, Ms Murray denied having anything to do with the four-year-old’s disappearance.
Ms Murray detailed how her family frantically searched for Gus in fading light and said she believed police missed evidence of another person being on the property.
She told the program that she was the “main suspect” and had been told by police that they believed she had buried him after Gus had died in an accident.
Gus Lamont went missing from his grandparents’ rural station in South Australia. Picture: Supplied.
‘LUDICROUS’
She called the theory “ludicrous”, saying it would not be possible to bury anything on the property without disturbing the ground, noting the property had been extensively searched by police.
“They’ve said they don’t think I’ve hurt him, they think that I’ve buried him – that’s one of the theories they’re working on,” Ms Murray told Spotlight.
“For so many reasons it’s ludicrous. It doesn’t make sense. Why would you do that to yourself?”
She said that had Gus been injured or killed in an accident, she would have made full admissions and “deal with it”.
No one has been charged over Gus’ disappearance.
It is the first time Ms Murray has publicly given her version of events.
She said the family first noticed Gus had gone missing about 5.30pm on September 27 after not seeing him for about half an hour, prompting a search of the station’s dams, tanks and buildings.
“We were on the front veranda and she (Gus’ grandmother Shannon) said that Gus was just down near what we call the bomb shelter plane and when we had a look, no sign,” she said.
“And we said to Shannon ‘when did you last see him?’ And she said ‘five o’clock’.
“We had a quick conference and decided what to do, and we decided we better jump on the bikes and go and look.
“I don’t know what time that was, but after we’d searched on foot, I remember saying ‘we’ve got 45 minutes of daylight, we better get on with it’.”
Gus hasn’t been seen since September 27. Picture: Supplied
‘I WONDER IF SOMEONE’S COME IN’
She said police were first called at 8pm.
Ms Murray said before police arrived, she noticed a bedstead and weather station had been moved on the property.
She said she also saw tyre tracks nearby.
“I saw wheel tracks going down past where the bedstead was and past where the weather station was,” Ms Murray said.
“And these wheel tracks were a small tyre, a medium-sized car, and not much tread on them … It was definitely a passenger type. And I thought that’s strange too.
“And I started to think, almost immediately, I wonder if someone’s come in.”
Ms Murray told the program that she also found a footprint on the dam at her property that matched one of Gus’s shoes – but said it was dismissed by police.
She said she believed Gus was abducted.
Ms Murray believes Gus was abducted. Picture: David Hannant/NewsWire
She said any suggestion she had anything to do with his disappearance was ‘ludicrous’. Picture: Spotlight/Seven/Supplied
‘WANDERED OFF’
She said Gus had also gone missing on another occasion before being found a short time later.
“Shan had taken him down to the shearers’ quarters while Jess (Gus’ mother) and I were mustering,” Ms Murray said.
“And he had wandered off and Shan couldn’t find him when she was gonna come home, so she came home and told us, you know, Gus was gone for a walk somewhere.
“Jess, and I thought, well, we better get on the motorbike and just go and find him.”
Ms Murray said she ultimately found Gus about 120m from where he had walked off from.
She said she hoped the community continued to look for Gus.
Earlier this month, Ms Murray was fined after appearing in an Adelaide court for owning a gun silencer, which was discovered by police stored in a safe room on the property.
The offence was not related to Gus’s disappearance.
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Adelaide Magistrates Court was told that Ms Murray had owned the silencer prior to a change in law requiring a licence.
She was fined $10,500 after pleading guilty and handed a temporary ban on possessing firearms.
