Murder of Anita Cobby

Anita Cobby
Anita (Lynch) Cobby in 1979
Born	Anita Lorraine Lynch (1959-11-02)2 November 1959 Sydney, New South Wales
Died	2 February 1986(1986-02-02) (aged 26) Prospect, New South Wales
Cause of death	Homicide
Resting place	Pine Grove Memorial Park
Nationality	Australian
Occupation	Nurse

Anita Lorraine Cobby (2 November 1959 – 2 February 1986) was a 26 year old Australian nurse who was kidnapped, sexually assaulted and murdered while walking home from work on the night of 2 February 1986. Two days after being reported missing, Cobby's body was discovered on a rural farm in Prospect, New South Wales. Investigations led to the arrest of five men who were later convicted of her abduction, rape and murder on 10 June 1987 and each sentenced to life imprisonment on 16 June 1987.

At the time of the killing Cobby sustained multiple knife wounds and laceration from barbed wire, her death was a result of a slit throat. The murder received widespread media attention in Australia.

Anita Lorraine Lynch was born on 2 November 1959, to Garry Bernard Lynch, a graphic artist with the Royal Australian Air Force, and Grace "Peggy" Lynch, a nurse. As a teenager she participated in beauty pageants and had a promising career as a model, but decided instead to follow in her mother's footsteps and become a nurse. She met her future husband, John Cobby, while studying for her nursing degree. They married on 27 March 1982.

At the time of Anita Cobby's 1986 murder, the couple had separated and Cobby was living with her parents in Blacktown, New South Wales. According to John Cobby, he and Anita were on good terms and were planning to reconcile when she was murdered.

Cobby worked in Sydney and commuted daily from her home in Blacktown. On the day of the murder, Cobby finished work at Sydney Hospital at 3 pm and met friends for dinner in nearby Redfern. She then caught a train from Central Station to Blacktown Station. Arriving at Blacktown station she would usually ring her father who would pick her up. On the day of her death she most likely decided to walk home after finding the phone to be out of order and no taxis available at the taxi rank. Aside from her killers, only two witnesses saw her after she left the train station.