Murder of Leigh Leigh
School photograph of Leigh Leigh, as seen in mainstream media
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| Date | 3 November 1989 |
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| Location | , Australia |
| Coordinates | 32°54′04″S 151°47′20″E / 32.901175°S 151.78877°ECoordinates: 32°54′04″S 151°47′20″E / 32.901175°S 151.78877°E |
| Cause | Sexual assault, blunt trauma |
| Convicted | Matthew Grant Webster |
| Charges | Murder |
| Verdict | Guilty |
Leigh Leigh, born Leigh Rennea Mears, was a 14-year-old girl from Fern Bay, on the east coast of Australia, who was murdered on November 3, 1989. While attending a 16-year-old boy's birthday party at , Leigh was assaulted by a group of boys after she returned distressed from a sexual encounter on the beach that a reviewing judge later called non-consensual. After being kicked and spat on by the group, Leigh left the party. Her naked body was found in the sand dunes nearby the following morning, with severe genital damage and a crushed skull.
Matthew Grant Webster, an 18-year-old who acted as a bouncer at the event, pleaded guilty to her murder and was sentenced to 20 years in prison with a 14-year non-parole period. He was released on parole in June 2004, after serving 14½ years. Guy Charles Wilson, the other bouncer and only other person aged over 18 at the party, pleaded guilty to assault; a third male (aged 15) pleaded guilty to having sex with a minor. The investigation of Leigh's murder proved controversial, however, as several people who admitted to various crimes, including assaulting Leigh, were never charged; nor was anyone ever charged with her sexual assault. Webster's confession did not match the forensic evidence. The murder investigation was reviewed by the New South Wales Crime Commission in 1996, and by the Police Integrity Commission in 1998, with the latter recommending the dismissal of the detective in charge of the investigation.
Leigh's murder received considerable attention in the media. Initially focusing on her sexual assault and murder, media attention later concentrated more on the lack of parental supervision and the drugs and alcohol at the party, and on Leigh's sexuality. The media coverage of the murder has been cited as an example of blaming the victim. Leigh's murder inspired a theatrical play entitled A Property of the Clan, which was later revised and renamed Blackrock, as well as a feature film of the same name.
Leigh Leigh, born Leigh Rennea Mears on 24 July 1975, was the daughter of Robyn Lynne Maunsell and Robert William Mears. Leigh's grandmother said that Leigh lived with her between the ages of about four and seven, though she did not disclose reasons for this living arrangement. Leigh's parents divorced when she was about seven years old. She moved back to live with her mother after her sister Jessie was born in 1983; her surname was subsequently changed to Leigh as this was the surname of her sister's father. At the time of her death she lived with her sister, mother and stepfather Brad Shearman on Fullerton Road, Fern Bay, having moved there nine months earlier from a housing commission flat near the Stockton ferry terminal. Leigh was a Year Eight student at Newcastle High School who enjoyed school, according to her grandmother. She had attended three primary schools successively: St Patrick's in Swansea, Hamilton North Public School, and St Peter's in Stockton. Leigh spent most of her weekends and school holidays with her grandmother at her house in Kilaben Bay. Her cousin and best friend Tracey stated she and Leigh enjoyed going to the cinema together, as well as roller-skating and "just hanging about". According to her aunt, Leigh had wanted to be a veterinarian. Both Leigh's mother and her grandmother described her as a "typical teenager".
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