True crime: The suspicious death of a police informant | Under Investigation with Liz Hayes

a star witness in a massive drug case is Snitch, found dead in his safe house, they knew he was in Queensland and they knew his new name is this a case of cover up and corruption, it all ended for Andre very early in the cake Sit Crouch tonight, he said Mom, get your ass over here and that was the last thing he said. Where was the

police

protection for Andrew Patris? What do you think he was trying to tell you? Come find me, save me. Our

investigation

begins now. Good night. Liz Hayes and this is under

investigation

.

His friends thought his name was Andrew Parker, a trainee pilot from Perth, but the 25-year-old had a dark secret. His real name was Andrew Petris. He was supposed to be in witness protection and was supposed to give crucial evidence in a major drug case, but he died before he could make it to court. His naked body was found in Lou's Queensland hideout which says Foul Play to me, joining me in investigating the short life and strange

death

of Andrew Petris. Judith from Perth, a criminal lawyer and forensic expert, was central, it was crucial and Damian Loon, a veteran of the New South Wales homicide squad, died, there was a massive failure of a JY of care, this boy was convicted at the time who left Western Australia, Dr.

Philip. cowc former head of the federal witness protection program, your suspicions are through the roof on this. I would say that you are not going to coin lands and Alan Thompson, a former Western Australian detective who was assigned to protect Andrew Petrillis. I talked to him every day. day for 108 days less without a doubt he was murdered he said look mom if you find me dead I didn't do it to myself he said there will be a gun or a needle next to my body tonight too and looking for our help are Andrew's West Australian parents Nick and Leslie Petris did everything they could to keep their son alive.

Now the family is asking us for one last chance to find out what happened to Andrew. It's about the truth. Do you want the truth. I want the truth. Because who? And when and why is it so important for them to cover it up? This story begins in 1993 with a third massive importation of 13 tonnes of cannabis worth $40 million into Western Australia. Police alleged that the masterminds were two Perth identities, John Kizen and Michael Rippingale, and that Andrew Patris, then a part-time heroin user to help store the drugs at the time, had no idea that their Suspected associates were targets not only of Wa Police but also of the National Crime Authority and the Australian Federal Police.

These targets were nationally known and they were very important targets and we are talking about importation, we are not talking about selling something on the street corner and we are talking about tons, we are not talking about GRS, Andrew Petris, 25, a Relative Clean Skin with no criminal convictions, he was the perfect leader to store a drug shipment, he hired a storage unit to secrete the 40 tons of cannabis that was imported on a young ship and completely out of his reach, his drug storage unit was quickly discovered by the

police

, who then gave Andrew Tris a tough choice. snitch and give evidence in the trial against those who were supposedly his criminal associates or face years in prison.

He was recruited by two detectives to bypass the two national targets. He agreed to give evidence. He was given immunity. I'm a good person to try to convert him if you want, oh absolutely, and we try to convert everyone we can find, turn him into a snitch absolutely what we now call a human source absolutely Andrew Petrus was an absolute star in the sense that they needed him to him and his evidence and he was close enough to be able to give first hand information about how he witnessed things. There was one day when she came and said: I'm, I'm in Strife, no, I never did that, in short, Andrew's fate was now in the hands of the police, but she hid the truth from her parents, out of maternal instinct, They knew something was terribly wrong and I said why don't you tell me who you're worried about or what your problem is and he said, I can't do that.

Mom and I said: Why can't you tell me? I said I'm your mother you tell me I'll fix it and he said no I can't I said why he said because if I tell you and they know they'll come looking for you what did you do with that? So well, I thought who are they by agreeing to become a police witness. Andrew would have every reason to fear for his life, so he not only needed immunity from prosecution, but protection, witness protection, and that's what he and his family believed with the police. were offering, you should have had a risk assessment done, you should have been interviewed in detail to assess your suitability for inclusion in the program and there is quite a long checklist that that assessment takes into account as the former head of the federal witness protection program, Dr Philip cck knows how it should be done, there should have been a whole planning process, advanced equipment to find a suitable location for him and set things up Damian, what do you think Andrew would expect if the program should have been explained to him fairly ease? so that he understands it also the guarantee that he would be protected from this is called witness protection for that reason but as our investigation deepens we can reveal the extraordinary contract that Andre's patrolmen had to sign with the wa police in order to be handed over Witness Protection incredibly in the document, a memorandum of understanding, the police absolved themselves of any responsibility for his

death

, injury or financial loss.

He was made to believe that his son was entering a life in which he would be protected. Absol, of course, couldn't imagine it. he cannot be anything else that has changed his identity, he is changing his location and will be protected. Yes, Andrew's parents might have thought his son was entering an established program, but they were wrong. What they didn't know was that Western Australia was still passing witness protection legislation, and incredibly unbelievably, the police told Nick and Leslie Petris that they would have to pay for Andrew's protection, something they did without hesitation and with complete confidence. confidence, we thought we had done everything possible to provide him with the witness protection he was going to receive. with the police they were taking care of him and we were footing the bill and that was the end so to speak the Petris family spent $53,000 on Android protection $53,000 Phillip have you heard of this before?

This is the first time I've done it. I have ever heard of a family being charged dollar value for providing protection which has never, to my knowledge, happened before. It is not something I can understand how the parents would have had to pay for every element of this young man's protection. To be clear, you have never heard of anyone being asked to pay for witness protection. I have never worked as a police officer in 35 years and never turned up. I said, for God's sake, I'll take him to court when he has to leave. he with me police protection for Andrew Petris can't his address has been leaked his new identity has emerged it's going from bad there are 44 illegal accesses to a place Marco BF to worse is this a serious attempt to protect this Blood right? no, this is an absolute joke, next in investigation we are investigating the case of Andrew Petrillis, a young man from a good family who made a very serious mistake and knew that he was in trouble.

M. I have been an idiot. Absolutely keep my life and I'm sorry it led him into what he understood as witness protection as an

informant

against two men the police had charged and were on bail for a massive drug importation, they needed him and his evidence, but as we've already revealed the protection the police offered Andrew Petris demanded his parents foot the bill just to be clear, you've never heard of anyone being asked to pay for witness protection, never in 35 years I've served like a cult, we never thought you know this is It's something that happens every day, you know, in the police force he went with the police, they were looking after him and we were footing the bill, but Andrew Petris, after Having given his life to the police, he would soon realize that a bad situation was about to happen.

Much worse. I never had any information about Andrew. Alan Thompson, a witness protection program detective at the time, was assigned to handle the petty case. We had other protected witnesses who lived with police officers. They had 24 hour protection. This is in Perth, they were not at the same level of risk as Andrew as our investigation continues. Alan Thompson's evidence will reveal what he believes were disgraceful decisions made by Western Australian police in his plan to protect the witness critical of him, if he is made clear. If he almost had no chance, he didn't do it from the side, it all ended for Andrew very early in the pie to guarantee protection.

A witness needs to disappear with a new identity, a new location and an untraceable trail for those who would hunt them, so Andre Petrus became Andrew Parker and preparations began to move him to Queensland, but in his first misstep Extraordinarily, the Western Australian police allowed Petris to keep his vehicle, an instantly recognizable former police car, and I told him that when he had to change the plates on his car you can't send his car there his car was an ex-police P car crazy, that in itself is strange that he is actually driving an ex police chase car recognizable as such, why would you allow him to take this ex police car with him? the car should have been seized and sold with the proceeds used to purchase another vehicle it was not linked to uh Western Australia Police Daman are you listening to this um is this a serious attempt to protect this PL?

No, no, this is it. an absolute joke, an absolute joke, ominously while Andrew was still in Perth his car was vandalized by unknown people while parked at the Petrus Family House and there were also unexplained death threats against the family, including Andrew's mother , Leslie, although most were directed at her son, she said. look mom if I tell you they are going to come looking for you or they are going to grab me first he said and they will if you find me dead I didn't do it to myself he said it will be a gun or a needle next to my body and I fainted in that blind Freddy could see that this was set up to fail his car had been identified his car had been vandalized there had been death threats but even without those threats even if he hadn't been threatened with you he would expect his life to be in danger it didn't end there others Cops also seemed interested in Ed in Andrew Petris and were found to be searching for details about his new identity secret information before Patris left Perth for Queensland there were 44 breaches of police computers by officers unrelated to his case , so what is the information on the computer that they were able to access about him at that time? the details of his motor vehicle his driver's license number his address, including his name, which was actually on the computer yes, it was.

I would be furious. If I found out that there were 44 illegal accesses to a police mainframe to find the identity of my witness, my protected witness and I would shout from the highest mountain and make sure there was an investigation into this, two police officers were named for having violated the law. computer system on some of those occasions, Sergeant Maray Shedar and Constable Kevin Davy, who would later leave the force for reasons unrelated to Ed. I was telling my boss that he can't send him here, he's at risk and it's confirmed that the threats have been made his car has been canceled his address has been canceled his new identity has been canceled at least he shouldn't have gone but Allan Thompson's warnings were not heeded he was told to move Andrew to Queensland his parents Nick and Leslie now They also feared that this would be the beginning of the end for their son.

I can remember being in the garage with Alan Thompson and Andrew who was packing up his car. Nick and I were hysterical at the time. This is when he was about to leave, yeah, and I said. I told Alan for the love of God leave him with me and I'll take him to court when I have to be there just leave him with me you weren't comfortable with him not going into witness protection no I didn't trust anything and that was the last time I I saw him coming every day. He begged my bosses to bring him home.

The scene is set for tragedy. This boy was convicted by the time he left Western Australia for Queensland when the police abandoned his star witness. I knew it was going to happen I didn't know when but I knew it was going to happen that's the next thing under investigation danger Liv danger is May 28, 1995 Andrew Petris is about to leave his old life behind for a new life, but with every There are reasons to believe thatIt could also mean the end of your life. At least rat out what we now call a human source, as we have revealed that the Western Australian police force has placed him under witness protection in exchange for his critical evidence against the alleged masterminds of a massacre.

The importation of drugs Andrew's evidence was the only thing that would have put them in jail for a long time. They had a lot to lose, but as police

informant

Alan Thompson revealed that details of Andrew's secret new life have already been compromised, his drive has been strong. the address has emerged his new identity has emerged at least he shouldn't have gone Andrew and his parents are also receiving death threats from unknown people and incredibly Nick and Leslie are having to pay for police protection of their son, it's not something I I can understand how the parents would have had to pay for every element of this young man's protection and, what's worse, Andrew's mother has a deep feeling of booing.

I told Alan. I told him, for the love of God, leave him with me and I will take him to court. when he has me there, leave him with me, you didn't feel comfortable with him, you didn't go into witness protection, no I didn't.Trust anything Andrew Petrillis now Andrew Parker finds himself holed up in a fairly modest motel south of Brisbane with Alan Thompson, the Western Australian detective assigned to their case. Alan tell me how come you are in this motel room with almost no protection for 8 days with Andrew Petris the room itself was a trap someone could have broken the window and shot at the beds if you were armed no not even He had a water gun.

I put a very good quality chair in front of the door every night that's the best I could do Damian Lon you have a chair against the door oh that's not good enough Liz how are you supposed to protect not only your witness? how are you supposed to protect yourself? This boy was doomed by the time he left. Western Australia and headed to Queensland Andrew Petris quickly realized that, apart from Alan Thompson, the Western Australian police had all but abandoned him and after just 8 days, Alan 2 had to leave, recalled to Perth by his superiors. Betris is allegedly still under witness protection. but now he has to defend himself you are a cop you have been given this job but you are a father and you are looking at a little boy looking at you Andrew was about the same age as my son at that time when you walked away from that motel what Thought?

He knew it was going to be the last time as the 25-year-old star witness is now on his own, having to find his own accommodation and start his new life, so Andrew chooses a top floor apartment near the beach in Colandra on the Sunshine Coast, but according to Dr. Philip Cick it is anything but a safe house, balcony, third floor, where is the escape room? Ideally, where should it be located and then what would be the safe place if there had been an advanced system? The team went to identify a suitable location. It could have been a first floor or ground floor unit in a more residential area rather than in a vacation spot where people come.

Absolutely yes, you don't put them in a vacation destination. there is no way out you are at the top you have a view from the street you are on a main road Anything could happen every day for 108 days while you wait for the trial to begin Andrew Petris calls his parents and Alan Thompson pleading to be returned to Perth, He was absolutely scared and so was I. I was afraid for him every day. He was pleading with my bosses. I said they have to bring him home, we can't leave him. He was pleading with her. I knew it was going to happen.

I did not do it. I know when, but I knew it was going to happen in early September. Andrew contacts the police and says that he has new evidence. We now know that time is running out for Petrillis. When he makes this offer, the last thing he does, then there is a final phone call to his mother, Leslie. there's a phone call from him and he said mom, I want you to come here, mom, get your ass here and that was it and that was the last thing you said, what do you think I was trying to tell you, come get me? save me, I want to tell you what's going on, but for him to make that call, you know your son, you knew he was in critical danger, he knew he felt so unsafe, you think, oh yeah, knowing Andrew, yeah, and that It's what I live with.

I didn't upload this represents the scene the police would have found. I had never seen anything like this before. Is this really a murder scene? We find out that he is right-handed and has a needle hanging from the right of him. the mismanagement of the arm and the loss of evidence we thought we would put it in safer hands leaves Andrew's parents asking for answers it's just a difficult story and we are also forced to accept that's what's next under investigation it's September 1995 and Andrew Petris is in Queensland he is the star witness in an alleged multi-million dollar drug bust and supposedly under Western Australian police protection, he was central, he was crucial, but as our investigation has revealed, Andrew has practically been abandoned every day.

He was pleading with my bosses. I told them they had to bring him home. We can't leave him, he was begging him and what was your boss saying? He's just a spoiled drug addict. The scene is set for tragedy and on September 11, 1995, tragedy occurs 108 days after entering witness protection just 2 months before his deadline. give crucial evidence in court petris is found dead I was in my office at the time and two police officers were there and uh when they stopped I thought oh what has happened now and of course he told me directly that Andrew had been found dead and I just didn't say anything for the first few minutes I said let me go and tell Lesley, which I did.

I imagine it was a terrible moment. It was because Nick came home and said that he is Andrew. I said well what is happening now? He said it is. dead I slipped down the wall I ran to the floor what else are they going to tell me that's the moment I guess you realize that protection was nowhere to be found nothing was nothing I remember the call like it was yesterday The protection case officer Andrew's witnesses, Alan Thompson, are told by a detective at the scene that Andrew died of an accidental heroin overdose. He was very dismissive.

He has already decided that Andrew accidentally overdosed, but our investigation will reveal multiple clues that suggest Andrew's death was not an accident. You are absolutely of the opinion. In my opinion, his son did not overdose at all during the time he was away. He had no indication that when he spoke to him he was using drugs. No, they said he was a good young driver in Queensland. Andrew had signed up and was regularly. attending flight school that apparently involved regular drug testing. He was tested daily for drugs and alcohol and he passed those tests. That's not the behavior of a fellow junkie.

No? Not at all. He wasn't acting like a junkie. He wasn't trying to score, he wasn't exhausted, he got up every morning setting the alarm to go to his flight lessons and he was so reliable that when he didn't show up, that's how the alarm went off, it was the flight school staff. who alerted police concerned that Andrew had not shown up for his lessons because someone had allegedly overdosed Andrew was found in a strange position, he is naked, kneeling with his right arm on a chair, there is also loud music in the apartment . This represents the scene that police would have found.

I've never seen a body in that position in the multiple hundreds of overdoses I've investigated or I've never seen it in that position and the way it's naked, obviously, I've never seen anything like it before veteran New South Wales homicide detective , Damen Loon. It should have been obvious to the police that this was a possible

crime

scene that we discovered and that he is right-handed and now he has a needle hanging out of his right arm. How did that? He alone now allegedly has four heroin injections, two in each arm. I have suffered more than five or 600 overdose deaths in my career.

I was stationed at King's Cross, for God's sake, I said daily. I've never met anyone who died from four shots, one hit, that's it for me, that's wow, that's three too many, the fact that there's music in the bedroom, I think it's loud, that's a silhouette to me for a fight. he deafens a noise if there is suspicion, he is being immobilized while the Force is injected into him. Lawyer and forensic specialist Judith Forom is also deeply concerned about what she believes should have been immediately treated as a

crime

scene, the location was closed and yet Toray was not found.

There is no small package with the remains of the heroin inside, that is very important, Jud, because I would say that on each occasion I found a small crystallized globe or a spoon near or close to where the body is adding suspicion to our experts. There was no needle on the syringe that Andrew Petris had allegedly used to inject himself. It was not in the syringe when the body was located in my overdose investigation days. I have never seen a needle come out of a syringe for that needle to be injected. break the need to force it in or force it out at an angle for that needle too because they are quite good for them to break, the needle is eventually found, but then, incredibly, it is lost again this time forever in the forensic laboratory of Queensland police, the needle actually reaches the Pathology Department, but is lost.

Oh, it's

suspicious

, there's a lot of activity here on this particular issue, which is causing me a lot of concern. There are many suspicions that evidence like this is being lost. What's important is that needle, which is critical, it could have told us something about the concentration of the heroin that was injected into Andre. Determining the concentration of the heroin could have told investigators whether it was possible for Andrew to self-administer four injections of the drug without missing. Consciousness after the first injection, the clumsiness was deeply concerning and a review of the autopsy photos by a second forensic pathologist would alarmingly discover ligature marks on Andrew's wrists.

The forensic pathologist said he could have been a handcuff, he could have been a rope, whatever it couldn't have been. He did it, it must have been done by someone else who calls me dirty play. I don't see any other explanation for the ligature marks, especially when what he made is no longer there. Our experts are left with the inescapable suspicion that Andrew Petrus was murdered. A prediction. even he did it in a conversation with his mother, llie, he said, look mom, if you find me dead, I didn't do it to myself, he said, there will be a gun or a needle next to my body after Andrew's death .

Nick and Leslie made the harrowing journey. to Queensland to see for themselves where their son who they had been paying police to protect had died. We went looking for Andrew's unit and found it. We walked up the stairs and turned toward the door. I just felt that the scream of his Spirit was horrible, his beloved of him. The son who made a bad decision disappeared despite everything they did to keep him alive when problems arose, you did the best you could, we thought we would put him in the safest hands and now we have to believe that it wasn't just him. worst place we ever put him, actually led to his death, really in a final indignity, the police told them they would have to pay to bring Andrew's body home despite the years, the anguish of losing their son never went away was.

We carry a photo with us all the time. time for on the list when you look at that photo it is important to remember why you are doing this it is just a difficult story that forces you to accept where are all the answers to what happened to him where is all the evidence that he disappeared in 2001 Six years later After Andrew's death, a Queensland coroner began investigating and in an inquest almost five years later found that Andrew Petris had died from opioid toxicity, a self-administered heroin overdose, adding that there was no evidence it was intentional. , but the coroner was very critical of the investigation citing missing evidence, lack of cooperation and failures in police procedures, it is clear from the evidence that the unit in which the decision was found was not secured or kept secure by the police and should have been strictly treated as a crime scene.

Biting face, don't you think so? And rightly so on many levels, absolutely rightly so, which is why he says that the circumstances leading up to and surrounding Andrew's death were not only unfortunate but could be described as strange and highly

suspicious

. He knows he is missing information. How difficult is it? that for a coroner, well, how can a coroner make a judgment about what happened if he doesn't have all the facts? The coroner also found that the two figures that Andrew Patris had reported and were due to testify against John Kizon andMichael Rippingale were not satisfactory.

Both witnesses were asked about his whereabouts at the time of Andrew's death. Kison presented hospital records showing he had been admitted for an ear. The belief was greater that someone as big and tough as Mr. Kizel would have to go and be admitted to the hospital for ear. Unless there was a good reason why he really wanted an alibi at the time, I think the coroner might even have said that it could exactly have been considered a deliberate alibi, so in fact he had an alibi as far as Mr Rippingale was concerned, He said that. he actually agreed he was in Queensland first he said no then he said he was this is in his evidence and then he said he was there to go to a football match rippingale said he was at a Brisbane Bears AFL game held claimed either in Brisbane or on the Goal Coast, but in fact the Bears were playing in Melbourne that weekend, so Mr Rippingale said that's why he was in Queensland, that simply cannot be

true

.

Look, the corent points out that of all the people there who would do it. benefit, it was those two those men absolutely and both gentlemen admitted that they knew he was in Queensland and they knew his new name well, it seemed like everyone knew, to be honest, you should wear a t-shirt. Hi, I'm low. witness protection on the way no evidence pointing towards suicide no evidence pointing towards acid Dental overdose what really happened to Andrew Petris I spoke to him every day for 108 days except without a doubt the son who seems to have been murdered We never had a chance that we can't bring Andrew back, we know that, but those people have to be held accountable and they are the next ones to be investigated.

Our investigation tonight into the mysterious death of Andrew Petris while he was in witness protection has absolutely exposed police incompetence and possible corruption. terrible Bad bad judgment patris's new secret identity was breached before he even left his home state of western australia we thought we had done everything we could to give him witness protection he was going with the police they were looking after him his parents had to pay for their police protection and we thought you know this is something that happens every day in the police force you know what we need to know: we're just regular people.

His case officer, Alan Thompson, says his superiors ignored his warnings about serious threats to Petris, few were upfront about it, and he barely had a chance. It all ended for Andrew very early in the p and the evidence for a forensic investigation was mishandled and lost. There is a lot of activity here that causes me a lot of concern. There is a lot of suspicion about losing evidence like that. Alan Thompson says he has also received death threats and what he believes was an attempt on his life he shot to fight in my house we heard a car stop we heard two gunshots and all this came do you think from the end oh absolutely absolutely without any witnesses star?

Testifying against them the drug conspiracy case naming the two alleged national crime figures, John Kison and Michael Rippingale, would ultimately fail and the two men were acquitted. My name is not tarnished. Andrew Petris remains the only person to have died while in Western Australia's Witness Protection Program and a self-administered heroin injection remains the official cause of his death, but perhaps it is time to reconsider that finding personally. I think that is enough for an investigation into the circumstances that led to Andrew's death and the threats to Alen and me. I think this case is a very strong indicator that we should be looking at a better way to provide witness protection, in Australia no one has been arrested or charged over the death of Andrew Petris and although the coroner found that John Kizon and Michael Rippingale benefited There is no other evidence of his death to suggest they were responsible, but our experts believe there are too many gaps and unanswered questions in this case to confidently accept the official version of events there are no events that point to suicide there is no evidence that points towards an accidental overdose and there is a lot of evidence in terms of both motives, the crime scene, we have analyzed it in detail, which points to his death being at the hands of another person.

Criminal lawyer Judith Forom believes what is needed is a formal investigation. be examined again by some kind of commission that has powers to compel people to come and testify to get to the bottom of what happened and the man Andrew entrusted with his protection agrees that Alan Thompson has shouldered the burden of the Andrew's death for almost 30 years. years Andrew's murder has to be investigated properly you think it's murder absolutely not possible he just said I can't take it anymore or he just decided I'll give heroin one more chance. I spoke to him every day for 108 days less, no doubt.

Whatever was murdered, the views of Damen Lon, the veteran detective who spent his life investigating homicides, are damning, this absolutely sucks, it sucks, this was a Deb that was avoidable, it showed a complete lack of care and duty of care to him, where he should have been. the care of the authorities and when you decide to put them in who is witness protection that's the deal you're supposed to protect them absolutely that wasn't protection what was it was a joke sitting duck we can't bring Andrew back , we know. that, but those people have to be held accountable.

Andrew's parents Nick and Leslie believe the Western Australian police who were paid to protect him should take responsibility for the death of his son for crying, let me know why these people can just walk. far from it just laughing at our father and so much, in effect, that's what they are doing. You've had to live with this for a long time. It just devours you. Are you still angry or are you just devastated that it ended this way? I want my son to be able to rest in peace the rest of them and what is peace I don't know we have done everything we could Andrew and we all failed and of course if you have any information about the death of Andrew Petrillis you can call Crimestoppers on 1 18003 or email us at underinvestigated hi I'm Liz Hayes and thanks for watching under investigated subscribe to our channel now for exclusive clips and don't miss the full episodes of under investigated on 9 Now and the N Now App