Yesterday I received an email from a colleague who is an experienced researcher. Recently, he had made a Freedom Of Information request to SAPOL concerning the files they may have which were related to the Somerton Man case. I won't publish the complete response to that request here but one view of the content is that the Report to the Coroner is still being prepared and has not been completed. They cite the importance of not releasing these files while the creation of the report is still ongoing. They also refer to the volume of files concerned and the fact that significant and valuable resources would be required to prepare the information and infer that even a list of files will not be available until after the inquest has been held.
My view has been that SAPOL Major Crime Squad, which is the department dealing with the SM case, had a significant current caseload, and while the Somerton Man case is of intense interest to many when all is said and done it is a 76-year-old case. True to say it may well have historical interest and value but it is hard to disagree with the response received, current cases are more pressing and should rightly be addressed before the historical case of the Somerton Man mystery.
It would have been good to have at least the list but we don't make that decision, neither do we see the volume and importance of the work done by the Major Crime Squad.
It would not be surprising if the Inquest and its findings were not to be held until next year and there is no way of knowing which month that might be. We must wait and see.
Coroners Court Sign Image Courtesy of ABC Adelaide
A bit disappointing but it's their bicky tin and all that. I can see their point I suppose.
ReplyDeleteThe message I saw might change completely next month, who knows but for now that is what it said and the under the current circumstances it's understandable. My Adelaide colleague put some time and effort into that application and even though it wasn't the best news at least we can adjust expectations and if it happens sooner so much the better.
ReplyDeleteDo you still think that Fedosimov was the Somerton Man?
ReplyDeleteFedosimov was certainly a candidate and his name was amongst the SA Police list of person's of interest. While we could show that it was possible that he could have made it to Australia there was no hard evidence at the time to support that theory. I share Dr Xanthe Mallet's view and that is we may never know just who the Somerton Man was. Hopefully the inquest will provide the answer. Here's a link to the many Fedosimov Posts over the years, it's an interesting story:
ReplyDeletehttps://tamamshud.blogspot.com/search?q=fedosimov