In a study performed by Paul Ekman and Maureen O’Sullivan that was published in American Psychologist, it was found that Law enforcement officials — including judges — performed no better than the average person in detecting deception. Only members of the U.S. Secret Service consistently fared better than the average person’s 54% accuracy. The scores for the U.S. Secret Service were only marginally higher at 57%.
This has been verified by other studies. These studies tell us that the average person has a 54% chance of accurately detecting lies. Judges and Policemen have been shown statistically, to fare no better than the average person.
Detecting Deception
A Cognitive Lie Detection Approach
The Truth About Lie Detection
10 Research Findings About Deception
This website is an embarrassment and disrespect to Lisa harnum whose life was tragically taken away at the hands of someone else.
You should be ashamed for your lack of humanity.
We are sorry that you feel this way, have you objectively read everything on this web site? If you have we encourage you to challenge the information provided that has caused you to make this comment.
I am a non-practicing lawyer and have read the judgement, heard and saw the media coverage. I cannot understand how there isn’t reasonable doubt. Putting aside what we may think of the relationship between Simon and Lisa, which was admitted by Simon as being dysfunctional, I don’t feel that the Crown convinced me beyond reasonable doubt. I feel for Lisa’s family, and for Lisa’s tragic death. I was equally shocked with the nation when I saw Lisa being forcibly taken back into the flat. But I do not think that this necessarily led to murder. That Simon was enraged was, admittedly by the judge, an assumption. I dated someone who created hysteria and drama and he would o ths to manipulate me. And I have seen this behavior in people with eating disorders. Perhaps Lisa, in that hysteric state, did what this in 9/11 did and saw no other way out bu to jump? We don’t know what her state of mind was at that point. Maybe she did t for attention and accidentally fell? Surely if Simon was that enraged, he would have attacked her? Yet there was no trauma to her body. What bothers me as well is that she was clutching her bag. How could she have been unconscious before falling? I sensed a real dislike for Simon in the judicial comments and a judgement of his behaviour towards the end of the relationship. I question why Michelle (counsellor) did not call the police if she was threatened by Simon? Why did she also not call the police to get an AVO for Lisa? Surely if she saw Lisa frightened, as a counsellor, is she not compelled or bound by duty to call the police? And yes, there is plenty of evidence that eyewitness testimony is unreliable. I too have been in Hyde Park, seen the building as I passed through, and 15 stories up, I am not convinced that Rathmell saw enough to become a star witness in this case. Our Criminology Professor performed a good experiment some years ago. Ung a lecture, he organized someone to suddenly burst into the room, unbeknownst to us, to steal a bag. What dd we see. No-one in the class managed to get all details correct. it highlighted that only some information is recalled and the rest filled in. Just as we fill in missing words when we read. There is doubt here. The smoking gun is missing. Tragic for Lisa’s family, but a miscarriage if there is reasonable doubt.
Please excuse the typos in my post due to typing quickly on my iPad
We appreciate you taking the time to the visit site and contribute.
Hey Red how long have you know Simon?
Hi Chris, we will state categorically that we do not know who Redsonja is. We will allow her to address your remark if she so wishes.
Hi redsonja, thank you for your comment. Regarding the images from the pinhole camera, we definitely do not condone Simon’s behaviour. You have brought up some very good points regarding Lisa’s counselor Michelle, we’re not sure as to why she would not feel the need to contact the Police considering the nature of the threats she allegedly received. We are greatly interested in your last point regarding the experiment your Criminology professor carried out. Do you have any more information regarding this experiment? We feel it would be invaluable and if you have no reservations would ask that you send any additional information to contactus@freesimon.info.
I will email you about this experiment and who conducted it.
Have you read about the Loftus and Palmer 1974 study? http://www.simplypsychology.org/loftus-palmer.html
Judges should not convict on eyewitness testimony unless there is substantive corroborative evidence and yet Justice McCallum referred to the importance of Josh Rathmell’s eyewitness testimony in this case!
This is the study our Professor, whose name I will email to you, referred to when he constructed the eyewitness experiment (and which I can see others also have replicated on YouTube ).
Thank you for posting this.
Hi Redsonja, we haven’t seen this study. We will add it to the list of reading material that you’re providing us, which is growing rather rapidly! Thank you for your contribution and for informing us of this very interesting piece.
Everything that Redsonja has mentioned are my thoughts exactly. The trial of Simon Gittany has been troubling me for some time, especially since the guilty verdict.
I never made assumptions on Simon’s guilt, even with the media shoving their verdict down our throats even well before the trial commenced. I cannot possibly see how anyone can be sure with NO reasonable doubt that Simon threw Lisa off the balcony. I felt that the judge had most definitely based her verdict on assumptions of what she thought happened in the 69 seconds from the door to the balcony fall, not based on fact. That to me seems like Simon has very good grounds for appeal, if not a re-trial.
The majority of the verdict was based on the dysfunctional aspects of Simon and Lisa’s relationship, which was true, no doubt based on the evidence presented. Many people are engaged in dysfunctional relationships, that does not seem to be a pretext to murder in my opinion and no grounds to help reach a guilty verdict.
The fact that the general public are asking each other ‘Do you think he did it?’ is proof that there is reasonable doubt, because if the question are being asked, it means there is no proof to really know if he did or not!
Were most of the points discussed on this site and on Part 2 of the Sunday night program brought up by Simon’s defence team in court? I thought Part 2 of the Sunday night investigation was fantastic in raising questions in peoples minds that there is a very real possibility that Simon is not guilty of throwing Lisa to her death.
I wish you all the best of luck and hope that the truth really will prevail sooner rather than later.
Just following on from the above, I forgot to mention the fact that the judge so easily dismissed expert testimony – i.e the fingerprint expert, but so readily accepted Josh Rathmell’s witness version of events – who admittedly said he may have interpreted what he saw incorrectly – is absolutely puzzling to me as well.
Hi DM, thank you for taking the time to visit and contribute. Some of the points discussed on the site and additional expert testimony from Part 2 of the Sunday Night program were not brought up in court, especially in this format. Sunday Night engaged the finger print expert after the trial had been concluded, so unfortunately this information wasn’t available at the time. We hope to post some additional content here regarding this.
Thank you for your well wishes, we will make sure to pass them on.
I have been following this case with interest over the last week or so and must say I was convinced Simon was guilty. After watching part 1 and 2 of Sunday Night and reading the content on this entire site, I am going to say this; I won’t say Simon is not guilty, But I also think there is not enough evidence to find him guilty. With all of the contradicting unheard of valid points made on this site, and half of the story told via media to benefit a guilty verdict – I think it is wrong. I think he is innocent until properly proved guilty and should get a retrial with the first witness and with Lisa’s recording played in full. Also, if his neighbours never phoned the police after hearing screams etc. It is obviously something they have heard before and are not worried. Surely they knew Simon and Lisa and thought it wasn’t alarming to contact the police. The main thing that pisses me off is how they aired Lisa’s recording on national tv, when really it is quite deceiving. Simon sounds like a lovely person throughout the whole 12 minutes and I cannot believe they made it out to be otherwise. On the contrary, I feel sad about the tragedy and my deepest condolences go out to Lisa’s family. I’m sure she was too, just as a beautiful spirited person as Simon – and whatever happened in those ’69 seconds’ I think it’s safe to say neither of them expected or wanted this outcome. I hope justice is found for both sides of the families involved in this accident.
Hi Renee, thank you very much for your feedback. We’re glad that the site was able to provide you with some information that you weren’t exposed to through the mainstream media. You raise some interesting points regarding the neighbours and their potential thought process behind not calling the Police. We are also deeply saddened by this tragedy and like you have a similar desire for justice.
I am a relative of Simon and from the beginning I could never believe that he would do something like this. We were not close but he would talk to me whenever I saw him at family occasions. I remember him telling me about Cecilia one time and it was clear that he really loved her. I’m glad that this website is exposing facts that make people reassess their opinion on this case. How could the judge overlook so many of these facts? Did the defense team present these in court? They are very convincing and it seems unusual for the judge to still make her assumption on what happened with all this to consider.
Hi SimCha, thank you for your comment. We do hope that the information we’ve provided will allow people to make a rational decision regarding the case. A lot of the information presented here was presented in court, however if you read the deliberation which can be found here: http://www.caselaw.nsw.gov.au/action/pjudg?jgmtid=168447 – You’ll see that a lot of the expert testimony was deemed to be irrelevant by Justice Lucy McCallum. Here’s a relevant example:
“For example in Justice Lucy McCallum’s verdict she stated “Ms Gordon was able to obtain a number of fingerprints and palm prints from the glass which she compared with samples received from the accused and from Lisa Harnum. She identified no fingerprints or palm prints as belonging to Lisa Harnum on any part of the balcony. Ms Gordon acknowledged that the absence of prints does not establish that a person has not touched a surface. I have considered her evidence on that issue. Nonetheless, the absence of any prints of Lisa Harnum on the balcony is a relevant piece of evidence. Miss Harnum could not have done what the accused says she did without touching the glass panel of the balcony.”
This is just one example of expert testimony which was ignored. The grounds on which Justice McCallum rationalised dismissing some of the expert testimony was hard to understand in our opinion.
We would greatly appreciate it if you would circulate the information provided here among your friends and colleagues. Both the team who have been working hard on the site and more importantly Simon would greatly appreciate it.
The judge then went on to say that the fingerprints collected did not point to one scenario or the other. This site is just as bad as the media in terms of selective coverage of the facts. I dare you to publish this post, and my others.
Hi Deb,
We publish all of your comments. However, it takes time for us to work through each and reply. I hope you can understand this process is not instantaneous. Justice Lucy McCallum stated that:
“Ms Gordon was able to obtain a number of fingerprints and palm prints from the glass which she compared with samples received from the accused and from Lisa Harnum. She identified no fingerprints or palm prints as belonging to Lisa Harnum on any part of the balcony. Ms Gordon acknowledged that the absence of prints does not establish that a person has not touched a surface. I have considered her evidence on that issue. Nonetheless, the absence of any prints of Lisa Harnum on the balcony is a relevant piece of evidence. Miss Harnum could not have done what the accused says she did without touching the glass panel of the balcony.”
There was smudges on the glass surface. The expert clearly articulates that just because there are no prints does not mean someone has not touched the surface. If you managed to watch Channel 7’s Sunday night where they recreated the apartment and carried out tests, you would have seen they engaged the services of a leading Forensic expert who tested for fingerprints each time the actress went over. Three times, there were no fingerprints. Lisa Harnum suffered from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and washed her hands up to 20 times a day. This was confirmed by her medical records and also by the kinesiologist Peter Bablys who she saw prior to her death. The forensic fingerprint expert stated that after washing your hands the oil residue is washed away and makes leaving a fingerprint even more difficult. In a separate case held by the State against a separate offender, a man was convicted on the basis that the prosecution alleged he had washed his hands prior to touching the surface, and that was the reason his prints were not there. He was still convicted for being at the crime scene. The aforementioned does not alleviate from the fact that there were smudges on the glass, which could not be identified and the forensic fingerprint expert stated that this is because one would be touching the glass as they are moving and not standing still, so it is unlikely that they would leave an identifiable print. We are in the process of sourcing a report from the forensic expert who conducted these tests and will make it readily available on the site for you to read.
It does not matter what people think, they have no vote on his innocence or guilt
Hi Mia,
It is interesting that you say that because a lot of the public has decided Simon is guilty from one-sided information. However, we do agree with you. Unfortunately perception does play a role. Thank you for your comment.
And in which way does perception play a role? What does it matter if 10 millions people think he Is inocent if they have no influence on his case and if there is nothing they can do to reverse his situation
Dear Mia,
You are right. Thanks for your comment.
Just an idea, Is it possible to add an anonymous voting poll to this site so all public who attend and read can express their opinion? Or have a “sign a petition” section to have this case reheard and given a fair trial. With astonishing numbers, maybe it will gain publicity in the other way of how many members of the public feel this way about this case…
Hi Renee, your idea regarding a petition is a fantastic one and we will look to pursue it. Thank you for your contribution.
Renee – your comment proceeds on the assumption that Mr Gittany did not receive a fair trial. He elected to be tried by a judge alone, and was represented by experienced senior counsel and junior counsel. There is nothing to suggest that his trial was unfair.
If he is displeased with the outcome, he should pursue an appeal. As public sentiment will not bear on the outcome of any appeal (if one is commenced), it is difficult to see what purpose a petition would serve.
Hi JA, the decision for the trial to proceed judge alone was largely a financial decision. However, we suggest that you read the deliberation if you haven’t already and pay particular attention to Her Honours reasons for dismissing expert testimony and for forming opinions on an individuals testimony. It is our understanding that all evidence considered should be corroborated for reasons such as confabulation. Here’s a link (McLeod, S. A. (2010). Loftus and Palmer. Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org/loftus-palmer.html) to a study regarding this for your reference that we were alerted to by user RedSonja.
Thank you for your contribution.
Thanks for this. I’ve read the primary judgement and the sentencing remarks. The short point is this: one of the primary roles of a judge is to assess credibility, and to make findings of fact based on those assessments. Justice McCallum did exactly that. She is in a far better position than any member of the public to make that assessment.
If Mr Gittany’s position is that the judge’s reasoning was flawed such that her Honour fell into error, then he should appeal. There really is nothing more to say.
Hi JA, we feel that the studies we’ve referenced on this page regarding ones ability to discern deception are pertinent here. These studies actually state that it was found that judges perform no better in detecting deception. This is very relevant in our opinion and had a significant impact on the verdict.
Thanks for your comment.
If you did this I think you will find about 99% of people will find him guilty. I have not met one person who thinks he is innocent.
Hi Chris, based on the feedback we’ve received thus far, we will have to respectfully disagree with you on this point. Thank you.
Hi, may I just say you are a very brave woman to stand up for someone who is in deep trouble and go through all this we saw every day on the news.
I never knew what to think when I was watching the news, as media shows you what they want to show you and make you believe what they want you to believe. They never tell you all the evidence, just what chose to tell you….
After reading your website and watching TV last night I am not convinced at all that Simon is guilty. He may be responsible in the sense of not letting his girlfriend go home when she wants to (if that was really the case – sometimes women just say they want to do things and they don’t really want to do that, like when I argue with my husband I tell him all the time I want to go back home to Europe, but I never mean it…) but that’s all about it.
I wish you all the luck in the world for your life in the future. Even if you succeed and prove Simon’s innocence it will be very hard to live with our very easily influenced and sheepish society…
Hi Sylvia, thank you for your comment. We will pass your kind words and well wishes on to Rachelle and we agree that she is a brave woman to stand up for her beliefs and morals regardless of how she is being portrayed by the media. We agree with you in regards to the media and the information they choose to publish, which is why we felt it was necessary to present and circulate the information presented on this site. Thank you again for your contribution.
Zero doubt is not an easy verdict I know this from my own experience serving as a juror. Having sat through a three week paedophile court case myself its clear to me now that reasonable doubt is a massive grey area which the jurors themselves are left to deal with.
In our case we were unable to come to a unanimous decision and the case was re-trialled. The differences in personalities, beliefs and interpretation of the law in our group of jurors prevented us from forming a unified decision, one which we knew could not be overcome and so we folded (amongst other reasons – some people just wanted to get back to work).
Jurors don’t always get it right but the show which was aired on channel 7 only provided the public with some of the evidence from the court case, not all and without the full case we cannot even begin to pass judgement on what may or may not have truly happened.
Bottom line, if someone is held against their will and a tragedy occurs as a result…then regardless of the semantics that person is somewhat responsible for what transpires. In this there is no grey area.
Hi Vmoe, thank you for your comment. Firstly, keep in mind that this trial was Judge only. On your second point regarding responsibility for what transpires, to suggest that Lisa was a prisoner conflicts with evidence provided regarding her movements. She was able to place items in storage freely and she came and went from the shared apartment at will. Nothing leading up to the incident suggests that she would have been so desperate to escape that this would be her only option. The autopsy supports that there wasn’t a struggle in the apartment, Lisa showed no signs of trauma other than that caused by the fall – there was no skin under her fingernails. Additionally, Simon had no scratches. Is it plausible for somebody to so completely overpower someone that not a single sign of a struggle or trauma to either party is evident?
Able to place items in storage freely?! Maybe I’ve been reading the wrong trial evidence…
“He was away most of the day, so I packed a few things and took them to a storage centre,” one text message said.
“I think he wants to talk, and I’m very nervous.”
And Gittany found out about this attempt to leave because he was monitoring her text messages. Then Lisa does an abrupt turn-around and “decides” not to leave. Another example of risk-taking behaviour perhaps?!
“In Gittany’s evidence, he admitted the two had a fight before Ms Harnum fell from the apartment, after he resurrected an ongoing dispute regarding a “secret” she said she had.
The court heard Gittany had purchased surveillance computer software to monitor Ms Harnum’s text messages when she refused to divulge the secret.”
Was the secret perhaps that she was terrified for her life and wanted to leave without him knowing? She clearly couldn’t say: “Look this isn’t working out – we don’t trust each other any more so I’ll find somewhere else to stay.” She had to make her plans in secret. She started by moving a few clothes, then purchased an airline ticket. The longer it took to leave the further she knew she had to get away from him. In her last conversation with her mother she said “if anything happens to me…” and soon after that she was dead.
Tragically, this is a common chain of events when women attempt to leave abusive relationships and men refuse to let them go.
Hi Zelda,
Michelle Richmond gave Lisa Harnum advice to put bags in storage as a “back up” plan in case Lisa wanted to leave in the future. Lisa Harnum told Simon she had a secret. Michelle Richmond confirmed that Lisa Harnum told her she was keeping her bulimia secret from Simon and did not want him to find out in case he left her. Because of a few other reasons for Simon feeling a distrust in his relationship with Simon, upon her return from her Canada trip in January 2011 Simon purchased monitoring software in February 2011. Lisa Harnum sent a message to Michelle Richmond saying she gave the clothes to Lisa Brown. Simon saw the text message as he was obviously looking at Lisas text messages. We do not condone this behaviour and are just giving you the context of the argument. Lisa Harnum told Simon it was the advice of Michelle Richmond. Michelle Richmond acknowledges this in her statement to the police. Simon phones Michelle Richmond because he thinks she should not be giving advice like this to her clients.
Lisa Harnum never purchased an airline ticket. There were only text messages between her and her mother the night before, which follows:
Joan Harnum messaged Lisa Harnum on the 29th July 2011 saying “Hi sweetie. Are you okay?”
Lisa replied at 1:27pm “I am okay mama. Everything has calmed down. I told him that you were coming down. Hope you still will. Let me know the dates and I will buy you a ticket. I will call You tomorrow when I can to talk to you more about it. Did you get tour results back from the doctor? I love you xoxoxoxo”
Lisa sends another message to Joan at 2:23pm saying “Mommy are you okay? Xx”
Joan replies “I am okay. How about you?”
Joan sends another text saying “There is a flight friday coming back sunday for 1600”
Lisa replies “Done. What airline? I’m okay x”
Joan replies “Air canada and united. I will book from here. It is cheaper. How is everything?”
Lisa replies “I will pay for it don’t you dare okay. Just give mr the details and I will do it in the morning. I love you xoxo”
Simons friend came over that night to which he watched the football with Lisa Harnum and Simon Gittany. Lisa Harnum also left the apartment that night, we do not know for what reasons as yet, but the CCTV clearly shows Lisa leaving the apartment with out Simon and without Simons friend. Simon’s friend gave evidence stating they were acting like a normal loving couple. Simons friend left stating they appeared to be getting along fine. In the very early morning Simon was woken up by Lisa watching TV. Simon could not get back to sleep and went to the computer to watch porn. We are trying to get the computer from the police to corroborate Simon’s version of events by his browsing history. However they do not respond. Simon tried to log in to the monitoring software he purchased and realised Lisa changed the password to the monitoring software. Simon asked Lisa and the fight continued. Eventually when Simon asked Lisa for the password again the morning of 30th July 2011 Lisa went to the computer and typed in “trust”. Simon then asked her to disclose the secret again. Simon told Lisa he did not really want to break up and wanted to sort it out. Lisa said no as he had already told her to leave and she had booked a flight to Canada. Simon asked Lisa to show him the flight record because he did not believe her and Lisa ran for the door. Simon ran after her and when he got to her she started to scream. He put his hand over mouth in an attempt to quiten her and brought her back in side. His intention was not to hurt her in anyway and we do not condone Simons behaviour. He has expressed remorse and acknowledged his actions were a mistake.
Rachelle,
If someone is innocent why hasn’t Simon made any public noise about this himself? We haven’t heard 1 word from his own mouth, He should stand up for what “he didn’t do”. He hasn’t ounce shown any compassion for Lisa! Poor girl was stuck in a controlled world that she couldn’t escape. Lets just say she did committee suicide you don’t see why? Simon would still be guilty for pushing her to the edge that she couldn’t take it anymore and had enough, this was her only out. She had even packed some of her belongings in a suit case and other things put into storage. No one else see the poor side to Lisa?
Hi anonymous, firstly just to clarify, this isn’t Rachelle.
When Simon was given the opportunity at trial he proclaimed his innocence, and he has never wavered on this fact. He has protested his innocence on many occasions and he also took the opportunity to express his deepest sympathies to Lisa’s family in regards to this tragedy. However he doesn’t have control of what the media decides to publish. We haven’t suggested that Lisa committed suicide here. The evidence points to this being a tragic accident considering all circumstances. Given some of Lisa’s history, Simon’s testimony that she would climb over the balustrade is inherently plausible. Nobody is disputing that the relationship was dysfunctional, however no claims of abuse were ever validated or substantiated.
Lisa was advised to pack her belongings by Michelle Richmond. She also physically went to the storage unit. The allegation that she was physically restrained from leaving on many occasions is untrue. Both the concierge and CCTV footage substantiate this. The concierge had been employed for a significant enough period to observe this. If she truly feared for her life, she had many opportunities to leave prior to this tragedy.
Can you clarify your remark regarding “No one else see the poor side to Lisa?”. Thank you for contribution.
I am not 100% that he is guilty, as the trial is more about speculation and not facts. He infact could be a murderer, but this needs to be proved beyon reasonable doubt. I dont condone his abusive and violent history,and don’t believe he is a good man due to this. But this does not necessarily mean he killed her. RIP lisa, and may god watch over your family
Hi Michael, thank you for your comment. Regarding Simon’s history it’s pertinent to consider a few facts. Firstly, the history you speak of is three incidents that occurred almost 20 years ago. Please note that we do not condone this behaviour, but it hardly establishes a pattern of violent behaviour. Secondly note that the Crown and the Defence were in agreement that none of this behaviour was present in a relationship that has only been documented as dysfunctional.
This site is a joke! fancy comparing this to the chamberlain case. Lets see how many more of his friends post here. Blind Freddy can see that he is guilty. He deserves to hang.
Hi Chris, have you taken the time to review the information here? What caused you to make such a claim? We have never made a comparison to the Chamberlain case, we’re merely providing links to other cases which, in our opinion, deserve more attention in the public eye. The one comparison that we will make now is that there is a commonality shared. All of these cases received a lot of adverse media attention, however once these individuals were exonerated they didn’t receive the same level of attention.
The comments on this thread are without a doubt plants by what is already a deluded campaign. I have researched and worked on murder trials (for defence only) before and found the judgment methodical and sound.
Hypothesising obscure theories on an individual’s ability to detect truth telling is beyond ludicrous and grasping at straws. Issues such as whether or not the neighbours called the police is neither here nor there – they could have become desensitised to regular disturbances emanating from the apartment, and racing out the door.
I find it remarkable that you gloss over the fact that the crown introduced its own expert evidence to prove the theory; murder trials are not all glitz and glamour based on the sensationalised evidence of the everyday people that find themselves neck deep in an Agathie Christie murder mystery, they are long, with days and days filled with expert evidence addressing the proposition of the prosecution’s theory, and subsequently tested for veracity by the defence asserting their own alternate factual matrix.
This is an embarrassment and if your defence team is privy to this site, you should publicly state their names – because I bet they aren’t and would be mortified to have themselves associated with this dross.
Hi Anna, none of the comments here are planted, however in the interest of maintaining the privacy of individuals who have taken the time to comment we can’t divulge further detail to substantiate this. However we would suggest that to take such a stance trivialises their input. What aspects of the judgement did you find to be methodical and sound?
These are not theories, they are studies regarding ones ability to detect deception. Do you have a study or a reference that says otherwise? If so, we would be interested to read it. Therefore we would appreciate it if you could provide it.
With reference to the “expert evidence” that the Crown produced did you watch the second part of the Sunday Night special on Channel 7 on the 16th of February 2014?
We would appreciate your reply, but let’s try to keep it constructive and civil. Thank you for your comment.
I’m sorry, but the the fact that you are directing me to a Sunday Night tabloid news program, where the star was the a) the lover of the convicted man and b) paid really just goes to prove that this is a whole lot of rot.
Let’s face facts; your legal team tactically chose to proceed with a judge only trial because they knew that in front of jury there would not be a chance in hell of him being acquitted.
To be honest, even though I absolutely believe him to be guilty; he should rot in jail for the next 20 years for the sustained and systemic abuse he subjected her to. Even on your scenario, he could be convicted of manslaughter with the vision taken moments before her death.
Hi Anna,
We are not entirely certain what your point is, would you please clarify? The expert used on the program was independent and eminently qualified.
The decision to go with a judge alone was due to financial hardship. Simon Gittany and Rachelle Louise borrowed the entire amount of money for the defence. They could not source any more money. They were advised by their legal team they had two options. Option One- To adjourn the court case or Option Two- Judge Alone (because the duration of a trial by jury is considerably longer). The prosecution objected to the trial being adjourned based on the witnesses coming from overseas. The entire amount of money which Rachelle received from the interview proceeds is being used to pay back all the respective parties who lent them money for their legal fees.
We do not condone Simon Gittany’s actions the moment he brought Lisa Harnum back into the apartment. Simon Gittany is completely sorry for his actions and regrets the mistake he made, but he could not possibly foresee Lisa Harnum taking the following actions. There is absolutely no evidence to support your assertion of sustained and systemic abuse.
Richard Ackland explained why it was a judge-alone trial at:
http://www.smh.com.au/comment/simon-gittany-case-a-tough-judgealone-trial-20131128-2ye11.html
Definitely guilty, a controlling manipulative little man who could not stand the thought of being left by Lisa.
Hopefully while in gaol he will learn from his mistakes which have taken the life of a beautiful young woman and forever had a negative impact on her family and friends.
Hi Jonny, have you had a chance to review the recording that Lisa made in secret of a conversation between herself and Simon? We feel this is a compelling piece of information as it provides a more accurate portrayal of their relationship than that depicted by the media.
I am Rachelle’s aunty.
Firstly, my deepest sympathy goes out to Lisa’s mother and family. To lose one’s child is the greatest tragedy in life.
I am glad to finally be able to have a say in all this.
I have had to stand by and watch a lovely girl being villified by the media in the search for a “story”.
The deliberate omissions of facts and the distortions and lies said about my niece have been very hurtful.
I stand by Simon. I believe in his innocence.
I was horrified at the negative attitude of the “press” before, during and after this case. It was clearly a trial by media.
No-one should have to be subjected to that kind of treatment and I think that there should be some prohibition on the media so as to prevent this kind of trial by media occurring ever again.
I was disgusted at the treatment meted out by the “press” to Simon’s family. One afternoon, his mother was physically shoved to the side and nearly fell, over in their anxiousness to get yet another same picture of Simon and and his family leaving court. Simon’s mother is a very small, kind lady and she was very shaken by this.
After the verdict was given, Lisa’s mother broke down and she was assisted by police officers and others.
Yet Simon’s mother also broke down, and friends had to beg the court officer to help call an ambulance to attend to her. All this occurring on White Ribbon Day! (If I was not so cynical I would say it was selective White Ribbon Day.)
As I said, I stand by Simon, as I believe he is innocent.
Since I first met him, he has shown nothing but kindness and helpfulness to me. I have observed him and found his actions and words show me that he is a mediator – the type of person who tries to calm others down, who tries to see both sides of the coin.
Contrary to media reports, my niece has not benefitted financially. On the contrary, she has given her all – both financially and non-financially to help Simon. All money has been apportioned to help repay people who contributed financially to Simon’s defence.
What puzzles me in all this is the hatred and criticism levelled at Rachelle. She has been portrayed as another victim.
Rachelle is far from being a victim. She is a very capable person. She is, and always has been, her own person. I could never imagine her putting up with being told what to do by anyone – including a boyfriend.
I am very proud of her and the way in which she stands by Simon.
Aunty M
Hi Anna,
Simon did not bite a police officers ear for another person, he bit it because he could not breathe. There is no dispute by the police officer in question who is much larger than Simon that he was lying on top of Simon. The way you would use the lungs to knock someone out is to squeeze them so tight that they cannot inflate, and generally this is done by lying on someone’s chest. One needs to be careful in attempting this because there have been many poorly trained personnel who have laid on a suspect’s chest without realising it and ended up killing them because they couldn’t breathe.
This is sad, whoever the moderator is here has tunnel vision and finds excuses for all of Simon’s failings, same as RL does. He bit the policeman’s ear, that is assualt,why was he resisting them in the first place?? If you’re nit guilty go peacefully and state your case, far better than ‘resisting arrest’, yet you brush this off as someone else’s fault, same as the 52 bags of drugs were someone else’s, same as ‘Simon wasn’t in a rage’ when dragging Lisa back into the apartment, that was obviously assault. It appears Simon Gittany is simply a misunderstood pillar of society and should be excused from all his sins. Do you realize this is what you are asking people to believe? Do you have any legal training to back up your own comments, what makes you the most believable expert on all matters?
Hi Peter,
We do not agree. We are giving you an explanation for the events as opposed to simply stating “Simon is sorry”. Everyone has a past, especially in their youth. Simon is 40 years old. Do you think that a crime committed at 18-20 yrs of age is relevant to allegedly killing your girlfriend 20 years later?
We do not believe Simon is misunderstood. We believe there are two sides to every story.
Ummm, are we supposed to feel sorry for Simon? He’s just a good guy resisting arrest so the callous police officer got rough on him.
I think it’s common knowledge that when you are under arrest you put your hands up. If you’re innocent, you sort it out later. But nobody is justified in resisting arrest – if the police officers got rough on him, that’s his own problem. Maybe if he didn’t want to be arrested, he shouldn’t have been drug-dealing, which is commonly known to be illegal. And I’m not interested in hearing the positive spin that he wasn’t really guilty, he just pleaded guilty because his lawyers advised him to. Lawyers don’t tell innocent men to plead guilty.
It’s a shame you’re so obsessed with examining Lisa’s patterns of behaviour that you can’t see the years and years of Simon’s pattern of breaking the law and then saying it’s someone else’s fault.
Hi Zelda,
This incident was 20 years ago when Simon was a youth. While we do not condone his behaviour it most definitely is not a character trait of Simon. The detectives who attended the house told Simon’s mother and family they were friends of Simon. They were police detectives were not in uniform took Simon into the room and his mother walked in to see them hitting Simon. Police officers are still people Zelda and do make mistakes. Did you manage to watch the story on Channel 7 last week of a police officer who was raped by a fellow police officer? They tried to conceal the event taking place. Simon was not arrested for drug dealing. He was arrested for suspicion of stolen goods. This is not true and we intend to speak to the legal representative who represented Simon. Have you had much experience with lawyers? Lawyers know which magistrates are lenient and vice versa. It is a whole different world.
Simon broke the law as a youth. He is now 40 years old. He also went to a monastery after realising his life was not going down the right path. He made some drastic changes and is a very spiritual person. One of Lisa Harnum’s psychologists did take notes. Lisa Harnum saw Helen Sharwood in 24 January 2011 to which her notes clearly state “Simon is so good. He is so spiritual. He was going to be a priest. Lisa Harnum feels she could never be as good as he is”.
This may very well be a miscarriage of justice in regard to Simon murdering Lisa but no man has the right to manhandle a woman who is trying to remove herself from a situation she is uncomfortable with. Based on the history of this couple, her eating disorder and the reported demands that he was imposing on her to tell him her eating disorder secret, she was the victim of severe emotional assault as well as the physical assault shown on the video.
Simon may be a very nice bloke but he is obviously a very jealous and possessive person based on all the evidence from the case and supported by the girlfriend’s comments that he is controlling and does demand certain expectations which again is a form of manipulation.
If Simon had only checked his ego when Lisa started screaming and let her leave the apartment, none of this would have happened. She may very well have never come back to him but he would be a free man with his now girlfriend and Lisa would be alive and well. Due to his possessivness and jealous personality as portrayed in the evidence, he was guilty of physical and emotional assault which was a direct cause of Lisa’s death whether it was at his hand or not. His treatment of her sent her over the edge of that balcony whether she climbed over or not and as such justifies him doing some time for his role in her death.
Hi Anonymous, your statement regarding no man having the right to lay his hands on a woman, regardless of his intent is correct and we agree with it. We do not condone Simon’s behaviour in this regard. We feel it necessary to point out that whilst the relationship was dysfunctional, the Crown and the Defence agreed that there was no evidence of physical violence in this relationship. Regarding Lisa’s behaviour we’ve posted a quote from a comment that we made to another user, that we feel is pertinent:
Thank you for contribution.
You do realise domestic violence involves more than just physical violence right? The way you are ever so carefully trying to say she brought it on herself by doing dramatic things is disgraceful. Quite frankly I wouldn’t believe a single thing this guy said. He has a (rather bad) excuse for everything. Including past behaviour. Surely it gets your mind turning that he had about 6 examples of criminal and violent behaviour but it’s always someone else’s fault and he’s the victim. From the court reports I’ve read, I’d jump out of a moving car to get away from this guy as well! Wake up. This guy is guilty.
Hi Thomas
Lisa jumped out a moving car with her previous boyfriend George. This was confirmed by her mother Joan Harnum. Yes, we do realise domestic violence involves more than physical violence but we do not believe Simon was verbally abusive to Lisa Harnum. Yes at times they argued, like any normal couple, and yes, he has said some hurtful things, like any normal person when they are upset. However, out of over 4000 text messages sent during a period of a year and a half there are only 5 or so that can be deemed rude and they are all in the context of an argument. You are entitled to your opinion, but we do not accept your claim that Simon Gittany is guilty. Could you provide more information as to what has confirmed your suspicions of his guilt and perhaps we can add some clarification for you.
“…exhibited a pattern of behaviour in which she would often place herself in a position which could result in personal harm in order to provoke an emotional response. There were instances in which she disembarked from a vehicle that was still moving…”Ok, so where is actual evidence or proof that Lisa continued to show this type of risk taking behaviour other than the event you outline re George. You use the terms “often”, “instances” and “many times before”, which indicates you either have evidence or you too are using second hand information, which you critise other commentors for doing. I believe you are exaggerating in a poor attempt to prove your very frail point, that Lisa was silly enough to take herself over a 15th floor balcony just to scare Simon or get attention…I mean really?
Hi Peter,
The defence called another witness of a similar event with Simon and another passenger in the vehicle where the car was moving at approx 50km/h. Lisa did not alight the vehicle but she opened the door. There was also another incident witnessed where Lisa jumped out of a moving vehicle in 2011. The incident in February 2010 was witnessed by George, Simon, Rachelle and Joan Harnum corroborated that Lisa Harnum told her about jumping out of the moving cab. We are not stating that Lisa was “silly”. Lisa Harnum was diagnosed with Histrionic Personality Disorder.
This is a text Lisa Harnum sent to her mother after an argument with Simon on the 20th June 2011 ““I am sorry, mama, please don’t be upset with me. My heart always chooses love. I overreacted just to prove my point and it was proven and we were both taught a lesson. I know you are not happy. That is why I could not promise you what you asked me to promise you. (Presumably about leaving the relationship??). My heart wasn’t in it, I’m not that strong, please don’t be disappointed in me.”
The photograph taken just 60 seconds before Lisa died is an extremely distressing example of physical violence. Then apparently he sat her down and said she “embarrassed” him by running away and screaming for help.
“Yes, at times they argued like other couples” – this is NOT normal arguing. This is violent controlling behaviour. A woman is entitled to walk away from a man even in the middle of an argument. He has no right to drag her back.
It’s very disturbing that you have chosen a defense position that chooses to blame Lisa for the violence.
And in case you are going to post another reply saying “Can you show any evidence of violence” – there is the photo. There is Simon’s testimony that he told her she “embarrassed” him by running screaming for help. The word “embarrassed” is very significant, it demonstrates a great deal about his attitude to Lisa. She wasn’t allowed to walk away. She wasn’t allowed to make him look bad in front of the neighbours.
A normal decent man would have let his girlfriend go to the neighbours and calm down. He wouldn’t have grabbed her and dragged her back into the house.
Hi Liana,
Thank you for your comments. We certainly do not condone Simon Gittany’s action in bringing Lisa back into the apartment and we do not condone violence. Simon regrets this behaviour and acknowledges he made a mistake.
We have never blamed Lisa Harnum or made the assumption that she was a violent person. Lisa had a history of running away and not just with Simon Gittany.
Have you had the opportunity to read all the information on the site?
This site is not sounding right. They keep saying that there’s text messages and voice messages that prove Lisa was in the wrong, that’s she’s been diagnosed with all these different mental problems and she killed herself, yet they haven’t provided any of these so called items of proof and I’m still waiting for an answer to my question on where did they get all these diagnosis for Lisa. Something fishy is going on and I think I need to check these people out.
Hi DD,
We have NEVER stated that Lisa Harnum intended to kill herself. Lisa was diagnosed with these disorders under observation during her hopsitalization in Canada. We personally believe she had Borderline Personality Disorder. We were unable to profile her for the court proceedings as she would need to be alive to be diagnosed. However, her medical records reflect that it is very likely she suffered from this disorder. The diagnosis says if you suffer from 5 or more of the symptoms you have likely to have it. Lisa suffered from more than 5 of the symptoms. Borderline Personality Disorder is the only personality disorder to have suicidal or self-injurious behaviour among its diagnostic criteria. http://www.sane.org/information/factsheets-podcasts/160-borderline-personality-disorder. There are case studies reflecting people with Borderline Personality Disorder who have died during episodes of impulsiveness. Lisa was diagnosed with Histrionic Personality Disorder. This is similiar to Borderline Personality Disorder and some of the symptoms overlap. It is possible she was misdiagnosed as Borderline Personality Disorder is not widely understood. It only became recognized in Australia in 2013 and case studies reflect that people suffering may see up to 15 professionals before being diagnosed.
http://www.newharbinger.com/psychsolve/borderline-personality-disorder Have you had a chance to listen to the secret recording made by Lisa? It is evident from Lisa’s relationships with friends they ended after Lisa was upset with something they did which she perceived to be offensive. There are a few examples. With Bec in particular she was dating Simon’s cousin. Simon encouraged the friendship between Lisa and Bec because Simon wanted Lisa to have friends. However, Bec and Lisa became close when Simon’s cousin broke up with with Bec. Lisa helped Bec get back with her ex-boyfriend who is Simon’s cousin and after they got back to together Lisa felt like Bec had used her. After Bec and her boyfriend got back together Lisa and Bec cease regular contact and do not talk the same way they did when Bec was single. Lisa is upset by this. Simon was blamed for Lisa’s fall out with Bec. However, the recording (one month prior to the tragic accident) clearly reflects this is not the case.
If Simon is innocent then why doesn’t he take a lie detector test? Even if it doesn’t stand up in court it would have a huge impact in changing the public perception of him and swinging a lot of momentum towards his cause. Of course if he is actually guilty then there is no way he would want to take the test.
Hi Matt, thank you for the contribution. We hadn’t thought of this option. Unfortunately, given Simon’s current position we’re unsure as to whether this would be possible.
It is our understanding that polygraphs are deemed to be insufficiently accurate. Do you have any information that may offer additional insights into this? Thank you again.
I think polygraphs are sufficient to help the public form a better picture of Simon’s character. It does not have to stand up in court but it would raise questions about his innocence if he was believed to be telling the truth about her falling. I also think Simon’s case would be helped with more evidence around the ability for a person in a rage to calm down quickly. This I think is a puzzling part of the case – how he would go from so angry to calm and making her a cup of tea. Is there evidence available to support this? The other puzzling thing is the witnesses first phone call with Detective Rex. It seems he clearly stated he didn’t see her get pushed or jump. His story changed. Why wasn’t Detective Rex questioned more thoroughly on this?
Hi Matt,
Thank you for your comment. We have spoken with Rachelle and would to amend our previous comment. Rachelle and Simon have always wanted Simon to participate in a polygraph test, along with other crown witnesses. However, they were informed by their legal team that polygraph tests are deemed to be insufficiently accurate and legally inadmissable and there is no point. When Simon brought Lisa back into the apartment he went to the kitchen to make her a hot drink. There are crime scene photos of the apartment that show the kettle is open and placed to the right of the sink on top of the kitchen bench where Simon had to run around from and out of the kitchen to get to balcony where Lisa was at that point in time.
Simon was never angry, he was only running after Lisa because she began to run. This happened right after Simon asked Lisa to show him the flight records of the booking to Canada because he did not believe her and thought she was bluffing, she grabbed her hand bag and ran. When he got to her at the front door, she began to scream and he put his hand over her mouth in an attempt to silence her. We do not condone his actions and he regrets this behaviour and acknowledges he made a mistake.
Detective Rex gave evidence and he stated that Joshua Rathmell’s first statement to the police which was on the phone was an accurate record of what Joshua Rathmell had said to him.
Also, why was Simon’s computer history not used as evidence to show that he was looking at porn at 5am on the morning of Lisas death? He stated that’s what he was doing while she was on the phone but the judge did not believe this. If it is true this point could easily be proven using computer search technology. There were a number of things the judge simply did not believe in Simon’s story – the more of these you can prove to be true the less weight should be given to the judges verdict.
Hi Matt,
The defence have tried on numerous occasions to get Simon’s computer from the police to corroborate his version of events. However, the police do not respond to our request.
Hi, I followed this case with great interest as I found the facts and circumstances surrounding it interesting, albeit very unfortunate. After initially leaning towards Simon being guilty (gut feeling mainly based on the way he has been portrayed I guess) I’m progressively thinking that there is too much reasonable doubt in this case to feel comfortable with Simon’s predicament. In the interest justice for all involved I would like to see the case being heard again perhaps in front of a jury ?
Hi WD, thank you for comment. We’re glad that the content here has had a positive impact on your position regarding Simon’s circumstances.
This site is laughable. Saying because he had to lift her a couple of cm over the balcony that proves he’s innocent? please. The victim was a thin woman. Simon could have more than easily lifted her that distance in the rage he was in, with her unconscious. Saying because she landed feet first it proves innocence. Again, please. He was seen throwing her over. The public has seen him dragging her back in, then in the lift where he couldn’t act more guilty. The was controlling and abusive. The evidence is overwhelming and you are grasping at straws that simply aren’t there, your arguments make no sense.
I’m not sure who runs this site – his family or that attention obsessed girlfriend. But you have some serious blinkers on. Simon is a murderer. The whole public knows it, and the courts saw through the stupid arguments and excuses of the defence. Stop wasting our time, yours and disrespecting the victim like this.
Hi Seriously,
There is no evidence to support that Simon was in a rage. There is also no evidence to support Lisa Harnum was unconscious. Lisa Harnum had no sign of trauma to the body and her injuries were consistent with that of a fall from a height. As per expert evidence from a forensic pathologist by the name of Professor Hilton, it is highly unlikely to asphyxiate another by placing one’s hand over their mouth. He clearly articulated one could do this by applying pressure to the carotid arteries to stop blood flow to the brain. This takes 20-30 seconds, leaving Simon 35-45 seconds to pick her up and take her to the balcony. However, as per Joshua Rathmell’s statement Simon was standing on the balcony for 5 seconds before he “unloaded” her. There is also the aspect of regaining consciousness, which has been estimated at 10-12 seconds with this method as per studies.
Are you aware that the person who allegedly saw him throw her over (Joshua Rathmell) said in his first statement to the police “Didnt see a push. Didnt see a jump, but I watched the body fall”? We do not believe that Simon’s behaviour in the lift is the actions of a guilty man, but you are entitled to your opinion. Ultimately it all comes down to perception. Could you please articulate the evidence which you believe shows Simon was abusive throughout their relationship?
The man in the photo barely a minute before Lisa died is clearly in a rage. Are you saying he calmly brought her into the house in this manner? He wasn’t angry or enraged, this was just a normal action for him.
Regarding the unconsciousness figures, I don’t see that your calculations cancel out that Lisa had blacked out enough for her to be unresponsive during the short time it took to reach the balcony.
Hi Liana,
When Simon brought Lisa back into the apartment he went to the kitchen to make her a hot drink. There are crime scene photos of the apartment that show the kettle is open and placed to the right of the sink on top of the kitchen bench where Simon had to run around from and out of the kitchen to get to the balcony where Lisa was. There is no sign of a struggle or anything out of place in the apartment or on the balcony to show a struggle took place especially if Simon was in a rage as the Judge states in the verdict. Simon was never angry, he was only running after Lisa because she began to run.
What is the kettle supposed to prove?! The prosecution isn’t saying there was much of a struggle either. Lisa was a small build.
“Simon was never angry, he was only running after Lisa because she began to run”. SHE WANTED TO LEAVE. HE DRAGGED HER BACK INTO THE APARTMENT. FORCED HER BACK. There is photographic evidence to show this, not just a judge’s opinion. Maybe he wasn’t angry, but that doesn’t actually make him sound any better. He certainly wasn’t considering Lisa’s feelings or he would have let her go. Lisa was obviously terrified. Screaming to neighbours for help, before being dragged back into an unsafe situation.
Hi Lucia, Simon stated in his testimony that he was in the kitchen making tea. Are you aware that Simon provided the footage from the pinhole camera freely to the police? If he had something to hide why would he provide this supposed evidence? Again, to reiterate – we do not condone what Simon did, he never should have grabbed Lisa. It’s been witnessed and those accounts are also corroborated – that Lisa has taken risks in the past when upset. What makes you so sure that Simon is guilty? We feel there’s a lot of evidence to contrary presented here so we would like to hear your reasons. Thanks for your comment.
I visited this site out of curiosity, after such a full summation by her honor and such a comprehensive review of the case resulting in the conviction. Any appellant judges are less likely to overturn a judge only decision against that of a jury verdict . The judge has ensured that there are very few, if any grounds or basis that an appeal can be sought. May be better to conserve the money for his retirement plan should he ever be released.
Hi Robert,
Thank you for your opinion, but we would have to respectfully disagree with you on your point.
i don t know if simon murderer lisa, i was not in the flat at the time of the tragedy.. neither were you. so how can you systematically support his innocence.????. you do not know……. you don t know anything……..,because of this solo reason you should accept the verdict of the judge.as far as i am concerned i do.. so what is stopping you to do the same ? The detectives, and others professionals.. who do you think they are ???Imbeciles ???? the judge said : there is enough evidence to find gittany guilty of the death of Lisa.. so let it be… you can t proove his innocence.. he was an agressive man with a violent police record you should take alo these facts into consideration. I would not not take side with a man accused of murder just because he is my brother..,. lover or husband, it woudn t make sense to me. you must be driven by your reason not by your feelings towards a guilty person. anyone can kill , no even a psychiatrist can garantee of anyone that “a person” will never kill.
as for Rachelle, i don t get her.. what does she knows ? was she in the flat between the two…???.. with a frozen expression on her face and the robotic answers she gave the journalist on channel 7 she appears to have no heart no soul i think her only excuse is that she is young and has no experience of life or people
Hi Fifi,
If Simon Gittany had committed a murder we would NOT be standing by him or supporting him in any way, nor would his family.
As for Rachelle, you are entitled to your opinion, but we dot agree. Have you had the opportunity to read all the information on the site?
This message is intended for Rachelle Louise. I have watched the recent Sunday night program as well as other news snap shots which have involved you. I am totally amazed at your loyalty in defending Simon. This website alone is testament to that. A few comments which might be worth thinking on:
• “Lisa” has tragically died. There are two sides to a story and unfortunately she is able to tell hers. Whether Simon is he is guilty or not he is clearly evidenced has having been involved in some very concerning precursor events? Evidence shows that he dragged her back into the apartment against her will. Therefore no matter how you look at it I don’t believe you could ever label him as innocent. Any other viewpoint makes Lisa the 100% guilty one.
• Can I ask, has Simon read and endorsed all of the contents of this website? I realise he is now in jail so if not perhaps you could print it out and give it to him to read and endorse. This web site would be much more credible if you did that and aired his signature to it. If he won’t do that then I think you should ask yourself why not?
• Love is a deep vice. It drives incredible loyalty beyond rational reasoning and can lead to incredible pain. Remember that. By the reasoning given on this web site you only have a 54% change of detecting whether Simon is lying to you.
Hi James.
We have passed your message on to Rachelle. Rachelle does not remain loyal to Simon purely because of “love”. She has a sound knowledge of the case studies and genuinely believes in his innocence. Rachelle accepts Lisa tragically died and she is deeply saddened by the circumstances of her death. However, Rachelle is equally saddened by the wrongful conviction of an innocent man. We agree that Simon should not have brought Lisa Harnum back into the apartment. We have never once condoned his behaviour. He also acknowledges the mistake he made. There are many complexities regarding the entire story and it is not as black and white as the media has portrayed it.
We are in the process of having this information endorsed by Simon, he is eager to see it- However the content is something we have all thought of previously. It was just not well-presented.
We like the end part of your comment, it is quite cute. I would like to reiterate that we have done thorough investigations on the case and our observations of Simon have only served to strengthen our belief in his innocence. Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment. If you have any genuine questions about the case please feel free to ask and we will endeavor to provide clarification in a timely fashion.
Hi,its been a while now since I posted my initial comment which as I mentioned upfront was intended for Rachelle. Just wonderiing if Rachelle has any reply to make as well?
Hi James, if you would like a specific reply from Rachelle regarding any of your queries the best way would be to e-mail us at contactus@freesimon.info. We will alert her of your e-mail and I am sure that she would be happy to reply. Thank you for your visit.
Moderator_3, you said in an earlier comment that “Lisa Harnum was diagnosed with Histrionic Personality Disorder”. Is this true? Was she formally diagnosed by a psychiatrist, and if so, when? Was this considered during the trial?
I do not recall reading any mention of that in the verdict. Very interested to hear more as it could be quite relevant. Thanks.
Hi S,
Yes Lisa Harnum was diagnosed with histrionic personality disorder, narcissistic personality disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder. We agree that it also relevant. Thank you for your comment.
Well, if she is diagnosed with those disorders you are entitled to mention it on your site, although it does come across as bad taste and victim-shaming. But you should draw the line at making your own personal diagnosis, ie saying that you personally believe she had Borderline Personality Disorder. This is disgraceful and gratuitous comment from a site that should be striving to be impartial, whatever your aim. You can’t diagnose a woman years after she died, and you have no right to vulgarly speculate about her problems.
I notice there is a glaring lack of positive information about Lisa on this site… very strange that the grieving boyfriend presumably loved her.
Hi Carol/Zelda/Zoe/Laura,
You are entitled to your opinion. We do not see that discussing someone’s mental state is “victim-shaming”. There is no shame in having a mental illness and we are not laughing at her or making fun of her. We are trying to enlighten the public. It is an extremely serious condition, which is not well understood. Lisa suffered from almost all of the symptoms. It is very likely. We are in the process of seeking a Borderline Personality Disorder expert to profile her for the defence.
We are not here to talk “positively” about Simon or about Lisa or about Rachelle or about anyone. We are here to inform the public about things that have been overlooked by the media/prosecution/judge.
Why was my comment removed regarding the police ear biting incident and asking what actually makes you an expert to comment about all matters in this Simon/Lisa case? Also, you delete commentors references to other cases so you best delete this one above regarding police raping, not relevant to this particular case. Double standards again! If you’re innocent, don’t resist arrest and state your case, same as any other reason person would do, but no, poor Simon is never guilty of anything.
You also deleted my comments regarding the fact he assaulted that policeman and Lisa on the day of her death. I would be terrified on any man if they handled me like he didthat morning and to say he then made her a cup of tea is simply ridiculous. Why can’t you see that you make much noise about Lisa’s past health and behavioral issues yet you expect us to ignore Simon’s past, cause it was in his youth? Ever heard the saying a leopard never changes it’s spots and he is obviously a deceptive character, whether you like it or not.
Hi Peter,
We do not remove comments. But we do receive many comments and emails and have to respond to all, so we hope you can understand this process is not instantaneous.
Have you had a chance to read the About Simon page?
We disagree with you. Much has been made about Simon and none has been made about Lisa. Lisa was diagnosed with serious conditions- Histrionic Personality Disorder, Narcissistic Personality Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Bulimia. We believe she had Borderline Personality Disorder as she fits the diagnosis, but was never formally diagnosed with it.
Yes we have heard the saying a leopard never changes its spots and we could not agree more with you. Are you aware that Rachelle and Simon have a completely healthy relationship? Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Well, I dare say your time and resources – and those of Mr Gittany – would be more usefully applied to convincing the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal, rather than the public, of this. Just a constructive suggestion.
Hi JA,
Thank you for your comment and we agree. But we did want to shed some light on some of the misconceptions associated with this case to the public, particularly the private recording which was taken out of context on numerous occasions by the media. An in depth analysis of the case will be provided shortly.
Has Simon seen this website and comments
Hi Maria,
Unfortunately Simon has not seen the website yet. We endeavor to get him to review the content so he can endorse it. Thank you.
I hope Simon can see it soon
Hi Maria,
So do we. Thank you.
Has Simon Gittany ever been involved in violence towards women? I’m leaning towards believing he is innocent, but sometimes I’m not sure. It would be good to know what his history with women is. Thanks
Hi N,
No, Simon has never been violent towards a woman before. There is no prior conviction relating to violence against women. Thank you.
Why did the court never explained why simon could not in 3 wordsdescribed what he was doing for a living ? And how he supported his flashing life style and a 1000$ week (or more) rent appartment ?
Hi Fifi,
Simon worked from the age of 16. He was setting up his business in the last couple years before the tragic incident. The business was literally about to go live the week that the tragic event happened.
From Judge McCallum’s Sentencing Remarks at
http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/nsw/NSWSC/2014/49.html
“The offender pursued his stated goal of entering a life of religion, joining a Catholic order in France in his early 20’s…. He returned to Australia before completing his noviciate [sic].
Mr Gittany subsequently worked as a waiter and for a company doing bathroom renovations…. during his 30’s, he worked for three years as an advertising account manager for the Sydney Morning Herald, for 18 months for a company called Reach Local and that, for six months prior to his arrest and imprisonment, he had been working for Job Search assisting people having difficulty finding employment…. His evidence [during the trial] was that he was setting up a business.”
The facts of the case far outweigh any statistics that are inconclusive and cannot be used to determine the verdict of a case – which has to be based on evidence, not how well *an average* of several people performed with determining deception. The judge in this case could be far better or far worse than average, but you have no way of proving that. You’re grasping at straws here rather than providing anything concrete.
Hi JR, what proven facts of the case do you find so convincing? Could you elaborate?
I read this post completely about the comparison of most up-to-date and earlier
technologies, it’s awesome article.