Case not strong: judge

By Paul Dunlop
DIANE Griffey has been granted bail by a Supreme Court judge who said claims she killed her estranged husband lacked hard evidence.
Ms Griffey, 42, was last month charged with murdering Michael Griffey after she and her youngest daughter found his body in the garage of their Pakenham home on 2 January.
Police say he had been dead for up to four days.
Victorian Supreme Court Justice Betty King described the case against Ms Griffey as circumstantial and, while not “impossibly weak”, was far from strong. There was nothing physically that connected Ms Griffey with the murder, she said.
“It would be possible to sustain such a case against the son Kenny Griffey and possibly others,” she said.
“In fact, it should be noted that Kenny Griffey was arrested at the same time as the applicant, although subsequently released.”
The court heard Kenny had a dispute with his father on the day he died.
The judge said the Crown case against Ms Griffey relied on claims she stood to gain more than $1.5 million in life insurance after her estranged husband’s death.
Justice King said she was granting Ms Griffey bail because the family business could not run without her.
She said the family’s three children would also benefit from her release.
Justice King said Kenny had given evidence to the bail application hearing as to his ability to run the family company.
She said the 18yearold would not be capable of doing so.
“The business has been built up over many years and if the applicant is refused bail there is a strong possibility that the business will fail,” Justice King said.
The court heard the murder charge against Ms Griffey had already had an effect.
Justice King said Ms Griffey would not now receive any money from her husband’s life insurance policies, which had been in place for over 10 years without ever being altered.
Ms Griffey was ordered to live in Kilmore, where the family has relocated, and not to attend international airports.
The handup brief for Ms Griffey’s case is due to be served today (Wednesday, 15 March).
Ms Griffey is scheduled to appear in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court next month.
Justice King said Ms Griffey’s case could take between 15 months to 24 months to be heard but said this delay was not unusual.
Justice King said the Crown had submitted that the case against Ms Griffey was a circumstantial case and neither a weak case nor a strong case but one that ultimately was a matter for a jury.