23 – PC Moss: The Bravest Man In The Station
You’d have to be a brave sort of constable to publicly contradict a detective sergeant, especially one with Leane for a surname: a man coming from an Adelaide family of high repute and elevated social and political standing.
Police constable Moss was stationed at Brighton and was the first responder when Lyons called in to report the finding of a body on Somerton Beach, he later accompanied the body to the Morgue where it was stripped of clothing, placed on a steel trolly, tagged on the upper arm then wheeled into the refrigerated unit.
It was at this stage Moss had unlimited access to the clothing which he searched thoroughly. Jacket pockets inside and out, including the outside ticket pocket, shirt pocket (if there was one), trouser pockets front and back and fob pocket. Then he listed everything he found.
In Moss’ deposition he stated the following: ‘I searched the clothing, found a railway ticket to Henley Beach, also a bus ticket, a tramway bus ticket. There were cigarettes on the body, which were in a packet. I did not compare them with the one that was partly smoked. The packet produced looks like the cigarettes I found. The comb produced was on the body, also the chewing gum and the metal comb. The bus ticket produced and the railway ticket produced are similar to the tickets I found on the body I did not find the slip of paper with the words “Taman Shad (sic)’
I did not find the slip of paper with the words “Taman Shad.
I’d like to find the policeman who given such a bundle of clothing wouldn’t know the trousers had a fob pocket and wouldn’t know where to find it and I would take odds that when Moss was composing his deposition it was under the eye of a senior officer and that senior officer made sure Moss didn’t say: ‘I searched the fob pocket and did not find the slip of paper with the words “Taman Shad.’
Then the same senior officer made sure Moss’ account was deemed to be doubtful in totality by making sure a box of matches was added to the list of articles found on the body, inferring that not only did the constable miss the TS slip, he also missed a box of Bryant and May matches.
Moss though wasn’t to be made to look a fool and took the brave step of taking an interview with the Truth Newspaper and in doing he took on this senior officer, DS Leane.
But that’s not the end of it because when Professor Cleland found the slip he was in the company of James Cowan.
The Somerton Man .. 
So. Surprise, surprise Cleland made sure that someone else, (Cowan)was on hand to witness his finding. Not a mere PC from Brighton.
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Well Clive, not quite … but all will be revealed.
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I suppose, missing the scrap of paper with Talmad Shud could be excused…but Moss not noticing the box of matches never made sense. (Everything we know about him suggests he was a thorough and conscientious young chap.)
Moss wouldn’t have missed something like that, so the box of matches were obviously planted after the Moss inspection.
And if we can believe senior police would introduce the box of matches then it’s only a small step to believing the Taman Shud scrap of paper was also added to the SM’s belongings.
That scrap of paper led to Freeman’s “found” copy of the book…which, conveniently, had Harkness’s phone number in it.
Following this line of logic, someone was deliberately trying to inject Harkness into the story. A set-up…but why?
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Guzz .. there was one individual who comes to mind, but knowing that doesn’t answer the question as to what Webb was doing to attract attention and how and where Harkness got to know him.
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Is it normal for a uniform plod to be searching the clothing, or would that be a job for the Investigators?
I think one thing we have to keep in mind (and this might apply to what I just said) is that on day 1 this was a boring/routine thing. That’s not an attempt to dump on the people involved, but (despite what Kramer has said in the past) I suspect when something seems routine people become complacent and cut corners – and probably simply don’t think that little details are important.
At what point did the Fuzz decide this needed a proper investigation? I’m inclined to think that even when Leane and Brown joined the case they didn’t particularly think there was anything sinister or criminal – and for them finding relatives and/or identifying the body (not explaining the death necessarily) was the priority. I know it’s an unpopular view (especially here, because I know PB is big on these things) but I think a lot of the inconsistencies come down to complacency – largely because I think they literally expected it would just resolve itself.
I think it’s worth having a think about at what point different players in the investigative team decided that this was something that actually required some effort. In fact, I think looking at it from such a perspective maybe explains why Leane was slow to go to the railway station to find the suitcase…or why the TS slip wasn’t made public sooner. I have a hunch that it was the TS slip that actually properly engaged Leane with the case – and the reason he sat on it might have been because he’s trying to resolve what it means himself, and whether knowledge of the slip might implicate someone if it isn’t public knowledge.
Anyways, I think too often we assume they players realised it was gonna be a strange one from the getgo – but I really think we need to get into the mindset that they probably only realised this was more than routine significantly into the investigation.
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I agree with a lurker on this… Moss was probably focussed on finding ID on the SM stiff and did a macro search of his clothes as base routine. Being able to notify the next of kin about the deceased to start making the necessary arrangements. Are we sure he was able to continue the search after the SM’s clothes were removed in prep for an autopsy at the morgue or was his inventory based on the search of the body fully clothed as found in the beach and perhaps in the ambulance in transit to the RAH & then the city morgue. I reckon he would have headed back to Brighton station and would have had nothing else to do with the investigation until called to the inquest 7 months or so later.
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