Networked Knowledge – Media Report

[This version of the report has been edited by Dr Robert N Moles
Underlining where it occurs is for editorial emphasis]

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On 11 February 2009 Glenis Green of the The Courier-Mail reported “Hervey Bay pet groomer Lisa Keem fought for her life”

She said Hervey Bay pet groomer Lisa Keem fought for her life even as she was being strangled to death, probably in her own home study, a court was told yesterday. Senior specialist forensic pathologist Allan Cala, of Newcastle, told committal proceedings in the Hervey Bay Magistrate's Court that Keem had broken a rib and was possibly punched in the face about the same time as she was strangled on or about June 14 last year. Keem's estranged husband, Richard Giardina, 40, has been charged with her murder, and police allege a bitter marriage breakdown was a motive.

Keem vanished from her Hervey Bay home after finishing work at her pet grooming business on June 14, and her burnt body was found off the Pacific Highway near Kempsey, in NSW, the next day. During cross-examination by Giardina's lawyer Tim Carmody, Dr Cala said an autopsy indicated Keem had probably been strangled manually. Keem's cheekbone and lower chest were bruised. "I believe Ms Keem was alive when this was happening and I assume she was also struggling," he said.

Dr Cala also said the office area of her home showed indications of a struggle, with heavy furniture slightly out of place, her fingerprints smeared on the base of a filing cabinet and an earring on the floor. He said the autopsy revealed Keem's throat had been crushed, which was more consistent with strangulation by hand than with a ligature.

Senior Constable Michelle Clarke, who was on road patrol for Foster police in NSW the day before Keem was allegedly murdered, told the court she stopped Giardina in a dark grey sedan as he sped at 105km/h through roadworks where the speed limit was 80km/h. When she queried his Queensland licence against the car's NSW number plate, Giardina told her he had just bought the car. She said he was polite and asked for a warning, but she proceeded to issue the ticket. The committal hearing continues today.

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