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On 16 July 2006 The Sunday Telegraph reported that evidence given in hundreds of criminal cases by Dr Allan Cala, one of Australia's top forensic pathologists faces review after he wrongly wrote off the deaths of a murdered couple as a car accident. Dr Allan Cala is being investigated by the Health Care Complaints Commission for unsatisfactory professional conduct.

The report said that in his bungled investigation, Dr Cala missed vital evidence that the couple had been strangled to death, that they violently fought their attacker and that they had been administered a stupefying drug.

The report said that the facts in the case, which were only revealed to the public last Wednesday, and set off a chain of events including:

The HCCC beginning an investigation into Dr Cala;

NSW Premier Morris Iemma calling for a report from Attorney General Bob Debus;

Relatives of the murdered couple, who themselves uncovered the murder, severely criticising NSW police and government;

Opposition leader Peter Debnam joining the calls for an urgent investigation.

Mr Iemma yesterday told The Sunday Telegraph the HCCC investigation was “appropriate and proper”.

“I'm getting a report from the Attorney-General. It is obviously a matter of concern,” Mr Iemma said.

Dr Cala determined the deaths in 2000 of Bill and Pam Weightman had been accidental, asserting their injuries were consistent with a road accident, a belief also shared by investigating police. Mrs Weightman's sister, Meg Urwin and her husband Alan, fought for nearly six years to prove the couple was murdered by their adopted son David Weightman. The couple obtained a confession from David themselves, four years after police and Dr Cala initially closed the case and wrote it off as an accident.

Last December, the Supreme Court sentenced Weightman to 25 years' jail for his parents' murders. The decision was only made public last week because of a suppression order on the case.

The HCCC confirmed to The Sunday Telegraph it was investigating whether Dr Cala was “guilty of unsatisfactory professional conduct under the Medical Practice Act”.

If found guilty he will be referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions under the Crimes Act, the NSW Medical Tribunal, which has the power to strike off or suspend doctors, or both. A referral to the DPP would almost certainly lead to a review of the cases involving Dr Cala.

Dr Cala, who currently lives in Adelaide, has given evidence in hundreds of high profile cases, including the inquest of Janelle Patton on Norfolk Island and the trial of child killer Kathleen Folbigg. He was not available for comment.

Mr Debnam, who has been lobbying for a State Government investigation into the case on behalf of the Urwins since February this year, called for an inquiry into the case. “There needs to be a high-level investigation to determine the reasons behind the delays in the investigation the family had been calling for,” he said.

He released a letter from NSW State Coroner John Abernethy to the Opposition dated July 15, 2005, explaining the decision at the time to dispense with inquests into the couple's deaths were based on incorrect post-mortem examination reports. Mr Abernethy said mistakes of the type which had occurred were rare, despite significant resourcing problems.

When the couple's bodies were found in their car at the foot of a cliff at Heathcote, southern Sydney, on January 9, 2000, they were initially deemed victims of a road crash. Dr Cala signed off on that finding. Following complaints from the Urwins, Dr Cala produced an amended report, dated July 29, 2001, in which he stated foul play could not be ruled out. This prompted further investigation and police reopened the case in 2002.

On February 1, 2004, the Urwins confronted David Weightman, who was living with them at the time, and he confessed to murdering his parents.

A third report on the couple's deaths, this time by NSW forensic pathologist Dr Kevin Lee, was published on March 1 2004. It stated bruising and other injuries to the Weightmans' bodies were consistent with them being forcibly held down while suffocated.

Dr Lee's report also revealed the they had been drugged. Despite this, they had struggled violently against their attacker or attackers, as was reflected by their injuries.

Source: The Sunday Telegraph 16 July 2006 Marnie O'Neill, Linda Silmalis, Adam Bell

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