The Truth about Amy Wensley: Police Minister says potential CCC investigation into cold case is not his call

Police Minister Rhys Whitby has refused to be drawn on whether he thought the Corruption and Crime Commission should launch its own an investigation into the death of Amy Wensley after her family called for a fresh probe in a letter accusing WA Police of “attempting to cover up mismanagement” of the case.

But Mr Whitby stressed how seriously police are taking the investigation into the death of Ms Wensley — who died from a gunshot wound to the head a decade ago — pointing to the $1 million reward for information.

In the letter to CCC Commissioner John McKechnie, obtained by Channel Seven’s investigative podcast The Truth About Amy, Ms Wensley’s aunt Anna Davey accused officers of applying bias “to try to manipulate a suicide finding”.

“I urge you to please undertake a new investigation into WA Police’s handling of the case of Amy Wensley relating to Operation Jundee, the homicide squad’s attempt to have the officer in charge of the coronial investigation treat Amy’s case as non-suspicious, and the obvious bias by senior police officers displayed at the coronial inquest,” the letter, penned in March, reads.

She and her two young daughters’ belongings were found inside her car, indicating she was planning on leaving her partner David Simmons.

Despite police initially treating the death as suspicious, detectives later deemed it a suicide and cleaned the bedroom, destroying with it any forensic evidence.

When asked on Monday whether he agreed with Ms Wensley’s family’s call for a CCC investigation, Mr Whitby said it wasn’t a decision for him.

“That’s a matter for the CCC, I’m not going to enter into their area,” he said. “The CCC is distinct and independent of government and they make their own decisions.

“What I will say is there is a current police investigation into that death and there’s also a $1 million reward available, so police are still taking this seriously, still pursuing the issue.”

When asked whether he believed police had mishandled the original investigation, Mr Whitby said investigators were taking the cold case very seriously.

“There is a live investigation currently and I’d urge anyone if you have any information if you have any evidence that could solve this issue please do so.”

A coronial inquest in 2021 was unable to determine how Ms Wensley died, with deputy coroner Sarah Linton admitting there were simply “too many unknowns in this case”.

In her letter to the CCC in March this year Ms Davey wrote that following the inquest, WA Police admitted its detectives had “made mistakes” but that her family had never received an apology.

It comes after Liam Bartlett and Alison Sandy in The Truth About Amy podcast revealed how Detective Senior Constable Ann Lehane — the officer first in charge of the coronial investigation — “ruffled some feathers” after “refusing” to rule Amy’s death a suicide.

Ms Davey wrote in her letter that the condemnation of Det. Lehane’s was further evidence police were trying to “manipulate a suicide finding.”

“I urge the CCC obtain a copy (of the transcript of the inquest) to read the extraordinary bias applied by the police hierarchy for yourselves,” she wrote.