The Disturbing Case Of: The Sharpe Family

anna kemp announces that she is pregnant she is delighted to be having a baby boy a brother for her firstborn child a little girl called gracie she tells friends she has always wanted more than one child and she doesn't want gracie to grow up on her own in march 2004 anna her husband john sharp and baby gracie move house and settle into their new home 116 prince street mornington this house would soon become the center of one of the most horrifying crimes australia has seen [Music] anna took gracie to the child care center and returned to collect her daughter at around midday that morning she'd also called her mother in new zealand and the pair had a catch-up that evening at 8 24 pm another one of her friends received a call from anna and they too had a normal and pleasant conversation at around 2pm anna made a phone call to her health insurance company she wanted to have the new baby added to the family's health cover her friend samantha jeffrey had made plans to see anna later in the week and they were due to meet on friday morning anna had marked the appointment on her calendar on the thursday morning samantha received a phone call it was anna's husband john this was highly unusual john never called samantha he told samantha that anna had left dawn hendry anna's best friend also received a call from john and she too found it strange that jon was calling her as this was completely out of character john told dawn that anna had not only left with another man but that she had also left gracie behind alarm bells started to ring for dawn there was no way a mother as devoted as anna would have upped and left without taking gracie with her on wednesday a tv antenna technician arrived on prince street to do an adjustment that anna had booked him for john was reluctant to let him into the house for the appointment but the technician thought he saw somebody else an older man inside the property standing around 10 feet behind john but he said he didn't have any contact with that person the inquiries that would follow could find no trace of this older man in the sharp home back in her native new zealand anna's family were becoming increasingly concerned that they hadn't heard from her they had tried calling her but she wasn't answering and she wasn't returning messages her mother lily spoke with the parish priest father tony harrison she explained to him that she had spoken to anna on the monday and had been trying to contact her since then but hadn't been able to get through while father harrison was visiting lily her phone rang it was her son-in-law john he then proceeded to tell her that anna had left him for another man lily could not believe it the shocking news did not stop there though john told lily that the mystery man anna had left the marriage for was also the father of her unborn baby after receiving permission from lily father harrison contacts constable john woodhouse initially constable woodhouse was not immediately concerned he assumed that azana was a catholic maybe she was ashamed of leaving her marriage for another man and that she could have been worried about what her mother's reaction would have been as the days pass and with still no sign of or word from anna her family becomes increasingly more worried about her constable woodhouse was able to trace anna's local health center he was told by a nurse who had remembered anna that she had been upset with her husband's reaction to her becoming pregnant those who knew and loved her could not believe that anna a devout catholic would have an affair and run away with another man her close friends and family all agreed that it was not something she would ever do they were also skeptical that she had allegedly not taken gracie with her straight away john told anna's family and friends that anna had returned to collect gracie on sunday the 28th of march and had left the family home via a taxi following this constable woodhouse obtained the phone numbers of every single taxi company that was operating in the mornington area none of the taxi companies had any record of picking up a passenger from prince street where the sharp family had lived constable woodhouse had made various attempts to contact john sharp without success following this he put together a case file on anna and had it sent over to australia detective sergeant shane brundell of the victoria police missing persons unit receives the case it was concerning to officers that a responsible woman who was a committed wife and mother and who was expecting a second baby would just disappear and take her child this just wasn't in anna's nature the police headed down to the mornington area their first task was to talk to john sharp they needed to know if he had any information that could help trace gracie and anna they had seemingly vanished without a trace after they had taken a detailed statement from john the police continued to watch him closely a few days later he was observed walking into bushes next to a public toilet in mornington they watched as he picked up a blue plastic carrier bag from it he removed what appeared to be a credit card before returning the bag to its hiding spot after checking the bag police make a disturbing discovery in it is anna's visa card and mobile phone later the police would also find her driving license this cemented the worst fears of everyone anna had most likely been met with foul play and john sharp was now a firm suspect did you kill your wife anna i haven't harmed my wife or my daughter i haven't harmed either of them john sharp makes a televised appeal for his wife and daughter marriage may be over but i still love you you are the mother of our beautiful daughter gracie whom we both adore more than anyone else detective constable mark kennedy of the missing persons unit was the officer who had taken john's statement when he had first been interviewed regarding the disappearance of his wife at one stage during his statement being taken according to detective constable kennedy john said i really don't care where anna is i just want to know where gracie is the way john was behaving on television was very different to the john he had met when his first statement had been taken he appeared very matter-of-fact and far less emotional they knew that john sharp had anna's mobile phone as well as her visa card her visa card had been used to send flowers to her mother back in new zealand lilly did not believe that it was actually anna who had sent the flowers alongside this her mobile phone had been used since she had gone missing and odd emails had been sent to different members of her family in april gerald anna's brother had received an email allegedly from his sister saying that she needed time and space the police continued their inquiries they returned to talk with friends and family of anna's and interview john repeatedly whilst he is a suspect what they cannot determine is a motive john sharpe was interviewed again by police in mornington but his story hadn't changed he was adamant that his wife had left on the 23rd of march and that she had done so voluntarily officers were not convinced his lack of emotion made them doubt his version of events even more the decision was made to keep john sharp under police surveillance he was observed dumping potential evidence into a bin [Music] john sharp is arrested during his first interview he adamantly denied any knowledge of where anna and gracie were sticking solidly to his story but officers noted that it appeared he had wanted to tell them something but couldn't according to john anna had left him for another man and had taken their daughter with her he said that the marriage had been unhappy for some time and anna had eventually told him she wanted to separate as she was having a relationship with somebody else whom she'd become pregnant by this would all change in his second interview having spoken to his family in the afternoon he finally confessed when the truth was revealed about what had happened in the house on prince street it was more disturbing than anyone could have imagined but who was john sharp what had led to this and where were anna and gracie john sharp was born on february 28 1967 he grew up in mornington victoria australia and was part of a big family he had four older sisters and one younger brother his parents worked as shopkeepers in mornington there was no history of criminal or anti-social behavior he would later explain to a forensic clinical psychologist dr ian joblin that his childhood and early adult life were marked by social problems he was unhappy at school and didn't have many friends he completed year 12 of his schooling but he failed his exams and after this he headed into the world of work whilst working at the commonwealth bank of australia he met new zealand-born anna kemp after a whirlwind romance 27 year old john and 31 year old anna would marry in october of 1994 and live together in mornington after leaving the world of finance jon became self-employed as a conveyancer he was quiet reserved and it took a lot for him to open up with people but the pair were content and for anna as a devout catholic marriage and family was extremely important to her she described john to her friends as good husband material august 2002 john and anna welcomed their first child into the world a baby girl whom they would name gracie louise despite their joy gracie's health problems quickly became apparent gracie was born with a congenital abnormality called hip dysplasia babies born with hip dysplasia may require a corrective harness and this is exactly what happened with baby gracie and she would wear one for the first three months of her life being in the harness was not easy for gracie and she would often become distressed and have trouble sleeping this appeared to put a strain on anna and john's marriage unfortunately even after the corrective harness was no longer required little gracie still struggled with both sleeping and eating and this was something that her mother sought the assistance of professionals for [Music] despite gracie's health problems anna nursed her daughter through it highlighting how devoted and dedicated she was in spite of their struggles according to dawn hendry anna's best friend it appeared that they were very happy and that they enjoyed their lives together anna's friend samantha jeffrey said gracie was everything to her she was 100 there for gracie according to the new zealand herald gracie was a quiet toddler who loved lollies painting playing with toys and visits to the park in november 2002 anna attended the hillview maternity unit of peninsula health she explained that she was feeling incredibly anxious and felt unable to cope following this she had three inpatient admissions for respite with her daughter this was to try and stabilize eating patterns and develop a regular sleeping routine in 2003 john sharp visited a local shop called sport philip marine and purchased a spear gun and an additional spear the purchase was made in cash meaning that the transaction could not be traced the date of the purchase is not known but what is clear is that he had it in his possession prior to february 6th of roughly six and a half weeks before anna and gracie's disappearance despite practising firing it in the garden to become more familiar with it he had never previously shown an interest in spearfishing at all later that year he and anna bought a house in mornington 116 prince street many couples would be thrilled at the prospect of a new addition to the family john sharp was not according to dawn anna had told her that her husband had shouted at her after he had learned of her pregnancy she also said that when she would visit hannah and john she had noticed a change in john's demeanor and he would appear hostile towards his wife dawn found this especially odd as he had always appeared gentle seeing him shout at his wife in front of gracie was particularly unusual john had apparently decided that one child was enough of a burden he did not want another one in march 2004 john went to his doctor complaining about disrupted sleep patterns he was prescribed two different types of sleeping tablets although these had little effect the doctor discussed with him that this may have been caused by an underlying depressive illness on the 21st of march 2004 john and anna attended a picnic to celebrate the birthday of a nephew those that were there noted that they appeared fine and there was no apparent tension between the pair following an argument between john and anna they headed to bed between 9 and 10 p.m jon couldn't recall the cause of the fight whilst anna was able to quickly fall asleep john wasn't he instead stayed awake mulling over their fight breeding about the problems in their relationship that were becoming increasingly more apparent he then left the bed and headed for the garage after going back into the house he went upstairs with his spear gun in his hand he then proceeded to place the spig spigen a few centimeters from anna's temple he pulled the trigger and fired a spear into her head despite being shot at close range anna was still alive and breathing he proceeded to fire a second spear again into the head of his pregnant wife killing her he would later tell investigators that when he had purchased the spear gun he was having thoughts of murdering his wife and this was why he abort it he covered down his body in towels before going downstairs and falling asleep on the sofa bed gracie was asleep in her cot in another room while her mother was brutally murdered the following day he attempted and failed to remove the spears from anna's head he was only able to remove the shafts the spearheads were left embedded in ana's head john then took gracie to kindergarten and picked her up later it was that day that the antenna technician came to the house for the appointment that anna had scheduled she was still lying dead in her bed at the time and john lied to him to prevent him from coming inside john then removed the body of his wife from the bedroom and took her out into the back garden it was here that he dug a shallow grave and buried his pregnant wife the horrifying series of events would not stop there on friday he took gracie to her childcare and explained that she wouldn't be returning saying his wife had left him and gone off with another man he also phoned his mother-in-law and told her that anna had been having an affair with a man and that the marriage was effectively over he said that while she would return in a few days to collect gracie he had no idea at all where she was four days had now passed since john sharp had fired a spear gun into the head of his pregnant wife gracie was put to bed in her cart at around nine o'clock at night her father then proceeded to drink several glasses of whiskey and coke to in his words numb his senses he then headed out to the garage for his spear gun after entering his daughter's bedroom he fired the speargun at her the spear penetrated the toddler's head but she didn't die instantly she instead screamed in agony and clung on to life he went downstairs to retrieve two more spears that he had used in the murder of his wife he proceeded to fire further shots at gracie he pulled one of the spears out of her head before firing it again john sharp shot his 20-month old daughter four times with the speargun before her tiny body succumbed to her injuries i haven't harmed my wife or my daughter i haven't harmed either of them it was later revealed that he had gone back to sport philip marine and taken gracie with him as he bought another spear the one he would later use to brutally murder his daughter this quiet man who appeared to be a loving husband and doting father was now the murderer the next morning he returned to his daughter's bedroom he covered his eyes with a towel so he could not see what he had done to gracie he removed the spears from her head before wrapping her tiny body in tarpaulin and bin bags binding it with duct tape he then took her to the mornington refuse transfer station and disposed of her body along with the spears and speargun he also discarded some of gracie's clothes and toys on the day he had disposed of gracie's body he phoned lily anna's mother and told her that gracie and anna were together in a bigger and better place he also used anna's phone to make a call as well as making several withdrawals from her bank account at a cash point in chelsea up until the 15th of may 2004 he would make several more phone calls from anna's phone to maintain the lie that she was still alive over the week that followed he systematically disposed of more items associated with gracie and continued to maintain his lie that anna had left and taken gracie with her john sharpe used anna's name to create a false email and use this to contact her brother gerald in new zealand it set out the scenario that he had invented to explain why she had failed to contact her family or return their messages the aim of the email was to create the impression that she had walked away from her marriage to john for another man and that she and gracie were happy and safe also that day john sharpe visited a hardware store in frankston he bought an electric chainsaw two tarpaulins and a roll of duct tape he then exhumed the body of his wife the next day and dismembered her into three pieces he used the tarpaulin to wrap up her remains and disposed of them and the chainsaw in various waste collection bins at the mornington transfer station over the days and weeks that followed he disposed of the mattress that was covered in anna's blood he also continued to send fake emails to various family members as well as write letters to anna's friends it was during this time that he arranged for flowers to be sent to anna's mother pretending that they were from her when police began to investigate john told officers that anna had moved to the suburb of chelsea and melbourne and had taken gracie with her his behavior during the appeals attracted significant attention some noted his apparent lack of tears and his odd demeanor his story also appeared to be inconsistent he talked about having spoken to his wife the week prior and pleaded with anyone with knowledge of hers and gracie's whereabouts to come forward but then he also maintained that she had left him for another man one thing that also stuck out to investigators were his referrals to his wife and daughter in the past tense on june 1st john sharp went back to his doctor his doctor found sharp to be agitated and that his concentration and memory were both poor the doctor subsequently diagnosed him with depression but only after he had told the doctor the lie that anna had left him even the most hardened and seasoned detectives were in shock as john sharp confessed to his crimes the matter of fact cold and chilling way he discussed what he had done was disturbing to all investigating following his confession the devastating news was relayed to anna's family back in her native new zealand the nature of the murders coupled with the callous way that their bodies had been disposed of left them broken he said to the officers that he had killed his wife because their marriage was unhappy and told them that anna was controlling and moody when talking about gracie he said he was thinking of taking care of gracie by myself and just amongst all this madness that's when i lost the plot narelle fraser worked for victoria police for almost 30 years half of that time was spent as a detective in the missing persons unit and rape and homicide squads she could not believe the level of callousness and coldness being exhibited by john sharpe a team of investigators were behind a two-way mirror and we watched the interview and it was the first time we had ever heard him talk about what he had done to listen to a man talk with no emotion whatsoever about how he had just speared his wife and little girl and cut his wife up with a chainsaw and thrown her out in the household bin it went to another level when asked why he had murdered his 20-month old daughter gracie john sharp replied the child belongs with the mother during their searches sniffer dogs were used in the back garden officers also found in various bins around mornington notes in john's handwriting detailing backup stories and his cover story pertaining to his wife's disappearance in the house they found the receipt showing the purchase of the duct tape chainsaw and tarpaulins throughout their enquiries blood belonging to both anna and gracie were also found inside the house police volunteered for the search today saying they wanted to help bring closure for anna kemp's family in new zealand a huge search was soon underway to try and find the bodies of anna and gracie in late june the police began to search the transfer station for anna and gracie's remains and the landfill site where the waste from the transfer station would ultimately end up the task before them was huge but they were determined they would not stop until the bodies of gracie and her pregnant mother were found officers offered to come in on days off to help with the search there was no shortage of investigators who were willing to volunteer to help as officers continued to hunt for them the horrifying story is front page news police chaplain the rev james pilmer was on hand to help officers who were working against the elements in tough conditions his presence was welcome amongst the team who were facing such an appalling set of circumstances that had led them to the landfill after three weeks of searching through tons and tons of waste a discovery is finally made a blue tarpaulin is found inside are some of the remains of anna kemp by mid-july all of anna's remains were finally found police search teams then found gracie's body detective sergeant shane brundell and detective constable mark kennedy carried her tiny body out of the landfill being sure to treat her with the respect and dignity she both deserved and had been cruelly denied by her own father they didn't leave her and stayed with her until the undertaker arrived whilst the investigating teams were devastated there was a sense of relief that they had been able to find anna and gracie for the sake of their family ensuring they could be properly buried and those who knew and loved them would have a chance to say their goodbyes a liaison officer had been appointed in new zealand to keep anna's family up to date and support them as they came to terms with what had happened constable john woodhouse was there to accompany the kemp family as they made their way to mornington for a funeral service for anna gracie and anna's unborn baby this allowed anna's friends and loved ones in victoria to grieve their loss and pay their respects people from gracie's kindergarten also came to remember a beautiful little girl whose all too short life had been so cruelly cut short constable woodhouse called it to spiritual and healing service after this anna and gracie were flown back to new zealand for their burial sin joseph's cathedral was filled with 200 family members and friends father tony harrison conducted the funeral service he spoke of his admiration for the victoria police who had worked so tirelessly to bring them home he said that it was a relief that anna gracie and anna's unborn baby could be buried with dignity constable woodhouse who would initially raise the alarm with the australian police and conducted his own investigations in a different country was one of the pool bearers for anna anna's brother gerald spoke on behalf of their brother joe and mother lily and gave his heartfelt thank yous to the friends and loved ones both in new zealand and australia for their constant support and love anna and gracie were buried in green park cemetery and to anna's maiden name of kemp along with francis the unborn son she had been expecting while awaiting trial sharp was being held in the special unit of barwin prison whilst there he required close observation and treatment due to suicidal tendencies dr ian joblin examined him on two separate occasions he considered him to be an inadequate isolated and withdrawn individual he believed that sharp lacked the psychological resources to cope with the stress that life can bring and that he appeared to be very dependent on his parents according to some members of the family one motive for john sharp murdering anna was that she had discovered he had been abusing their daughter but this claim has not been substantiated in a report by the sunday herald sun in 2005 the claim came when family letters allege that john sharp had a history of abusing children it was alleged that he had committed crimes of a sexual nature against young members of a circle of family and friends twenty years before he had murdered his wife one relative remarked we reckon she caught him we think that's why he killed her in a letter sent to various members of john sharp's family an alleged victim said i became his prey for two years and he always kept that power his smell still haunts me it was reported that the alleged victim had approached some of his family five years before to tell them that she had been abused by him and when anna and gracie disappeared she told the police what she had told his family the report stated that his mother and her husband were not told about this until after he had confessed to murdering anna and gracie constable woodhouse said he did not believe the claims could have played a part in john sharp's confession i worked on this for nearly two years and that has never been mentioned as a possibility it was the weight of evidence which forced a confession not anything else it is important to reiterate that this claim of abuse against gracie being a motive for jon murdering anna has not been substantiated [Music] before long it was time for john sharp to enter his plea the 38 year old stood in the supreme court of victoria and entered a plea of guilty to the murders of anna and gracie he could not be charged for the death of the baby that anna had been carrying sharp wiped tears from his eyes as he looked down at the floor he was breathing heavily and appeared to be unsteady on his feet as judge bernard bongiorno read his sentencing remarks in fact as you later told police from the moment you killed your wife you began to have thoughts that you would have to kill gracie to maintain your facade of innocence with respect to anna's murder indeed at some time between your wife's death and the time you actually killed your daughter you took her with you to sport philip marine where you purchased another spear for the spear gun there could have been only one reason for that purchase which was carried out in circumstances of unspeakable callousness he also highlighted how john had made claims about anna that she could not defend herself against during the second of his police interviews you said that your marriage was unhappy and that your wife was controlling and moody you claim she came between you and your family and siblings and prevented you from seeing them as often as you would have liked whether such claims have any truth or not now matters not at all anna cannot deny them they provide neither justification nor excuse for anything that you have done the judge told the court that the murder of anna was singular in its barbarity when talking about the murder of 20-month old gracie the judge said gracie was a defenseless child for whom you had a legal and more importantly a moral responsibility and whatever your motive for killing anna might have been in gracie's case it was simply so that your first crime would not be discovered the judge called his actions egregiously wicked and said that john sharp had been well aware of what he was doing when he committed these crimes watching via a video link from new zealand anna's mother broke down during the sentencing the judge referred to observations made by dr lester walton a psychiatrist who stated that john sharpe was a socially inept dependent passive and a retiring individual who was unable or reluctant to confront problems dr walton offered the opinion that these killings were irrational although he could find no evidence that you were suffering from any frank psychiatric illness i presume that by irrational he meant that you considered the killing of your wife and later your child were the only options you could see to relieve a state of desperation you considered yourself to be in dr walton recounts you're speaking of feeling threatened by your daughter a situation which is of course objectively absurd the horrified courtroom sat and listened as the disturbing chain of events that had transpired were finally laid bare john sharp was sentenced to two consecutive life terms with a non-parole period of 33 years for his crimes as they left the court john sharp's mother cried before reading a prepared statement john's crimes were horrific he has given himself a life sentence for what he has done and he will live with this for the rest of his life the new zealand herald reported some of sharp's family and friends refused to believe his story and feigning support for him questioned him to try and pick inconsistencies the report also stated the herald sun said there was a bitter split in sharp's family after his confession with some relatives disgusted that he was still visited in jail by his mother and two sisters supportive family members initially urged him to explore the possibility of pleading insanity but others said sharp was always a dark and troubled character he was manipulative and sly one of sharp's nieces also issued a statement which was in her words on behalf of the non-supportive family members of john sharpe she thanked the australian and new zealand police forces for their tireless work in bringing john sharp to justice she said we would like to say that jon's crimes have stolen three beautiful and precious lives we also send our heartfelt condolences to anna's family in new zealand whose pain and suffering is tremendous the skill commitment and dedication of offices in both australia and new zealand allowed for justice to be served and for john sharp to be punished for his horrendous actions anna kemp and her unborn son were killed by the man that she had dedicated her life to baby gracie died in agony at the hands of the man who was supposed to protect her despite the horrendous way their lives were taken those who knew and loved anna and gracie are determined that they will be remembered for the happiness that they brought to so many people gaining comfort in the knowledge that anna gracie and francis are resting peacefully together [Music] [Music] you

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Length: 36min 16sec (2176 seconds)

Published: Sat Mar 12 2022