Murder of Celia Douty

Celia Natasha "Tasha" Douty (February 11, 1943 – September 1, 1983) was a British-born Australian resort worker who was murdered on Brampton Island in Queensland, Australia.

[1] The crime remained unsolved until 2001, when Sydney motor industry finance Business Manager, Wayne Butler, was found guilty.

[1] It is known that Douty went straight from the ferry to her room to drop off the things she had bought which included presents for her younger son's upcoming 19th birthday.

[1] Although Butler had long been a suspect, it was not until DNA testing techniques were advanced enough to establish the probability that the semen stain on the towel was his, that he was charged.

[2] The court was also told that DNA evidence had confirmed that semen stains on the red towel covering Douty's body came from Butler and that the chances of another person having the same profile were 1 in 23 × 1015.

Dr Kary Mullis, who won a Nobel Prize for his work on DNA replication, advised the defence throughout the trial, but was not called to testify.

He was found guilty by the jury after only 90 minutes of discussion, after which Supreme Court Judge Justice John Helman jailed Butler for life without the possibility of release on parole, saying: "For this savage crime you will spend the rest of your days in captivity.

His appeal was based on the grounds that the original verdict was unsafe and unsatisfactory, and that the judge failed to uphold the submission that there was no case to answer.

Justice Patrick Keane did not regard Professor Boettcher's views as apt to cast doubt on the integrity or competence of John Tonge Centre staff - "There has never been any suggestion that the semen found on the red towel might reasonably be thought not to be that of the killer.