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Ross Parry

Senior Constable , NSW Police Force 1976 –present
Police Research needed

Stub — Senior Constable Ross Parry was the Officer in Charge (OIC) of the original police investigation into the death of Paul Rath at the Fairy Bower headland, Manly, in June 1977.

Parry attended the scene on 16 June 1977, noted the area was “frequented by homosexuals,” and arranged penile and anal swabs. Despite this awareness of the location’s significance as a beat, he marked “NO SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES” in capitals in the Report of Death to Coroner the following day — before swab results were returned and before the post-mortem had been conducted.

He spoke briefly with the Inquiry’s legal team on 11 May 2023 and confirmed his understanding that the area was a location for gay men to meet in the 1970s and 1980s, but had no independent recollection of the investigation. He subsequently declined to participate further in the Inquiry.

Sackar J made no individual criticism of Parry, attributing the failures to era-level systemic attitudes and policing practices.

Research needed:

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