Unmaking A Murder

This is the story of perhaps the biggest miscarriage of justice in Australia. Anna-Jane Cheney was a vivacious, popular and talented lawyer with an impeccable middle-class upbringing. The man she loved, Henry Keogh, was a divorced Irish migrant with three children. She died just six weeks before their wedding date and Keogh was convicted of her murder. Journalist Graham Archer became fascinated by the case. It wasn’t a matter of guilt or innocence, but that a man could be sentenced to life without having received a fair trial. According to the prosecution Keogh had planned the murder 18 months in advance, taking out insurance policies over his fiancée’s life and forging her signature on them. It took 13 years to have the case reviewed by the Supreme Court. In the end determination prevailed, and after 20 years behind bars Keogh was released. “A fascinating, detailed and well researched tale of a gross miscarriage of justice by a system more concerned with sustaining the status quo than pursuing justice.” NED KELLY AWARD JUDGES Winner of the Ned Kelly Best True Crime Award Nominated for the Walkley Book Award