He loved being on the swing and on his push bike,” Gus Lamont’s grandmother Josie Murray tearfully told Australian current affairs show Spotlight as she recalled the sweet, four-year-old boy with unmistakable blonde curls and gorgeous brown eyes, who vanished without a trace nine months ago.
In a shock move, Josie, who is the “main suspect” in her grandson’s disappearance, has broken her silence in a primetime interview, revealing she believes Gus was kidnapped from the family’s Oak Park Station farm in Yunta, South Australia, on the evening of 27 September last year.
Following Gus’ disappearance, Josie, 75 – who was on the farm along with his other grandma Shannon and his mum Jess when he disappeared – remembers seeing wheel tracks from a “small-tyre, medium-sized, passenger-type” vehicle that didn’t match any on the farm, and an old bedstead and weather station had been moved – information that hadn’t been made public.
“I thought, ‘That’s strange,’ and I started thinking almost immediately, ‘I wonder if someone’s come in?’ And all the time I was thinking, there’s a chance he’s been taken,” Josie movingly recalled, adding that she was “horrified” at the number of vehicles that came in during the investigation, which could’ve destroyed evidence.
More shockingly, she found a small footprint on the bank of a dam, which she photographed to compare to Gus’ boot, but police told her it came from one of the divers searching the property.
“He must have had tiny feet,” Josie says, recalling the footprint, which was similar to a lady’s size-four shoe.
An unusual move under scrutiny
Expert criminologist Xanthe Weston believes Josie’s interview – which insiders tell Woman’s Day was not paid for – was odd considering her tense relationship with investigators. Police have labelled her “uncooperative” and she has previously brandished a gun at a news crew.
“It was certainly an interesting choice to do the interview,” Xanthe tells us.
“Because there are so few details and nobody knows what happened, the interview was an opportunity to put her side of the story across to the public and hopefully dampen down some of the rumours circulating.”
While Gus’ parents, Jess Murray and Josh Lamont, have maintained their silence, Josie has been accused of burying his body by police.
“They’ve said they don’t think I’ve hurt him – they think I’ve buried him,” she says stoically.
“That’s one of the theories they’re working on. For many reasons, it’s ludicrous. It doesn’t make sense. Why would you do that to yourself?”
Criminal defence lawyer Jimmy Singh also agrees that it was an unusual choice for Josie to share her heartbreak on TV, given she’s considered a suspect.
“Doing the interview would be a strategic move to raise the reasonable possibility that it wasn’t her,” he tells us.
“Anything she says, especially in public, can be used against her in court. “The best thing to do is maintain your right to silence if you’re a suspect in a criminal investigation.”
Police narrow the investigation
In February, police declared Gus’ disappearance a major crime after extensive searches of the 60,000-hectare property found no trace of the missing boy. That same month, his heartbroken
parents released their first and only statement: “Our lives have been shattered and every moment without him is unbearable. We know someone out there may have information.”
Xanthe says it’s not surprising Jess and Josh have chosen to stay silent, explaining, “Remember what an awful position Gus’ parents are in – one of their own parents is suspected of involvement. Under those circumstances, I am not surprised they elected to remain silent.”
Last month, Detective Superintendent Darren Fielke said one of Gus’ grandparents remained a suspect and confirmed there was no evidence Gus had been kidnapped.
“The police have been very direct in ruling out misadventure and Gus simply wandering off,” Xanthe says.
“They’ve ruled out another party being on the property and they’ve made it clear that there’s only one line of investigation they’re following – and they only have one suspect at this time.”
A search that continues
Police have not commented on the suggestion by a family friend that Gus could have been taken by a wedge-tailed eagle – a bird that can pick up a 25kg kangaroo. (The boy weighed 14 kg.) No charges have been laid and no arrests have been made in connection to Gus’ disappearance.
“The interview may jog someone’s memory or encourage them to come forward with information,” says Xanthe.
After 11 unsuccessful searches, South Australian police have not ruled out returning to Oak Park.
“It’s an ongoing investigation and they won’t stop looking until they find Gus,” says Xanthe.
“If they have leads to follow, they will certainly do those very proactively.”
For Josie, not knowing what happened to Gus and the intense suspicion directed at her have been tough, but she won’t give up searching for answers.
She says, “It just doesn’t make sense.”
