From victim to suspect in a year

THE moral of this story was ignore the media at your peril. Joanne Lees went from victim and survivor to potential murder suspect because, this Cutting Edge documentary contended, she refused to speak to the press after her ordeal in the Outback.

A year ago, she and boyfriend Peter Falconio were driving through what's called "the red centre" of Australia when they were abducted at gunpoint. Lees, tied up and with a sack over her head, managed to escape. Neither Falconio or the gunman have been seen since, although Lees heard a shot being fired.

The film used reconstructions and interviews with police and media to tell what happened and led to the question being asked: "Do you think she did it?".

The police accepted her version of events, although their refusal to admit they had, let alone release, a photograph of a man who could have been the gunman did nothing to help her cause.

Not talking to the press made her a suspect in some eyes. Refusing to sell her story or even pose for photographs antagonised them further. Her reasons, it was suggested, stemmed from not wanting to break down in front of the cameras.

When she finally agreed to meet the press after ten days, she stage-managed the event. She demanded the questions in advance and then ignored them, simply stating she had a problem with the press.

The final straw, as far as newsmen were concerned, came when she told her story, for a fee, to an ITV programme earlier this year

Two previous cases coloured opinion against her. People saw echoes of of Tracie Andrews, who claimed the boyfriend she killed was a road rage victim. In Australia there were memories of Lindy Chamberlain, whose plea that "a dingo ate my baby" went unheard and she was jailed, only to be cleared later.

Lees was tarred with the same brush, although her only crime seems to be failing to become emotional in public for the sake of the media.

And finally, those nice people at Tyne Tees Television say I deserve a spanking for an error in a feature about dominatrix Lady Sian, who appears in a new series that I mistakenly called Body Parts. That's what it's about, but the actual title is Body Talk. The next, on Tuesday at 10.30pm, looks at mouths.