Brett Peter Cowan

Brett Peter Cowan (born 18 September 1969) is an Australian child murderer and serial child rapist. He was convicted of the murder of Daniel Morcombe, a 13-year-old boy who disappeared from the Sunshine Coast on 7 December 2003. His abduction led to an eight-year investigation involving various suspects. As a result of these investigations, Cowan led undercover police to a potential burial site. He was charged with the murder that same month, and Morcombe's remains were discovered days later on 17 August. Cowan was sentenced to life imprisonment, (being eligible for parole in 2031) on 13 March 2014 in a trial that attracted worldwide attention. Cowan had two previous convictions for sexually abusing children, the earliest dating back to 1987.

The investigation into Morcombe's disappearance became the highest profile crime case in Queensland's history.

Early life and background

Cowan was born on 18 September 1969 in Bunbury, Western Australia, to Marlene, a homemaker and RSL worker, and Peter Cowan, an Australian Army Major and Vietnam veteran. He was the third of four boys. The Cowans headed a strict household and gave their children a Catholic upbringing, and were, by many accounts, a "good family". Cowan's father was often absent due to his Army responsibilities, and suffered from PTSD. Conversely, other students at his school remembered him as being an "ordinary guy"

Cowan dropped out of school in year ten and began working odd jobs throughout his late teens, never holding down employment in one position for longer than a few months. He proved difficult for his mother, who said he was a "handful" as a child, His problems escalated as he became involved in petty crime; his first criminal conviction came at the age of 17. By that time, he regularly used LSD, cocaine, and methamphetamines. He later stated of his drug use: "They do fuck your inhibitions up … you know, your boundaries." Cowan's demeanour subsequent to the attack was casual, as he proceeded to watch television inside the childcare centre where he was performing maintenance duties. Cowan was sentenced to two years' jail in 1989, but only served half of that sentence. Cowan lured a 6-year-old boy into an abandoned car yard and raped him. The boy was left in an abandoned car in the bush with a punctured lung due to the force of the act and several cuts.

"Cowan's behaviour began to deteriorate at home [with his uncle and aunt], particularly after he had his own vehicle. While still on parole, he was staying out late and going out at unusual times of night, using the excuse of catching up with mates or going fishing.

"'After addressing him over some personal issues that were of great concern to us, including lying, our relationship began to become strained and eventually he moved out to his own flat and the rest is history.'" –Cowan's uncle, who provided him rehabilitation and a home for a period of time in 1998

Following his release from jail in 1997, Cowan professed his desire for rehabilitation and said that he recognised that his sexual deviancy was a problem. He was ordered to attend a sexual offenders treatment program, and moved in with his pastor aunt and uncle, Jenny and Keith Philbrook, on the Sunshine Coast, becoming a reformed Christian. In 1998, 29-year-old Cowan moved into the suburb of Beerwah with Tracey Lee Moncrieff, another churchgoer. Cowan regularly attended church services, and no criminal convictions were reported from this time up until 2003. During that year, Cowan also stopped attending church and the couple divorced in 2004.

Cowan had signed up to a number of gay dating websites, including Gaydar and Manhunt. He was using one of these profiles from Perth just before his arrest under fake names. The Sunday Mail discovered the profile, under a variation of the name "Shaddo N’unyah Hunter". Cowan sought out a long list of extreme sex acts and said he was open to meeting anyone up to the age of around mid-50s. Just days after the disappearance, however, he denied his involvement. A former police officer believed Cowan to be suspect from just one encounter; he stated that "Look, if he's not good for that, he's good for something. I left with the distinct impression of guilt." A police interview with Cowan was conducted in July 2005 in the Gold Coast. Detective Tracey Barnes, who handled the interview, asked Cowan if he would admit being involved and he responded with "probably not".

Over the following years, the case shifted its attention from Cowan to convicted sex offender Douglas Jackway. Witnesses reported seeing a blue vehicle near the location of Morcombe's disappearance and Jackway had a vehicle that very closely matched witness descriptions. However, Cowan was brought before the Daniel Morcombe coroner's inquest six years later, where he was referred to as P7. Further police investigation revealed that Cowan's dealers were not home during the time Morcombe disappeared, meaning that Cowan could not have been with them. However, despite an unreliable alibi, police had no real forensic evidence to charge Cowan with the abduction and murder of the teenager. During this time, Cowan changed his name to Shaddo N-unyah Hunter, possibly to evade police. Moncrieff, Cowan's wife at the time, later admitted in court that she lied about her husband's whereabouts on the day of Morcombe's disappearance because she was "blinded by love". After their divorce, she revealed in court that he was gone for up to five hours that day.

Police sting

A covert police operation that had been used in Canada drew the attention of an investigator involved in Morcombe's case. The procedure, known as Mr. Big, consists of police officers who pose as members of a corrupt criminal gang to gain the confidence of the suspect, enlisting the suspect's participation in an escalating series of often elaborate fictional crimes, particularly theft, prostitution and the drug trade. Once the suspect's trust has been gained, the police persuade the suspect to confess to the earlier, real crime. In this case, an undercover police officer, posing as a crime boss known as "Paul Fitzsimmons" or "Fitzy", befriended Cowan on a flight to Perth in April 2011. Fitzsimmons gained the trust of Cowan and the two became friends. Due to the absence of any physical evidence, a confession by Cowan was needed. Over the following months, Cowan's gang of friends initiated him through an array of fake criminal scenarios. At the site, several undercover police officers arrested Cowan. On 13 August 2011, Cowan was taken into custody and charged with Morcombe's murder and other offences, including child stealing, deprivation of liberty, indecent treatment of a child under 16, and interfering with a corpse. In 2006, Cowan had admitted to police that he travelled on the road from which Morcombe disappeared on the same day, on his way to purchase marijuana from a drug dealer. Around this time, a white Mitsubishi Pajero was seized from a property on Russell Island. The vehicle was believed to have been involved in Morcombe's abduction after a witness at the coroner's inquest in April 2011, reported seeing a vehicle of similar description parked north of the site where Morcombe was last seen.

Trial, sentencing and incarceration Cowan's trial was heard at Brisbane's Supreme and District Court of Queensland in 2014. On 7 February 2013, Cowan was ordered to stand trial. He was charged with murder, indecently dealing with a child under the age of 16 and improperly dealing with a corpse.

The prosecution closed its case on 7 March. 116 witnesses gave evidence and over 200 exhibits were tendered in evidence. Cowan pleaded not guilty and declined to give evidence. Cowan stated he had no remorse. On 13 March 2014, Cowan was found guilty of all charges. On 14 March 2014, Cowan was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 20 years. He was also sentenced to three-and-a-half years' imprisonment for indecently dealing with Morcombe and two years for interfering with his corpse, those sentences to be served concurrently. Judge Roslyn Atkinson said "I don't think you should be released in 20 years time" which could affect Cowan's prison term.

Pathology Cowan has undergone multiple psychiatric examinations since his first offences in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The psychologist who had assessed him after his second molestation conviction in 1993 claimed he was a pathological liar with low level psychopathic features or mild psychopathy indicating a severe lack of empathy. Despite this, a concrete psychiatric diagnosis on him has been elusive and inconclusive. Acquaintances of Cowan, particularly his ex-girlfriends, had described him as initially being "charming", seeming "confident" and as being "handsome", which made it easy for him to gain the trust of his victims. The judge of the trial remarked to Cowan that he "did not look like a monster or a pedophile, he looked like an ordinary person". Furthermore, she remarked that he was a "convincing and adaptable liar". In a psychologist's report compiled in 2007, Cowan stated: "I always worry, if things got bad, I could offend again. I could never do this against my own flesh and blood." He has also expressed his belief that years of habitual drug use motivated or contributed to his attacks. Cowan's reputation as a charismatic, "every day" individual was of particular focus in the media during the investigations and arrest.