Sallie-Anne Huckstepp

Sallie-Anne Huckstepp (née Krivoshow, 12 December 1954 – 6 February 1986) was an Australian writer, sex-worker and whistle blower, who was the victim of an underworld homicide. She came to attention in 1981 for speaking out about police corruption in Sydney. Huckstepp's murder remains unsolved.

Life Huckstepp was born as Sallie-Anne Krivoshow into a middle-class Jewish family and attended Dover Heights High School and Moriah College in Sydney. She left school at the age of 15 and married Bryan Huckstepp three years later. After travelling to Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. They later returned to Sydney, where Huckstepp continued to work as a sex-worker, eventually developing a heroin habit of her own.

In 1981, Huckstepp met and began a relationship with Warren Lanfranchi. Lanfranchi was a heroin dealer and standover man who worked with Neddy Smith. In June 1981, Lanfranchi allegedly robbed a Sydney heroin dealer and later fired shots at a young policeman. In Neddy: the Life and Crimes of Arthur Stanley Smith, Smith claims that Lanfranchi asked him to negotiate a payment with Detective Sergeant Roger Rogerson to escape being charged with the shooting.

Smith claims that Rogerson had instructed him to drive Lanfranchi to a meeting with him and to disarm him in the car. Rogerson took 18 police officers with him to the meeting. He claims that he was attempting to arrest Lanfranchi on suspicion of five bank robberies. At the meeting in Dangar Place, Chippendale, Rogerson shot and killed Lanfranchi. During the inquest into Lanfranchi's death, Rogerson claimed self-defense. He was supported at the inquest by Smith and other police officers who were called as witnesses.

Huckstepp also went to the media and gave extensive interviews, claiming that Rogerson had murdered Lanfranchi and stolen $10,000 Lanfranchi was carrying to bribe Rogerson. She also claimed that Neddy Smith had lied to the inquest and was involved in a conspiracy with Rogerson. Rogerson maintained his innocence. In Neddy: The Life and Crimes of Arthur Stanley Smith, Smith wrote that Lanfranchi was "attempting to bribe Rogerson. I was the person [who] took Warren to this fatal meeting. There was an inquest and both sides threw plenty of shit at one another. I was right in the middle of it all. I could do nothing to bring Warren back to life, so I did the best thing I could. I know Warren's family suffered deeply, but I cannot do anything about it." He goes on to claim that as a result of his testimony at the inquest, Rogerson and other corrupt police officers gave him a "green light" to commit crime without fear of prosecution.

Huckstepp continued lobbying the media. A documentary about her life was made and she began writing articles for a monthly magazine. However, she continued using heroin, and in 1985, her then-partner David Kelleher was arrested on charges of importing heroin worth more than $2 million. With Kelleher remanded into custody, Huckstepp began a relationship with a federal police officer, Constable Peter Parker Smith. Huckstepp visited Kelleher regularly in prison, telling him she was attempting to get information from Constable Smith which could be useful in his trial. In Catch and Kill Your Own, Neddy Smith claims that Huckstepp was trying to help Kelleher by making tape recordings of her conversations with Constable Smith. He later told the Administrative Appeals Tribunal that Huckstepp's death was a "traumatic event for (him)". The coroner found that the evidence was insufficient to recommend charges and made a finding that Huckstepp had been murdered by a person or persons unknown.

Prior to the inquest, Neddy Smith was interviewed four times by four separate teams of detectives. He claims that he was at home with his wife the night Huckstepp was murdered. However, he was secretly recorded confessing to a cellmate at Long Bay Correctional Centre. He was recorded saying he had attacked Huckstepp from behind, punched her, grabbed her by the throat, lifted her off the ground, and then strangled her for about six minutes. Smith then claimed he dragged her into the pond and stood on her back to keep her head submerged for a few more minutes. He was also recorded saying, "strangling somebody is the hardest thing in the world...(but) the most satisfying thing I ever did in my life". Sascha had a minor role as a nurse in the Australian miniseries Blue Murder, which featured a character (played by Loene Carmen) based on her mother. In 1991 and 1992, she appeared as Jade Williams in the British soap opera Families. Huckstepp was also the half-sister of Australian screenwriter and actor Matt Kay.

In popular culture Huckstepp inspired the song "Sallie-Anne" by Sydney band Spy vs. Spy.

An episode of the documentary series Crime Investigation Australia depicted her murder.

The 1995 Australian television miniseries Blue Murder featured the story of Huckstepp's homicide.