Inquest close to murder answer

By Kath Gannaway
HOMICIDE Squad detectives reviewing evidence given at the inquest last week into the murder of Healesville woman Marea Yann say they are confident of an imminent outcome.
Detective Senior Sergeant Ron Iddles has been in charge of the investigation since day one. He told the Mail yesterday that additional information provided during the inquest was also being examined.
The inquest, held before Coroner Paresa Spanor, on Wednesday and Thursday of last week, heard 69-year-old Mrs Yann was brutally bludgeoned to death in her Juliet Ave home sometime between 9.30pm on Monday 29 September, 2003, and the following morning.
Mrs Yann’s family, son Jeff, daughters Pauline and Rhonda and her sisters, Deanne Green and Carmen Sullivan were in court hoping for some resolution, more than two years after what has clearly been a life-changing tragedy for them all.
Mr James Unumadu, the Nigerian-born estranged husband of Mrs Yann’s daughter, Pauline, and the person identified to the court by DSS Iddles as the sole suspect in the case, also appeared briefly on Wednesday but did not give evidence.
The court heard witnesses, including colleagues and friends from the Living and Learning Opportunity Shop in Healesville, which Mrs Yann managed, say she was fearful of Mr Unumadu after the turbulent relationship between him and his wife of 20 years broke down.
Tensions over the distribution of money from the sale of the couple’s Frankston home, Mr Unumadu’s harassment and threats to Pauline Yann and the withdrawal of Marea Yann’s support for Mr Unumadu were said to have led to the growing ill-feeling between the two.
Three witnesses told of phone calls to the opportunity shop in the weeks before the murder, which left Mrs Yann upset and fearful.
“I must tell you Marea was one frightened lady,” one colleague said.
She said: “Marea told James enough was enough and that he no longer had her support. She said he was very angry when she told him that. She was the cement that kept Pauline and James together.”
A Frankston neighbour who had known the family for a number of years said Marea had been a great support to Mr Unumadu. “She saw James as a son; loved him like a son and was very supportive,” he said.
“She regretted giving the Frankston house (previously the Yann family home) to Pauline and James as a couple because she felt James didn’t deserve a part in that,” he said.
DSS Iddles told the Coroner a number of people nominated as possible suspects, including Jeff Yann, had been eliminated.
“There is only one person in this inquiry who remains suspect and that’s James Unumadu,” he said.
He cited a number of inconsistencies in Mr Unumadu’s statements, including his claim he had not been in Healesville for some time before the murder.
Evidence was given by a Telstra representative that records showed a signal from the Healesville base station on Mt St Leonard from Mr Unumadu’s mobile phone to Pauline Yann at 10.14pm on Wednesday, 24 September.
Claims by Mr Unumadu that he was at home on the night of the murder, and that his van was parked in the carport, were also questioned when evidence was given that the position of a rubbish skip made it impossible for a car to be parked there.
“We have a witness who says the van was not in the street and he (Unumadu) says it was in the carport. We’re saying that wasn’t possible,” DSS Iddles said.
Jeff Yann said at the close of the inquest that the family was not looking for miracles “– just a bit of justice for Healesville and for our family”.
The worst thing, he said would be for his mother’s tragic death to remain unsolved. “Mum was such a worker for the community and people like her should be looked after a bit better than that.”
Coroner Spanor said she hoped to hand down her findings by the end of February.