WEBVTT - A Families’ Fight For Answers After A Death In Paradise 0:00:02.520 --> 0:00:05.720 It's eight am on December fourteen, twenty twenty four, at 0:00:05.760 --> 0:00:09.559 the Crown Plaza resort in Fiji's Nadi Bay, and Arushi 0:00:09.600 --> 0:00:12.879 Aurora is in the lobby, busy organizing the day's movements. 0:00:13.360 --> 0:00:16.760 They've only recently opened and tourists are flocking to check 0:00:16.760 --> 0:00:19.840 out the new resort. For staff, that means they've been 0:00:19.920 --> 0:00:24.400 kept on their toes. Arushi notices her boss, Jason, entering 0:00:24.440 --> 0:00:27.920 the room. He's dressed in his usual smart suit, but 0:00:28.120 --> 0:00:31.680 he looks rough, like he hasn't slept all night. She 0:00:31.760 --> 0:00:35.440 tells him so, but he just shrugs. What's happening today, 0:00:35.600 --> 0:00:38.920 he asks instead. It's busy, she tells him, but we 0:00:39.000 --> 0:00:42.720 have it under control. Jason nods and tells her he'll 0:00:42.720 --> 0:00:44.600 see her at the morning briefing at the beach Club 0:00:44.640 --> 0:00:47.560 at eight point thirty. When he leaves the lobby, it's 0:00:47.600 --> 0:00:51.680 no later than eight point fifteen, but Jason never makes 0:00:51.720 --> 0:00:59.240 it to the meeting. I'm Jemma Bath and you're listening 0:00:59.240 --> 0:01:03.040 to True Crime Conversations, a podcast exploring the world's most 0:01:03.080 --> 0:01:06.200 notorious crimes by speaking to the people who know the 0:01:06.240 --> 0:01:10.000 most about them. Forty year old Jason Rigby was a 0:01:10.040 --> 0:01:13.040 Gold Coast local moving to Fiji to take on the 0:01:13.120 --> 0:01:15.400 role of second in charge at a brand new five 0:01:15.440 --> 0:01:18.440 star resort. It was a dream job and he was 0:01:18.480 --> 0:01:22.280 excited for the adventure. With two decades in hotels under 0:01:22.280 --> 0:01:26.200 his belt, Jason thrived on the pressure and adrenaline of 0:01:26.280 --> 0:01:30.080 helping get new things up and running smoothly, while of 0:01:30.160 --> 0:01:34.720 course enjoying the picture perfect location of Fiji's newest slice 0:01:34.760 --> 0:01:39.000 of paradise. But on that December morning, Jason never made 0:01:39.000 --> 0:01:42.240 it to the morning briefing. His apartment was only one 0:01:42.319 --> 0:01:44.640 hundred steps or so from the lobby, and it was 0:01:44.720 --> 0:01:47.600 forty five minutes after a Roushie last saw him that 0:01:47.680 --> 0:01:51.440 she got a frantic call from his best friend. This 0:01:51.560 --> 0:01:55.000 is a case that is very much still open. Fiji 0:01:55.000 --> 0:01:59.000 and police originally ruled Jason's stabbing death as a suicide, 0:01:59.520 --> 0:02:03.920 a conclude his family never accepted. They've been fighting for 0:02:04.040 --> 0:02:08.680 answers ever since. Today. We're speaking to Jason's sister in law, 0:02:08.840 --> 0:02:11.720 Jess Rigby, that how hard her family has had to 0:02:11.760 --> 0:02:14.680 fight to get anyone to even do the basics in 0:02:14.720 --> 0:02:18.480 this case, to treat it as a crime, to investigate 0:02:19.120 --> 0:02:22.519 as far as they're concerned, Jason met with foul play. 0:02:23.360 --> 0:02:28.799 Here's Jess and a warning. This episode talks about suicide, 0:02:28.880 --> 0:02:31.800 including a method of suicide, and won't be for everyone. 0:02:32.240 --> 0:02:34.560 Please take care while listening and check our show notes 0:02:34.600 --> 0:02:39.079 for support. Jess, thanks for joining us on True Crime Conversations. 0:02:39.919 --> 0:02:42.919 Can you tell us about your family and how Jason 0:02:43.200 --> 0:02:44.200 fits into the mix. 0:02:45.240 --> 0:02:48.400 Yeah, absolutely so, thank you so much for having me 0:02:48.720 --> 0:02:53.520 and talking about Jason's case and just as suppose giving 0:02:53.560 --> 0:02:56.880 us the platform to share his name and who we 0:02:56.919 --> 0:03:01.240 are and what we're doing. So Jason is my husband's brother. 0:03:02.040 --> 0:03:06.240 He's the eldest of three brothers and we have four children, 0:03:06.480 --> 0:03:09.280 so he's that fun uncle. He was kind of the 0:03:09.320 --> 0:03:14.680 guy that I guess lived large and fully and wasn't 0:03:14.720 --> 0:03:18.120 tied down with the normal constraints that our family is 0:03:18.200 --> 0:03:21.960 like kids, weddings, marriages, all of that. He was living 0:03:22.000 --> 0:03:25.560 life fully on his own terms. Went to Fiji for 0:03:25.560 --> 0:03:28.639 this amazing job opportunity to open a brand new. 0:03:28.919 --> 0:03:30.120 Hotel, and. 0:03:31.560 --> 0:03:33.520 Yeah, it was just really at the top of his 0:03:33.680 --> 0:03:38.040 career and excited about, you know, the prospects that that 0:03:38.200 --> 0:03:41.360 offered him, and in terms of in our family. Every 0:03:41.440 --> 0:03:44.400 time he'd come home for a visit. He has spoiled everyone, 0:03:44.960 --> 0:03:47.440 brought gifts back for everyone and just was really present 0:03:47.480 --> 0:03:50.600 with his time and like I said, the fun uncle 0:03:50.640 --> 0:03:51.080 for sure. 0:03:52.040 --> 0:03:53.720 So he's a Gold Coast boy and that's where he 0:03:53.760 --> 0:03:54.240 grew up. 0:03:54.880 --> 0:03:58.360 Yeah. Yeah, so we're all Gold Coasters. He grew up 0:03:58.360 --> 0:04:01.720 on the Gold Coast, the usual kind of stuff like surfing, 0:04:02.400 --> 0:04:07.800 did nippers growing up, you know, and really just studied 0:04:07.840 --> 0:04:11.480 at Griffith University and got you know, what he needed 0:04:11.560 --> 0:04:14.480 and kind of climbed the ropes in the hospitality industry. 0:04:14.920 --> 0:04:17.280 So yeah, he's definitely a Gold Coaster. There's lots of 0:04:17.360 --> 0:04:19.599 you know, we've got great photos of him surfing still 0:04:20.160 --> 0:04:23.200 and he's probably more into the golf side as he 0:04:23.279 --> 0:04:25.000 kind of got older and things like that. 0:04:25.080 --> 0:04:28.120 But yeah, Gold Coast boy through and through. 0:04:29.200 --> 0:04:32.800 Tell us about moving to Fiji and that opportunity was 0:04:32.800 --> 0:04:34.880 that something he was excited about. Was that a new 0:04:34.960 --> 0:04:36.919 kind of thing that he hadn't done before because he 0:04:37.000 --> 0:04:39.760 was kind of he went over there to be second 0:04:39.760 --> 0:04:42.000 in charge of a brand new resort. That's a big deal. 0:04:42.520 --> 0:04:43.520 Yeah, it was huge. 0:04:43.680 --> 0:04:46.760 He was so stoked on that and you know, he 0:04:46.839 --> 0:04:51.040 was working in senior roles here in Gold Coast Hotels. 0:04:51.760 --> 0:04:53.840 They were opening this brand new hotel and he really 0:04:53.880 --> 0:04:55.960 wanted to be a part of that from the ground up. 0:04:56.360 --> 0:04:58.360 So he was so excited to be there. 0:04:58.400 --> 0:05:00.760 He'd been there twenty one months before or the incident, 0:05:01.560 --> 0:05:04.880 and by all accounts, was, you know, loving life. A 0:05:04.880 --> 0:05:07.200 lot of the people that worked with him always reported 0:05:07.240 --> 0:05:09.520 that he's the kind of guy that would check in 0:05:09.680 --> 0:05:12.400 on them, not just as their boss, but as a person, 0:05:12.720 --> 0:05:15.200 and that, really, I guess is a testament to his 0:05:15.360 --> 0:05:18.679 character and what we knew of him as well. So 0:05:18.720 --> 0:05:20.960 it was like a lifetime opportunity. 0:05:21.360 --> 0:05:23.560 Do you know what his general day to day look 0:05:23.720 --> 0:05:25.839 like over there, because for most of us, we don't 0:05:25.839 --> 0:05:27.760 really know what it means to be second in charge 0:05:27.760 --> 0:05:29.640 of a hotel. We know that he was living on 0:05:30.160 --> 0:05:32.359 the resort kind of campus, wasn't he What was he 0:05:32.480 --> 0:05:33.520 doing with his days? 0:05:34.320 --> 0:05:38.760 So basically, so, his actual title was executive assistant manager 0:05:39.560 --> 0:05:42.600 and he was acting manager at the time of his 0:05:42.760 --> 0:05:46.800 death because the general manager was away. But in terms 0:05:46.839 --> 0:05:49.320 of the day to day, they have staff quarters which 0:05:49.320 --> 0:05:52.760 are connected to the hotel but separate. He normally had 0:05:54.120 --> 0:05:57.360 work Saturday mornings. Sundays were kind of his day off. 0:05:57.600 --> 0:06:00.120 And he played lots of golf. There's so many photos 0:06:00.160 --> 0:06:03.000 of him, you know, on this beautiful golf course where 0:06:03.040 --> 0:06:05.640 it looks like a postcard and you know, the beautiful 0:06:05.640 --> 0:06:08.920 Fiji background, So it definitely did a lot of golf. 0:06:08.960 --> 0:06:11.800 We've got a fair few videos of him dancing at 0:06:11.800 --> 0:06:14.240 this beach club, so I think he was definitely having 0:06:14.279 --> 0:06:16.240 a bit of a good time. But when he was 0:06:16.279 --> 0:06:18.839 at work, he was a hard worker and he's always 0:06:18.839 --> 0:06:20.440 been that way, and so I guess the day to 0:06:20.560 --> 0:06:23.280 day is really you know, him coming in for those 0:06:23.320 --> 0:06:26.480 staff meetings in the morning, being across what needs to happen, 0:06:26.640 --> 0:06:30.320 and I guess, yeah, working through that. So that's probably 0:06:30.360 --> 0:06:32.520 my take on what that looked like. But he was 0:06:32.560 --> 0:06:35.640 definitely having a good time as well as working hard. 0:06:36.120 --> 0:06:38.800 Well, it was in Fiji, yeah, exactly, you got to 0:06:38.839 --> 0:06:41.320 make the most of it. Did you know he had 0:06:41.320 --> 0:06:43.760 a girlfriend and what did you know about her? 0:06:44.640 --> 0:06:49.480 Yeah, our knowledge of the girlfriend was very minimal. The 0:06:49.520 --> 0:06:53.000 first time that anyone in the family met Shavany was 0:06:53.040 --> 0:06:56.120 when it was a month prior. He came back to 0:06:56.160 --> 0:07:00.000 the Gold Coast in November twenty twenty four for Pete, 0:07:00.520 --> 0:07:04.279 their dad's seventieth birthday and Shavine came with them, and 0:07:04.279 --> 0:07:07.640 that was kind of the first time that anyone, you know, 0:07:07.760 --> 0:07:10.400 even knew there was a girlfriend on the scene. That's 0:07:10.520 --> 0:07:14.360 very Jason kind of you know, these boys in this 0:07:14.400 --> 0:07:17.400 family don't talk about their emotions and their feelings until 0:07:17.440 --> 0:07:20.960 it's really, you know, a thing, So there wasn't a 0:07:20.960 --> 0:07:24.200 lot of information about her from the accounts of you know, 0:07:24.240 --> 0:07:28.280 what she was like. She was very quiet and kind 0:07:28.280 --> 0:07:31.600 of reserved, but the parents did kind of notice she 0:07:31.720 --> 0:07:34.920 was a little bit I don't know if controlling is 0:07:34.960 --> 0:07:38.040 the word, but the example I'll use is they left 0:07:38.040 --> 0:07:41.600 the party early, which is very not on brand for Jason, 0:07:42.240 --> 0:07:45.320 and he took a shopping at a big fair, which 0:07:46.320 --> 0:07:49.680 just seems a bit out of character for Jason. I guess, 0:07:49.760 --> 0:07:53.400 you know, in hindsight that, yeah, I think that that 0:07:53.480 --> 0:07:55.520 kind of paints a bit of a picture on where 0:07:55.520 --> 0:07:58.760 their relationship was at. But you know, we didn't think 0:07:58.800 --> 0:08:02.600 it was that serious. He wasn't talking about it in 0:08:02.680 --> 0:08:06.200 terms of you know, those those things, but you know, 0:08:07.080 --> 0:08:11.320 I know that, yeah, I guess the family thought she 0:08:11.440 --> 0:08:16.200 was quite quiet and reserve compared to Jason, who's quite 0:08:16.560 --> 0:08:19.160 gregarious and the life of the party and that kind 0:08:19.200 --> 0:08:19.520 of thing. 0:08:19.680 --> 0:08:22.960 I want to ask you about his mental state. Was 0:08:23.000 --> 0:08:26.080 there anything about his updates or even that visit in 0:08:26.120 --> 0:08:29.880 November that made you think that something was wrong with him, 0:08:30.160 --> 0:08:31.520 that he was having trouble. 0:08:32.920 --> 0:08:33.720 Absolutely not. 0:08:34.080 --> 0:08:37.880 He they went and stayed at this beautiful five star hotel. 0:08:38.520 --> 0:08:42.280 I know he was in contact with their stepmother planning 0:08:42.400 --> 0:08:47.000 about buying an investment property here. There was talk of 0:08:47.080 --> 0:08:51.360 him going on holidays to Japan with Shivani. There was 0:08:51.400 --> 0:08:54.319 nothing that we could see from any of the behavior 0:08:54.960 --> 0:08:59.160 that would indicate anything, you know, out of the blue. 0:08:59.200 --> 0:09:00.040 He might be a little bit. 0:09:00.080 --> 0:09:03.120 Stressed about working hard and things like that, but just 0:09:03.400 --> 0:09:05.800 that's just the regular day to day kind of stuff. 0:09:05.880 --> 0:09:08.840 But you know, there's enough hit. Jason's the kind of 0:09:08.840 --> 0:09:11.959 guy if something was a big deal or a stress 0:09:11.960 --> 0:09:14.480 at work, he could get a job anywhere all over 0:09:14.480 --> 0:09:17.000 the world. And he's the kind of guy to be like, 0:09:17.120 --> 0:09:19.160 you know what, I'm out of here and just go 0:09:19.480 --> 0:09:20.959 to the next adventure. 0:09:21.120 --> 0:09:23.319 And yeah, I guess that's why this. 0:09:23.760 --> 0:09:28.920 Ruling and everything that's transpired after that has never made sense. 0:09:29.000 --> 0:09:31.640 And the more that we've dug into it, it's just 0:09:31.720 --> 0:09:34.800 fallen apart and Yeah, I suppose that's what we've been 0:09:34.880 --> 0:09:35.920 up against. 0:09:37.040 --> 0:09:40.880 Can you pinpoint the last contact that he had with 0:09:41.600 --> 0:09:44.040 a member of your family before he died. 0:09:46.000 --> 0:09:49.000 I wouldn't know exactly, but the last like I said, 0:09:49.040 --> 0:09:53.080 the last trip was in November and then he passed 0:09:53.600 --> 0:09:57.360 in December. So that was probably the most contact that 0:09:57.480 --> 0:10:00.480 we had. And it would have probably have been touch 0:10:01.520 --> 0:10:04.679 points with his mum, because you know, that's what you do. 0:10:04.760 --> 0:10:06.680 But I wouldn't know the exact date. 0:10:07.280 --> 0:10:10.240 But there was nothing to suggest that there was any 0:10:10.720 --> 0:10:14.120 troubles there or you know, anything that much of concern. 0:10:14.200 --> 0:10:16.840 And he also wasn't the kind of guy to call 0:10:16.920 --> 0:10:19.680 up and talk about any of that. He would be 0:10:19.679 --> 0:10:21.679 calling up to talk about the good stuff. 0:10:22.120 --> 0:10:26.440 Yeah. How did your family find out that he had died? 0:10:26.800 --> 0:10:28.079 When did that news come through? 0:10:29.000 --> 0:10:29.280 Yeah? 0:10:29.360 --> 0:10:32.880 This is the probably the hardest part of the story 0:10:33.480 --> 0:10:36.679 in terms of how we did find out. So it 0:10:36.800 --> 0:10:39.720 was the day he died was the fourteenth. He actually 0:10:39.920 --> 0:10:44.040 passed in the morning, and we didn't find out that 0:10:44.160 --> 0:10:47.600 he was gone until later that evening through the surface 0:10:47.640 --> 0:10:52.439 Paradise police leaving a note on his mother's door because 0:10:52.440 --> 0:10:54.760 she was out at the time, asking for a callback. 0:10:55.760 --> 0:10:59.800 She came home obviously went into a panic, started calling everybody, 0:11:00.080 --> 0:11:02.040 had a couple of miscalls from her. I think she 0:11:02.160 --> 0:11:04.600 was thinking the worst, that we've us and the kids 0:11:04.600 --> 0:11:05.840 have been in a car accident. 0:11:05.920 --> 0:11:06.600 You know, why. 0:11:06.400 --> 0:11:10.240 Wouldn't the police say I need to come and see 0:11:10.480 --> 0:11:13.520 you in person. That you know normally means it's pretty 0:11:14.000 --> 0:11:17.440 pretty serious. So when she got ahold of us, she 0:11:17.600 --> 0:11:21.200 was very relieved, but she was very, very concerned. Both 0:11:21.240 --> 0:11:23.960 of the other brothers were living overseas at the time. 0:11:24.080 --> 0:11:27.839 The younger brother, Ben lives in la As. He's an 0:11:27.880 --> 0:11:32.720 actor there, and so we kind of calmed Robin down 0:11:32.960 --> 0:11:34.959 and you know, tried to make sure, you know, surely 0:11:35.000 --> 0:11:37.200 it'll be something else, it'll be you know, it's not 0:11:37.240 --> 0:11:40.800 going to be that big of a issue. And you know, 0:11:40.880 --> 0:11:45.000 we looked online on a Messenger group sent a message 0:11:45.000 --> 0:11:47.880 in a group chat to the boys. They both had 0:11:47.920 --> 0:11:50.480 the green little light up that looked like they'd been 0:11:50.520 --> 0:11:53.000 online recently. So we were like, oh, yeah, it's all good, 0:11:53.520 --> 0:11:56.520 you know, no, nothing immediate is a problem. 0:11:57.200 --> 0:11:58.199 Ben responded. 0:11:58.840 --> 0:12:03.240 We never heard back from Jason, and during that time, 0:12:03.320 --> 0:12:07.640 I guess what had happened was Peter, their dad, because 0:12:07.720 --> 0:12:11.959 Robin and Peter are divorced. Came over to Robin's department 0:12:12.760 --> 0:12:15.640 and in that time, they were trying to call as 0:12:15.679 --> 0:12:19.920 many people, and Robin reached out to Shavny multiple times 0:12:19.920 --> 0:12:24.839 and eventually he answered the girlfriend and that's how they 0:12:24.880 --> 0:12:29.400 found out that he was gone. And basically her story 0:12:29.720 --> 0:12:31.960 and the narrative that was told from the start to 0:12:32.200 --> 0:12:38.680 our family was Jason's gone. He walked to the bathroom, 0:12:38.760 --> 0:12:43.320 I heard a thud, and he's gone, and basically went 0:12:43.360 --> 0:12:45.480 on to tell a narrative that he'd been a really 0:12:45.559 --> 0:12:49.960 dark place, and you know that that was kind of it. 0:12:50.040 --> 0:12:54.160 And that's when we then got the call from their 0:12:54.200 --> 0:12:58.600 parents to let us know that Jason was gone, and 0:12:58.640 --> 0:13:01.800 we were also told at that point, I guess, and 0:13:01.840 --> 0:13:05.320 that's the biggest emotional toll that's been there from the start, 0:13:05.360 --> 0:13:07.960 and what we're still working through is not just that 0:13:08.040 --> 0:13:11.880 he's gone, but that he'd stabbed himself to death and 0:13:12.120 --> 0:13:16.439 it was self inflicted. And that's what we carried that night. 0:13:16.559 --> 0:13:19.560 You know, we've lost Chris has lost his brother. You know, 0:13:20.160 --> 0:13:25.120 they've lost their time, and even just the visual picture 0:13:25.360 --> 0:13:31.440 of him doing that to himself, there's no words to 0:13:31.520 --> 0:13:33.560 kind of try to wrap your head around that. 0:13:35.760 --> 0:13:39.400 So the girlfriend told you that he'd done that to himself, 0:13:39.400 --> 0:13:43.040 and then the Australian police confirmed that as well. 0:13:44.080 --> 0:13:49.240 That was the story that the defat had reported to 0:13:50.160 --> 0:13:53.640 the authorities here and that was you know what they 0:13:53.720 --> 0:13:58.440 then confirmed. So it was being suspected suicide was the 0:13:58.480 --> 0:14:02.360 wording that had been us from the I suppose the 0:14:02.400 --> 0:14:07.080 consulate in Fiji reporting it through to the channels to Australia. 0:14:07.679 --> 0:14:09.679 Let's rewind a little bit and try and tell a 0:14:09.720 --> 0:14:12.440 little bit more of this story, because we have heard 0:14:12.480 --> 0:14:17.680 a lot from one of Jason's colleagues, a Roushi, who 0:14:18.480 --> 0:14:20.760 came to the scene not long after, and she kind 0:14:20.760 --> 0:14:24.360 of tells a bit of the kind of perspective of 0:14:25.000 --> 0:14:29.480 finding Jason. Can you tell us about how that all 0:14:29.760 --> 0:14:33.440 played out as far as you're aware, how did finding 0:14:33.520 --> 0:14:34.920 Jason unfold? 0:14:36.000 --> 0:14:40.200 So again, what we've been told is that Shavanny was 0:14:40.200 --> 0:14:42.920 in the room she'd stayed the night before at Jason's 0:14:42.960 --> 0:14:47.520 staff quarters. He had gone to a staff meeting in 0:14:47.560 --> 0:14:50.760 the morning and his suit came back for whatever reason, 0:14:51.040 --> 0:14:54.760 to the apartment. There's been a couple of different stories. 0:14:54.800 --> 0:14:56.760 She was either washing up or she was on the couch, 0:14:56.880 --> 0:15:00.960 something along those lines. Jason's walked to the bathroom, She's 0:15:01.040 --> 0:15:06.440 heard a thud, and that's when she says that he 0:15:06.600 --> 0:15:10.560 stabbed himself and admitted suicide. So the next step after that, 0:15:12.040 --> 0:15:15.640 Chavanni said that she called Ian Lovey, which is the 0:15:15.720 --> 0:15:20.080 best friend, not the ambulance, not any kind of medical 0:15:20.240 --> 0:15:21.600 you know, first aid responder. 0:15:21.680 --> 0:15:25.920 She called Ian, and Ian also works at the hotel, 0:15:26.000 --> 0:15:27.040 so he was a chef. 0:15:27.080 --> 0:15:29.280 He is the executive chef at the hotel. 0:15:29.840 --> 0:15:32.320 So she calls him. He comes to the apartment. 0:15:33.400 --> 0:15:35.480 He then calls a Roushie. 0:15:35.840 --> 0:15:41.720 Again, no one has called emergency services, and then a 0:15:41.840 --> 0:15:45.240 Roushie has said that then she came to the room, 0:15:46.600 --> 0:15:51.080 realized that, you know, what was going on, and called emergency, 0:15:51.360 --> 0:15:57.160 you know, the ambulance and when what we've been told 0:15:57.200 --> 0:16:00.960 and what was from the official defat report was that 0:16:01.040 --> 0:16:04.480 Jason was actually still alive at this point and froming 0:16:04.520 --> 0:16:08.480 at the mouth. So that's what is really hard to 0:16:08.520 --> 0:16:10.520 sit with and what we don't understand. 0:16:11.320 --> 0:16:12.320 Jason was alive. 0:16:14.040 --> 0:16:17.080 We don't know how much time passed until somebody actually 0:16:17.120 --> 0:16:22.960 called for medical assistance. And based on what Arushi said, 0:16:23.080 --> 0:16:26.640 she didn't think that the injuries were as severe as 0:16:26.680 --> 0:16:29.080 what they obviously were, and she didn't think that he 0:16:29.160 --> 0:16:32.320 was going to lose his life. So what happened in 0:16:32.360 --> 0:16:35.680 all of that chain of events, we don't know exactly. 0:16:35.880 --> 0:16:39.720 All we have is what's been reported to us by 0:16:39.760 --> 0:16:44.080 these people, and then what was reported from the hotel 0:16:45.560 --> 0:16:50.160 management team to the consulate offices and then have been 0:16:50.160 --> 0:16:51.520 sent through to us. 0:16:52.320 --> 0:16:56.560 Do we know if a roushie Ian or Shavani did 0:16:56.600 --> 0:16:59.600 any life saving measures themselves in that period of time. 0:17:00.440 --> 0:17:04.120 It's not on any records or documentation that we've seen, 0:17:04.240 --> 0:17:08.120 and nobody has said that to us or to any 0:17:08.160 --> 0:17:09.680 of the people that have tried to reach out. 0:17:09.880 --> 0:17:14.439 Did a Rushie notice anything unusual about that scene? She 0:17:14.600 --> 0:17:17.320 is the only person we've heard in detail from so 0:17:17.400 --> 0:17:19.960 that's why I ask about her version of events. 0:17:20.480 --> 0:17:23.439 Yeah, Aarushie did say that she thought it was very 0:17:23.600 --> 0:17:27.439 peculiar that the knife that she saw that you know, 0:17:27.520 --> 0:17:31.399 had blood all over it was neatly placed on the 0:17:31.440 --> 0:17:35.199 dining table, which seems like a peculiar place for it 0:17:35.280 --> 0:17:37.919 to be. So if Jason had done that to himself 0:17:37.960 --> 0:17:41.160 in the bathroom, that has been moved by somebody to there, 0:17:41.800 --> 0:17:45.159 And yeah, that was her A large talking point that 0:17:45.240 --> 0:17:48.920 she said in her interview was that really stuck out. 0:17:49.280 --> 0:17:53.320 And she also said what she noticed is that, you know, 0:17:53.440 --> 0:17:56.640 Jason always just dressed very sharply for work, normally always 0:17:56.680 --> 0:18:00.919 in a suit. When she wore into the room, his 0:18:01.119 --> 0:18:05.959 suit jacket was neatly hung over the chair, which, you know, 0:18:06.160 --> 0:18:08.959 I think that that also read you're thinking about someone 0:18:09.000 --> 0:18:11.840 planning to take their life. That's a lot of you know, 0:18:12.160 --> 0:18:15.119 regular everyday steps that someone's done and then just on 0:18:15.280 --> 0:18:18.719 a whim, decided to do that. So I think that 0:18:18.720 --> 0:18:21.880 that in itself is just very bizarre. 0:18:24.280 --> 0:18:27.879 Up next, Jess tells me what her husband, Chris, Jason's brother, 0:18:28.040 --> 0:18:30.800 and his father uncovered when they traveled to Fiji in 0:18:30.880 --> 0:18:36.199 search of answers about Jason's death. Do you know what 0:18:36.359 --> 0:18:39.199 the police investigation that day looked like? 0:18:40.480 --> 0:18:43.400 Yeah, So, what we've learned over time, and it has 0:18:43.520 --> 0:18:47.480 taken a lot of time, was that the inspector from 0:18:47.480 --> 0:18:52.640 the local Fiji police was on the scene and he 0:18:52.760 --> 0:18:57.240 has reported to the Consulo official again that he was 0:18:57.240 --> 0:18:59.199 on the scene and that Jason, you know, was a 0:18:59.200 --> 0:19:02.880 liar at that point, but past then that once the 0:19:02.920 --> 0:19:06.840 ambulance got there and This is pretty a pretty devastating part. 0:19:07.240 --> 0:19:11.720 The crime scene was actually cleared approximately four pm that 0:19:11.880 --> 0:19:15.720 same day that Jason died. We didn't even know that 0:19:15.800 --> 0:19:21.879 he was gone by them, and the suspected suicide narrative 0:19:22.000 --> 0:19:27.159 had already been reported to Consulate officials being reported to 0:19:27.720 --> 0:19:32.000 the police, who it seems like took the people that 0:19:32.040 --> 0:19:35.800 were on the scene at face value and kind of 0:19:35.840 --> 0:19:39.000 concluded on the spot and on the day that no 0:19:39.080 --> 0:19:43.280 criminal investigation kind of needed to happen. And I just 0:19:43.320 --> 0:19:47.720 don't understand and the family doesn't understand how a crime 0:19:47.760 --> 0:19:52.240 scene can be cleared, you know, from ten o'clock being 0:19:52.320 --> 0:19:54.800 his time of death. Based on the reports we've seen 0:19:55.359 --> 0:19:59.840 four pm that same day having been cleared Jason, there's 0:19:59.880 --> 0:20:01.560 no old topsy being done. 0:20:02.240 --> 0:20:02.719 I don't know. 0:20:02.800 --> 0:20:07.040 We still don't know who was spoken to, who was interviewed, 0:20:07.160 --> 0:20:11.960 if they were interviewed individually. Aarushi's statement was that police 0:20:12.440 --> 0:20:17.360 spoke to Ian and Shavani together in the same location. 0:20:17.760 --> 0:20:20.640 It wasn't, you know, one on one or anything like that. 0:20:21.480 --> 0:20:24.960 And we've also never seen an incident report from the hotels, 0:20:25.000 --> 0:20:29.840 so we don't know what transpired after his actual passing. 0:20:30.720 --> 0:20:33.359 And there's just so many unanswered questions. 0:20:33.520 --> 0:20:35.840 It's pretty shocking to he say that. I know, we're 0:20:35.880 --> 0:20:37.879 dealing with a different country. They've got different rules and 0:20:37.880 --> 0:20:40.800 different regulations in the way they carry out police investigations. 0:20:40.800 --> 0:20:47.040 But there is no doubt that that it just doesn't 0:20:47.040 --> 0:20:48.760 sound like anything was really done. 0:20:48.960 --> 0:20:51.800 No, I think that, And again, you know, we want 0:20:51.840 --> 0:20:55.720 to ensure that we've been working with these police and 0:20:55.800 --> 0:20:58.359 you know, this country for a very long time now, 0:20:58.440 --> 0:21:01.120 and we understand and we've learned that. You know, it's 0:21:01.160 --> 0:21:03.359 not like what you see in the movies or what 0:21:03.400 --> 0:21:10.760 you'd expect from Australia, but that suicide narrative really has 0:21:10.880 --> 0:21:15.119 painted or I suppose diluted everything to do with this case, 0:21:15.760 --> 0:21:21.720 and the narrative about suicide has was so publicly confirmed 0:21:22.200 --> 0:21:26.639 in a very short amount of time, and that I 0:21:26.680 --> 0:21:30.679 think has been the ongoing challenge for us as a 0:21:30.720 --> 0:21:34.600 family to really overturn and to get answers for it. 0:21:34.680 --> 0:21:38.440 And all that time, you know, any evidence that may 0:21:38.480 --> 0:21:40.640 have been there, you know, all of those things about 0:21:40.680 --> 0:21:45.360 having the crime team being properly you know, forensically reviewed. 0:21:46.000 --> 0:21:48.280 We don't know what was actually taken. We've never seen 0:21:48.320 --> 0:21:53.200 any police files. We've never seen any of that. But yeah, 0:21:53.240 --> 0:21:55.440 it's it's been a nye there. 0:21:56.000 --> 0:21:57.960 Let's discuss some of the evidence that we do know 0:21:58.040 --> 0:22:01.879 about because you mentioned that knife, and you do know 0:22:01.960 --> 0:22:05.760 that that knife didn't belong to that apartment. It wasn't 0:22:05.920 --> 0:22:08.240 kind of something that came with the accommodation. 0:22:09.160 --> 0:22:13.560 Yeah, and about Jason, he is not a cook. He 0:22:13.680 --> 0:22:17.040 is not very house trained. He was ordering room service 0:22:17.160 --> 0:22:20.119 every night, so that's just I guess a little bit 0:22:20.119 --> 0:22:21.919 of background to him. He would not be the kind 0:22:21.960 --> 0:22:25.320 of guy that would go out and purchase an expensive 0:22:26.080 --> 0:22:29.680 kitchen knife. And that's what it was. And that's what 0:22:29.760 --> 0:22:33.479 was uncovered when the sixty Minutes crew went with Chris 0:22:33.520 --> 0:22:36.960 and Peter to Fiji, that the knife itself was not 0:22:37.200 --> 0:22:40.399 from you know, the staff quarters set up, and that 0:22:40.480 --> 0:22:45.000 it was purchased locally and Mandy who purchased it, how 0:22:45.040 --> 0:22:46.800 it got to the room, We. 0:22:46.800 --> 0:22:49.800 Don't know his phone that's also never been located. 0:22:50.200 --> 0:22:54.159 Yeah, so that's what we and again we have so 0:22:54.240 --> 0:22:56.919 many questions about this. He had a personal phone, he 0:22:56.960 --> 0:22:59.520 had a work phone. The work phone is the only 0:22:59.600 --> 0:23:03.800 phone that we know has been handed to police, and 0:23:04.359 --> 0:23:06.520 you know, the data trying to be extracted from that. 0:23:06.920 --> 0:23:11.000 The personal phone we've never located. 0:23:11.320 --> 0:23:13.600 Which is weird because all of us have our phones 0:23:13.600 --> 0:23:15.240 on our body usually. 0:23:15.320 --> 0:23:18.439 Absolutely, and I think there's just so many people that 0:23:18.480 --> 0:23:19.960 were actually on the scene. 0:23:21.160 --> 0:23:22.480 It could be anywhere. 0:23:22.520 --> 0:23:25.280 It could be destroyed, and we do we do have 0:23:25.720 --> 0:23:28.600 a witness statement, and again this is just a witness 0:23:28.600 --> 0:23:31.960 statement that came after the fact through our private investigator 0:23:32.000 --> 0:23:35.439 that we had to hire, saying that staff at the 0:23:35.520 --> 0:23:40.000 hotel were heard to be kind of gloating about scrubbing 0:23:40.000 --> 0:23:40.720 a phone. 0:23:41.359 --> 0:23:43.640 So we don't know if that means. 0:23:43.680 --> 0:23:47.720 Destroying the personal phone, scrubbing data from the work phone, 0:23:48.359 --> 0:23:53.800 whatever that means. But there, Yeah, we're very concerned about 0:23:54.000 --> 0:23:56.720 the phone information and we think that that would provide 0:23:57.280 --> 0:23:59.520 a lot of the answers that were seeking. 0:24:00.160 --> 0:24:03.520 To pause the story for a minute and just ask 0:24:03.600 --> 0:24:07.560 you about the emotional toll this has taken because even 0:24:07.800 --> 0:24:10.160 kind of extracting all of these details that you're telling 0:24:10.160 --> 0:24:14.320 me about, what's that been like trying to get all 0:24:14.359 --> 0:24:16.320 of this information from the other side of the world. 0:24:16.880 --> 0:24:21.560 Look, honestly, Chris and I we have a really hectic 0:24:21.640 --> 0:24:24.120 life as it is, and the rest of the family, 0:24:24.800 --> 0:24:27.359 you know, have their own challenges and their own lives 0:24:27.400 --> 0:24:29.840 as well. And I think the emotional toll, like what 0:24:29.880 --> 0:24:32.879 I spoke about earlier, hearing that you've lost one of 0:24:32.960 --> 0:24:35.879 the closest people in your life and then being told 0:24:36.720 --> 0:24:41.040 that they've done such a destructive thing to themselves that 0:24:41.680 --> 0:24:44.280 from the start, and it kind of almost puts that, 0:24:44.920 --> 0:24:46.760 you know, bit of doubt in your mind that you 0:24:46.840 --> 0:24:50.639 have to keep overcoming and keep working through. So that 0:24:50.800 --> 0:24:52.639 was kind of what we started with. But I think 0:24:53.119 --> 0:24:56.560 where we are today and that emotional toll. You know, 0:24:56.800 --> 0:25:00.600 Chris and I and Peter as well, all work that, 0:25:00.640 --> 0:25:03.879 we run our own businesses, we have four children. In 0:25:03.920 --> 0:25:08.960 between all of that, we're reaching out to different departments, 0:25:09.040 --> 0:25:12.760 whether that be in Australia in Fiji, looking through things 0:25:12.760 --> 0:25:16.560 on social media, Facebook comments that came through, you know, 0:25:16.600 --> 0:25:19.440 whether sixty minutes clip aired, and sending all of that through. 0:25:19.480 --> 0:25:23.399 So the emotional toll is immense, and I think what 0:25:24.560 --> 0:25:29.480 contributes to that is just how unsupported we feel and 0:25:31.080 --> 0:25:34.879 that there is absolutely no guidance from anybody in any 0:25:34.920 --> 0:25:40.720 agency in either country for a situation like this. Everything 0:25:40.760 --> 0:25:42.960 that we've done and been able to find out has 0:25:42.960 --> 0:25:46.240 come from the family pushing and not giving. 0:25:46.000 --> 0:25:50.159 Up because the Fiji and authorities. What has your communication 0:25:50.320 --> 0:25:52.400 been like trying to get information from them? 0:25:53.440 --> 0:25:55.120 Yes, a nightmare. 0:25:55.640 --> 0:25:58.720 So the case is now with the CID, which is 0:25:58.760 --> 0:26:05.639 the highest police force in Fiji, that went to them 0:26:05.280 --> 0:26:09.639 that originally they the cases with the local police station, 0:26:10.280 --> 0:26:12.919 and Chris's account when I was talking him about that 0:26:13.000 --> 0:26:16.920 recently was the police they barely even speak at these meetings, 0:26:17.000 --> 0:26:19.439 Like Chris will go into the meeting with Peter and 0:26:19.480 --> 0:26:22.000 then you know the third time when they're private investigator 0:26:22.040 --> 0:26:26.000 came in and they're talking at them, asking them questions 0:26:26.000 --> 0:26:29.000 about the case and what's happening with this, and it's very, 0:26:29.119 --> 0:26:34.600 very hard to extract any communication. So once it's been 0:26:34.720 --> 0:26:39.320 handed to the CID department, everything has kind of gone 0:26:39.520 --> 0:26:43.600 through our Fiji legal team, and even that it's just 0:26:43.640 --> 0:26:46.679 a very you know, they say Fiji time, this is 0:26:46.800 --> 0:26:52.119 like next level Fiji time, and yeah, I guess in 0:26:52.200 --> 0:26:54.440 that we then have to wait for that to come 0:26:54.480 --> 0:26:57.480 back through from the CID to our lawyer and she 0:26:57.640 --> 0:26:58.760 continues to chase that. 0:26:58.760 --> 0:27:02.959 On our behalf defact or Queensland Police do they have 0:27:03.040 --> 0:27:05.200 any authority in this situation. 0:27:05.560 --> 0:27:09.320 That's what is so challenging. We're dealing with agencies that 0:27:09.440 --> 0:27:13.919 have no jurisdiction. So our only experience to date with 0:27:14.000 --> 0:27:17.760 the Queensland Police was when Chris and Peter brought Jason 0:27:17.800 --> 0:27:21.200 home from Fiji. The first trip back, there was a 0:27:21.240 --> 0:27:24.480 Queensland detective that met them, providing them with a card. 0:27:24.600 --> 0:27:29.360 Obviously the Queenland Coroner was there to take Jason. We 0:27:29.560 --> 0:27:32.480 have we since maybe a month or so later, did 0:27:32.560 --> 0:27:37.679 call that police headquarters to ask about, you know, an 0:27:37.800 --> 0:27:41.120 update or a contact person or just someone to talk 0:27:41.200 --> 0:27:43.680 to I guess from Australia and what we can do here. 0:27:43.720 --> 0:27:48.120 And to date we've never had anybody call us or 0:27:48.480 --> 0:27:50.959 reach out to us or you know, they may not 0:27:51.000 --> 0:27:54.160 have jurisdiction to do an investigation as such here, but 0:27:54.560 --> 0:27:57.120 even just to have that point of contact to feel 0:27:57.640 --> 0:28:03.440 as if someone in Australia had yeah cares de fact 0:28:03.520 --> 0:28:06.680 defact has been our only contact. They were the people 0:28:06.720 --> 0:28:10.000 that were communicating the information and sending reports through, especially 0:28:10.040 --> 0:28:15.159 when it initially happened. But they really have made it 0:28:15.240 --> 0:28:20.120 clear that we need to work with the Fiji authorities 0:28:20.720 --> 0:28:24.040 and that that's the main channel and they really work 0:28:24.160 --> 0:28:28.359 more so as an update form for us as a family. 0:28:28.480 --> 0:28:31.040 You know, for court cases been set, they'll say the 0:28:31.160 --> 0:28:34.359 confirmation that this court case has been set in Fiji, 0:28:34.920 --> 0:28:38.520 it's been really it's it's beyond frusted, frustrating, and I 0:28:38.560 --> 0:28:40.800 think that's you know, as much as the grief and 0:28:40.880 --> 0:28:45.360 the sadness is there, it's just total anger and frustration 0:28:45.840 --> 0:28:48.800 and all of that mixed in together. And a lot 0:28:48.840 --> 0:28:51.120 of the people that were working in Fiji at the 0:28:51.120 --> 0:28:56.240 time are Australian. The general manager that was the first 0:28:56.280 --> 0:29:01.680 person to report to the consulate in Fiji about Jason's 0:29:01.720 --> 0:29:06.080 death and that it was suspected suicide. The general manager there, 0:29:06.600 --> 0:29:09.880 who also was not even in Fiji at the time, 0:29:10.000 --> 0:29:13.720 he was in Japan. He was the first person to notify, 0:29:14.160 --> 0:29:18.160 not anybody on the ground, which doesn't make sense in itself. 0:29:21.400 --> 0:29:25.120 So you know, that's kind of and when we've approached anyone, 0:29:25.280 --> 0:29:28.120 you know, individually, to talk. Chris and Peter also said 0:29:28.120 --> 0:29:31.680 when they first went there to Fiji the first time, 0:29:31.680 --> 0:29:35.800 when it initially happened, the energy in the hotel was 0:29:35.960 --> 0:29:38.440 very closed off. But what has been said is that 0:29:38.920 --> 0:29:41.640 there was definitely a notion at the hotel to not 0:29:41.800 --> 0:29:47.480 speak with the family, to not speak to investigators and yeah, 0:29:47.600 --> 0:29:51.120 don't We don't know who made that, but it sounds 0:29:51.160 --> 0:29:56.720 like people are scared and being silenced and we don't 0:29:56.760 --> 0:29:58.520 understand why that would be the case. 0:30:00.120 --> 0:30:03.080 Definitely understand why you felt like you needed to hire 0:30:03.120 --> 0:30:06.080 a private investigator. It makes a lot of sense given 0:30:06.120 --> 0:30:09.760 what you've said. Yeah, have they been able to help 0:30:09.800 --> 0:30:12.200 you at all? Have they've given you new evidence? 0:30:13.480 --> 0:30:14.840 Yeah? Look, Phil's been great. 0:30:15.440 --> 0:30:18.240 One of the big pieces of information that he was 0:30:18.280 --> 0:30:21.160 able to help us with was he has a I 0:30:21.200 --> 0:30:24.880 suppose data forensic person that he leans on, and they 0:30:24.880 --> 0:30:30.240 were able to access Jason's Vibra account and WhatsApp account, 0:30:31.000 --> 0:30:33.640 you know, I suppose remotely and that you know, gave 0:30:33.680 --> 0:30:36.040 a lot more insight into what was happening in terms 0:30:36.040 --> 0:30:40.360 of his personal relationships and you know, the lead up 0:30:40.400 --> 0:30:45.360 to the incident. So that was really really powerful. And 0:30:45.840 --> 0:30:48.720 when they went to Fiji that third trip, Phil did 0:30:48.800 --> 0:30:51.200 go with them, and. 0:30:53.120 --> 0:30:53.960 When they went to the. 0:30:53.880 --> 0:30:56.960 Police station with that evidence, that was the first time, 0:30:57.400 --> 0:31:01.040 which was six months after the fact, you know, losing Jason, 0:31:01.480 --> 0:31:04.440 that they said that they would be looking into this 0:31:04.600 --> 0:31:06.840 as a crime for the first time. 0:31:07.480 --> 0:31:09.080 I can imagine that would have been a big win. 0:31:09.120 --> 0:31:11.040 It's such a small win. Oh wow, they've treated it 0:31:11.040 --> 0:31:13.320 as a crime, but like to hear those words, we're 0:31:13.320 --> 0:31:16.640 treating it as a crime, we're actually investigating it. Yeah, 0:31:16.640 --> 0:31:18.000 that was a big deal, right. 0:31:17.920 --> 0:31:20.560 It was massive and that was kind of their reaction. 0:31:20.680 --> 0:31:23.280 The boy's reaction was on camera with the sixty crew 0:31:23.280 --> 0:31:26.520 because that was that meeting. I do think that having 0:31:27.240 --> 0:31:31.880 filled our private investigator there them knowing that sixty minutes 0:31:31.920 --> 0:31:37.560 crew was outside, you know, that pressure, I guess kind 0:31:37.560 --> 0:31:41.240 of may made the action happen. And I don't think 0:31:41.280 --> 0:31:44.600 we'd be where we are today without feel And we're 0:31:44.680 --> 0:31:47.200 very Yeah, we're still working with him all the time, 0:31:47.680 --> 0:31:50.400 and yeah, he's been there for us a lot. 0:31:50.760 --> 0:31:53.760 Am I right that the messages that he was able 0:31:53.800 --> 0:31:57.280 to uncover showed a bit of a crossover in Jason's 0:31:57.360 --> 0:31:59.960 kind of relationships and love life. 0:32:00.360 --> 0:32:02.040 Yeah, that's so. 0:32:02.160 --> 0:32:07.160 There was another girl involved who isn't in Fiji anymore. 0:32:07.200 --> 0:32:09.400 She's actually in Australia, but there was a bit of 0:32:09.440 --> 0:32:12.120 cross over there three or four months. So there are 0:32:12.160 --> 0:32:16.240 a lot of I guess theories or things going on 0:32:16.280 --> 0:32:18.760 in the background that we don't know about, but that 0:32:18.800 --> 0:32:23.760 could potentially, you know, have been cause for arguments or 0:32:23.920 --> 0:32:28.240 cause for unrest in his relationship with Shabani. 0:32:28.760 --> 0:32:30.560 But that's also very Jason. 0:32:31.120 --> 0:32:33.840 Jason's death was considered a crime. Am I right that 0:32:33.880 --> 0:32:35.840 there was discussion about an inquest. 0:32:36.280 --> 0:32:40.080 Yes, So from our understanding and remembering that we are 0:32:40.120 --> 0:32:44.640 not lawyers, we are very basic everyday ggoss, our understanding 0:32:44.840 --> 0:32:49.240 is that because there is no coroner in Fiji, and 0:32:50.080 --> 0:32:53.880 that that is kind of the regular practice for you know, 0:32:54.600 --> 0:32:59.360 unnatural death or things of that nature, the police, the 0:32:59.400 --> 0:33:05.000 local police refer it to the local magistrate for ruling. Basically, 0:33:05.480 --> 0:33:10.280 so rather than investigate that, it's hand to the magistrate, 0:33:10.440 --> 0:33:14.959 and we, based on feedback and talks without BG lawyer, 0:33:16.080 --> 0:33:20.440 requested that that case be adjourned, you know, indefinitely, so 0:33:20.520 --> 0:33:25.560 that the case could actually be investigated because there was 0:33:25.640 --> 0:33:27.960 almost no case fire like, not a thin case file. 0:33:28.000 --> 0:33:29.320 There was almost nothing in it. 0:33:30.040 --> 0:33:32.360 So if that was to go to the magistrate and 0:33:32.400 --> 0:33:35.280 a ruling be made on that day, you know, that 0:33:35.320 --> 0:33:37.120 could have been a close case and we would have 0:33:37.160 --> 0:33:39.680 had to work so much harder to overturn that if 0:33:39.680 --> 0:33:42.000 they made a ruling on that day that wasn't favorable 0:33:42.040 --> 0:33:42.560 to Jason. 0:33:43.400 --> 0:33:47.640 That makes sense Yeah, so six months in, we've got 0:33:47.640 --> 0:33:49.640 sixty minutes. You've got them over there to kind of 0:33:49.640 --> 0:33:53.840 put pressure on the case. You've got your detective who 0:33:53.880 --> 0:33:58.040 has managed to uncover new information. Touching on the sixty 0:33:58.080 --> 0:34:01.640 minutes in investigation. Something I found really interesting watching that 0:34:01.840 --> 0:34:05.600 is they got a specialist or an expert in to 0:34:05.680 --> 0:34:10.080 kind of talk about suicidal stabbings and just how rare 0:34:10.440 --> 0:34:15.040 they are. What did you learn about about that form 0:34:15.080 --> 0:34:19.399 of suicide because for what I got, it's that it's 0:34:19.520 --> 0:34:23.799 very rare. Jason didn't really fit the profile and it's 0:34:23.880 --> 0:34:27.920 usually people that are quite psychologically distressed. 0:34:28.920 --> 0:34:29.320 Yeah. 0:34:29.360 --> 0:34:33.759 Absolutely, And I think watching that and having that expert, 0:34:34.040 --> 0:34:37.480 you know, testify that that reconfirms what the family has 0:34:37.520 --> 0:34:41.520 always felt. You know, that it's so rare and the 0:34:41.600 --> 0:34:46.040 fact that that's what has happened basically should always be 0:34:46.239 --> 0:34:49.680 investigated to ensure that you do not miss a homicide. 0:34:50.239 --> 0:34:53.680 And you know, like you said, it's such a destructive 0:34:54.400 --> 0:34:57.200 thing to do to yourself and accounts for you know, 0:34:57.239 --> 0:35:02.560 such a small percentage of actual so sides that you know, 0:35:02.719 --> 0:35:05.319 again knowing Jason and knowing what he was doing with 0:35:05.360 --> 0:35:07.319 his life and who he was and having had no 0:35:07.480 --> 0:35:10.719 mental you know, reported mental health doubts or on any 0:35:10.800 --> 0:35:13.640 medication or anything that you know we know about to date. 0:35:14.360 --> 0:35:15.880 It just really doesn't fit the mold. 0:35:16.000 --> 0:35:20.920 So yeah, we were very I guess thankful, and that 0:35:21.320 --> 0:35:24.280 was told so black and white to the public because 0:35:24.360 --> 0:35:27.680 that in itself, you know when you said the emotional 0:35:27.760 --> 0:35:31.719 told it's almost it's Jason's legacy. That story went to 0:35:31.760 --> 0:35:34.920 the media and to the public that he did that 0:35:35.000 --> 0:35:38.959 to himself, and you know, we just wanted to really 0:35:39.000 --> 0:35:42.040 do right by him and his legacy because that's not 0:35:42.080 --> 0:35:46.200 who he was and that's not the story. And yeah, 0:35:46.200 --> 0:35:48.440 I suppose that's what's always been really pushing us to 0:35:48.480 --> 0:35:51.800 make sure that we do right by him. 0:35:51.800 --> 0:35:59.440 More of my conversation with Jess after the break that 0:35:59.600 --> 0:36:03.560 sixty minutes investigation was a year ago, nearly a year ago, 0:36:03.760 --> 0:36:07.360 and we're talking today. What progress have you seen in 0:36:07.400 --> 0:36:09.120 the last year. Has anything happened? 0:36:10.600 --> 0:36:16.160 Look, so, I think the progress is slow. It's challenging 0:36:16.680 --> 0:36:20.160 that one thing that we do know has transpired is 0:36:20.200 --> 0:36:24.840 that Shavanni, the girlfriend, was taken in for questioning undercaution, 0:36:25.160 --> 0:36:28.000 which we were very excited about because I think it 0:36:28.040 --> 0:36:31.080 takes a lot, especially in Fiji to get to that 0:36:31.160 --> 0:36:34.760 point that they can actually interview under caution. That happened 0:36:34.760 --> 0:36:37.680 a few months ago now though, and no charges were laid. 0:36:38.160 --> 0:36:40.360 She was held for two days that we don't know 0:36:40.400 --> 0:36:43.120 the basis of the interview or any of that, obviously 0:36:43.160 --> 0:36:45.640 because it's an open case. But she was held for 0:36:45.680 --> 0:36:49.120 two days, which you know is pretty substantial, and was 0:36:49.160 --> 0:36:54.480 released pending further investigation. We've been told by the FIGCID 0:36:54.560 --> 0:36:58.440 team that they will look to reinterview her under caution. 0:36:59.200 --> 0:37:05.000 But the main blocker that the Fiji CID team need 0:37:05.600 --> 0:37:11.400 is the phone forensics extracted from Jason's phone, and the 0:37:11.520 --> 0:37:15.719 AFP have not been able to confirm whether they a 0:37:16.080 --> 0:37:20.560 have extracted the information or b provide a timeline on 0:37:20.680 --> 0:37:25.240 when that will happen. So that to us, and based 0:37:25.239 --> 0:37:27.400 on any of the information that we have, seems like 0:37:27.440 --> 0:37:32.160 the one I suppose blocker in this whole chain of events. 0:37:32.200 --> 0:37:35.080 So that's kind of where we're at now in terms 0:37:35.120 --> 0:37:38.840 of that. We don't know if anyone's ever interviewed Ian 0:37:39.760 --> 0:37:43.960 the best Friend executive chef. We don't know if anyone 0:37:43.960 --> 0:37:46.840 from the hotel has been interviewed outside of those two people. 0:37:46.880 --> 0:37:49.920 The only confirmed into that we know of with the 0:37:49.920 --> 0:37:51.480 police is Shavani. 0:37:52.600 --> 0:37:55.000 And so that blocker you're talking about is currently sitting 0:37:55.000 --> 0:37:57.759 with Australia Australian authorities. 0:37:58.920 --> 0:38:01.239 Yeah, and that's why I think as well, we want 0:38:01.239 --> 0:38:05.160 to shine so much on this case in Australia because 0:38:05.560 --> 0:38:08.920 these agencies I think that you know, as Australians we 0:38:09.040 --> 0:38:13.560 expect to happen, really haven't happened the way that we 0:38:13.640 --> 0:38:17.480 thought they would. And how it works is the Fiji 0:38:18.400 --> 0:38:22.080 police need to work through the avenues of requesting the 0:38:22.160 --> 0:38:26.120 AFP's help. They have requested the assistance. It did take 0:38:26.160 --> 0:38:28.440 a long time and a lot of pushing from our family. 0:38:29.040 --> 0:38:33.319 We even offered to fly over you know, Phil's forensics 0:38:33.400 --> 0:38:36.600 guy who said he could extract the data within five hours. 0:38:36.640 --> 0:38:41.239 We offered that as an option. Obviously that didn't transpire, 0:38:42.480 --> 0:38:47.840 and so the Fiji authorities did request AFP's support to 0:38:47.880 --> 0:38:51.120 do that. So that that has happened, you know, that 0:38:51.239 --> 0:38:55.480 was almost six months ago now wow, and the AFP 0:38:57.400 --> 0:39:00.640 have not confirmed and we don't that I think what 0:39:00.680 --> 0:39:02.719 they're I don't know if it's hiding behind got what 0:39:02.760 --> 0:39:05.759 they've said in the last email to our lawyers was 0:39:05.800 --> 0:39:09.040 that because it's an open investigation. They can't provide any 0:39:09.040 --> 0:39:12.719 further detail around timelines or anything like that, but they know. 0:39:12.719 --> 0:39:14.480 It's an important case. 0:39:14.560 --> 0:39:19.120 We don't expect to be told the details of the 0:39:19.120 --> 0:39:21.840 investigation or what's on the phone. All we want to 0:39:21.880 --> 0:39:24.880 know is has it been extracted? And do the Fiji 0:39:24.920 --> 0:39:25.560 police have it? 0:39:26.719 --> 0:39:29.640 Yeah, that's not really that much to ask for, is it. 0:39:30.520 --> 0:39:31.239 We don't think so. 0:39:32.040 --> 0:39:34.600 And I guess since then, and while we've been trying 0:39:34.640 --> 0:39:37.840 to I suppose apply whatever pressure we can from Australia, 0:39:38.760 --> 0:39:42.440 We've been running to you know, every single local members, 0:39:43.160 --> 0:39:46.680 you know, the Oman's men, the AFP to try and 0:39:47.280 --> 0:39:51.160 you know, even Penny Wong's office, anybody that will listen 0:39:51.280 --> 0:39:53.719 to try and say is there a way that this 0:39:53.800 --> 0:39:57.600 can be expediated because it looks like, based on what 0:39:57.640 --> 0:40:01.320 we've been told from you know, our Fiji legal team 0:40:01.520 --> 0:40:04.320 and the emails that we've received, that that is the 0:40:04.440 --> 0:40:06.239 number one block here. 0:40:08.640 --> 0:40:13.360 Are you also having trouble with Australian legal services and 0:40:13.360 --> 0:40:15.799 trying to access them because of the cross country kind 0:40:15.840 --> 0:40:17.879 of nature of this case and his death? 0:40:18.880 --> 0:40:22.399 Yeah, Look, it's when I say it's a nightmare, it's 0:40:22.400 --> 0:40:25.360 like every single door that we knock on and everywhere 0:40:25.440 --> 0:40:28.520 we go it's a closed door or it's you know, 0:40:28.560 --> 0:40:31.400 a ping pong to somebody else. So we have tried 0:40:32.440 --> 0:40:35.000 every avenue that you could think of in terms of 0:40:35.680 --> 0:40:41.880 finding a firm that has you know, cross border capabilities 0:40:42.280 --> 0:40:47.040 that could not obviously pursue the case in Fiji. We 0:40:47.160 --> 0:40:49.279 understand that that that needs to be handled because the 0:40:49.320 --> 0:40:53.080 death happened in Fiji, but there are key witnesses and 0:40:53.160 --> 0:40:57.840 key people and corporation in Australia that needs to be 0:40:57.880 --> 0:41:02.680 looked into. In terms of the actual corporate complicity. We 0:41:02.719 --> 0:41:06.120 don't know that, but we feel it needs to be addressed, 0:41:06.239 --> 0:41:10.200 and we have approached at least I would say ten 0:41:10.800 --> 0:41:14.560 firms here and we've either not had a response or 0:41:14.600 --> 0:41:17.040 they've responded and said we wouldn't even know where to start. 0:41:17.160 --> 0:41:18.840 We don't even know where to refer you to. 0:41:20.360 --> 0:41:23.520 The only support that we were able to get earlier 0:41:23.560 --> 0:41:26.920 on in the piece was to have a few emails 0:41:26.920 --> 0:41:31.160 sent on our behalf from a lawyer to I HG 0:41:31.280 --> 0:41:35.719 Corporate here in Australia asking based on you know, so 0:41:35.800 --> 0:41:38.880 that they didn't I guess the strategy was to not 0:41:38.920 --> 0:41:41.440 put them off guard. It was to ask for his 0:41:41.560 --> 0:41:44.880 employment records and the incident report so that we could 0:41:45.160 --> 0:41:48.080 see if his employment records showed that he was employed 0:41:48.080 --> 0:41:50.640 in Fiji or if it was still based in Queensland 0:41:50.680 --> 0:41:54.319 because that's where he was working previously. They did send 0:41:54.320 --> 0:41:58.600 through the employment records, which we already had, but they 0:41:58.600 --> 0:42:01.080 said that they do not hold any of the information 0:42:01.160 --> 0:42:03.360 in terms of the incident reporter or any of that nature. 0:42:03.400 --> 0:42:08.000 And to approach the local Fiji hotel An you said 0:42:08.000 --> 0:42:08.560 the same thing. 0:42:09.360 --> 0:42:13.800 It feels like everyone you talk to is shifting responsibility 0:42:13.800 --> 0:42:18.160 onto the next person. Use the word abandoned before. Do 0:42:18.239 --> 0:42:21.200 you feel like Jason is just being forgotten in this? 0:42:22.360 --> 0:42:23.080 Absolutely? 0:42:23.280 --> 0:42:29.520 And you know, like he it was such a huge personality, 0:42:29.719 --> 0:42:32.360 a huge part of so many people's life, impacted so 0:42:32.400 --> 0:42:36.040 many people in a positive way. And we just feel 0:42:36.120 --> 0:42:39.480 if we weren't doing what we're doing, you know, by 0:42:39.600 --> 0:42:43.520 approaching different people by you know, continuing to turn over 0:42:43.600 --> 0:42:46.960 every stone we can. I think that that's kind of 0:42:47.800 --> 0:42:50.560 and this is you know, just our opinion. They're hoping 0:42:50.600 --> 0:42:54.719 we give up. They're hoping that we run into so 0:42:54.840 --> 0:42:58.200 many blocks that there's nowhere else to turn and we 0:42:58.360 --> 0:43:00.320 just you know, have to move on with our life 0:43:00.840 --> 0:43:04.959 and unfortunately they pick the wrong family. 0:43:04.960 --> 0:43:07.120 Now, but it feels like you guys have had to 0:43:07.120 --> 0:43:11.799 turn into pseudo investigators, like you absolutely have. Yeah, like 0:43:11.840 --> 0:43:13.800 you're investigating his death yourself. 0:43:14.400 --> 0:43:16.360 And that's what's so hard about it. 0:43:16.360 --> 0:43:19.440 We're here in Australia, the cases in Fiji, our lawyers 0:43:19.480 --> 0:43:21.960 are in Fiji. We have no one here on the ground. 0:43:22.719 --> 0:43:25.439 We're even thinking do we get another private investigator who's 0:43:25.480 --> 0:43:27.880 on the ground in Australia to do these things, because 0:43:28.400 --> 0:43:30.919 you know, we can't actively go and meet with these 0:43:30.960 --> 0:43:33.480 people or go and have a conversation. We've tried that 0:43:33.719 --> 0:43:37.560 and they lawyer up straight away. So Chris and I 0:43:37.840 --> 0:43:42.160 and you know Peter as well. It's just there are 0:43:42.200 --> 0:43:45.399 so many calls that happen after dinner or after kids 0:43:45.440 --> 0:43:48.440 are in bed about we've reached out to this person, 0:43:48.480 --> 0:43:50.600 what do you think about this theory? You know, have 0:43:50.680 --> 0:43:53.120 you thought about that? Or we just reread this email 0:43:53.200 --> 0:43:56.880 from you know, the few days after Jason passed, and 0:43:57.239 --> 0:43:57.680 did you. 0:43:57.600 --> 0:44:01.200 Remember that that happened? Because when you're in the. 0:44:00.400 --> 0:44:03.000 Instant impact of the grief and the trauma, you're not 0:44:03.600 --> 0:44:06.480 reading the details that you know that we've been able 0:44:06.520 --> 0:44:11.759 to pull out after the fact, So yeah, we've absolutely Yeah, 0:44:11.800 --> 0:44:15.279 we feel like was spoon feeding everyone every step of 0:44:15.280 --> 0:44:15.640 the way. 0:44:16.360 --> 0:44:21.680 So apart from that initial phone call with Schevanny when 0:44:22.000 --> 0:44:24.640 the death happened, you haven't heard from either of them, 0:44:24.760 --> 0:44:27.319 Ian or Shavanni because they're the main people that were 0:44:27.320 --> 0:44:29.880 in that room. They are who we need to hear from, 0:44:30.520 --> 0:44:33.000 and your Famili's tried to contact both of them since. 0:44:33.719 --> 0:44:37.000 Yes, So they are also the closest to Jason from 0:44:37.000 --> 0:44:38.640 what we've been told, his girlfriend and. 0:44:38.560 --> 0:44:39.360 His best friend. 0:44:39.920 --> 0:44:43.319 So we've never to date had any contact from Ian 0:44:43.520 --> 0:44:46.640 and there has been numerous calls and messages sent to 0:44:46.760 --> 0:44:50.480 him to request for him to call back to discuss anything. 0:44:51.520 --> 0:44:54.799 He's never done that. He's never answered anything from our 0:44:54.840 --> 0:44:58.240 private investigator. Obviously didn't answer the phone on a sixty 0:44:58.280 --> 0:45:03.840 minutes call. He did reach out to Chris about maybe 0:45:03.840 --> 0:45:07.000 a month after the fact, which was quite bizarre. It 0:45:07.080 --> 0:45:10.640 was out of the blue. You know, we didn't have 0:45:10.719 --> 0:45:13.000 her phone number. She told Chris on the call that 0:45:13.120 --> 0:45:17.040 she got it from the hospital the Morgue where Jason was. 0:45:17.080 --> 0:45:21.319 They gave out Chris's phone number, which is bizarre, and 0:45:21.640 --> 0:45:24.880 what we were really shocked by at the time and 0:45:25.000 --> 0:45:28.560 still to this day, is the contents of that phone call. 0:45:28.600 --> 0:45:33.720 It was very reinstating the narrative about you know, Jason 0:45:33.760 --> 0:45:36.480 shed everything with me. He was in a really dark place. 0:45:37.080 --> 0:45:41.200 I don't know why the police wanted to test my 0:45:41.400 --> 0:45:45.520 DNA because I've already told them everything. I'm actually quite 0:45:45.600 --> 0:45:49.799 angry about that, which really really struck a chord with us, 0:45:49.880 --> 0:45:52.920 because if you were there and your loved one that 0:45:52.960 --> 0:45:55.400 you said you know you're in love with and spending 0:45:55.400 --> 0:45:58.240 a life with, wouldn't you be doing anything and everything 0:45:58.280 --> 0:46:00.840 to support whatever needs to happen for that case? 0:46:02.600 --> 0:46:03.879 And she did. 0:46:04.160 --> 0:46:07.759 She's really really pressing too, because what we did was 0:46:07.840 --> 0:46:12.840 we had a service for Jason and then we waited 0:46:12.880 --> 0:46:14.960 a little bit of time for his other brother to 0:46:15.080 --> 0:46:21.040 get back for the ash scattering. And she was very 0:46:21.120 --> 0:46:23.440 much so trying to push the point to be invited 0:46:23.560 --> 0:46:26.160 to go to that and wanting to know the date 0:46:26.239 --> 0:46:28.279 of that so that she could come and be a 0:46:28.320 --> 0:46:30.080 part of that. And by that point we were very 0:46:30.800 --> 0:46:35.600 suspicious and cautious of her. So, yeah, that was the 0:46:35.840 --> 0:46:38.480 one and only time outside of the core of night 0:46:38.520 --> 0:46:41.799 that it happened and we've never heard from her since. 0:46:42.320 --> 0:46:48.000 There's just so many unanswered questions, isn't there like for 0:46:48.040 --> 0:46:51.359 you to be this far in and to have this 0:46:51.440 --> 0:46:55.839 little little detail, It's unbelievable. 0:46:56.440 --> 0:46:58.960 It is unbelievable, and I think the thing is well, 0:46:59.400 --> 0:47:01.720 it's not as if there isn't information there. 0:47:02.040 --> 0:47:03.120 It's a huge hotel. 0:47:03.239 --> 0:47:06.080 There should be so many witnesses, there are multiple people 0:47:06.120 --> 0:47:10.840 on the scene. There is information that could be found, 0:47:11.080 --> 0:47:15.240 like whereas the CCTV we have no idea. It didn't 0:47:15.239 --> 0:47:19.000 happen in a remote location. And this mystery about what happened. 0:47:19.320 --> 0:47:22.720 We know those things and to us it seems pretty 0:47:22.719 --> 0:47:27.200 cut and dry about what needs to happen. And yeah, 0:47:27.239 --> 0:47:29.759 I guess that's the frustration. It's eighteen months, it'll bit 0:47:29.800 --> 0:47:33.200 two years in December, and that's why we're doing this 0:47:33.600 --> 0:47:35.400 and why we want the case and we want everyone 0:47:35.440 --> 0:47:38.279 to know Jason Rigby, and we want everyone, especially in 0:47:38.320 --> 0:47:42.120 Australia to be aware of this because there's lots of 0:47:42.160 --> 0:47:45.719 people that work abroad and build careers and do all 0:47:45.719 --> 0:47:49.399 these amazing things, but you know, things don't really work 0:47:49.440 --> 0:47:52.120 out the way you think that they do when you're 0:47:52.160 --> 0:47:54.560 working in different countries, like that unfortunately. 0:47:54.920 --> 0:47:59.520 Yeah, and look what happens when the unfortunate does happen. 0:48:00.080 --> 0:48:03.040 In terms of that like cross country cooperation, I mean, 0:48:03.080 --> 0:48:05.839 there isn't really much cooperation. 0:48:06.160 --> 0:48:10.080 There's no you know, no textbook, there's no one guiding us. 0:48:10.120 --> 0:48:13.200 There's no one you know, even being a point of 0:48:13.239 --> 0:48:16.600 contact to you know, suggest have you tried this and 0:48:16.680 --> 0:48:19.799 maybe you can approach these people. It's it's Chris and 0:48:19.840 --> 0:48:24.160 I researching wherever we can, trying to find it out 0:48:24.239 --> 0:48:26.680 as much information as we can. And you know, I'm 0:48:26.680 --> 0:48:30.279 sure the family are doing that too, but you know, 0:48:30.719 --> 0:48:35.720 we live this every single day, and it's just, yeah, 0:48:35.920 --> 0:48:41.440 we're really i suppose grateful that Jason had the family 0:48:41.520 --> 0:48:44.000 that he has to do this, because if he didn't, 0:48:44.120 --> 0:48:45.680 or if it was you know, left to people that 0:48:45.719 --> 0:48:48.600 were maybe a little bit older or uneducated with you know, 0:48:48.640 --> 0:48:51.200 because there's so much to this. I'm lucky in a 0:48:51.239 --> 0:48:54.120 sense that my sister is you know, a senior lawyer 0:48:54.120 --> 0:48:56.839 and has kind of helped break things down and you know, 0:48:57.120 --> 0:49:01.000 Layman's terms for us to understand because it's so technical. 0:49:01.120 --> 0:49:05.799 And yeah, we're just figuring out every day and doing 0:49:05.840 --> 0:49:07.719 the best that we can well. 0:49:07.640 --> 0:49:09.480 As well as sending off all the emails, knocking on 0:49:09.520 --> 0:49:14.320 all the doors. You're also running an Instagram page, yeah, 0:49:14.480 --> 0:49:17.239 called Justice for Jason Rigby. You're writing a book that 0:49:17.360 --> 0:49:20.960 includes Jason and your experience as a family and all 0:49:21.160 --> 0:49:25.880 the grief. You were the one that administered the estate, 0:49:25.920 --> 0:49:27.920 you organized his funeral. Jess, You've got a lot on 0:49:27.960 --> 0:49:31.200 your plate. How are you You've got four kids? 0:49:31.560 --> 0:49:32.719 Yeah, that's one. 0:49:33.280 --> 0:49:38.640 That's a pretty big one. You kind of eluded before 0:49:38.680 --> 0:49:40.920 about the late night calls and stuff because your husband 0:49:40.960 --> 0:49:43.960 is also the one behind all of these emails and everything. 0:49:44.200 --> 0:49:47.160 What kind of toll has has this fight taken on 0:49:47.239 --> 0:49:52.160 your family and on your relationship and on your marriage. 0:49:52.320 --> 0:49:55.640 Look, it has been and it still is, like every 0:49:55.719 --> 0:50:01.760 day really challenging. They're you know, I think when grief, 0:50:01.840 --> 0:50:04.319 for you know, traumatic events happen, it can either bring 0:50:04.400 --> 0:50:09.040 families together or sometimes bring challenges to the surface even 0:50:09.040 --> 0:50:10.920 more so because there is that spot light there, and 0:50:10.920 --> 0:50:15.200 we've definitely experienced that. I think it's brought Chris and 0:50:15.239 --> 0:50:18.880 I together because we are so united on this front. 0:50:18.960 --> 0:50:22.880 It's brought Chris and his dad Peter really close together 0:50:22.960 --> 0:50:25.680 because you know, there was a bit of tension there 0:50:25.719 --> 0:50:28.759 prior to Jason passing, and they were able to really 0:50:28.760 --> 0:50:33.279 rebuild that relationship and are united, you know, because of 0:50:33.520 --> 0:50:37.160 their son and their brother. So that's been really positive. 0:50:37.200 --> 0:50:41.480 But we just try, I guess, to focus on what's important. 0:50:41.560 --> 0:50:44.800 We block out the noise, the things that aren't important. 0:50:44.800 --> 0:50:47.839 We feel that we're on the right path and that 0:50:47.960 --> 0:50:51.360 Jason is with us, and you know, we're just so 0:50:52.560 --> 0:50:55.799 I think what keeps us going is he should have 0:50:55.800 --> 0:50:57.640 been able to be a part of our kid's life. 0:50:57.760 --> 0:51:00.120 He should have been able to fly back and you know, 0:51:00.719 --> 0:51:04.160 watch how kids grow up. He has missed and that 0:51:04.560 --> 0:51:08.239 we miss him being a part of And yeah, I 0:51:08.320 --> 0:51:12.400 just think as well, he's my husband's brother. But you know, 0:51:12.480 --> 0:51:15.280 I have siblings and loved ones, and you do whatever 0:51:15.320 --> 0:51:18.359 it takes, and you know, we want to make sure 0:51:18.400 --> 0:51:19.960 that you know, for on our death bed at the 0:51:20.040 --> 0:51:22.399 end of it, that we've done everything that we could 0:51:22.400 --> 0:51:23.040 possibly do. 0:51:24.400 --> 0:51:26.600 What about your kids, your older kids, How do you 0:51:26.640 --> 0:51:27.879 explain all of this to them? 0:51:28.920 --> 0:51:32.759 Yeah, look, that's definitely a challenge. And we are a 0:51:32.760 --> 0:51:36.480 blended family as well. So Chris's daughter, so she is 0:51:36.520 --> 0:51:41.800 the eldest of the family and definitely had I guess 0:51:41.880 --> 0:51:43.440 more of that strong relationship. 0:51:43.520 --> 0:51:45.480 Being the eldest of the family. She was nine at 0:51:45.480 --> 0:51:45.920 the time. 0:51:47.320 --> 0:51:50.480 And you know, we told the kids, especially at the 0:51:50.520 --> 0:51:53.440 start when you know, Dad had to fly to Fiji. 0:51:53.480 --> 0:51:56.799 It was Christmas holidays. They just knocked off school. We 0:51:56.880 --> 0:52:01.640 already had an airbnb booked. I took the four kids, 0:52:01.680 --> 0:52:06.719 including the baby, you know, down to Kingscliff Chris Flute, Fiji. 0:52:07.320 --> 0:52:10.160 You know, I was handling the kids. My family came 0:52:10.200 --> 0:52:15.280 to help, and we at the start, we still said Jason, 0:52:15.320 --> 0:52:19.000 you know, has passed and he's in heaven and it 0:52:19.160 --> 0:52:22.360 was an accident and we don't know what happened. But 0:52:22.440 --> 0:52:25.040 the older kids, do you know that our girls they're 0:52:25.680 --> 0:52:28.279 nine and almost eleven now, and you know, they've seen 0:52:28.320 --> 0:52:30.879 a sixty minute story and they do understand that. And 0:52:31.600 --> 0:52:36.000 I think that, you know, over time, we don't. We 0:52:36.080 --> 0:52:39.640 try to keep all of these conversations, I guess where 0:52:39.680 --> 0:52:41.520 it's just Chris and I are or you know, while 0:52:41.520 --> 0:52:43.600 they're at school and things like that, but they are aware, 0:52:43.640 --> 0:52:45.000 and I think, you know, we try to be as 0:52:45.040 --> 0:52:49.719 honest as we can, but keeping them emotionally safe at. 0:52:49.640 --> 0:52:50.320 The same time. 0:52:52.480 --> 0:52:53.200 Are you angry? 0:52:54.440 --> 0:52:59.319 Absolutely, we are beyond like there's no words for it. 0:52:59.400 --> 0:53:02.160 We're sometimes you just you know, we get into bed 0:53:02.239 --> 0:53:07.520 after the chaos of bedtime and bathtime with four kids 0:53:07.520 --> 0:53:09.919 and all of that, and you know, Chris works really 0:53:09.920 --> 0:53:12.239 hard in his own business. It's a very physical job 0:53:12.280 --> 0:53:16.920 as well, and you just go, we're just so tired. 0:53:17.160 --> 0:53:20.160 And but then you get past that and you have 0:53:20.200 --> 0:53:22.920 your little pity party and you put your big pants 0:53:22.920 --> 0:53:25.520 on and you get to it and you know that, yeah, 0:53:25.719 --> 0:53:28.200 you know, Jason's in all of these photos behind us, 0:53:28.239 --> 0:53:30.239 and you know, I think he's with us on this 0:53:30.320 --> 0:53:33.080 and that's what keeps us going. But we're definitely we're 0:53:33.120 --> 0:53:37.160 like outraged that it just seems as though no one 0:53:37.200 --> 0:53:42.080 cares and they are all tied by you know, red 0:53:42.160 --> 0:53:48.000 tape and you know the whole cross border situation, and 0:53:48.800 --> 0:53:51.520 we don't that they wish they could help, but they 0:53:51.560 --> 0:53:55.880 can't help. And yeah, we're just going to keep pushing 0:53:55.920 --> 0:53:59.799 and keep advocating for Jason and the case until we 0:54:00.160 --> 0:54:00.919 where we need to get. 0:54:02.200 --> 0:54:05.680 What are you hoping to get from this chat from 0:54:05.719 --> 0:54:09.759 listeners hearing our conversation. How can we help? What can 0:54:09.800 --> 0:54:10.160 they do? 0:54:10.880 --> 0:54:14.120 I think, and you know, Chris and our family, we 0:54:14.160 --> 0:54:15.920 want everyone to know Jason Rickby. 0:54:16.040 --> 0:54:16.600 We want to know. 0:54:17.120 --> 0:54:19.040 We want you to know that he was a love 0:54:19.120 --> 0:54:21.880 family member, and that he was loving life. He was having, 0:54:22.680 --> 0:54:24.680 you know, some of the best years of his life. 0:54:25.680 --> 0:54:29.799 We want listeners to be as outraged about that we're 0:54:30.400 --> 0:54:33.920 at the same position essentially eighteen months down the track. 0:54:34.360 --> 0:54:36.160 You know, we live in Australia, We've got. 0:54:36.040 --> 0:54:40.080 So many amazing things and support and you know, government 0:54:40.120 --> 0:54:43.400 bodies and whatnot, and we're still in this, you know, 0:54:43.520 --> 0:54:45.839 completely lost situation. 0:54:46.200 --> 0:54:48.000 And you know, if. 0:54:47.880 --> 0:54:51.680 There is the right person listening to this when you know, 0:54:51.760 --> 0:54:54.919 for you to share this, someone that has some kind 0:54:54.960 --> 0:54:59.000 of power or some kind of leverage to make the 0:54:59.080 --> 0:55:01.640 call to Fiji or to have the meeting with the 0:55:01.719 --> 0:55:07.840 right person to expediate this case, that would be you 0:55:07.880 --> 0:55:09.160 know the dream. 0:55:09.600 --> 0:55:13.440 Lastly, we've talked a bit about grief, but is it 0:55:13.480 --> 0:55:18.920 hard to properly grieve when you are still so actively fighting. 0:55:20.280 --> 0:55:23.560 Yeah. Look, I think when we talk about grief, especially 0:55:24.080 --> 0:55:27.359 you know, being parents and doing all the everyday things 0:55:27.400 --> 0:55:30.640 that you need to keep doing after you know, something 0:55:30.719 --> 0:55:34.399 so traumatic, Chris kind of deals with it in a way. 0:55:35.560 --> 0:55:38.279 He goes quiet and goes into his little space and 0:55:38.600 --> 0:55:41.080 you know, certain songs remind him of it. And you know, 0:55:41.120 --> 0:55:43.320 I know he drives from the Gold Crest to Brisbane 0:55:43.640 --> 0:55:45.760 quite a lot. He's got a little, you know, figurine 0:55:45.800 --> 0:55:48.480 that looks like Jason in the car, and I know 0:55:48.520 --> 0:55:50.400 he spends time and talks to him there, and I'm 0:55:50.440 --> 0:55:52.400 sure that's where he has a lot of you know, 0:55:52.480 --> 0:55:56.480 those that time with Jason and that grief. So I 0:55:56.520 --> 0:55:59.160 guess the grief is there, and you steal the moments 0:55:59.200 --> 0:56:02.719 that you can. My grief is obviously different being his 0:56:02.840 --> 0:56:06.480 sister in law, but you know, I live with that 0:56:06.600 --> 0:56:11.960 grief with Chris every day, and I think I just wish, 0:56:12.680 --> 0:56:15.239 like anything, when he loves someone so much, that I 0:56:15.280 --> 0:56:19.160 could help in some way or make his pain less 0:56:19.480 --> 0:56:22.239 or you know. And I guess that's why I'm doing 0:56:22.280 --> 0:56:27.319 this as his support person and you know, supporting his 0:56:27.480 --> 0:56:31.680 brother and the family because you know of the love 0:56:31.680 --> 0:56:34.560 that I have for Chris and our family and our children, 0:56:34.680 --> 0:56:37.319 and it feels like the only thing that I can 0:56:37.400 --> 0:56:41.080 possibly do to try and make things not better, but 0:56:41.880 --> 0:56:45.480 get you know, the justice that Jason and the family deserve. 0:56:45.840 --> 0:56:48.799 Well, your incredible Jess, thank you for joining us, Thank 0:56:48.840 --> 0:56:53.600 you for telling us Jason's story and hopefully our listeners 0:56:55.040 --> 0:56:58.960 can wrap their arms around you and help put pressure 0:56:59.040 --> 0:57:00.800 on well at the most, it's the AFP. 0:57:02.080 --> 0:57:06.400 Yeah, yeah, and we just we want, I suppose everyone 0:57:06.440 --> 0:57:09.600 to feel that emotional connection to you know that everyday 0:57:10.040 --> 0:57:12.640 Australian guy like the Alaric and the fun guy at 0:57:12.640 --> 0:57:15.360 the party, the fun uncle. I'm sure everyone in everyone's 0:57:15.400 --> 0:57:17.760 family has a guy like Jason in their life. 0:57:17.800 --> 0:57:21.240 And you know that this family. 0:57:20.960 --> 0:57:23.760 Is not going anywhere, and any support and any shares 0:57:23.800 --> 0:57:26.560 about the story and any you know, if you've got 0:57:26.600 --> 0:57:30.439 any push or power or you know ability to help 0:57:30.440 --> 0:57:33.280 in any way with the case, who would absolutely love 0:57:33.320 --> 0:57:34.040 to hear from you. 0:57:35.160 --> 0:57:37.640 Thank you to Jess for joining us on this episode. 0:57:37.760 --> 0:57:40.040 You can find links to support the search for answers 0:57:40.080 --> 0:57:42.840 in our show notes. If you enjoyed this episode, please 0:57:42.880 --> 0:57:46.040 leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. 0:57:46.280 --> 0:57:48.760 It really helps people find out more about the show. 0:57:49.200 --> 0:57:51.400 Thanks so much for listening. I'll be back next week 0:57:51.560 --> 0:57:53.160 with another true crime conversation.