Dominic Perre found guilty of bombing National Crime Authority in Adelaide in 1994

Bomber is found guilty of murdering cop in horrific attack on office building that left a lawyer without his eye as almost 30 year investigation ends

Domenic Perre was found guilty of bombing the National Crime Authority
The judge deliberated on the mountain of evidence for more than nine months
The huge explosion killed a police officer and left a lawyer without his eye

By Tim Dornin For Australian Associated Press

Published: 01:30 BST, 30 June 2022 | Updated: 02:10 BST, 30 June 2022

The man accused of bombing the National Crime Authority office in Adelaide, killing a police officer and seriously wounding a lawyer, has been found guilty of both murder and attempted murder.

In the South Australian Supreme Court on Thursday, Justice Kevin Nicholson handed down his verdicts against Domenic Perre who is already behind bars over drug offences.

The 1994 bombing killed Detective Sergeant Geoffrey Bowen and seriously injured lawyer Peter Wallis.

Sgt Bowen died from horrific injuries, including the loss of his left arm, while Mr Wallis lost an eye and suffered severe burns.

Perre pleaded not guilty to the murder of Sgt Bowen and the attempted murder of Mr Wallis in his months-long trial conducted by the judge alone.

Dominic Perre (pictured, being wheeled by a prison guard) was found guilty of the bombing attack on the National Crime Authority

The judge deliberated over the evidence for nine months

He was first charged with murder soon after the bombing but the case against him was dropped six months later because of a lack of evidence.

The 64-year-old was arrested again in 2018 after a joint investigation, lasting more than two years, by a number of state and federal authorities including the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission.

The judge deliberated over the evidence since September, taking nine months to come to a guilty verdict.

Prosecutors argued the bombing was a personal attack on Sgt Bowen.

Detective Sergeant Geoffrey Bowen (pictured) was killed in the bombing, suffering horrific injuries from the blast

The bombing at the National Crime Authority (pictured) in 1994

They said Perre’s hostility towards him had grown because of their interactions following the seizure of a multi-million dollar cannabis crop in the Northern Territory in August 1993.

Perre elected not to give evidence but his defence team said the investigation into the bombing was plagued by tunnel vision.

Lead counsel Gilbert Aitken told the court that in the eyes of SA detectives only Perre had the motive to make and send the bomb.

SNAPSHOT OF THE BOMBING

THE INCIDENT:

* On March 2, 1994, a parcel bomb exploded in the office of the National Crime Authority on the 12th floor of an office building in Waymouth Street, Adelaide.

* The blast killed investigator Detective Sergeant Geoffrey Bowen and severely injured lawyer Peter Wallis.

* The bombing has been one of South Australia’s highest-profile cases, with a $1 million reward offered in 2008 for information leading to the conviction of the person or people responsible.

THE BOMBER:

* Domenic Perre was first charged with murder soon after the bombing but the case against him was dropped six months later because of a lack of evidence.

* The 65-year-old was arrested again in 2018 after a joint investigation, lasting more than two years, by a number of state and federal authorities including the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission.

* He went on trial for murder and attempted murder in the Supreme Court in October 2020 after being jailed on drug trafficking charges unrelated to the bombing.

* After a near year-long trial and more than six months of deliberations, Justice Kevin Nicholson found him guilty on both charges.

* Perre will be sentenced at a later date.

THE TRIAL:

* The trial opened in October 2020 with the final evidence taken in June last year and the final defence submissions in August.

* There was no jury after Perre elected to be tried by judge alone.

* On the prosecution case the bombing was a personal attack on Sgt Bowen following the seizure of a multi-million-dollar drug crop in the Northern Territory in 1993.

* Perre’s defence said he had continually denied involvement in the bombing and accused detectives of having “tunnel vision” during the entire 28-year investigation.

* Some elements of the case have been kept secret with the court issuing more than 30 suppression orders.

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