Anita Cobby The Crime that shocked a Nation

by Alan J. Whititcker

The abduction, rape and murder of 26-year-old nurse Anita Cobby in the Western suburb of Blacktown in February 1986 shocked hardened detectives, the wider community and ultimately the entire nation. That five young men from adjoining suburbs were responsible- local thieves and hoods with nothing to fear or lose- horrified the entire nation. Quickly captured, they were found guilty of their crimes and jailed for life, their papers marked 'never to be released'.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction

253 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2015

Reviews

[Kirsti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anita Cobby's is a story I have heard for many years, firstly as a kind of warning from my mother. When I was a teenager, and just starting to test my wings, my mother got a print out of the Anita Cobby story, said to me "I want you to sit down, read that, and anytime you have to walk home alone, or one of your friends think they have to, find some other way. Call me, call a friend's mum, but never walk alone." I read it, and the images stayed with me. I was completely horrified. I have had cause over the years to walk home alone, and at night, but my hand hovers over the emergency numbers as I walk, knowing as much as I don't want to, that there are monsters out there.

This was a crime that was a wake up call for many, obviously my mother was one who felt affected, because I have heard her talk about the case over the years and was even interested in my reading of this book, which isn't the case very often with my books! It was a completely wrong crime, that crime where a complete innocent was just following a usual routine when she was attacked, raped and brutally murdered by five young men. Anita's story is one that hasn't been forgotten over the years, and the story of her parents after the crime deserves to be heard. Even the follow ups with the detectives who worked the case was harrowing reading. The 30th Anniversary is next year, and I imagine that Australia will stop and remember an innocent nurse, an ordinary person who lost her life on that day.

A well informed book and a fine example of its genre. Five stars.

[Xanthi · Rating 3 out of 5]

A truly horrific Australian crime case. I was vaguely aware if it at the time, and then years later knew the rough details. So when I saw a new book was out about this event, I thought I'd fill myself in further as to what actually happened. The details as to what the victim must have endured was bad enough, but reading about the vile Travers was stomach churning. It is a known fact that cruelty to animals = psychopathic personalities.
The down to earth interviews with the detectives working on the case, were interesting, as were the ones with the victim's parents.
The book falls down a bit with the lack of comprehensive detail, bad editing, grammatical errors, repetition and typos. Didn't anyone proof read this manuscript before it went to print?

[Emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

Repetitive and poorly edited.

[Theresa Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was an interesting read about the Australian Anita Cobby case .The writing was excellent except a few typo mistakes but overall kept me interested from start to finish.I like the writing style of this author and recommend anyone to read this book if you are interested in the Anita Cobby case.

[Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

This crime was certainly very shocking and resonated with me as my family used to live not too far from where it took place. This account, while delivering the facts of the case from a number of different angles (police, family, court, eye witnesses, etc) was ultimately let down by some very poor editing. It was plagued by typographical errors, repetitions and in some places poor grammar and sentence construction. As such my rating reflects these deficiencies.

[Shelley Timms · Rating 4 out of 5]

Check out my review on the ECU Daily website!

http://www.ecudaily.com.au/18286/arts...

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is 'easy' reading on a still incomprehensible tragedy.

[Annie Booker · Rating 3 out of 5]

There a quite few typos in this book but it's still a real page-turner about a tragic murder than many Australians still remember happening.

[Linda Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hard to give this book lots of stars because the story is just so disturbing, even thirty years after the fact. I remember it clearly when it happened and it was harrowing then, but I found myself looking up other heinous crimes of the same nature, of Balding and Simpson and found it quite depressing that these crimes even happen and that the perpetrators have no sense of remorse. It is also extremely hideous that the judicial system has to go through so much bullshit to put these monsters away only to have them appeal because if their age or some lame excuse from childhood. That times when they are released they commit the same crime. It's a hard book to read only because of the very nature of the topic. Life imprisonment should be life. End of story!

[Katie. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a devastating book to read, and I physically felt sick after reading it.

It was interesting in the sense of examining human behaviour and what humans are capable of in the pursuit of their own destructive agendas (putting it lightly). This is a story that Australia, and the world will never forget.

Anita should be remembered by not what was done to her, but what she did to the world.

[Ella Edwards · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've read a lot of true crime and it's truly terrible what happened, but the same, long winded explanation was repeated 4 to 6 times in the same chapter. The grammar, punctuation and overall editing is atrocious and distracting, and at times it comes across that the writer is trying to justify why the men committed the crime, which is just disturbing.

[Sarah Jackson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A thorough report on a horrible crime. The events are retold in a series of anecdotes from those involved in the case (police, lawyers, family etc) in an easy to read format. This particular case reinforces my support for the death penalty - not as a deterrent (nothing deters these types of grubs) but as a way of permanently removing these life-destroying, world-resource wasters. This book includes descriptions of a violent gang rape and murder - not recommended for sensitive souls.

[Billi-Jean]

‘Her light shines forever.’ are the words written on Anita Cobby’s grave. Quoted from page 249. A truly informative account on the crime that shocked the nation from all different perspectives. In this book it outlines an account of the times, the victim, the investigation, the informant, the arrest, the boys, the detectives, the media etc. A lot of details which were being repeated throughout the book.

[Jack Fricker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book but it appeared not to have been proof read at all. Dozens of typos and grammatical errors. Distracting and unprofessional. Marring an otherwise well researched and thought provoking book.