Cheryl Grimmer Case: Family Hopeful as DPP to Review 1970 Disappearance
The family of Cheryl Grimmer, a British-born toddler who disappeared from an Australian beach in 1970, has been offered a formal review of the failed prosecution related to her case, according to a statement from the New South Wales (NSW) Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). The offer comes after decades of campaigning by the Grimmer family and renewed attention to the case following a podcast and the emergence of new evidence.
Cheryl Grimmer, aged three, vanished on January 12, 1970, after briefly leaving the change rooms at Fairy Meadow Beach, north of Wollongong, while her family was preparing to abandon for the day. She has not been found. The case remains one of Australia’s longest-running unsolved child abductions.
In 1971, a 17-year-old confessed to police that he had murdered Cheryl. However, the confession was initially shelved. The case was reopened in 2017 after detectives rediscovered the material in police archives and arrested the man, known only as “Mercury.” He was charged with Cheryl’s death, but the case collapsed in 2019 when the confession was ruled inadmissible. The court determined that Mercury, a minor at the time of the confession, had been questioned without a parent, guardian, or legal representation present, violating the Children (Criminal Proceedings) Act 1987.
The Grimmer family has consistently argued that errors were made in the original investigation and subsequent prosecution. Following a decision by NSW MP Jeremy Buckingham to use parliamentary privilege to name Mercury, the family submitted four detailed submissions to authorities, outlining their concerns.
Dr. Michael Grimmer, a UK-based geneticist and cousin of Cheryl, has been instrumental in the recent push for a review. He began researching the case several years ago after learning about his family connection to Cheryl. “I got to become aware of who was in my family and my cousins in Australia,” he said. “I came across this story about Cheryl. I realised she was the daughter of my uncle Vince. It was just horrific.”
Dr. Grimmer disputes the court’s interpretation of the law regarding the admissibility of Mercury’s confession. He argues that the legislation cited was intended to protect children and should not have been applied to a man who was decades older when charged. He too questions the court’s assessment of Mercury’s intellectual capacity, suggesting that his low reading and writing scores were likely due to disrupted schooling and migration, rather than a fundamental lack of intelligence.
The family has also raised concerns about the continued suppression of Mercury’s name, arguing that the legal basis for the suppression – intended for the protection of children – is no longer applicable given his current age.
In a letter to the Grimmer family, NSW DPP Sally Dowling SC acknowledged the family’s submissions and concerns. She stated that while the normal time limit for requesting a review had expired, she had agreed to consider the case. Dowling also acknowledged the family’s discovery of fresh evidence and witnesses who came forward after listening to the BBC podcast, “Fairy Meadow.”
The DPP has offered the family a choice: proceed immediately with a review under the Victim’s Right of Review (VRR) policy using the original evidence, or submit the new information to NSW Police for investigation, potentially leading to a more comprehensive review. Dr. Grimmer has recently been in communication with the NSW Homicide Squad, details of which he has declined to disclose at this time.
A renewed search for Cheryl’s remains conducted in February 2026, focused on a bushland area initially mentioned in Mercury’s 1971 confession, did not yield any results. Police confirmed that bones found during the search belonged to an animal. Despite the unsuccessful search, the investigation remains active, and a A$1 million reward remains on offer for information leading to the resolution of the case.