Death of Joe Cinque

The death of Joe Cinque occurred in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory on 26 October 1997. Cinque's coffee was laced with rohypnol, a sedative, at a dinner party, after which he was injected with a lethal dose of heroin by his girlfriend Anu Singh, who was a law student at the Australian National University at the time. Singh was convicted in 1999 of manslaughter. She was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment, but was released early in 2001. Since her release, she has undertaken criminology research. The crime was portrayed in Helen Garner's non-fiction book Joe Cinque's Consolation (2004), which was later adapted into a film of the same name.

Singh-Cinque relationship

Joe Cinque and Anu Singh met in Newcastle, New South Wales in 1995. The following year, the couple were living together in Canberra while she was a law student at the Australian National University. During the 1998 trial, one of Singh's friends testified that she had been highly obsessed with her self-image, particularly her body, since 1991 and had briefly taken ipecac after Cinque mentioned it, something she was later angry with him for. Singh was also reportedly obsessed with fad diets and would spend hours working out at the gym—she had told friends "she'd rather be dead than fat".[1][2] In May 1997, Singh told a friend that she wanted to kill several people, including Cinque, her ex-boyfriend Simon Walsh[3] and her doctors.[4]

Death

Singh's close friend Madhavi Rao invited acquaintances to two dinner parties in October 1997 and told them that a crime would be committed.[5] Witness Sanjeeva Tennekoon reported that the first dinner party on 24 October was normal and that Singh and Cinque appeared loving.[6] However, another witness told the court that Rao had told her afterwards that Singh had tried to kill Cinque that evening but did not deliver a sufficient dose, and that the witness had threatened to go to the police.[7] The day after the first dinner party, Singh and Rao went to a friend, Len Mancini, and told him they had given Cinque drugs the previous evening.[8]

Cinque died on 26 October 1997, the morning after the second dinner party. Toxicology reports showed high levels of heroin and rohypnol in his body.[9]

Witness Ross Manley claimed that Singh bought more heroin from Manley's friend on the morning of 26 October.[10][11] Singh called an ambulance for Cinque at 12:10pm on 26 October, and the ambulance officers found that he had had a cardiac arrest.[10] Singh made it difficult for the ambulance to respond quickly, giving a false address.[12] Singh told police at the scene that she had administered drugs to Cinque.[13] Police reported that when they arrived at the scene, Singh was hysterical and struggled with police and ambulance officers when they took her away from Cinque's body.[14]

Trial

Singh first appeared in court on 28 October 1997, charged with murder. She had told police that she had injected Cinque with heroin so that he would not interfere with a suicide attempt.[15] Rao was charged with conspiracy to commit murder and released on bail on 5 November.[16] The prosecutor noted that both Singh and Rao had been indiscreet about their actions.[5] Singh applied for bail in December, and a psychiatrist presented evidence of a personality disorder.[17] The prosecution pinpointed Singh as someone who embodied strong narcissistic traits.

Singh and Rao were tried jointly in October and November 1998, but this trial was aborted on 11 November, with Justice Ken Crispin saying that one of the pieces of evidence was problematic as it was unclear as to which of Singh or Rao it was admissible against.[18] For the second trial, Singh elected to stand trial by judge alone, forgoing a jury. Justice Crispin ruled that Singh and Rao should be tried separately in the interest of fairness.[19]

"There's no rational motivation at all. I was mentally unwell, and I still grapple with that. I still grapple with the whys. One of the psychiatrists mentioned a state of disassociation, perhaps, like disassociated from reality. I don't know. There’s no rational explanation."
—Singh, speaking in 2016[20]

In her 1999 trial, Singh's defence presented evidence that she was mentally ill and had diminished responsibility, proposing an insanity defense.[21] The court was told that Singh believed she was dying from a muscle wasting disease, complained of "not being able to feel her head on her body" and was bulimic.[20] The prosecutors called an expert witness to testify that Singh had appeared rational and assertive on the night she was arrested.[22] On 23 April Justice Crispin found Singh guilty of manslaughter[23] and the following day sentenced her to ten years' imprisonment with a minimum four years non-parole period.[24] Cinque's mother was deeply unhappy with the short sentence.[25] In Rao's second trial, she was charged with murder, manslaughter, attempted murder, and administering a stupefying drug[26] and was acquitted of all charges.[27]

Singh was released on parole in October 2001 after four years imprisonment, including time she had served on remand since 1997.[20] She was returned to jail in April 2004 after breaching her parole conditions by smoking marijuana[28] and re-released on 5 August 2004 after challenging her re-imprisonment on a technicality.[29][30]

Anu Singh
Anu Singh
Born (1972-09-03) 3 September 1972
India[31]
NationalityAustralian
Alma materUniversity of Sydney
Criminal charge(s)Manslaughter of Joe Cinque
Criminal penalty10 years' imprisonment
Criminal statusReleased

Early life

Anu Singh was born in India on 3 September 1972 to Indian Australian parents, Pradyumn "Paddy" and Surinder Singh, both doctors.[1] The family emigrated from India to Sydney in 1973, when Singh was a baby. They settled in the suburb of Strathfield. Singh attended a Catholic high school in Newcastle, where she was the dux of year 10 in 1988.[1] She graduated high school in 1990 and moved to Canberra the following year to begin studying a double degree in Economics/Law at the Australian National University. Singh missed her life in Sydney, engaged in recreational drug use while living in Canberra, and frequently called home to her parents.[1] As a result, she deferred her studies for one year to return to her family in Sydney.[3]

Singh's early life was relatively unremarkable, and her father remarked on her as a "happy-go-lucky child" albeit one with some attachment issues,[3] who gradually descended into mental illness in her twenties. According to Paddy Singh, Anu's problems escalated in 1995. It was around this time she had an affair with Joe Cinque. After Singh's break-up with an ex-boyfriend, Simon Walsh, as a result of her brief affair with Cinque, she began to use recreational drugs daily, developed insomnia and would pace the house at night.[32] Singh's break-up with Walsh was referred to as a "significant life event" in the court transcripts of her trial.

During her relationship with Cinque, she was dieting excessively and would obsess about her weight.[3] Singh's problems appeared to stabilise briefly during the early days of her relationship with Cinque, but soon returned after they moved in together. Her university attendance became sporadic, and on the rare occasion when she was seen by her peers, she appeared to be "dishevelled" and "poorly dressed"—in contrast to her earlier generally immaculate and prideful dress sense.[3] Singh's father took her to various psychologists and psychiatrists for help, who opined Singh's problem was "psychological", not physical.

After release

Singh has completed a masters in criminology at Sydney University, having attended classes on day release from Emu Plains Correctional Centre.[28][33]

In June 2005, concern was expressed in the New South Wales Parliament about Singh's employment with the Cabramatta Community Centre.[34] The public was reassured that Singh was not employed to distribute clean injecting equipment and that her employment was on a time-limited project.[35]

In 2010, Singh began research at the University of Sydney Faculty of Law,[36] and in 2012 was awarded a doctorate for her thesis Offending Women: Toward a Greater Understanding of Women's Pathways Into and Out of Crime in Australia. It outlines "five major pathways that led [female prisoners] to crime: unstable upbringings, sexual and physical abuse, drug use, economic marginality and mental illness".[37] An edited version was released as a self-published e-book in 2016.[20] This study is reported to have led to an increased understanding women's criminality in Australia.

She met her current partner, Aaron Erbacher, a fellow ex-convict, while in the Belconnen remand centre in 1998.[38] They have been in a relationship since then.[39]

In literature and other adaptations
External audio
"Joe Cinque is Dead", Late Night Live interviews with Singh and Cinque's parents, first broadcast 23 September 2004.[40]

The crime has been adapted into works by several authors and filmmakers. The best-known example is Helen Garner's 2004 book Joe Cinque's Consolation, published in the same month as Singh's re-release from prison, which was a widely publicised account of Singh's crime and trial, together with the Cinque family's response to it. Singh gave interviews shortly after the release of the book, recounting her own memories of the killing and expressing regret at rejecting Garner's request for an interview.[28] She told interviewers that she wished to redress some of the book's imbalance towards her.[40]

In 2012, it was announced that Garner's book would be turned into a film to be directed by Canberran Sotiris Dounoukos. Dounoukos was at ANU studying law at the same time as Singh;[41] she was "a friend of friends".[42] The film was partially funded by Screen Australia.[43] The film, also called Joe Cinque's Consolation, was given a cinematic release on 13 October 2016 to generally positive critical attention.[44] Singh was portrayed by actress Maggie Naouri.

Other works based on the death of Cinque include:

References
  1. "Crime week — Bright Young Things: Killer Anu Singh one-sided suicide pact with boyfriend Joe Cinque". The Daily Telegraph. 6 May 2014. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  2. Garner, Helen (2004). Joe Cinque's Consolation. Picador. p. 15. ISBN 978-0-33-042178-2.
  3. "The Queen v Anu Singh [1999] ACTSC 32". netk.net.au. 23 April 1999. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
  4. Armitage, Liz (24 October 1998). "Accused Spoke Of Rampage, Court Told". The Canberra Times.
  5. Armitage, Liz (5 November 1997). "ACT Law Students "conspire To Kill"". The Canberra Times.
  6. Armitage, Liz (6 November 1998). "Singh And Boyfriend Appeared To Be Happy Couple: Witness".
  7. Armitage, Liz (7 November 1998). "Witness Tells Court Of Murder Plan". The Canberra Times.
  8. Armitage, Liz (11 November 1998). "Accused Wanted To Kill Herself: Friend". The Canberra Times.
  9. Armitage, Liz (31 December 1997). "Passions Parade Before The Bench". The Canberra Times.
  10. Armitage, Liz (29 October 1998). "Singh "nervous" Buying Heroin, Court Hears". The Canberra Times.
  11. "Man's Death 'Not To Plan'". The Newcastle Herald. 21 October 1998.
  12. Whittington, Josh (13 February 1998). "20-minute 000 call". The Daily Telegraph.
  13. Armitage, Liz (23 April 1998). "Drug Death: Law Student To Stand Trial". The Canberra Times. And I had some heroin and I just kept pumping it into him.
  14. Whittington, Josh (22 October 1998). "A Very Broad Smile: Officer Tells of Accused's Action". The Daily Telegraph.
  15. "Woman On Murder Charge". The Canberra Times. 28 October 1997.
  16. Armitage, Liz (6 November 1997). "Bail For Student Linked To Party Murder". The Canberra Times.
  17. "Murder Case Bail Decision Adjourned". The Canberra Times. 5 December 1997.
  18. "Law student trial aborted". The Daily Telegraph. 12 November 1998.
  19. "Murder Accused To Face Trial By Judge". The Canberra Times. 17 November 1998.
  20. Gorman, Ginger (14 January 2016). "'What I did was a horrible thing': Anu Singh seeks atonement for killing Joe Cinque". News.com.au. News Corp Australia. Archived from the original on 26 April 2016.
  21. Armitage, Liz (13 April 1999). "Defendant Vain, Self-centred: Expert Witness". The Canberra Times.
  22. Armitage, Liz (15 April 1999). "Singh Was "rational" On Night Charged". The Canberra Times.
  23. "Impaired, guilty of manslaughter". The Canberra Times. 23 April 1999.
  24. Ludlow, Mark (25 June 1998). "Quick Parole For Killer". The Canberra Times.
  25. Hamilton, Fiona (24 June 1999). "ACT - Woman who killed boyfriend may be free in 2001". Australian Associated Press.
  26. Dickins, Jim (11 December 1999). "A Dark, Twisted Saga Ends With Acquittal". The Canberra Times.
  27. Moscaritolo, Maria (11 December 1999). "Cleared of heroin murder". The Daily Telegraph.
  28. Wyndham, Susan (9 August 2004). "On death and madness". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 24 May 2008.
  29. Jayne-Maree Sedgman (reporter) (6 August 2004). "Another chapter in Canberra murder story: Anu Singh speaks". The World Today. ABC. ABC Local Radio. Archived from the original on 13 January 2016.
  30. Neill, Rosemary (30 May 2005). "Of sins and needles". The Australian.
  31. Networked Knowledge - Law Report: The Queen v Anu Singh [1999] ACTSC 32 ACT Supreme Court
  32. "Accused's conduct changed — father". The Canberra Times. 7 April 1999. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  33. Devine, Miranda (5 June 2005). "Her new career's to die for". The Sun-Herald. Archived from the original on 2 November 2012.
  34. Oldfield, David (2005). "Ms Anu Singh and needle distribution program". New South Wales Legislative Council Hansard: Questions without notice. Parliament of New South Wales. Archived from the original on 18 February 2006.
  35. New South Wales Minister for Health (2005). "Ms Anu Singh and needle distribution program". New South Wales Legislative Council Hansard: Questions without notice; Deferred answers. Parliament of New South Wales. Archived from the original on 18 February 2006. Retrieved 28 June 2006.
  36. Speranza, Laura (12 December 2010). "Killer University of Sydney student Anu Singh writing thesis on crime". News.com.au. News Limited. Archived from the original on 2 February 2016.
  37. Anu, Singh (2012). Offending Women: Toward a Greater Understanding of Women's Pathways Into and Out of Crime in Australia. Sydney eScholarship Repository (PhD). University of Sydney. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  38. "Anu Singh's boyfriend speaks out about her past". Marie Claire. May 2017. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
  39. "Anu Singh's boyfriend defends her against 'hate rhetoric' on Seven's Sunday Night". Daily Telegraph. 14 May 2017. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
  40. Adams, Phillip (23 September 2004). "Joe Cinque is Dead". Late Night Live. ABC Radio National. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  41. Preston, Fi. "Sotiris Dounoukos". ANU. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  42. Freebury, Jane (23 September 2016). "Joe Cinque's Consolation by Canberra filmmaker Sotiris Dounoukos highlights ambiguities". Canberra Times. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  43. Kretowicz, Ewa; Macdonald, Emma (15 May 2012). "Infamous Canberra killing to be made into film". Canberra Times. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  44. "Joe Cinque's Consolation". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
  45. Usher, Robin (8 August 2007). "Joe Cinque's alteration: remaking a tragic story". The Age. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 13 October 2016.
  46. Smith, Amanda (29 July 2007). "Criminology". Radio National. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  47. Galvin, Peter (1 January 2009). "The Dinner Story Review". SBS. Archived from the original on 12 October 2016.
  48. "Case 130: Joe Cinque". Casefile: True Crime Podcast. 9 November 2019. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
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