THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH
ALMOST FOUR DECADES AFTER HER FATHER’S SUICIDE, AMANDA SCHULTZ IS ON A MISSION TO REVEAL WHAT REALLY HAPPENED TO THE FORMER POLICE OFFICER
For 37 years, the suicide of her father had been a source of sadness and embarrassment for Amanda Schultz. The sudden death of police inspector Geoff Whitford on a lonely beach in 1981 had remained a great mystery within her family
In January of last year, however, Amanda set out on a mission to learn all she could about the father who had died when she was just 9 years of age.
“I wanted to finally hear all the tales that had never been a part of my life, and also to confront his death,” Amanda, now 47, says.
Geoff ’s body was found close to his car on October 22, 1981 in Pebbly Beach near Myponga on the South Australian coast. His death was the result of a bullet through his temple. He had been due in court earlier that day as a police witness.
Amanda’s recent investigations revealed the kind of character her dad was. “By all accounts, he was a larrikin, loyal, diligent and honest – a bloke’s bloke,” she says.
However, her findings have also put a cloud of doubt over the official verdict of Geoff ’s death.
Her tale is told in the new book WHIT, co-written with journalist Greg Mayfield. It was a chance discussion with Greg, who in 1981 covered the case of Geoff ’s death for a newspaper, that made Amanda decide to go looking for the reasons why her father killed himself, leaving behind a wife Pam, and three daughters – Amanda and her sisters Julie and Kerry.
As a result, Amanda, a former police officer herself, is now convinced his death is not a clear-cut case. WHIT explores the events leading up to Geoff ’s death, as told through the eyes of his friends and colleagues who lived in Mount Barker, north of Adelaide.
At the time, Geoff was working within a secretive organised crime task force, and there had been claims of corruption within the SA police force. While Geoff is believed not to have been implicated, Amanda thinks he might have found himself as the man who knew too much.
“There are too many inconsistencies of what happened that day, and the more I looked into it, too much of it didn’t add up,” Amanda says. “The investigation has opened up many conversations. What’s been really interesting is I’ve had people admit to me, ‘I
“HE WAS A LARRIKIN, LOYAL, DILIGENT AND HONEST”
didn’t think that was right back at the time’. I’ve also had others tell me to leave this alone. I do believe he knew certain things.”
No inquest was ever held into Geoff ’s death, so earlier this year Amanda asked the SA State Coroner to release the police report. The request was rejected on the grounds that it contained ‘unsubstantiated allegations’ and ‘sensitive information about individuals some of whom are still alive’.
Amanda has since approached Federal Labor Senator for SA Penny Wong about having the contentious file released.
“I was so shocked we would get nothing,” she says. “Having been a cop, I have handled many death reports so I knew what to expect. But I have no report of my own father’s death, and we have a right to know what was at the scene.
“Did he give up willingly, was foul play involved, did he suffer some kind of breakdown or was it was suicide? That’s what we want to find out.”
These days, Amanda is married and lives in Kalinda with her young family. She left the police force and now works within the financial sector. In recent years, she has also become actively involved in the Stamp Out Suicide support mission, which she reveals changed her outlook on her father’s death.
“I grew up not talking about what happened to my dad, as I was embarrassed,” she says.
“I was proud of him for the man he was, but some days I would hate him for leaving us.”
Time, however, is running out on uncovering the truth, with many of the key players from that time now either at a senior age or having died. Amanda says most of all, she wants her mother Pam to finally know what really happened to Geoff.
“Mum has lived her whole life without any answers,” Amanda says. “She is now 75 and I always felt she got a raw deal. She saw no police report, there was no inquest and she didn’t get a viewing of his body before the funeral. Instead, she got shut down and told not to talk about. In that way, I have become my mother’s voice.”