Gordon Wood released from prison

Gordon Wood fell in love with Caroline Byrne, a beautiful young model whose body was found on rocks at the base of a 100ft cliff at Sydney’s suicide spot – The Gap - 16 years ago. Last week he was released from prison after three appeal judges decided there was insufficient evidence to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Wood had murdered his 24 year old girlfriend.


After four years behind bars, last weekend he was released from prison into the arms of his family, who never doubted his innocence for a minute and as he sat in the Paragon cafe in Goulburn, before heading home to Sydney, he marvelled that the cutlery wasn’t plastic and was overwhelmed by the taste of “real food”.






The 49 year old Wood once rubbed shoulders with the glamorous eastern suburbs set and was chauffeur to Stockbroker Rene Rivken at the time Caroline Byrne died. This did nothing for his reputation as Rivkin was found guilty of insider trading in 2003 and sentenced to nine months weekend detention. Banned for life from having a stockbroking licence, and suffering from a mental illness, Rivkin took his own life in 2005. As investigations began into Byrne’s death, Wood left Australia and went to work in England but was eventually extradited to face trial for her murder.


During Wood's trial in Sydney in 2008, Prosecutor Mark Tedeschi QC said that Miss Byrne could have only landed 'wedged like a spear' between rocks if she was thrown from the top of the cliff by a strong male. If she had decided to jump and end her life, she would not have landed where she did.


A police rescue squad officer, Mark Powderly, also told the court at the time that the state of Miss Byrne's body - lacking any injuries to her legs or body - was unlike any of the other ten to 20 victims he had recovered from the scene, known as The Gap. Tedeschi told the jury that Wood killed his girlfriend because she knew too much about the personal life and business affairs of Rene Rivkin. Wood was a tall, good-looking fitness fanatic and aerobics instructor and was seen about town with beautiful women on his arm, but because of his link to Rene Rivkin, rumours circulated that he was bisexual.





Wood said ''There are still people who think Azaria Chamberlain was killed by her mother Lindy, there are still people who think man hasn't landed on the moon. Those people you can't attempt to try and convert,'' he said. ''But I think the public opinion has shifted quite a lot since the trial, and I hope we can still move it some way further.''


Even though the judges have said there was not enough evidence to convict Wood, there still remains the mystery of how Miss Byrne landed where she did. The police bungled the case by failing to take a photograph of the body but experts have all said that she must have been propelled by something or someone. So how she fell to her death still remains a mystery.


Wood said he wished he didn’t come across as cold or arrogant but realizes that he does. ''There's a whole boarding school upbringing, I’m always very contained and wish I wasn’t.