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Killing of Corryn Rayney

UNSOLVED2007Kings Park, Perth, Western Australia3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026

Documents violence · ongoing investigation — written to inform, not to shock.

Illustrative

Corryn Veronica Ann Rayney (née Da Silva), born in Africa in 1963 to Indian parents and raised partly in Uganda before her family emigrated to Australia in 1973, was a lawyer working as a registrar of the Supreme Court of Western Australia. She lived in the Perth suburb of Como with her husband, barrister Lloyd Rayney, and their two daughters.

Corryn Rayney was last seen alive at about 9.30 p.m. on 7 August 2007, leaving a boot scooting class in Bentley. She was reported missing that day, along with her car, a 2005 Ford Fairmont. On 14 August 2007, the car was found abandoned on a residential street in Subiaco. Police then followed an oil leak from the vehicle to Kings Park, where her body was discovered on 16 August 2007 in a shallow grave off Lovekin Drive. Her death was subsequently treated as a murder inquiry, and her funeral was held on 1 September 2007. Forensic witnesses at the later trial testified that the precise cause of death could not be determined, though she had sustained injuries to her head, neck and brain consistent with some form of neck restraint occurring before death; no drugs or poison were found in her system.

Lloyd Rayney was publicly described by the lead police investigator as the "only suspect" at a September 2007 press conference, but was not charged with murder until December 2010. At his request, the trial was heard by a judge alone, without a jury, due to concerns about extensive publicity. Acting Justice Brian Ross Martin, brought in from outside Western Australia, presided over the trial, which began on 16 July 2012. The prosecution's case was circumstantial, alleging that Lloyd Rayney killed his wife at their Como home and transported her body to Kings Park, citing evidence such as a dinner place card near the grave, soil and brick dust, and seed pods found in her hair. Evidence was also presented regarding the couple's deteriorating marriage, gambling losses, and Lloyd Rayney's secret recording of his wife's communications.

On 1 November 2012, Justice Martin found Lloyd Rayney not guilty, ruling that the state's case was "beset by improbabilities and uncertainties." The judgment noted that Rayney had engaged in "discreditable conduct," including illegal telephone interception and giving false evidence, but stated that such conduct did not amount to proof of guilt. Prosecutors appealed, and in August 2013 a panel of three judges from other states unanimously dismissed the appeal, upholding the acquittal. No further appeal to the High Court was pursued.

In the years following, a Corruption and Crime Commission review examined police conduct in the case, and Lloyd Rayney pursued and won substantial defamation damages against the state over having been named the "prime and only suspect." He also faced and later resolved separate legal proceedings concerning his telephone recordings and legal practising licence. As of the most recent reporting, Corryn Rayney's killing remains unsolved, with calls—including from Lloyd Rayney himself in November 2022—for a new investigation into her death.

Key facts

Victims
Corryn Rayney
Date
2007
Location
Kings Park, Perth, Western Australia
Case status
unsolved

Case timeline

  1. 1963

    Corryn Veronica Ann Da Silva is born in Africa to Indian parents.

  2. 1973

    The Da Silva family moves to Australia as refugees from Uganda.

  3. 1994

    Corryn and Lloyd Rayney's first daughter, Caitlyn, is born.

  4. 1997

    Corryn and Lloyd Rayney's second daughter, Sarah, is born.

  5. 2007-08-07

    Corryn Rayney is last seen alive at a boot scooting class in Bentley; she is reported missing along with her car.

  6. 2007-08-14

    Corryn Rayney's car is found abandoned on a residential street in Subiaco.

  7. 2007-08-16

    Corryn Rayney's body is discovered in a shallow grave in Kings Park, Perth.

  8. 2007-09-01

    Corryn Rayney's funeral is held.

  9. 2007-09

    Senior Sergeant Jack Lee publicly describes Lloyd Rayney as the 'only suspect' at a press conference.

  10. 2010-12

    Lloyd Rayney is charged with the murder of Corryn Rayney.

  11. 2011-10

    Lloyd Rayney successfully requests a judge-only trial without a jury.

  12. 2012-02

    Former Northern Territory Chief Justice Brian Ross Martin is appointed as an Acting Justice of the WA Supreme Court to preside over the trial.

  13. 2012-03

    Reasons for the judge-only trial application are published.

  14. 2012-07-16

    The trial of Lloyd Rayney begins.

  15. 2012-10-19

    Final submissions are presented by prosecution and defence counsel.

  16. 2012-11-01

    Justice Martin acquits Lloyd Rayney, finding the prosecution's case 'beset by improbabilities and uncertainties.'

  17. 2013-08

    A three-judge appeal panel unanimously dismisses the prosecution's appeal, upholding the acquittal.

  18. 2013-10-18

    The NSW Director of Public Prosecutions announces it will not seek a further appeal to the High Court.

  19. 2014-08-21

    Lloyd Rayney appears in a televised presentation calling for independent investigators to re-examine the unsolved case.

  20. 2015-05

    WA Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan orders a cold case review; Lloyd Rayney is also acquitted of charges of tapping his own residential telephone line.

  21. 2015-06

    Lloyd Rayney commences a second defamation action related to comments by a forensic investigator.

  22. 2015-07

    Lloyd Rayney's legal practising licence is cancelled by the Legal Practice Board.

  23. 2016-02

    Lloyd Rayney is cleared by the State Administrative Tribunal of allegations of destroying evidence, and his right to practise law is reinstated.

  24. 2017-12-15

    The Supreme Court of Western Australia rules in favour of Lloyd Rayney in his defamation action against the State.

  25. 2017-12

    Lloyd Rayney is awarded $2.62 million in damages in his defamation action.

  26. 2018-01

    Lloyd Rayney lodges an appeal seeking higher defamation damages.

  27. 2020-04-21

    Lloyd Rayney is struck off the roll of solicitors by the Legal Practice Board.

  28. 2020

    Lloyd Rayney sues a lead forensic investigator for defamatory comments made in 2014 and is awarded $438,000 in damages.

  29. 2022-11

    Lloyd Rayney calls for a new investigation into Corryn Rayney's death, citing new witnesses.

Best coverage

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People

  • Lloyd Rayney

    ACQUITTED

    Husband of Corryn Rayney; a barrister charged with her murder in December 2010, found not guilty at a judge-only trial in November 2012, with the acquittal unanimously upheld on appeal in August 2013.

    citation on file

  • Corryn Rayney

    VICTIM

    Supreme Court of Western Australia registrar and lawyer who disappeared on 7 August 2007 and was found killed in Kings Park, Perth.

    citation on file

Places

Kings Park, Perth, Western Australia

-31.9584, 115.8281

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Common questions

What happened to the victim?
Corryn Rayney, a Supreme Court of Western Australia registrar, disappeared on 7 August 2007 and was found buried in Kings Park, Perth; her husband Lloyd Rayney was charged with her murder but acquitted at trial, an acquittal later upheld on appeal, and her killing remains unsolved.
Where did the killing happen?
Kings Park, Perth, Western Australia.
What is the current status of the case?
Status: unsolved.

Sources

  1. Killing of Corryn Rayneywikipedia · Wikipedia · 2026-07-07
  2. Contemporaneous coverage — ABC News (Australia)news · ABC News (Australia) · 2026-07-07
  3. Contemporaneous coverage — decisions.justice.wa.gov.aunews · decisions.justice.wa.gov.au · 2026-07-07
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