WA police commissioner orders 'fresh eyes investigation' into 2007 murder of Corryn Rayney

Cold case experts are reopening an investigation into the death of WA woman Corryn Rayney, whose husband, the “only suspect”, was acquitted of her murder.

A new team, including international and inter-state investigators and forensic experts, will re-open the cold case investigation into the 2007 murder of the Perth mother of two.

West Australian Police Commissioner Karl O’Callaghan today announced he had ordered a review of the high-profile unsolved murder, which would be led by a team of hand-picked specialists.

The review had to wait until all outstanding criminal matters against Lloyd Rayney were finalised. He was last week cleared of tapping his wife’s phone before her death.

“The main game here is to find out who killed Corryn Rayney for her family, but it is also to show that we’ve followed every possible lead,” he told reporters this morning.

“There's a lot of questions that need to be answered, we are open to looking at all matters before us.”

Ms Rayney disappeared after attending a boot-scooting dance class in the Perth suburb of Belmont on August 7, 2007.

Her car was found later that week abandoned in the inner city suburb of Subiaco and police followed a trail of oil to her shallow grave in nearby Kings Park.

The mother of two had been buried head down and police have never established her cause of death.

Assistant Commissioner Gary Budge has been appointed to head the new cold case team, which will report directly to the Commissioner’s office and not include any officers previously associated with the case.

“This is a fresh eyes investigation,” Mr O’Callaghan said.

Mr Budge will now begin looking to build a team of experienced investigators and forensic experts and is expected to recruit personnel from interstate and even overseas.

He is expected to spent the next two or three weeks determining the size and scope of the team and how long the investigation will take.

Police are particularly keen to attract forensic experts, who can assist in the re-testing of Ms Rayney belongings to determine how she was killed.

In 2012, Ms Rayney’s estranged husband Lloyd was acquitted of her murder. The prominent Perth barrister was named by police as the “only suspect” during the initial investigation, although he was not charged until three years after Ms Rayney’s death.

Mr Rayney was also acquitted of phone tapping charges last week. Police had alleged he tapped the family home phone to listen in on his wife’s conversations as they went through a bitter divorce in the weeks leading up to her murder.

Mr O'Callaghan said he could not order a review until now.

"Now that all the criminal matters are finished I think it's time to have a review of all the material," he said.

"It wasn't possible before because, on legal advice, we had a number of criminal matters before the courts and we couldn't make any public comment."