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One Split Second opens with the sudden and violent death of cricket legend David Hookes outside a Melbourne bayside hotel, late one night in January 2004. From there it surveys all that flowed from that fateful event—the sometimes hysterical reaction of the public and the popular media, and the reaction of friends and family of the two protagonists, Hookes and the man charged with responsibility for his death, Zdravko Micevic. It looks at the 'celebrity-event' funeral at the Adelaide Oval (MCed by the ubiquitous Eddie McGuire), the police investigation of the death, the alcohol-fuelled customs of our elite cricketers—and perhaps of Australia’s sporting culture—and the trial and exoneration of Micevic. It explores the collision of two worlds: that of a favourite Aussie son—and its attendant fame, celebrity and influence—and that of an outsider to the system. In examining these events, One Split Second reveals a lot about Australian society today.
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OnSplitSecond01 31/8/06 3:32 PM Page i ONE SPLIT SECOND After working as a lawyer for a number of years, Michelle Schwarz decided to make the move from law to writing. She has written in a number of areas, including educational and academic books, as well as a book for children, which has been sold in the USA and Canada, as well as Australia. OnSplitSecond01 31/8/06 3:32 PM Page iii ONE SPLIT SECOND The death of David Hookes and the trial of Zdravko Micevic M I C H E L L E S C H WA R Z NEW SOUTH OnSplitSecond01 31/8/06 3:32 PM Page iv A New South book Published by University of New South Wales Press Ltd University of New South Wales Sydney NSW 2052 AUSTRALIA www.unswpress.com.au © Michelle Schwarz 2006 First published 2006 This book is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission. Inquiries should be addressed to the publisher. National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry Schwarz, Michelle, 1966- . One split second: the death of David Hookes and the trial of Zdravko Micevic. Includes index. ISBN 0 86840 947 2. 1. Hookes, David, 1955-2004 - Death and burial. 2. Micevic, Zdravko - Trials, litigation, etc. 3. Trials (Manslaughter) - Victoria - Melbourne - Case studies. 4. Cricket players - Victoria - Melbourne - Biography. 5. Bouncers - Victoria - Melbourne - Biography. I. Title. 364.1525 Design Ruth Pidd Cover photo Newspix Cover design Di Quick Printer Griffin OnSplitSecond01 31/8/06 3:32 PM Page v This book is for the Schwarz, Danos and Tammer families and for Adrienne Barrett, Natasha Coleman and Kate Ryan with gratitude OnSplitSecond01 31/8/06 3:32 PM Page vii CONTENTS Preface Acknowledgements ix xiii One split second Time The memorial service Death, public grief and celebrity The trial and the verdict The media Hatred and the media Brian Rolfe The media and protecting one’s own Matthew Ricketson Chris Harms The media and mythology Women Respect and decency Zdravko Micevic Cricket Gideon Haigh Gerard Healy 1 3 5 13 25 26 29 38 46 56 58 62 69 71 76 84 89 95 OnSplitSecond01 viii 31/8/06 3:32 PM Page viii One Split Second Death and the ordinary Rob Zadow Alcohol The Supreme Court of Victoria Truth Setting the scene The Beaconsfield Hotel Robert Cassell Sight and sound Sue-Anne Hunter Terry Cranage Christine Padfield Greg Shipperd Tania Plumpton Darren Lehmann Roger Sweet The accused Wayne Phillips Nuts and Amazons Justice Philip Cummins Joseph Robilotta Anthony