Janine Balding grew up in Wagga and was just 20 years old when the victim of a brutal crime. Photo: X/Twitter.
CONTENT WARNING: This article discusses rape and murder.
The brother of a Wagga-born woman brutally murdered in 1988 has questioned the value of an ongoing Supreme Court case which could ultimately result in one of her convicted killers being released from jail.
Twenty-year-old Janine Kerrie Balding was abducted, raped and killed by a group of five homeless youth aged between 14 and 22 in Sydney – a case that shocked the nation and was often likened to the murder of Anita Cobby two years earlier.
Stephen Wayne ‘Shorty’ Jamieson, then aged 22, was accused of leading the group and sentenced to life in prison for Ms Balding’s rape and murder in 1990.
He has long proclaimed his innocence, saying he was not part of this group and mistaken for a man who went by the same nickname – Mark ‘Shorty’ Wells.
In 2023, Jamieson launched civil Supreme Court action from his jail cell, seeking to have a bandana used to gag Ms Balding forensically tested to see if DNA on it could match with Wells.
Jamieson, now aged 59, has also sought an inquiry into his conviction. A judge is expected to rule on whether an inquiry is warranted next month.
Wagga business owner David Balding, who was 10 years old when his sister was killed, says he doesn’t understand why the case needs to be back before the courts.
“We are 37 years down the road,” he told Region.
“We are far beyond proving reasonable doubt. They already thoroughly investigated [the claim of mistaken identity] at the original trial, yet it’s been dragged up again.
“I’m more than convinced Wells wasn’t there … what they’re doing now is a waste of time.”
Wells, 63, has denied playing any part in Balding’s rape and murder.
Peter Breen, a lawyer and former MP who initiated the Supreme Court case on behalf of Jamieson, says he can understand the Balding family’s frustrations.
“It must be appalling for this to be resurrected all the time. But the reality is we’ve got the wrong person in jail. That’s a serious injustice that ought to be corrected,” he said.
“If the DNA testing on the bandana were to show ‘Shorty’ Wells’ DNA, that would cast doubt on the conviction and there may be a case for Jamieson to apply for bail.
“But so far, there’s no results that suggest Wells’ DNA is in on it.”
Mr Breen said he thought the Supreme Court case would have been resolved at a hearing last week. But the Crown, representing NSW Police, asked for further testing of the bandana.
“The judge gave the parties six more weeks to work out whether there is any more value in further DNA testing, before the case resumes,” he said.
The 78-year-old solicitor has sought to have the Jamieson case reviewed several times over the past three decades.
“It’s a case that just won’t go away,” Mr Breen said.
“There’s always been something unexplored or something that appeared to be defective.”
He has also cast doubt over a written confession Jamieson signed two weeks after Balding’s murder – the key piece of evidence used to convict him.
In a 2001 court application to review Jamieson’s conviction, linguist Rod Gardner concluded the confession transcript was “extremely unlikely” to have been an accurate record of what would have been said in a police interview.
A judge dismissed this conclusion at the time, but a group of University of Melbourne researchers have continued to express doubts over the validity of the confession.
Janine Balding grew up in Wagga, where her parents lived until they passed away. At age 16, Janine moved to Sydney to work as a bank teller and was engaged to be married when she was killed. She would have turned 58 last month.
Over the years, the Balding family has fought repeated attempts to have those convicted of her killing released from jail.
Mr Breen said he expected the judge in the current Supreme Court case to order an inquiry into Jamison’s conviction when the case resumes on 17 December, meaning the saga could continue for years to come.
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