NSW:Cops silent on Carter murder probe

AAP General News (Australia)
08-17-2010
NSW:Cops silent on Carter murder probe

By Miles Godfrey

SYDNEY, Aug 17 AAP - Detectives have refused to say if a man charged with making false
claims about slain Central Coast teacher Amanda Carter is now a murder suspect.

Police arrested the 60-year-old on Tuesday morning and charged him with one count of
making a false accusation with intent.

He was released on conditional bail and is due at Wyong Local Court on September 22.

The charges relate to three anonymous letters sent to two newspapers and a school which
reportedly claimed Ms Carter, a Wyong High School maths teacher, had an affair with a
student.

Police say the letters making the false allegations were sent two weeks before Ms Carter,
46, was found dead in the bedroom of her home in Ivory Crescent, Woongarrah, on May 16.

A police spokesman said detectives would not comment on whether the man, from Bonnells
Bay, was now a suspect in the murder investigation.

There was also no comment on whether he was the same 60-year-old man previously questioned
in the case.

Despite several strong leads, detectives have been unable to charge anyone with killing
Ms Carter.

In July her three distraught children, aged 18, 20 and 21, made a heartfelt appeal
for information which might aid police, describing the time since their mother's death
as "horrendous".

Speaking at the same media conference, Detective Sergeant Mark Conroy, who is leading
the investigation, conceded it had been a tough case to crack.

Police also issued an appeal for information about what happened to the family's cat,
Lynx, which vanished some time before Ms Carter's death.

They said the cat line of inquiry may seem bizarre to some, but it was necessary to
rule out any possible link.

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KEYWORD: CARTER WRAP

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