Pinched or Planted?: The Cungelella Cattle Mystery

A modern day, outback Australian real-life Whodunnit.
Accused of a crime he did not commit, it appeared as if the system was manipulated to point the finger at Graeme and away from other suspects.
The case went to committal and the real perpetrators stood back regardless of the fact that this accusation had the potential to incarcerate Graeme for years.
Two mobs of high profile cattle were planted on our property. They came from paddocks on the main road close to the Cungelella homestead. Neighbours under the protection of the Stock and Rural Crime Investigation Squad, overran our property causing thousands of dollars worth of damage.
Little effort appeared to be made to look for evidence of how the cattle came to be on Albeni. Graeme had neither the motive, opportunity or the means to get them to where they were found.
However, they did not get there unassisted.
Despite Australia’s pride in its democratic society, the assumption that an individual is innocent until proven guilty was not extended to my husband.
It appeared that every man and his dog were invited to give their interpretation, however we were not given that same courtesy.
This is our story.
Susan McDonald