Anna Jenkins died from blunt force trauma, Australian forensic lab finds

 

Anna Jenkins’s remains were found at a bungalow site on Scotland Road in George Town, Penang, in 2020.

GEORGE TOWN: Anna Jenkins, a Malaysian-born Adelaide resident who went missing in 2017 before being declared dead years later, had likely died after being struck on the head, a South Australian government forensic lab has found.

According to a forensic report the Jenkins family shared with FMT, the 65-year-old died from blunt force trauma to her head.

She also suffered injuries to her lower leg and a finger.

“The remains show evidence of apparent perimortem trauma to the cranium, left lower leg and one finger (unsided proximal phalanx).

“All three defects appear to have been caused by blunt trauma with a penetrating component,” senior forensic scientist Ellie Simpson wrote in her report.

The Jenkins family is claiming that the Malaysian authorities had failed to detect this from the outset.

Anna’s remains were found at a bungalow site on Scotland Road, here, in 2020. She was reported missing in 2017 after alighting nearby from an Uber ride.

Following an inquest, a coroner’s court returned an open verdict over her death in May.

The Jenkins family has since applied for a review of the coroner’s findings at the High Court here, which has yet to decide whether it will review the case.

Anna’s son, Greg, told FMT that Malaysian forensic authorities should have identified the trauma marks on the bone.

“These details were not in any Malaysian forensic report. We feel this is murder, and despite us saying so before, no one cares,” said Greg today.

“It has taken until today to finally prove mom was murdered. I’m horrified with what my mother had to go through.”

Greg said it was also upsetting that his father, who died a month ago due to several health problems, did not get to learn about the latest development in the case.

Earlier this month, the Jenkins family filed a lawsuit against the police, a property developer and several individuals over her death, alleging criminal misconduct.

The family is seeking general, aggravated and exemplary damages from the police and the developer.

They also want an order for the government to set up a task force to reinvestigate Anna’s death. - FMT