Kathleen Marshall (veterinarian)

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Kathleen Marshall (1946-1998) (née Lambourne) was a prominent Australian veterinarian and University of Queensland alumnus, whose murder led to an extensive police investigation.

Early life and education[]

Dr Marshall was born Kathleen Lambourne in Brisbane, Queensland in 1946. She studied veterinary science at The University of Queensland, graduating with a Bachelor of Veterinary Science (with Honours) in 1968.[1]

Career[]

Dr Marshall began work as a veterinarian, eventually opening her own veterinary surgery below her home at 66 Main Avenue in the Brisbane suburb of Wilston. She was a member of a number of charities committed to preventing animal cruelty, serving as President of The Cat Protection Society of Queensland (1996-1998). She was also the Founder of Friends of the Vet School at The University of Queensland.[2]

Death and murder investigation[]

Dr Marshall was found dead in the veterinary surgery beneath her Wilston home in March 1998 after being "stabbed more than 50 times".[3]

Following an investigation, Andrew Fitzherbert, a palm reader from Zillmere and the founder of the Queensland Palmistry Guild, was prosecuted and convicted for her murder based on DNA evidence.[4][2][3] In sentencing Fitzherbert to life imprisonment, the Honourable Justice Kenneth MacKenzie said the crime was one which Fitzherbert would not have been convicted of "but for the recent explosion in knowledge in the field of genetics."[3]

Legacy[]

On 13 March 2002, The University of Queensland officially opened The Kathleen Lambourne Building (82F) at their St Lucia campus. Dr Marshall's estate contributed $100,000 to the purpose built "conference and meeting venue" in the University's Seddon Building complex.[5] A modest photographic portrait of the late Dr Marshall adorns an interior wall as you enter the building.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, the former head of the University's Veterinary School, Emeritus Professor Keith Hughes, said "Dr Marshall was a champion of perceived deserving causes from saving the Bellevue Hotel through to helping musicians. But her greatest enthusiasm was reserved for her beloved veterinary school for which she participated in a plethora of fund-raising activities".[5]

Dr Marshall's murder, and the subsequent prosecution and conviction of Fitzherbert, has been the subject of a sensational television Forensic investigators: Australia's true crimes episode (2004).[6] The book, F ive Drops of Blood: Murder in the Cat Protection Society, by Paul Wilson and Dianne McInnes, analysed the DNA evidence which was used to convict Andrew Fitzherbert of her death.[7]

References[]

  1. ^ "University of Queensland graduates". Australian Veterinary Journal. 45 (2): 84–84. February 1969. doi:10.1111/j.1751-0813.1969.tb13704.x. ISSN 0005-0423.
  2. ^ a b Milliner, Karen (7 August 1999). "Cat fights". The Courier Mail.
  3. ^ a b c Garden, Mary (4 August 2007). "Doubts raised on vet murder". The Courier Mail.
  4. ^ Jones, Lisa and Crook, Karen (January 2002). "Science solves murders". Vedette. 184: 36.
  5. ^ a b "New conference venue for UQ School of Veterinary Science". The University of Queensland. 14 March 2002.
  6. ^ TheMaster1246 (12 August 2011), Forensic Investigators - Kathleen Marshall Part 1 HD, retrieved 6 September 2018
  7. ^ McKenna, Kate (9 April 2015). "Brisbane crime: First person in Australia convicted of crime solely on DNA evidence — but did he do it?". The Courier Mail.
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