The case surrounding James Wood, the man accused of murdering 17-year-old Pheobe Bishop, has been postponed until February of the following year. But here’s where it gets controversial: the delay was caused not just by typical courtroom scheduling issues, but due to a significant technical problem—the defence’s server, which stored the crucial evidence, experienced a catastrophic failure, forcing a complete reissue of the evidence brief.
In a separate session, the proceedings against Tanika Bromley, who is also charged with Pheobe Bishop’s murder along with additional offences, were similarly postponed—this time until January.
To give a quick overview of the case: Pheobe Bishop disappeared from Bundaberg in May, prompting a large-scale search when she failed to catch a scheduled flight to Brisbane. Her body was discovered weeks later in Goodnight Scrub National Park, roughly an hour southwest of Bundaberg.
During the court hearing on Monday at the Bundaberg Magistrates Court, James Wood’s defence lawyer, Matt Maloy, explained that the case had to be adjourned because the defence’s server had crashed, resulting in the loss of thousands of pages of evidence from the prosecution. Maloy emphasized that the evidence brief was being reissued and still undergoing review.
Sergeant Donna Sperling, a police prosecutor, clarified that although the evidence had already been disclosed previously, the server crash meant that the evidence had to be disclosed again. She mentioned that the prosecution team had viewed the evidence multiple times before the collapse, but Maloy pointed out that the evidence is extensive—many thousands of pages—and they hadn’t had that much opportunity to review it.
Magistrate Cameron McKenzie approved the request for an adjournment.
As for Bromley, who is also facing charges related to Pheobe’s death, her case was also discussed in court and was similarly delayed until January.
So, here’s the kicker—how much of a setback is technical failure in a case this serious? Should the justice system be prepared for such disruptions, or does this undermine the case’s integrity? Share your thoughts—do you believe these delays are justified, or do they risk compromising justice? Let’s hear your opinions in the comments.
