A man accused of abducting and killing a British three-year-old girl in Australia in 1970 could finally be publicly named if a new legal motion is approved. The suspect, known only by the codename “Mercury”, confessed to the crime as a teenager but has never been formally charged due to legal technicalities.
Cheryl Grimmer vanished from Fairy Meadow Beach near Sydney in January 1970, just months after her family emigrated from Bristol for a new life. Her body was never found. In 1971, a 17-year-old Manchester-born boy confessed to abducting and strangling her, but the confession was ruled inadmissible because he was a minor and interviewed without a parent or legal representative present.
New South Wales Legislative Council MP Jeremy Buckingham is now raising a motion in parliament to lift a suppression order that has kept the suspect’s identity secret. “We want the name published as well as his photos,” Buckingham said. “The evidence against him is unassailable and he should be charged and convicted.”
Cheryl’s brother Paul Grimmer has vowed to continue the fight for justice. “It’s mind boggling that the law was applied retrospectively to the man known as Mercury when he has already confessed to murdering Cheryl,” he said. The family has maintained a 56-year hunt for the truth, with both parents dying without knowing what happened to their daughter.
The motion is part of a broader parliamentary inquiry into missing persons and unsolved crimes, set to run throughout 2026. Buckingham aims to “interrogate the evidence and reveal that the criminal justice system has failed the victims and their families.”
