Seven Bones is the story of one of the more bizarre murder
investigations in Australia's history. Two wives die in suspicious
circumstances: co-incidence or, as husband Thomas Keir describes it,
'bad luck'? Three years after Thomas Keir alleged his first wife Jean
deserted him and her young son for another man, his second wife
Rosalina, Jean's cousin, lay scorched and strangled on her bed. Arriving
on the scene, Detective Peter Seymour realised he was dealing with the
world's unluckiest husband or a serial wife killer. While Keir was
remarkably found 'not guilty' of Rosalina's murder, despite a clear cut
case, her death unlocked the mystery of Jean's disappearance. A
subsequent police investigation lead to the discovery of seven small
fragments of Jean's bones - fingers, knuckles and toes - buried deep
under the same house in which Rosalina died. Keir's 'grieving husband'
act was suddenly in question. The investigation revealed Thomas Kier was
a man so jealous he hated even his own baby son touching his wife, Jean.
A man so possessive he threatened he would cut her up and feed her to
the dogs if she ever left him. A man who thought he could commit the
perfect crime and publically taunted the police through the media.
Written through the eyes of Detective Peter Seymour, Seven Bones follows
his relentless pursuit of justice and his own family sacrifices, through
the drama of the police investigation into Jean's death, and the three
trials, convictions, and appeals that would take fifteen years to reach
their final conclusion. Peter Seymour, joined the NSW police force in
1980 as a general duties officer before gaining rank of Detective and
then moving into the Police Prosecutor's Branch. He has written the book
in collaboration with author, journalist and history teacher, Jason
Foster.
