KEY POINTS:
The father of Olivia Hope has been poring over the prosecution case against his daughter's convicted killer - and admits a "consistent and growing uneasiness" that the true facts of the case "remain concealed".
Gerald Hope said only finding the bodies of his daughter and Ben Smart would
provide closure - but questions lingered over the conviction of Scott Watson.
In recent weeks, which saw the passing of the 10-year anniversary of the pair's disappearance, Hope has scrutinised the police case.
He says the Crown put up a "very powerful story" based on circumstantial evidence which persuaded the jury to convict Watson.
"I guess the jury was certain there was no doubt. But there is doubt," says Hope. "The evidence that resulted in the conviction of Scott Watson inevitably leaves some doubt, depending on your interpretation of what, and who, was present that early morning.
"With the passage of time, there remains a consistent and growing uneasiness that the true facts of this sad story remain concealed."
Every New Year dredged up difficult memories, said Hope, but he welcomed recent probing media coverage of the case in the Herald on Sunday, North and South, and The Listener.
Ten years on, public interest in the mystery is still strong. Hope still receives many letters and anonymous tips. Many of the views on Watson's innocence or guilt were misguided, said Hope, but he pinpointed the jailhouse confessions of secret witnesses A and B, the two-trip theory, and the potential DNA contamination of Olivia's hair as areas of doubt.
"You remove that sort of stuff and you have less of a case. But the guilty verdict still stands until new evidence is found."
When Watson was found guilty, Hope believed the police had got the right man but his confidence has been shaken as he's reflected on how the police and court system works. "I'm not saying [Scott Watson] is not guilty. I'm saying let's clear up the doubt."
To do that, Hope wants to sit down with Watson and hear him express his absolute innocence. Hope insists if he could be convinced Watson was innocent, he'd work to free him.
Mike Antunovic, Watson's lawyer, was coy about the possibility of Hope meeting his client. "I don't want to talk about that right now."
Since November, the Herald on Sunday has reported on new evidence raised since the trial, much of it in Keith Hunter's book Trial by Trickery, which questions Watson's convictions.
