Mark of a Murderer: Breaking down Pamela Lawrence’s case and the twist that changed everything

ABC iview's upcoming series, Mark of a Murderer, will shine light on one of the most shocking cases in Australia in recent years: the Pamela Lawrence murder case. The police had initially arrested Andrew Mallard in 1994, but roughly 12 years later, he was finally acquitted of Lawrence’s murder.

Since this revelation, this case has been cited as an example of miscarriage of justice in Australian justice history. Consisting of four episodes, the docuseries will air on ABC TV across Australia on November 16, 2026. Apart from airing on TV, the series will also be available through streaming on ABC iview. ABC Australia confirmed this through a press release, which reads:

"The ABC is pleased to announce that the gripping true crime series Mark of a Murderer, featuring award-winning journalist-turned MP Colleen Egan, will premiere on Monday 16 November at 8.30pm on ABC TV, with all episodes available to stream on ABC iview."

Mark of a Murderer: What happened to Pamela Lawrence?

Mark of a Murderer is not the first documentary about the Pamela Lawrence murder case. But the shocking nature of the crime and the initial arrest of Andrew Mallard, who was later revealed to be innocent, are why this case remains one of the most shocking cases in Australia. Here is the basic information about the Pamela Lawrence case before Mark of a Murderer drops in November.

Pamela Lawrence, who was the proprietor of a shop in Mosman Park, was attacked on May 23, 1994. The only one who supposedly saw the possible suspect was the young daughter of a staff member of Lawrence's jewelry shop. The girl said that she saw a stranger standing behind the counter.

She further gave a description of the mysterious man, saying that he wore a bandanna, he was tall, he was a Caucasian, and he had a ginger beard. Pamela's husband, Peter Lawrence, drove to the shop at 06:15 PM when she didn't return home and couldn't answer his calls.

Upon reaching the shop, he found Pamela barely alive and called an ambulance. However, Pamela Lawrence succumbed to her severe head injuries at approximately 07:00 PM in the ambulance.

The police suspected Andrew Mallard and decided to pursue him as a suspect. The police had arrested Mallard for breaking into his girlfriend's ex-boyfriend's apartment to steal from it. However, Andrew was released at nearly 04:00 PM and took a taxi to Mosman Park, where the police said he would have reached at around 05:00 PM.

Mallard was dealing with some personal issues at that time, because of which he was unable to provide a clear account about his movements, at the time of Pamela Lawrence's murder. However, the police never found any murder weapon that could link Mallard to the crime, and he had no history of violence. Moreover, no DNA evidence or blood was found on Mallard.

Despite the lack of proof, Mallard was convicted because of two pieces of evidence. The first piece of evidence was several police notes in which the police claimed that Andrew Mallard "confessed" to murdering Lawrence. However, later it was revealed that Andrew never signed those notes.

Moreover, the police played video footage of the last twenty minutes of Mallard's eleven-hour interview. In these last twenty minutes, Andrew speculated on the way in which the murderer might have killed Lawrence, in third person. However, despite Andrew Mallard's usage of third person, the police claimed that it was a confession. He was convicted on these two pieces of evidence.

However, over the years, it was revealed that the police withheld vital information from Mallard's defense team. Moreover, the tireless advocacy of journalist Colleen Egan (who is also a politician nowadays) turned the tide in Andrew Mallard's favor. Egan is also the co-writer and presenter of Mark of a Murderer.

Simon Rochford and his connection to the case explained:

In May 2006, the biggest breakthrough in the case was a palm print lifted from the scene in 1994 and matched to Rochford in 2006. The police matched this print with that of Simon Rochford, who was serving time for killing his girlfriend, Brigitta Dickens, on July 15, 1994, roughly seven weeks after Lawrence's murder.

Moreover, it is believed that Rochford used the same weapon in both murders: a steel collar, used in gyms to secure weights. However, Simon Rochford ended his life in his prison cell mere hours after the police identified him as "a person of significant interest" in the Pamela Lawrence murder case.

As for Mallard, he was released from prison on February 20, 2006, but at that time he was still considered a possible suspect. At that time, the Department of Public Prosecutions (DPP) released the following statement:

"Finally, I note for the record and for the future that this decision is made on evidence presently available to the prosecution. The discharge of Mr. Andrew Mallard on this charge does not alter the fact that he remains the prime suspect for this murder. Should any credible evidence present in the future which again gives the state reasonable prospects of obtaining a conviction again, the state would again prosecute him."

But Rochford's identification finally meant that Mallard was declared innocent. Moreover, Mallard was offered $3.25 million by the state as settlement in May 2009. With this settlement, he completed his university degree in fine art and moved to London for further studies. Tragedy struck in April 2019, when Mallard was a victim of a hit-and-run in Los Angeles. He was 56 at that time.

What do we know about Mark of a Murderer?

Mark of a Murderer will provide an in-depth look into this shocking case. We already know that Colleen Egan will serve as the narrator of the series, in addition to being its co-writer. Egan confirmed her involvement with a Facebook post that said:

"On November 16, a new documentary series will be broadcast on the ABC and iview. I am a co-writer and presenter of the program, Mark of a Murderer, which tells an important story about failures in the justice system in WA."

It further read:

"Produced by Fremantle-based company Artemis Media, the program is the culmination of decades of work on the story of Andrew Mallard, who was wrongly convicted of murder and spent almost 12 years in jail."

With this post, she confirmed that cameras started rolling on Mark of a Murderer before she won the Western Australian Legislative Assembly seat for the district of Thornlie.

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Mark of a Murderer airs on ABC TV on November 16, 2026, at 08.30pm. After that, the docuseries will remain accessible via streaming on ABC iview.

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