Gulgong’s Michelle Bright murderer Craig Rumsby’s chilling Facebook comment on police post
Read the chilling Facebook post that truckie who killed a schoolgirl in case Australia was shocked wrote just a DAY before he was finally arrested
- Michelle Bright jury finds man guilty of murder
- Found 17yo with underwear around her ankles
- Craig Rumsby responded to a post about Bright the day before his arrest
Convicted killer of 17-year-old schoolgirl Michelle Bright publicly posted how the teen was “like a sister” to him a day before he was arrested and charged with murder.
On Friday, jurors at the NSW High Court in Dubbo found Craig Henry Rumsby guilty of the February 1999 murder of Mrs Bright. He was also found guilty of strangling an 18-year-old woman with intent to rape her in January 1998.
Rumsby will be sentenced at a later date for the crimes – both of which were committed in the central western NSW town of Gulgong.
Mrs Bright was killed after leaving a friend’s 15th birthday party. Her body was found hidden in long grass on the side of Barneys Reef Road.
In August 2020, police announced a $1 million reward for anyone who had information about the murder.
It can now be revealed that the lorry driver wrote to a NSW Police Force Facebook call asking for information about the case a day before he was arrested.
Rumsby said it was “so sad” that Ms Bright’s killer had still not been found more than two decades after her death.
“It’s so sad they haven’t caught her killer yet,” he wrote. Michelle was like a sister to me. I feel sorry for the family.’
Craig Rumsby has been found guilty of the murder of Michelle Bright, who was last seen alive on Saturday 27 February 1999 in Gulgong, Central Western NSW
In August 2020, police announced a $1 million reward for anyone who had information about the murder. On the call for information, Rumsby wrote, “It’s so sad they haven’t caught her killer yet. Michelle was like a sister to me. I feel sorry for the family’
An autopsy of Ms Bright’s body showed abrasions on the abdomen, thighs and knuckles and failed to confirm cause of death with a report saying she was killed by ‘homicidal force of undetermined etiology’.
Rumsby strangled the other female victim with the intent to sexually assault her after she left a New Year’s Eve party.
He denied both charges despite admitting to working undercover in both crimes prior to his arrest.
While there was no physical evidence linking Rumsby to the murder of Mrs. Bright, his wallet was found at the scene of the attempted rape.
The jury heard that the last victim had not pressed charges and retracted a statement made at the time because she feared going to court would discredit her character.
She told the jury how her attacker came out of the shadows, punched her and grabbed her throat, then pushed her to the ground and got on top of her and threatened her to shut up or he would kill her.
On Friday, jurors in the NSW High Court in Dubbo found Craig Henry Rumsby guilty of the February 1999 murder of Mrs Bright and strangling an 18-year-old woman with intent to rape her in January 1998. Both took place in the town of Gulgong , near Dubbo (photo)
Craig Rumsby (pictured) will be sentenced at a later date for both offenses he was found guilty of
The man fled after her boyfriend emerged and threatened to hit him with a concrete manhole cover found nearby.
The Crown Prosecutor described similarities between the ambush and that of Mrs Bright, who was seized by the throat in a sexual assault while alone a few hundred yards away late at night.
Rumsby’s legal team argued that he was duped into making his confession.
However, the jury retired on June 15 did not accept that.
NSW Police had been interviewing Rumsby about the murder and attempted rape since 1999, but only made an arrest after the unsolved homicide team reopened the cold case in 2019.