It has been more than 10 years since 24-year-old mother Amy Wensley was found dead from a gunshot wound to the head at her home in Serpentine, southern Perth, Australia. What has been a source of unrelenting heartache for her family is that from the earliest hours of the case, the investigation was derailed by critical missteps that left the circumstances of her death a permanent unanswered question.
In June 2014, when Wensley’s death was first discovered, investigating detectives made an immediate, premature call that the incident was a suicide. That hasty conclusion set the course for a deeply flawed investigation: key forensic opportunities were missed, critical evidence was never properly collected, and alternative lines of inquiry were never explored. Years later, a formal coronial inquest into the case confirmed that gaps from the initial probe left insufficient evidence to officially rule on how Wensley died.
Following the inquest’s findings, the case was referred to Western Australia’s Department of Public Prosecutions and the state police Cold Case Unit for formal review. Over the past two years, a team of dedicated investigators has been re-examining every scrap of available evidence and witness testimony related to Wensley’s death.
In January 2024, WA Police Commissioner Col Blanche took the unprecedented step of meeting face-to-face with Wensley’s mother Nancy Kirk and other members of her family. During that meeting, the state’s top police official publicly acknowledged the significant shortcomings of the initial investigation and issued a formal apology to the grieving family.
“Amy’s death has had a profound impact on those who loved her, and questions surrounding the circumstances of her death have remained unanswered for more than a decade,” a WA Police Force spokesperson shared in a formal statement.
Wensley, a young mother of two small daughters at the time of her death, has been the focus of her family’s relentless fight for answers for more than a decade. In a major shift to advance the stalled investigation, WA Police have now offered a $1 million reward for any information that leads to the identification and conviction of any person or persons responsible for Wensley’s death.
The reward marks a clear signal of law enforcement’s renewed commitment to closing the case. “The reward reflects the WA Police Force’s ongoing commitment to resolving the unanswered circumstances surrounding Amy’s death,” the spokesperson said. “Investigators believe there may be people who hold information about Amy’s death who have not yet come forward, or who may now be prepared to speak with police. Even information that may appear insignificant could assist the investigation.”
Acknowledging the extraordinary persistence Wensley’s family has shown in their decade-long search for justice, the spokesperson reiterated that the force remains committed to exhausting every possible investigative avenue to get answers. Anyone with any details related to the 2014 death is urged to contact Crime Stoppers to share information.