‘I have always maintained my innocence’: Jason Roberts breaks silence

Jason Roberts, the man acquitted of the murders of police officers Sergeant Gary Silk and Senior Constable Rodney Miller in Moorabbin in 1998, says he is relieved to be home after spending more than two decades behind bars.

In his first public comments since being released from prison on Monday morning, Roberts said he had always maintained his innocence and asked the media to respect his privacy and that of his family.

Jason Roberts during his first day of freedom after being acquitted.Credit:Jason South

“I am relieved that after more than two decades I am finally at home with my family,” he told the Herald Sun.

“I have always maintained my innocence for the tragic murders of officers Silk and Miller and was grateful for the diligent way the jury went about its task and for the verdict they returned.

“I am now able to look toward the future, which I have not been able to do since I was a teenager.”

Roberts said he would not be making any further statements, citing ongoing court proceedings. He is due to return to court in September for a plea hearing on 10 charges of armed robbery he has previously admitted to.

The 41-year-old was convicted in 2002 over the 1998 murders of Silk and Miller, but the Court of Appeal quashed that verdict in 2020 and granted a retrial. That trial began in March and featured about 90 witnesses, 200 exhibits and hours of recorded conversations.

Roberts, who entered jail as a teenager, walked out of the Supreme Court on Monday after being acquitted by a jury of 12. The jurors took five days to find him not guilty of two charges of murder over the deaths in what the judge described as “the hardest case” he had seen for a jury.

Following the verdict, visitors poured into the suburban home where Roberts is staying carrying foods and drinks for what appeared to be a private celebration. Some were wearing face masks and covered their faces with their hoods.

Children could be heard playing inside the property before supporters began heading back to their cars about 9pm. A man who appeared to be in his 60s told reporters: “We’ve been waiting for 22 years” and maintained the 41-year-old “didn’t do it”. He also requested privacy for the family.

The officers were on stakeout outside the Silky Emperor Chinese restaurant on August 16, 1998, as police investigated hold-ups on suburban businesses. They followed a vehicle out of the restaurant car park to nearby Cochranes Road, where they pulled it over and got out to speak to the driver. Moments later, both were shot.

Silk died at the scene. Miller staggered back to the Silky Emperor, where he was found critically injured by other officers. He died in hospital hours later.

Bandali Debs, the father of Roberts’ girlfriend at the time, was found guilty of the murders in 2002. He is believed to have groomed Roberts to be his armed robbery apprentice and has since been convicted of two more murders.

with Adam Cooper

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