Francis John Wark, a convicted rapist who was accused of murdering missing Mandurah teenager Hayley Dodd in 1999, was found not-guilty of her murder but guilty of manslaughter after a second trial at the Perth Supreme Court.
Supreme Court Justice Stephen Hall on April 13 sentenced Wark to 18 years in jail - six years longer than the previous record manslaughter sentence in WA.
Hayley's body has never been found.
The Timeline
July 22, 1999
- Hayley was travelling from Mandurah to Dongara. Hayley and a friend had been working in Dongara with a local shearing team prior to her disappearance.
July 29, 1999
- Hayley left Dongara to visit a farm past Badgingarra where a family friend worked.
- Hayley made a phone call from the Badgingarra roadhouse telephone box.
- Hayley took a lift from a passing car as she travelled by foot along North West Road.
- At around 11 am, Hayley was dropped off by the car at the corner of North West and Winjardie road.
- Over 10 eye-witnesses claim to have seen Hayley walking along North West Road, with the last witness saying they saw her about 5km east of Badgingarra road.
- When she was last seen, Hayley was crouched by the side of Badgingarra road rummaging through her bag.
July 30, 1999
- Hayley's family report her as a missing person
August 2, 1999
- A friend of Hayley's provides a detailed sketch of an earring she had seen Hayley wearing in the hope it would assist the investigation.
December, 2000
- Police investigate reports from a hitchhiker who said two men attempted to coax him into their car. This incident took place six days before Hayley's disappearance.
July, 2004
- Police announce that they intend to interview two rouseabouts about Hayley's disappearance after they were overheard talking about the details of Hayley's murder in a hotel in Jurien bay. Police later ruled out the men as suspects.
- Margaret Dodd calls for police to review her daughter's case.
2013
- A cold case review led to the investigation of Francis John Wark, a Badgingarra local who owned a property close to where Hayley disappeared.
- As part of the investigation police re-examined the ute driven by Wark on the day Hayley disappeared and found an earring inside a seat cover that matched the sketch drawn by a friend of Hayley in August 1999.
- Police also find hair in Wark's car that is deemed to "very likely" belong to Hayley.
- Wark denies the allegations.
2015
- Wark is serving a prison sentence for the violent sexual assault of a woman, whom he abducted by car as she walked along a desolate road in 2007.
- He is charged with the murder of Hayley Dodd while in prison.
2018
- Wark is found guilty of the murder of Hayley Dodd in the WA Supreme Court. He is sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 21 years to be served.
2020
- Wark appeals his conviction and has it quashed by the WA Court of Appeals in February. He will face a retrial.
2021
- The case goes to a re-trial which lasts six weeks. Wark is acquitted by a jury of murdering Hayley but found guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter.
- Supreme Court Justice Stephen Hall jails Francis John Wark for 18 years - six years longer than the previous record for a manslaughter sentence in WA.
Samantha Ferguson
Samantha Ferguson is a journalist at the Mandurah Mail. She is an entertainment, sport, crime, community and education journalist with a special interest in investigative pieces and human interest stories.
Samantha Ferguson is a journalist at the Mandurah Mail. She is an entertainment, sport, crime, community and education journalist with a special interest in investigative pieces and human interest stories.
