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New look at Cafasso case by ANNE MATHER

Dr Roman Hasil suspect in one of Australia's most baffling murders.

January 29, 2009 08:15am

POLICE are re-examining the unsolved murder of Victoria Cafasso after new information came to light.

Detectives consider Dr Roman Hasil, who is being investigated for alleged malpractice interstate, to be a person who can help them in their inquiries regarding the stabbing murder of the 20-year-old Italian backpacker in 1995.

Police said Dr Hasil had been interviewed in 1997 in relation to the killing but there may be a need for subsequent questioning after recent information.

"He may be re-interviewed," said Detective Inspector Michael Otley, of Launceston police, yesterday.

"Obviously, as a result of activity on the mainland and New Zealand, information has come to us in relation to some other aspects that we didn't know at the relevant time."

Slovakian-trained Dr Hasil botched sterilisations in New Zealand and is the subject of 10 serious patient complaints from his time working in Lismore between 2001 and 2005.

Police said Dr Hasil lived in St Helens at the time of the Cafasso murder, not far from the crime scene at Beaumaris Beach. He was registered in Tasmania in the late 1990s and worked at the Royal Hobart Hospital.

Det-Insp Otley said Dr Hasil was interviewed in Hobart in 1997 by Launceston detectives. "Nothing came of that [interview]," he said.

It is understood Dr Hasil had been to St Helens police station to get his Tasmanian driver's licence, to replace his overseas licence, on the morning of the murder. He hired a car and returned it the next day.

Dr Hasil was employed at the RHH after being released from prison in Singapore. He was convicted for threatening his second wife, Rose Doyle, with a 30cm carving knife. His third wife has also alleged he physically assaulted her, breaking her ribs.

The Medical Council of Tasmania later found he had not declared the prior criminal conviction for domestic violence.

The Medical Council of Tasmania yesterday declined to comment on issues surrounding Dr Hasil, citing confidentiality, but public documents following investigations in New Zealand reveal Tasmania's concerns.

A report last February from the New Zealand Health Commissioner notes: "In 1999, the Medical Council of Tasmania advised Dr Hasil that he was not eligible to apply for registration as he had not completed the multiple choice question exam of the Australian Medical Council. The Medical Council of Tasmania was also considering his false declaration in relation to his criminal record in his application for registration in January 1997.

"Due to the outstanding matters regarding his false declarations, and his continued denial of them, despite documentary evidence to the contrary, Dr Hasil is not considered to be in good standing in Tasmania."

New Zealand health authorities found Dr Hasil drunk on the job and he was sentenced twice late last year for high-level drink driving in NSW.

Reports in NSW say he now lives in a homeless shelter in inner Sydney. 

To view the Coroners inconclusive Report CLICK HERE