Thirty-one years after the fatal shooting of Cabramatta state MP John Newman, a book launch in Fairfield on 12 December 2025 brought people together to revisit one of Australia’s most contested crimes in the place where it all happened on 5 September 1994.
A Marked Man: The Questionable Conviction of Phuong Ngo, is the work of journalist Carlotta McIntosh who, as the local court reporter for the Fairfax local paper the Fairfield Champion, covered the story from the day it happened until the verdict which convicted Phuong Ngo to life imprisonment, never to be released.
She is convinced that the real killer (or killers) have never been found.
For the last 27 years as Ngo languished in prison McInstosh, an experienced journalist, attended all the trials, continue to research the case and even went to Vietnam and to meet with his family and his class teacher.
The more she discovered, the more convinced she became that he had not committed the murder. The book launched is the result of her work over those years, not as a journalist but as an investigative writer.
In opening remarks at the launch, former Fairfield Champion journalist Amber de Nardi described the book as an “accurate” and “concise” account of a crime that happened on 5 September 1994, “only about 4.8 kilometres from the venue”.
She said the book does more than retell a well-known story. It follows the evidence as it appeared in court and looks at how the media covered the case and how public opinion formed so quickly.
Amber and Carlotta signing books. Photo: Oliver Wen
Those at the launch were also treated to a podcast episode, produced by Paul Searles based on McIntosh’s reporting. Journalists and other speakers in the audio described how different stories about Newman took shape.
He was remembered as a hard-working local MP who pushed strongly on crime, but also as someone some people found tough, blunt and intimidating. In that environment, the podcast argues, the story moved faster than confirmed facts, and suspicion quickly centred on Phuong Ngo, with a “trial” starting in headlines before it began in court.
The podcast reflects the key question raised during the night: with so many possible theories, why did the case settle so quickly, and why does the motive still feel unclear?
In a recorded statement played at the launch, Phuong Ngo said he has spent more than two decades in prison for a crime he did not commit. “The Vietnam War did not last this long,” he said.
Ngo told the audience he had lost his mother, brother and father during his imprisonment, and described the book launch as “about me and my family’s ordeal”.
He also praised McIntosh’s work, saying the book reflected “the courage, integrity, professionalism, and perseverance of respected journalism”.
“My family and I are very grateful for her courage and her perseverance,” he said. “It is a blessing.”
Among those who attended the launch was Michelle (who asked that her surname not be published), spoke about her late brother-in-law Nick, a long-serving local mayor and Labor figure who knew both John Newman and Phuong Ngo and was convinced Ngo was innocent of any involvement in the murder.
She said Nick continued to visit Ngo in prison “at least a couple of times a year”, even when it attracted criticism and carried political and personal costs.
Tony Tuan Pham, who also attended the launch, said he met Ngo several times through his foster mother, who he said was a friend of Ngo and supported him over many years. He described Ngo as community-minded and said media reporting at the time painted a different picture from the man he knew.
Advocacy figure Mac Halliday said the case remains “extremely complex” and criticised the investigation and prosecution, arguing there are still many unanswered questions. He urged people to look deeper rather than accept a simple narrative. Halliday also runs FreePhuongNgo.com, a blog and advocacy site that compiles material on the case and calls for a review of Ngo’s conviction and sentence, including a public petition.
The event ended with the same idea raised at the start: A Marked Man: The Questionable Conviction of Phuong Ngo is not only a true-crime story of the Newman murder but also a story about power, fear, and what the public may not have seen or understood at the time.
For more information and to sign the petition visit FreePhuongNgo.com.
