Terrible loss

Every person has their breaking point :(

Detective who shot himself bore grief of many

Steve Leach had borne the grief of many, but yesterday it was the turn of his colleagues to face his own violent death.

Detective Senior Sergeant Leach, one of the state's most experienced homicide detectives, took his life with his own handgun in the heart of the new NSW Police headquarters in Parramatta.

...

Along the way he offered support to the families of victims and perpetrators alike. He even lent his shoulder to Shirley Soir, the sister of the backpacker killer Ivan Milat, who collapsed while sitting next to him in court on the day in May 1994 that her brother was charged with seven murders.

Ten days earlier, the burly detective had walked into police history as one of two detectives who arrested Milat at his Eagle Vale home.

In that case he led the search for the weapon, a Ruger 10/22, of which there were more than 100,000 imported into Australia.

He was often given tough tasks, such as the long investigation into the disappearance of the Bondi schoolgirl Samantha Knight.

In recent years, he was seconded to the European War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague. His team in the Netherlands charged the former Yugoslav president, Slobodan Milosevic, whose war crimes trial is still before the international court.

Sergeant Leach spent more than two years walking through massacre sites and talking to survivors.

The Police Commissioner, Ken Moroney, remembered a detective of impeccable character.

"I'm sure he will be remembered, not only in the coming days ... but certainly in years to come, as one of the most experienced detectives we have [had] here in NSW, and we are the poorer for his loss today."

Terrible loss

Every person has their breaking point :(

Detective who shot himself bore grief of many

Steve Leach had borne the grief of many, but yesterday it was the turn of his colleagues to face his own violent death.

Detective Senior Sergeant Leach, one of the state's most experienced homicide detectives, took his life with his own handgun in the heart of the new NSW Police headquarters in Parramatta.

...

Along the way he offered support to the families of victims and perpetrators alike. He even lent his shoulder to Shirley Soir, the sister of the backpacker killer Ivan Milat, who collapsed while sitting next to him in court on the day in May 1994 that her brother was charged with seven murders.

Ten days earlier, the burly detective had walked into police history as one of two detectives who arrested Milat at his Eagle Vale home.

In that case he led the search for the weapon, a Ruger 10/22, of which there were more than 100,000 imported into Australia.

He was often given tough tasks, such as the long investigation into the disappearance of the Bondi schoolgirl Samantha Knight.

In recent years, he was seconded to the European War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague. His team in the Netherlands charged the former Yugoslav president, Slobodan Milosevic, whose war crimes trial is still before the international court.

Sergeant Leach spent more than two years walking through massacre sites and talking to survivors.

The Police Commissioner, Ken Moroney, remembered a detective of impeccable character.

"I'm sure he will be remembered, not only in the coming days ... but certainly in years to come, as one of the most experienced detectives we have [had] here in NSW, and we are the poorer for his loss today."