Innocent Ted

Innocent Ted is an online group that forms around a blog after Fabiana Grisham’s interview about Ted Conkaffey reaches the news. Its members offer support to a man whose charges were withdrawn without an acquittal, while also trying to find information that might clarify who was in the area on the day of the case. The group turns belief into a public campaign and a search for evidence.

Formation and Purpose

The group begins after the interview footage circulates. By the time Grisham tells Conkaffey about it, members are trying to obtain a written statement from Trevor Fuller for publication on the blog. They are also looking into whether phone-tower pings can establish who else was nearby on the relevant day. The effort therefore combines public advocacy with an attempt to gather potentially useful information.

Members and Public Advocacy

Grisham describes the supporters simply as strangers who believe Conkaffey. Their activity gives that belief an organized public presence: Innocent Ted gathers around a blog, seeks material for it, and works to draw attention to unanswered questions. The available account does not identify the group’s membership or formal structure beyond these efforts.

Grisham becomes the group’s spokeswoman in Sydney. She appears on morning television and makes the campaign for Conkaffey a part-time commitment alongside her work at the paper. The online response to her involvement is hostile, particularly after the public learns that she and Conkaffey were briefly lovers. She receives online abuse and death threats, but continues speaking publicly for him.

Legal Context and Significance

The group’s name and mission take shape against Conkaffey’s unresolved legal position. He was never acquitted of the charges concerning Claire Bingley: the prosecution withdrew them midway through the trial, saying the evidence was not strong enough to satisfy a properly instructed jury beyond reasonable doubt. That decision did not establish his innocence, and Conkaffey remains aware that he could be arrested again. Innocent Ted responds to this uncertainty by supporting him and pursuing information rather than treating the withdrawn charges as a final resolution.

The group’s formation also marks a shift in how Conkaffey’s case is represented. Earlier, people who recognized him treated him as guilty; the blog and Grisham’s appearances make visible a counterpublic willing to question that consensus. By the end of the account, Grisham has taken on the public role of defending his reputation, while Conkaffey himself stays away from the internet and lets her conduct the campaign. Innocent Ted thus becomes both a source of support and a vehicle through which the case remains publicly contested.