Husband

The police first considered the husband of Thurgood-Dove.^[5] However, police investigations tended to support his assertions that his marriage was happy and healthy.

Obsessed Man

Thurgood-Dove had revealed to at least two friends that a well-respected, serving policeman was obsessed with her and, indeed, had been diagnosed with depression since her murder.^{[citation needed]} In 1998, Melbourne's Herald Sun carried the front-page headline that the policeman was the prime suspect in Thurgood-Dove's murder.^{[citation needed]} He is believed to have admitted loving her and asking her to leave her husband, but denied killing her.^{[citation needed]}

It was speculated that the policeman hired two hitmen to kill Thurgood-Dove when she refused to leave her husband.^[4] The policeman was interviewed by the Homicide squad on three occasions.^[6] The policeman had no alibi for the time of Thurgood-Dove's killing and, indeed, failed a polygraph test on 29 April 2000.^[4] However, police could not uncover sufficient evidence to charge the man.^{[citation needed]}

Some police^[who?] were concerned that the suspect in the case was still an operational policeman and armed.^{[citation needed]} The policeman, who worked in the city, was believed to have daily dealings with the public and routinely carried a revolver in the course of his duty.^{[citation needed]} Some police had sought his removal from operational duties.^{[citation needed]} But police command was believed to have refused to suspend or transfer the man after he produced medical and psychiatric evidence that he was fit to continue active duty.^{[citation needed]}

On 7 October 2003, the Herald Sun quoted a senior homicide detective eliminating the policeman, who was the prime suspect in the Thurgood-Dove murder, from further inquiries.^[7]

Mistaken identity

Following the announcement of a $1 million reward,^[3] police received information that a group of Geelong bikers had been implicated in the murder. It was said that Thurgood-Dove was mistakenly murdered, with the real target being a woman of similar appearance with a 4WD who lived, like her, on a corner property in the same street.^[8][9] Police offered a potential indemnity deal to a former biker suspected of being the getaway driver in return for identifying the person who organised the hit. Two men, Steven John Mordy and Jamie Reynolds, were named as the persons responsible for stealing the vehicle and committing the murder.^[10] Mordy died in 2000 from a heart attack, and Reynolds died in a boating accident in 2006, meaning the case is unlikely to ever be solved.^[11]