Lloyd Rayney's reputation has been ruined over allegations he may have killed his wife, according to a leading Australian lawyer.

Tom Percy, QC, national director of the Australian Lawyers Alliance, said if Mr. Rayney is charged with the murder of wife Corryn, he would not get a fair trial due to being named the 'prime' suspect by Police.

The body of Corryn Rayney was found in Perth bushland on August 16. The last time she was seen alive was 8.30 p.m. on August 7 when she attended a dance class.

According to Melbourne newspaper The Age, former Bermuda prosecutor Mr. Rayney did not report his wife missing until the next day. A week later detectives found her car in the Subiaco suburb, 15 km away. A pool of oil underneath the car is reported to have led detectives to her body, by leaving a trail to her makeshift grave, 3km away in Kings Park.

Mrs. Rayney, 44, was a Supreme Court Registrar and, despite being estranged from her husband, lived at the same house in Como with daughters Sarah, ten, and Caitlyn, 13.

Mr. Rayney, 45, lived in Bermuda with his wife from 2003-2004 when he was a Senior Crown counsel on the Island. Now a prominent Perth lawyer and former prosecutor with the Director of Public Prosecutions, he denies any involvement in his wife's death.

In a statement on September 21, he also denied claims he had refused Police access to search his home and permission to interview the couple's daughters. It added he was "enormously distressed that the Police, in focusing their attention on him, may never catch the person who robbed his and Corryn's children of their beloved mother".

"In a media conference the Police made a number of allegations about Mr. Rayney which were factually wrong and gave a very unfair impression of him," the statement read.

"Contrary to the Police claim, there is nothing that Mr. Rayney said to the Police in any interview that could possibly lead to him being declared a suspect."

Detectives however, have alleged Mrs. Rayney was killed in the family home. Detective Senior Sergeant Jack Lee said: "Ongoing investigations and forensic evidence have led us to believe it is very likely Mrs. Rayney was murdered at her Monash Street home on Tuesday evening, August 7.

"At this time we have no intention and no evidence to suggest that Mr. Rayney is, in fact, responsible for this offence. He is our only suspect at this time. We do have a number of persons of interest."

Mr. Rayney has, however, been charged under the Surveillance Devices Act of allegedly tapping Mrs. Rayney's telephone. He has been bailed to appear before Perth Magistrates Court on October 23.

Yesterday, Jeffrey Francis, editorial consultant for Australasia-Pacific Media, writing in the Malaysia Star, said naming Mr. Rayney as the 'prime' suspect in the "high-profile murder" could ultimately "backfire on the integrity and reputation of the state (Western Australia) police".

He reported Mr. Percy, QC, as saying: "To come out and say that he (Mr. Rayney) is the prime, and only, suspect puts an enormous dent in the possibility of his getting a fair trail in the event that he is charged with his wife's death, because the public is seeing that a number of senior police officers already believe he is guilty.

"He could actually receive a permanent stay of proceedings on the grounds of incurable prejudice in the public domain. Not to mention the fact that now, even if he is not charged or is found innocent, his reputation has been completely ruined."

Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan has launched an internal inquiry after a complaint by Mr. Rayney's solicitor that Det. Snr. Sgt. Lee has 'smeared' his reputation. Attorney General Jim McGinty has however, defended the controversial Police decision to name him as their prime suspect.

According to The West Australian newspaper, Mr. McGinty said he had full confidence in the Police. "I have one objective and that is to catch the person responsible and bring them to justice," he said.