Former Bermuda prosecutor Lloyd Rayney has issued a statement denying involvement in his wife's death.

The move came yesterday, after the Australian press reported Police had declared him the prime suspect in the murder of Corryn Rayney.

Mr. Rayney said he was "enormously distressed" by the stance taken by the Police, which he fears may mean the person responsible will never be apprehended.

Forensic testing led Police to believe Supreme Court Registrar Corryn Rayney was killed in the family home in Perth.

Her body was dumped, the West Australian newspaper said on Thursday. Mrs. Rayney, 44, who was a Supreme Court Registrar, went missing after a dance class on August 7.

Nine days later, her body was discovered by Police in a grave at a park in central Perth. According to the West Australian, Police revealed at a press conference on Thursday that Mr. Rayney — a prominent Perth lawyer who worked in Bermuda as a Senior Crown Counsel from 2003 to 2004 — was not co-operating with them.

He was reported to have refused to allow detectives to question his two daughters, aged ten and 13, and a detective claimed officers forced their way in.

Mr. Rayney was later arrested and charged on an unrelated matter under the Surveillance Devices Act which regulates the tapping of phones.

No other charges have been laid. According to the West Australian report, Police will allege that a tap had been put on the family telephone used by Mrs. Rayney.

He has been bailed, and is due to appear at Perth Magistrates' Court to face the charge on Tuesday.

In the statement released to the media yesterday, Mr. Rayney refuted the allegations made by the Police.

It said: "Mr. Rayney wishes it to be clear that he had no involvement in the tragic death of his wife. He is 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 (on Thursday) the Police made a number of allegations about Mr. Rayney which were factually wrong and gave a very unfair impression of him.

"The Police have already spoken to and interviewed the Rayneys' children. Those interviews were conducted over several hours and with Mr. Rayney's express consent.

"The Police took statements from the children. The children signed those statements. The statements contained detailed information, including information about the children's recollections of the night Corryn was last seen.

"Like any parent in these difficult circumstances, Mr. Rayney's primary concern is the welfare of his children."

The statement continued: "It is wrong to claim that Mr. Rayney has refused to cooperate with police. He has done everything he can to assist them from the very start when Corryn went missing.

"It was Mr. Rayney who arranged for police to have access to all of Corryn's emails. The Police had those from the very beginning.

"Mr. Rayney opened the family home to Police from the outset. They have been welcome at the home. The Police have come and gone as they pleased without the need for a search warrant.

"It is wrong to say that the police were refused entry to the family home (on Thursday). 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.

"Mr. Rayney regrets that it is necessary to authorise the making of this statement. He does not wish to join the police in dealing with this tragedy through the media."