In 2005, Janet Fisicaro's husband said she 'tripped' off a cliff. It took years for the truth to come out.

In September 2004, when Des Campbell and Janet Fisicaro married, the civil celebrant said she felt as though something wasn't quite right between the pair.  

It was a simple garden ceremony, planned entirely by Campbell, with no one in attendance except for two employees from the wedding venue, who acted as witnesses. 

The wedding celebrant said Fisicaro was a "kind and humble" woman. But their impression of Campbell was a different story. And despite it being their wedding day, not a single photo was taken.

Just six months after their wedding, Fisicaro was dead, after falling from a 50-metre cliff near a campsite in Sydney's Royal National Park. 

When one of Fisicaro's sisters was given the horrible news, her first words to police were telling: "How did he do it?"

Watch the moment Des Campbell is sentenced. Post continues below.

Prior to meeting Des Campbell, Janet had been married once before. 

She had married "the love of her life", farmer Frank Fisicaro, and they had a son together. When her husband suddenly died of a heart attack, it left Janet bereaved. But it also left her with financial stability too.

She sold their farm and moved back into town in regional NSW, along with her son, and selling the property had left her with sizeable savings. 

Then she met Des Campbell.

He had quite a "checkered" background. Campbell was a former police officer who reportedly had left Victoria Police after it was said he had bashed suspects, fabricated evidence and been involved in insurance fraud. He also had a reputation as a "serious womaniser". 

"All the girlfriends pretty much reported the same thing — that he was after their money, had a violent temper and would love them and leave them," said acclaimed true crime author Ian Shaw on Mamamia's True Crime Conversations.

Fisicaro's sisters say it was her openness and wealth that attracted Campbell. 

"As soon as she met Des, she would've told him: 'I'm widowed. We used to have a farm but I sold it and moved into town'. Des would have probably thought: 'Wait a minute. This woman's got money and she will be easy to get money out of'," one sister said to Yahoo.

"As soon as the town heard that they were together, people were approaching us. They'd say: 'Tell Jenny not to be with him. He's a gold digger'. We tried to warn her but she said he'd changed. She said we were wrong and that everyone deserved the right to a second chance. She was completely besotted with him like all the other women."

After four years of dating, the pair tied the knot. Campbell was then in his early 50s and Fisicaro in her late 40s. Fisicaro's sister said that as soon as Fisicaro and Campbell were engaged, Fisicaro became more and more isolated from her family. 

In the end, the wedding was done under secrecy, the civil celebrant saying that when she asked Fisicaro about why her son from her first marriage wasn't in attendance, Fisicaro looked "sad". It later emerged that Campbell managed to have three affairs during their six-month marriage.

Image: Channel 9.

During their marriage, Fisicaro changed her will, meaning half of her estate would be left to her husband. During those six months of marriage, Campbell had also convinced Fisicaro to buy a property for them to live in near Wollongong. The property was located far away from her family, and it was bought in both her and Campbell's name. 

Then on March 24, 2005 — six months after they secretly wed, and a week after Fisicaro finally told her family of the marriage — Campbell took his wife camping in Sydney's Royal National Park.

Just before nightfall, Fisicaro fell to her death from a 50-metre cliff near their campsite. Campbell claimed that his wife had left their tent to go to the toilet, lost her footing and tripped off the cliff. 

Fisicaro died as a result of her injuries. 

The very next day, Campbell had his first police interview. 

Campbell assured investigators it couldn't have been a suicide. Later in court, it was said Campbell's motives had been sinister, because if Fisicaro had died by suicide, he wouldn't have received her life insurance payout.

"It was just a little too over the top for the detectives, almost over-acting," Ian Shaw said on True Crime Conversations.

Listen to this case be examined on Mamamia's True Crime Conversations. Post continues after audio.

"While he was trying to convince the world that he was this grieving husband who has no reason to go on living without the love of his life, he was organising a week away holiday in Townsville [with someone he was having an affair with]. And he was looking at Janet's insurance policy and contacting her estate agent."

Police soon realised that Campbell's emotions were all "crocodile tears".

Campbell didn't attend Fisicaro's funeral. A few months later, Campbell then holidayed in the Philippines, where he met a woman who became his fourth wife.

Despite the intuition that Campbell was guilty, it took time to gather the evidence and charge Campbell with murder.

An inquest was held into her death, and there was forensic evidence from police, testimony from the wedding celebrant, Fisicaro's family and more. A physics expert also said that the crime scene showed no signs of Fisicaro falling to her death, but rather the evidence pointed towards her being pushed. 

A pathologist then said the bruising on Fisicaro's upper arms appeared to suggest a strong man had held her tightly by the top of her arms. This correlated with the investigative team's theory that Campbell had gripped Fisicaro and moved her to the edge of the cliff before pushing her off. 

"The coroner found that there was a person of interest who could be found liable or charges could be made based on the evidence presented," Shaw recounted on the podcast. 

In October 2009, Campbell was formally charged with the murder of his wife. 

After a trial, he was found guilty. Campbell showed no emotion as the verdict was read out to the courtroom.

Des Campbell during the trial. Image: AAP.

"There can be no doubt that the circumstances under which Janet met her death demonstrate the offender's sustained callousness towards her for nothing more than monetary gain," the sentencing judge said.

"The offender took the life of an outgoing, generous, warm-hearted and somewhat naïve middle-aged country woman, as soon as it became clear he had obtained as much financial gain from the relationship as he could."

In 2010, Campbell was sentenced, jailed for a maximum of 33 years with a 24-year non-parole period.

Fisicaro's family felt vindicated. But it was bittersweet.

"The tragedy of it all is that a perfectly normal, ordinary, compassionate woman died so an extremely manipulative man could lead the life he felt he was entitled to," Shaw said. "Yes, he's gone to prison. But she's gone forever."

As Fisciaro's sister said to Channel 9: "We spent years trying to get the answer we wanted, that he was guilty, that he was going to spend his life in (jail). It helped… with getting my sister justice, the justice she deserved."

If this has raised any issues for you, or if you just feel like you need to speak to someone, please call 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) – the national sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling service. 

Feature Image: AAP/Channel 9.