Disappeared and Abducted Children and Young Adults => US and Australian missing children and child kidnapping cases. => Topic started by: misty on July 20, 2015, 11:49:30 PM
Title: Skeleton found in suitcase is child ‘murdered eight years ago’
Post by: misty on July 20, 2015, 11:49:30 PM
DETECTIVES hunting the killer of a small child in South Australia are checking cases of missing kids throughout the country, including toddler William Tyrrell. The child’s body was found on Wednesday just off the Karoonda Highway, 2km west of Wynarka, and 120km southeast from Adelaide. The suitcase was open with its contents — including the body — found nearby. An initial check of the missing persons list in South Australia showed there was no child of a similar age missing there, suggesting the child could have come from interstate. Detectives have begun checking missing child cases elsewhere, including that of NSW toddler William Tyrrell, although there is nothing to suggest yet that it could be the three-year-old, the Daily Telegraph reports. Major Crime Investigation Branch officer-in-charge Detective Superintendent Des Bray said William was one of many Australian missing children cases being examined for possible leads. The child’s skeletal remains have been taking to Adelaide for a post-mortem which police hope will reveal more clues as to it’s identity and what killed them — although police are treating the case as murder. It’s thought the child was aged between two and seven. Det Supt Bray said: “We can say that we believe the child died elsewhere. We also believe that the child was placed in a suitcase and brought to this location within about a month but the child had even died some time prior to that.” Two women have told police they saw a clean cut man carrying a suitcase only 2km away from where the body was found. The man was said to be in his 60s and neatly dressed. It fits the time frame police believe the dark grey suitcase was dumped. Police have begun a massive search for evidence using forensic experts, local police, volunteers and a drone. “It (the dark grey suitcase) was right in the open and easily available to be seen,” Det Supt Bray told the Adelaide Advertiser yesterday. “From investigations we’ve made and from information received from people who have stopped and been able to assist, we now know that suitcase was placed there within the last four to six weeks.” The person who found it was “drawn to something” on the side of the road looked inside the suitcase and found the remains among the clothes. “It’s hard to say what happened and why but somebody has found the suitcase, opened it to have a look what’s in there and tipped out the contents and discovered the human remains,” Det-Supt Bray said. He appealed for anyone with information on the case to come forward. “Somebody must have knowledge of someone who has a young child and that child has disappeared and is not around,” he said. Anyone with information is asked to contact CrimeStoppers on 1800 333 000. ===================================================
31
Title: Re: Skeleton found in suitcase is child ‘murdered eight years ago’
Post by: Admin on July 27, 2015, 01:31:09 AM
Skeleton found in suitcase is child ‘murdered eight years ago’
The girl had fair hair and was aged between two to four when she died, police said.
SKELETAL REMAINS FOUND in a suitcase near a highway are likely a young girl who may have been killed up to eight years ago, Australian police have said, as they struggle to solve the mystery murder.
Detectives called for help from the public a week after the bones were discovered by a passer-by in bushland close to Wynarka, a small town about 130 kilometres southeast of Adelaide.
The girl’s identity is not known and a man aged about 60, seen carrying a suitcase in the area some weeks ago, is being sought by police, Detective Superintendent Des Bray said.
The girl had fair hair and was aged between two to four when she died, Bray said. He added:
"For reasons I’m not going to disclose we are confident that this child was murdered."
Bray said the girl could have died some years ago as the clothing she was found with, including a black tutu, a pink shoe, a Dora the Explorer purple top and red sports shorts, dated as far back at 2007.
Although police had contacted all missing persons units and homicide squads across the vast country, there was no-one they had a “strong focus on”.
Investigators also did not know where the girl died, but believe she was “killed elsewhere and her remains put into the suitcase and shifted in relatively recent times”, Bray added.
Police said the black suitcase, which had faded to grey by the time it was found, was left behind a bush, and at “some stage” the remains were tipped out and the bag placed in full view of the road. Bray is appealing to the public:
"We want people to think back into the past, back to 2007 and the years in between, think about little girls like this — who lived near them, played near them, they may be related to — and think about where those children are now."
Title: Re: Skeleton found in suitcase is child ‘murdered eight years ago’
Post by: mercury on July 27, 2015, 02:24:49 AM
Sick people who would murder a child and stuff them n a suitcase! How sad and tragic. Life snuffed out before it's had a chance. It is very sad they don,t know who it is. A quick search in Interpol missing persons shows one mssing girl aged 2 when gone missing in 2008 though in Russia with Australian nationality.Surely they will have checked all that though.Hope they solve it.Could be anyone. Fact they dont know is ominous as well.
Sick people who would murder a child and stuff them n a suitcase! How sad and tragic. Life snuffed out before it's had a chance. It is very sad they don,t know who it is. A quick search in Interpol missing persons shows one mssing girl aged 2 when gone missing in 2008 though in Russia with Australian nationality.Surely they will have checked all that though.Hope they solve it.Could be anyone. Fact they dont know is ominous as well.
The finding of this little girls remains by a road near Wynarka, South Australia, some 72 miles from Adelaide is bizarre for many reasons not least of which being the similarities to the Madeleine McCann case. A young fair haired girl between 3 and 4 years of age apparently deceased around April/May 2007.
What really amazes me however is that after only eight years nobody has immediately laid claim to this child?
Title: Re: Skeleton found in suitcase is child ‘murdered eight years ago’
Post by: John on July 27, 2015, 11:23:23 AM
Wynarka child murder: Top cop dismisses Madeleine McCann speculation as distinctive fabric found with remains identified
The Advertiser 27 July 2015
New clue: Distinctive quilt found with remains in suitcase
Police believe remains in suitcase was a little girl
Post-mortem confirms child met a violent and terrible end
Madeleine McCann: The evidence and the theories
POLICE Commissioner Grant Stevens has dismissed speculation that a murdered child found by the side of an SA highway could be the world’s most high-profile missing girl, Madeleine McCann.
Mr Stevens today told a parliamentary estimates committee hearing that “clearly we’re looking at tragic circumstances here”.
“There is absolutely no evidence at this point in time that the child is Madeleine McCann … to suggest something like that at this point in time would purely be speculating to get attention,” he said.
“We are focusing our inquiries on South Australia but we would be considering any potential missing child. Until we ascertain the identity of the child we need to be open to all possibilities.”
Missing since 2007 — English girl Madeleine McCann was snatched from a Portuguese holiday resort. The picture at right is an age-advanced estimation of how she could have looked several years after her disappearance.
Detective Superintendent Des Bray updates media on Wynarka bones investigation.
Earlier, police said fabric used to make a distinctive homemade quilt found with the remains was manufactured in New York about seven years ago.
Major Crime officer in charge Detective Superintendent Des Bray said police wanted to trace the origins of the quilt in a bid to find out how it came to be on the side of the Karoonda Hwy, near Wynarka, in the Murray Mallee.
They have released digital images that identify seven of the quilt’s 25 octagonal patches, which were sown into the quilt. Police hope someone will recognise the quilt.
It was found alongside the remains of what police say was a little girl, aged between two and four when she was violently killed.
The quilt, left, found in the suitcase, with the digital image, left, released by the police today that shows seven patches identified.
Her skeletal remains had been dumped in a suitcase next to the highway up to four months ago.
But her bones had been tipped out of the suitcase when discovered by a passing motorist on July 15.
Det-Supt Bray said it was “more likely than not” that the little girl was never reported missing to authorities.
“It would be impossible to believe that someone didn’t love this little girl,” he said.
“It’s hard to believe someone hasn’t missed her.
“I thought when we started this job that we would quickly identify who this little girl was. “Somewhere out there is a mother, a father, at the very least an extended family that obviously lived near someone and I’m at a loss as to why someone hasn’t reported this little girl."
Detective Superintendent Des Bray with a photo of the musical note fabric used to make a quilt found with child’s remains. Picture: Campbell Brodie.
Det-Supt Bray said the distinctiveness of some of the items, including the quilt and a black tutu, found with the remains would help solve the mystery.
He said police believed some of the quilt fabric — coloured musical notes — was manufactured in New York in about 2008.
“The quilt is really important to the investigation,” he said.
“If we can find out who that quilt was given to or whether it ended up in an op-shop that will take us back to a geographical area.”
The quilt that was handmade specifically for a young child. Picture: SA Police
He said the quilt was homemade using a sewing machine and a polyester material was used to line its inside, which indicated it was made for a child.
Previously, police said the labels, decomposition of fabric and staining of clothes found with the remains indicated she was killed some time after 2007.
It was also likely she had fair hair and was 90-95cm tall when she was killed, police said.
Det-Supt Bray said the little girl was killed in a violent manner.
“We’re certain of how the little girl met her death — why, who and what circumstances, it’s just impossible to tell,” he said.
A mannequin with hair of a similar colour and length, dressed in new versions of items of clothing found with the body, along with suitcase found at the scene.
“It could fit any scenario.”
He said 55 calls had been made to Crime Stoppers about the quilt since police released its image to the Sunday Mail.
“We’ve had about 280 Crime Stopper calls being received in South Australia and across the country,” he said.
“I guess in terms of recent cases that’s unprecedented the number of calls we’re getting.”
Anyone with information about the murder is urged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
One question, why was this child not on the missing child database? Sounds extremely iffy to me??
Two weeks have almost past yet the Australian police appear to be at a loss to answer that question and are struggling to identify her since the finding of the remains on Wednesday 15 July.
Title: Re: Skeleton found in suitcase is child ‘murdered eight years ago’
Post by: Anna on July 27, 2015, 11:53:06 AM
The child's body was left in a place that it would eventually be found. I don't think her originally clothing would have been left also.
Title: Re: Skeleton found in suitcase is child ‘murdered eight years ago’
Post by: John on July 27, 2015, 12:02:48 PM
If they were moving away, Why would they leave their money and bank accounts untouched? A Very strange disappearance, which doesn't appear planned by the family.
Simon Kadwell: New fears for safety of missing cult family 31st May 2009 thewest.com.au Source Missing: Leela McDougall
A WA family linked to an internet cult who disappeared almost two years ago have not used their bank accounts or contacted relatives, raising fears they have been murdered.
Investigators initially believed that former internet cult leader Englishman Simon Kadwell, 46, Chantelle McDougall, 28, their daughter Leela, eight, and a friend Tony Popic, 42, may have sneaked out of the country to New Zealand before travelling to Rio Branco, a Brazilian city known for its religious cults.
But it is understood the WA Police missing person’s squad has uncovered no evidence that the group have left the country.
They were last seen on July 13, 2007, in Busselton, where they sold a car for $4000 to a local dealer and drove away in a waiting car.
Chantelle’s father, Jim McDougall, said yesterday that his fears for the wellbeing of his daughter and granddaughter were growing by the day.
With Leela featuring in a national missing children’s campaign that started on Monday, he said he still hoped that they would be found.
But he could not understand why Chantelle had not contacted him or his wife Kath in almost two years or how they could survive for such a long time without using their bank accounts.
1000 missing person’s flyers
The couple, who live in Wodonga, Victoria, have printed 1000 missing person’s flyers featuring photos of Chantelle and Leela and will set off in July on a three-month trip from Victoria to Cape York in Queensland, plastering the posters along the way.
“As every day goes by and I don’t hear from Chantelle it gets a bit harder to keep going,” Mr McDougall said.
“She was very close to both me and her mother so to not have heard from her for almost two years does make us very worried for her and Leela.
“It’s always in your mind that something may have happened (to them). I try not to think about it and just hope that we will hear from them soon.”
While living in WA, Mr Kadwell operated a secretive doomsday internet forum called The Gateway. He was called Si in the chat forum, which involved about 40 members around the world, who referred to themselves as “the Forecourt” — a religious reference to the place where believers wait for “judgment day”.
Ms McDougall’s parents have accused Mr Kadwell of brainwashing and seducing their daughter when, as a 17-year-old, she started babysitting for him and his partner, Deborah, in 1998.
The teenager had been introduced to Mr Kadwell and Deborah through friends in Victoria and would follow them to WA, Britain and back. By September 2000, Mr Kadwell, Deborah, their son Daniel and Ms McDougall were living in WA.
“awakening servers of the divine plan”
The same year, Ms McDougall, who was pregnant, and Mr Kadwell moved to a rented house in Floreat, where they continued to believe that the planet was on “red alert” and it was time for “awakening servers of the divine plan” to come forward.
Mr Popic moved in with them. With baby Leela, the couple and Mr Popic moved to Denmark. In 2004, the group shifted to Nannup, where Ms McDougall worked at a fish and chip shop and taught swimming, while Mr Popic lived in a caravan at the rear of their property.
Mr McDougall said yesterday that his daughter had told him during their last conversation on the day they disappeared that they were going to live in a small religious community on the outskirts of Rio Branco.
When the owner of their Nannup property went to the house in the days after they left the town, he found a note on the front door which read “Gone to Brazil”.
But given that police had no evidence that they had left the country, Mr McDougall believed that the Brazil trip was probably a cover story. “We were always worried that Simon would take off with Chantelle and Leela one day,” he said. “Simon seemed to have control over Chantelle and she would do whatever he said. All we want to know now is that they are OK and safe. We won’t give up hope.”
Anyone with information about the group should call CrimeStoppers on 1800 333 000.
http://www.cifs.org.au/disappeared.php
Title: Re: Skeleton found in suitcase is child ‘murdered eight years ago’
Post by: Anna on July 27, 2015, 04:41:49 PM
Title: Re: Skeleton found in suitcase is child ‘murdered eight years ago’
Post by: John on July 27, 2015, 04:43:49 PM
The Disappearances Of Chantelle And Leela McDougall
Published on Aug 14, 2013
Internet cult leader Simon Kadwell (aka Gary Felton) and his partner, seven year old daughter, and friend Tony Popic disappeared from the small town of Nannup, Western Australia in 2007. They told friends they were going to Brazil, but immigration have no records of them ever leaving Australia. This clip originally aired on the Australian Channel 10 show "Wanted" on 12 August 2013 (episode 6). Simon Kadwell is believed to be a false identity. His real name is believed to be Gary Felton, but is also known as Simon Kadwill and Simon Kaddy. He is the author of "Servers of the Divine Plan" and "The New Call". He ran an internet group called the Truth Fellowship, and a forum called The Gateway. His partner's name is Chantelle McDougall, and Chantelle's daughter is named Leela. Their friend is Anthony / Tony Popic, and may have used the name J Roberts.
The Disappearances Of Chantelle And Leela McDougall
In October 2007, 27-year-old Chantelle McDougall and her six-year-old daughter, Leela, mysteriously vanished from their hometown of Nannup, Australia. At the time, Chantelle was living with her 45-year-old husband, Simon Kadwell, who also went missing without explanation.
Chantelle had gotten involved with Simon when she was still a teenager. At the time, the family lived in a caravan owned by 40-year-old Antonio Popic, who also disappeared. They left everything behind, including their wallets and credit cards. They were last seen selling Chantelle’s vehicle for $4,000, but none of the money in her bank account has ever been touched. However, things took a bizarre turn once investigators started delving into the background of Simon Kadwell.
It turned out he had previously lived in England under his real name, Gary Feldman, and had stolen the identity of another Brit named Simon Kadwell before moving to Australia. He lived under numerous aliases over the years and was the head of a bizarre New Age religious cult. The cult followed the teachings of a doomsday book entitled Servers of the Divine Plan, based around the idea of “servers” taking a specific position on Earth to prepare for the impending apocalypse.
Chantelle McDougall and her daughter were also members of this cult and had cut off all communication with Chantelle’s immediate family. It’s theorized that all four missing individuals traveled to a specific location to prepare for doomsday, but there is no evidence of them ever leaving Australia. They have practically vanished off the face of the Earth and have not been seen for over seven years.
Title: Re: Skeleton found in suitcase is child ‘murdered eight years ago’
Post by: Anna on July 27, 2015, 05:08:34 PM
The Disappearances Of Chantelle And Leela McDougall
Published on Aug 14, 2013
Internet cult leader Simon Kadwell (aka Gary Felton) and his partner, seven year old daughter, and friend Tony Popic disappeared from the small town of Nannup, Western Australia in 2007. They told friends they were going to Brazil, but immigration have no records of them ever leaving Australia. This clip originally aired on the Australian Channel 10 show "Wanted" on 12 August 2013 (episode 6). Simon Kadwell is believed to be a false identity. His real name is believed to be Gary Felton, but is also known as Simon Kadwill and Simon Kaddy. He is the author of "Servers of the Divine Plan" and "The New Call". He ran an internet group called the Truth Fellowship, and a forum called The Gateway. His partner's name is Chantelle McDougall, and Chantelle's daughter is named Leela. Their friend is Anthony / Tony Popic, and may have used the name J Roberts.
The Disappearances Of Chantelle And Leela McDougall
In October 2007, 27-year-old Chantelle McDougall and her six-year-old daughter, Leela, mysteriously vanished from their hometown of Nannup, Australia. At the time, Chantelle was living with her 45-year-old husband, Simon Kadwell, who also went missing without explanation.
Chantelle had gotten involved with Simon when she was still a teenager. At the time, the family lived in a caravan owned by 40-year-old Antonio Popic, who also disappeared. They left everything behind, including their wallets and credit cards. They were last seen selling Chantelle’s vehicle for $4,000, but none of the money in her bank account has ever been touched. However, things took a bizarre turn once investigators started delving into the background of Simon Kadwell.
It turned out he had previously lived in England under his real name, Gary Feldman, and had stolen the identity of another Brit named Simon Kadwell before moving to Australia. He lived under numerous aliases over the years and was the head of a bizarre New Age religious cult. The cult followed the teachings of a doomsday book entitled Servers of the Divine Plan, based around the idea of “servers” taking a specific position on Earth to prepare for the impending apocalypse.
Thanks John, What an interesting video and case. I noticed the little girl dancing a lot. I wonder if it could be her. Tutu etc found. It looks like this guy might have been careless with his mobile phone, or it was stolen.
Chantelle McDougall and her daughter were also members of this cult and had cut off all communication with Chantelle’s immediate family. It’s theorized that all four missing individuals traveled to a specific location to prepare for doomsday, but there is no evidence of them ever leaving Australia. They have practically vanished off the face of the Earth and have not been seen for over seven years.
Title: Re: Skeleton found in suitcase is child ‘murdered eight years ago’
Post by: mercury on July 27, 2015, 05:25:42 PM
The first article says the child would be between 2 and 7 years old, later ones say between 2 and 4, so conflicting information already.
Assuming the later reports are more correct, I think there is a big difference between 2-4 and 6-7 which is the age Leela was.
As for the possibility of it being Madelene Mccann, her DNA profile is held by both UK and PT authorities and IIRC you can extract DNA even from skeletal remains. Dental records may also be being checked.
Reminds me of the Baby Grace case and all the speculation.
Horrible state of affairs.
PS One reason the chlld was not reported missing is if the parents were missing too. So that story holds water in that sense at least.
Title: Re: Skeleton found in suitcase is child ‘murdered eight years ago’
Post by: John on July 27, 2015, 05:52:36 PM
It is worth noting that the Australian Federal Police do not list suspect Simon Kadwell (real name Gary Felton from England) as a missing person.
(http://i.imgur.com/g1Yg4eE.jpg?1)
Title: Re: Skeleton found in suitcase is child ‘murdered eight years ago’
Post by: mercury on July 27, 2015, 05:56:50 PM
Very possible he could have murdered or had "disappeared" his family, cult leaders are strange creatures at best
Title: Re: Skeleton found in suitcase is child ‘murdered eight years ago’
Post by: Admin on July 28, 2015, 01:24:06 AM
Madeleine McCann investigators contact Australian police over body
(http://i.imgur.com/Qf3Aa3D.jpg?1)
28 July 2015
UK police make inquiries about remains found in suitcase but Australian authorities say there is currently ‘no evidence’ it relates to McCann case.
‘We are aware of reports of the remains of a child having been found in South Australia and we have made contact with the Australian authorities,’ said a Metropolitan police spokesman.
Police officers investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann have contacted Australian authorities over the discovery of a young girl’s remains in a suitcase, Scotland Yard has said.
The remains of a fair-haired girl likely to have been aged between two and four were found dumped on the side of a rural highway in the South Australian wild earlier this month.
The girl is believed to have been killed at a different location at some time since the start of 2007, according to South Australian police. The remains were found in a suitcase along with items of clothing and a degraded quilt next to a motorway in Wynarka, near Adelaide.
The discovery has led to speculation that the remains could be those of McCann, who had blond hair and was three years old when she went missing from her family’s holiday apartment in the Algarve, Portugal, on 3 May 2007.
A spokesman for the Metropolitan police said: “We are aware of reports of the remains of a child having been found in South Australia and we have made contact with the Australian authorities.”
Australian authorities have so far been unable to identify the body, but Det Supt Des Bray, the officer in charge of the major crime investigation branch of South Australia police, said it was “highly unlikely” that the victim is Madeleine.
“At this time our inquiries will focus on where the evidence leads us in this investigation and at this point that primary focus remains within Australia,” Bray said.
Australian police commissioner Grant Stevens told a parliamentary committee hearing: “There is absolutely no evidence at this point in time that the child is Madeleine McCann … to suggest something like that at this point in time would purely be speculating to get attention.
“We are focusing our inquiries on South Australia but we would be considering any potential missing child. Until we ascertain the identity of the child we need to be open to all possibilities.”
Title: Re: Skeleton found in suitcase is child ‘murdered eight years ago’
Post by: Admin on July 28, 2015, 01:30:52 AM
Scotland Yard refuses to rule out Madeleine McCann link in SA child murder victim case
(http://i.imgur.com/VFkGRjm.jpg?1)
28 July 2015
THE body of a murdered child found on the side of a South Australian highway could be that of missing toddler Madeleine McCann, British police have indicated.
Although SA police have strongly denied any link between the world’s most high-profile missing girl and the child remains found in suitcase on the side of the remote highway Wynarka, a Scotland Yard spokesman said it could not be ruled out.
According to UK’s site the Mirror, the spokesman confirmed that British officers got in touch with their Australian counterparts just after the skeletal remain were found.
Dumped ... A snapshot of the highway where the body of a girl, aged between two and four, was found.
“We are aware of reports of the remains of a child having been found in South Australia, and we have made contact with the Australian authorities,” he said.
SA police believe a fair-haired girl aged between two-and-a-half and four is the murder victim whose remains were found in the Murray Mallee in the Riverland, earlier this month.
Following an autopsy, police revealed it was “terribly clear that the child died a violent death under terrible circumstances”.
“Everything about this case is tragic,” said Detective Superintendent Des Bray.
A tent covers the area where a child’s bones were discovered in bushes beside the Karoonda Highway, east of Adelaide.
At the time of her disappearance from the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz in 2007, Maddie was three-years-old. She would now be 11, which fits the description of the SA child victim.
Since her mysterious disappearance, the search for Maddie has spanned eight years, covering and almost every sighting, theory, witness account and suspect.
However, Australian police are refusing to be drawn into this latest theory, with South Australian Police Commissioner Grant Stevens telling reporters that there was “absolutely no evidence at this point in time to suggest that the child concerned is Madeleine McCann”.
“We’re prepared to consider any possibility, but to suggest something like that at this point in time would purely be speculation for the benefit of getting attention.”
Supt Des Bray previously said the little girl could have died up to eight years ago.
Title: Re: Skeleton found in suitcase is child ‘murdered eight years ago’
Post by: pegasus on July 28, 2015, 01:39:33 AM
The Sun today have ridiculous front page headline spuriously linking a suitcase found in Australia with the PDL case. http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/6562904/Body-in-suitcase-sparks-Maddie-questions.html
Title: Re: Skeleton found in suitcase is child ‘murdered eight years ago’
Post by: mercury on July 28, 2015, 06:38:26 AM
The Sun today have ridiculous front page headline spuriously linking a suitcase found in Australia with the PDL case. http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/6562904/Body-in-suitcase-sparks-Maddie-questions.html
No more spurious than many past ridiculous linkages. Probably highly unlikely though even if the Met have said they can't rule it out.
Title: Re: Skeleton found in suitcase is child ‘murdered eight years ago’
Post by: Alfred R Jones on July 28, 2015, 08:14:56 AM
The Met refuse to rule out the possibility that the child found in a suitcase in Australia may be Madeleine McCann
They would be foolish to do so until they had DNA conformation that it wasn't.
Title: Re: Skeleton found in suitcase is child ‘murdered eight years ago’
Post by: John on July 28, 2015, 11:56:16 AM
I had a look through the Aussie missing children database and the only female child which fits this case is Leela McDougall. I hasten to add that the geographical locations of where Leela and her family were last seen ie in the far southwest of Australia would seem to rule them out.
It is more likely that the remains belong to a child who has never been reported missing since these things do occur in the vast wilderness of Australia.
Title: Re: Skeleton found in suitcase is child ‘murdered eight years ago’
Post by: Angelo222 on July 28, 2015, 12:34:20 PM
I had a look through the Aussie missing children database and the only female child which fits this case is Leela McDougall. I hasten to add that the geographical locations of where Leela and her family were last seen ie in the far southwest of Australia would seem to rule them out.
It is more likely that the remains belong to a child who has never been reported missing since these things do occur in the vast wilderness of Australia.
Have they determined if the bones belong to a white child or a native?
Title: Re: Skeleton found in suitcase is child ‘murdered eight years ago’
Post by: Miss Taken Identity on July 28, 2015, 01:23:24 PM
‘We are aware of reports of the remains of a child having been found in South Australia and we have made contact with the Australian authorities,’ said a Metropolitan police spokesman.
Police officers investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann have contacted Australian authorities over the discovery of a young girl’s remains in a suitcase, Scotland Yard has said.
The remains of a fair-haired girl likely to have been aged between two and four were found dumped on the side of a rural highway in the South Australian wild earlier this month.
The girl is believed to have been killed at a different location at some time since the start of 2007, according to South Australian police. The remains were found in a suitcase along with items of clothing and a degraded quilt next to a motorway in Wynarka, near Adelaide.
The discovery has led to speculation that the remains could be those of McCann, who had blond hair and was three years old when she went missing from her family’s holiday apartment in the Algarve, Portugal, on 3 May 2007.
A spokesman for the Metropolitan police said: “We are aware of reports of the remains of a child having been found in South Australia and we have made contact with the Australian authorities.”
Australian authorities have so far been unable to identify the body, but Det Supt Des Bray, the officer in charge of the major crime investigation branch of South Australia police, said it was “highly unlikely” that the victim is Madeleine.
“At this time our inquiries will focus on where the evidence leads us in this investigation and at this point that primary focus remains within Australia,” Bray said.
Australian police commissioner Grant Stevens told a parliamentary committee hearing: “There is absolutely no evidence at this point in time that the child is Madeleine McCann … to suggest something like that at this point in time would purely be speculating to get attention.
“We are focusing our inquiries on South Australia but we would be considering any potential missing child. Until we ascertain the identity of the child we need to be open to all possibilities.”
For it to be Maddie we need to look for Victoria Bek look a likie... or the millionaire Yatching crowd.
I agree with Mercury about the age difference. The child had fair hair but Leela had brown hair? The quilt could have been made by Leela's mum as she was known to mend clothes? I wonder what age the father is now... a man in his 60's seen in the vacinity, and the body was left to be found? mmm baffling indeed!
Title: Re: Skeleton found in suitcase is child ‘murdered eight years ago’
Post by: carol on July 28, 2015, 03:19:55 PM
According to the Express today, a skeleton of a three year old girl was discovered in a suitcase by the roadside in the Australian Outback and COULD be Madeleine McCann!! We shall have to wait and see.
Title: Re: Skeleton found in suitcase is child ‘murdered eight years ago’
Post by: Angelo222 on July 28, 2015, 04:16:33 PM
For it to be Maddie we need to look for Victoria Bek look a likie... or the millionaire Yatching crowd.
I agree with Mercury about the age difference. The child had fair hair but Leela had brown hair? The quilt could have been made by Leela's mum as she was known to mend clothes? I wonder what age the father is now... a man in his 60's seen in the vacinity, and the body was left to be found? mmm baffling indeed!
I don't believe the body and suitcases were left to be found. More likely some wild animals or dingoes found them and scattered their contents which over time drew the attention of passing motorists to the scene. Wasn't that what happened in the other missing Chamberlain baby case in Australia, clothing was eventually found in an animal burrow.
Title: Re: Skeleton found in suitcase is child ‘murdered eight years ago’
Post by: Anna on July 28, 2015, 06:20:34 PM
Original news https://youtu.be/VchviDC4Ias
It was easily seen https://youtu.be/qv545Pz8y1o
Update https://youtu.be/R1NFIgD4KRU
update
Title: Re: Skeleton found in suitcase is child ‘murdered eight years ago’
Post by: Admin on July 29, 2015, 02:11:59 AM
Have they determined if the bones belong to a white child or a native?
Not yet but latest reports claim likely Caucasian.
From The Advertiser 23 July 2015
Police said they would not release the identities of those potential victims who were excluded from the investigation.
Det-Supt Bray said it was imperative that the person who tipped out the contents of the suitcase, which was first discovered shortly after road works were completed in March this year, contacted police.
“Identifying who emptied the suitcase contents behind the bush and when it was emptied is very important to investigators,” he said.
“The person who did this is not in any trouble and we encourage that person to come forward and contact us through Crime Stoppers or attend their local police station.”
Det Supt Bray also noted that further sightings of a 60-year-old man with the suitcase around the same time had been reported to police.
Earlier police appeals had noted that a man was seen in the area carrying a dark suitcase, about 8am one morning about six to eight weeks ago.
Described as being aged about 60, of Caucasian appearance, average height, lightly built, clean cut and neatly dressed, police say he was not a local.
“Identifying this man remains a priority so that he can be excluded if not involved,” Det Supt Bray said.
“Police continue to encourage this man or anyone who knows him to come forward and make contact with us.
Title: Re: Skeleton found in suitcase is child ‘murdered eight years ago’
Post by: Admin on July 29, 2015, 02:38:20 AM
Wynarka Suitcase Remains Still A Mystery As Scotland Yard Refuse To Rule Out Maddie McCann Connection
5MU.com NEWS
29 July 2015
Taskforce Mallee are continuing to search for the identity of the child whose remains were found in a suitcase near Wynarka. As of late yesterday, 426 calls have been made to Crime Stoppers and they've managed to rule 33 children out of the investigation. While South Australian police say the chances are slim that the remains are that of missing UK toddler Maddie McCann, Scotland Yard are reportedly not ruling out the possibility the child's body is the 3 year old who went missing from the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz in 2007. The timeline and description of the remains so far fit her details, there's no word yet whether Maddie's parents have been made aware of the connection.
Wynarka Suitcase Remains Still A Mystery As Scotland Yard Refuse To Rule Out Maddie McCann Connection
5MU.com NEWS
29 July 2015
Taskforce Mallee are continuing to search for the identity of the child whose remains were found in a suitcase near Wynarka. As of late yesterday, 426 calls have been made to Crime Stoppers and they've managed to rule 33 children out of the investigation. While South Australian police say the chances are slim that the remains are that of missing UK toddler Maddie McCann, Scotland Yard are reportedly not ruling out the possibility the child's body is the 3 year old who went missing from the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz in 2007. The timeline and description of the remains so far fit her details, there's no word yet whether Maddie's parents have been made aware of the connection.
* Believed to be a girl * Aged 2.5-4 years at time of death * Likely Caucasian * Had fair hair, 18cm long * Was 90-95cm tall * Was killed at another location * Was killed some time since the start of 2007
Anyone who has any information that may assist the investigation, is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or report online at https://sa.crimestoppers.com.au/
Title: Re: Skeleton found in suitcase is child ‘murdered eight years ago’
Post by: mercury on July 29, 2015, 03:56:51 AM
Title: Re: Skeleton found in suitcase is child ‘murdered eight years ago’
Post by: Brietta on July 29, 2015, 09:30:43 AM
Madeleine McCann: Body found in suitcase in Australia is NOT missing youngster
09:06, 29 JULY 2015 BY ANTHONY BOND The decomposed body of a fair-haired girl was discovered in Australia this week - with some speculating it could be Madeleine
Missing Madeleine McCann has been "totally excluded" as a potential victim after a young girl's remains were found in a suitcase in Australia.
South Australia Police said it had ruled out 43 missing children in connection to the grim discovery next to a remote motorway in Wynarka near Adelaide on July 15.
The decomposed body is that of a fair-haired girl aged between two and a half and four, who was killed at another location in at least 2007.
Blonde Madeleine was three years old when she went missing from the family's holiday apartment in Portugal's Algarve on May 3 2007.
Detective Superintendent Des Bray said: "I can confirm that Madeleine McCann has been totally excluded as a potential victim and UK police have been advised.
" The Metropolitan Police have previously said they were aware of reports that a child's remains had been found and had contacted Australian authorities. "
It emerged yesterday that Madeleine's DNA would be tested against samples from the body.
A source close to Maddie’s parents, Kate and Gerry, both 47, said: “They hope that if anything of substance is found linking the body in Australia and Madeleine they will be told straight away.
“DNA testing is likely to be done as a matter of routine as much as to rule it out of the inquiry.
“The Met Police always said they would leave no stone unturned in their investigation.”
Officers assigned to Operation Grange, the multi-million pound investigation into Maddie’s disappearance, refused to comment on her DNA being checked against bones and fabric found.
A Scotland Yard spokesperson said: “We cannot give a running commentary while our inquiry is on going. We will not discuss any DNA testing.”
Skeletal remains of a blonde girl, believed to be aged two-and-a-half to four years, were found in a suitcase by motorist on a South Australian highway.
Fair-haired Maddie was aged three, nearly four, when she vanished from a Portuguese holiday apartment in May 2007.
Cops in Oz say the victim could have died eight years ago.
Maddie’s DNA profile is made up of 19 different components.
Fifty per cent of her genetic make-up is shared with each of her parents.
Kate and Gerry have both given DNA samples to help forensic scientists in the search for their daughter.
Title: Re: Skeleton found in suitcase is child ‘murdered eight years ago’
Post by: Alfred R Jones on July 29, 2015, 03:27:07 PM
How sad (and possibly suspicious) that neither this child's parents, or extended family and friends saw fit to highlight her disappearance by either reporting it to the authorities or mounting any sort of appeal for her return.
Title: Re: Skeleton found in suitcase is child ‘murdered eight years ago’
Post by: John on July 29, 2015, 05:33:26 PM
Madeleine McCann is not girl found dead in Australia, say police
(http://i.imgur.com/Qf3Aa3D.jpg?1)
29 July 2015
Madeleine McCann has been “totally excluded” as a potential victim after a young girl’s remains were found in a suitcase in Australia.
South Australia police said they had ruled out 43 missing children in connection to the discovery next to a remote motorway in Wynarka near Adelaide on 15 July.
The decomposed body of a fair-haired girl, aged between two and a half and four, was killed at another location in at least 2007.
Madeleine was three when she went missing from the family’s holiday apartment on the Algarve in Portugal on 3 May 2007.
DS Des Bray said: “I can confirm that Madeleine McCann has been totally excluded as a potential victim and UK police have been advised.”
The Metropolitan police have previously said they were aware of reports that a child’s remains had been found and had contacted Australian authorities.
How sad (and possibly suspicious) that neither this child's parents, or extended family and friends saw fit to highlight her disappearance by either reporting it to the authorities or mounting any sort of appeal for her return.
Unless it was the parents who killed the child. There is a suspicion that it is a child, who's parents ( who belonged to a doomsday cult) may have moved into the 'bush' years ago.
Title: Re: Skeleton found in suitcase is child ‘murdered eight years ago’
Post by: mercury on July 29, 2015, 10:44:57 PM
I wonder how they categorically rule out possibilities. As of two days ago they had no DNA profile and were not sure about other very basic factors.
Then again, they don't tell us everything and mostly for good reasons.
It would be very bizarre if it were her though.
Title: Re: Skeleton found in suitcase is child ‘murdered eight years ago’
Post by: Admin on August 01, 2015, 02:09:33 AM
Police boost efforts over Wynarka bones child murder mystery (http://www.manlylsc.com.au/verve/_resources/7_NEWS_LOGO_page.jpg) 31 July 2015
Police in South Australian have deployed more officers to attempt to uncover how the bones of a small girl came to be dumped in a suitcase on an outback highway.
Investigators have also revealed that forensic tests have finally confirmed that the bones were those of a little girl.
Five new staff have been assigned to assist Task Force Mallee to discover what happened to the child, believed to have been aged between two and four-years-old at the time of her death.
Police believe the girl was murdered.
Skeletal remains were found near a faded suitcase in the bush beside the Karoonda Highway, about two kilometres west of Wynarka, on July 15.
So far police have eliminated 53 children as potential victims and 550 reports have been made to Crime Stoppers as detectives continue to try to solve the mystery.
Despite 773 calls to Crimestoppers, 500 homes and businesses being doorknocked and 53 children being ruled out as potential victims, South Australian investigators are no closer to discovering the identity of a girl whose remains were uncovered by a driver, who saw the suitcase on the side of the road in Wynarka, on July 15.
Detective Superintendent Des Bray believes somebody must recognise the girl, who was aged between two-and-a-half and four years old.
Full article and latest video... (http://www.9news.com.au/national/2015/08/11/19/43/police-and-wynarka-locals-desperate-to-discover-identify-of-young-girl-found-dead-in-suitcase)
Title: Re: Skeleton found in suitcase is child ‘murdered eight years ago’
Post by: Admin on August 23, 2015, 01:28:08 AM
Jacket linked to Wynarka suitcase murder identified after eBay tip-off
A jacket found with a young girl's remains has been identified.
A tip-off from a member of the public has helped South Australian detectives identify a jacket found with a young girl’s skeletal remains in a roadside suitcase.
The unidentified young girl’s remains were found on July 14 in a faded suitcase by the Karoonda Highway, around 2km west of Wynarka.
A keen-eyed online shopper recently noticed a jacket posted to eBay identical to one police revealed had been found with the suitcase and notified police.
Officers from Task Force Mallee reached out to the seller in NSW, who donated the jacket to police to help their investigation.
Detectives announced this week they were cross-matching more than 250 matches on government databases for potential victims.
At least 83 children have been eliminated from investigations already.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Read full story.. (http://www.9news.com.au/national/2015/08/23/09/27/jacket-linked-to-wynarka-suitcase-murder-identified#qqHaQTwEqQLxaXoo.99)
Title: Re: Skeleton found in suitcase is child ‘murdered eight years ago’
Post by: Admin on August 23, 2015, 01:32:01 AM
Police claim that 83 children have been eliminated from the investigation so far so does that mean Australia must have one of the worst records for disappeared children in the world?
How can 83 children have disappeared in Australia and we havent heard of most of them?
Title: Re: Skeleton found in suitcase is child ‘murdered eight years ago’
Post by: Anna on August 23, 2015, 01:43:13 AM
Police claim that 83 children have been eliminated from the investigation so far so does that mean Australia must have one of the worst records for disappeared children in the world?
How can 83 children have disappeared in Australia and we havent heard of most of them?
83 missing children, in the same age group.....surely not. Do you think they got the numbers wrong? Poor little mites.
Title: Re: Skeleton found in suitcase is child ‘murdered eight years ago’
Post by: John on September 01, 2015, 02:20:24 PM
Australian Police appear to be no further forward in their quest to discover the true identity of the young girl whose bones and clothing were found in and around a suitcase near Wynarka, South Australia.
The township of Wynarka has about eight permanent residents yet a middle aged male stranger seen carrying a suitcase near the highway on several occasions between April and June has never been identified.
An update:
Behind mystery of girl in suitcase at Wynarka, South Australia
Sunday Herald Sun
By Andrew Rule
THE Beaumont children. Truro. The Family. Snowtown. Now there’s Wynarka and the little girl in the suitcase, the latest addition to South Australia’s back-catalogue of horror stories.
Wynarka is a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it collection of houses on the highway between nowhere and not much in the Murray Mallee, emptied-out farming country where communities have shrunk to little more than pairs of bullet-scarred road signs.
Just west of town on the Karoonda Highway there’s a patch of bush before the big wheat paddocks start. It was there, on July 15, that a curious motorist pulled up when something caught his eye.
He wasn’t the first to notice the faded suitcase abandoned under a bush. Others had been there over previous weeks and glanced at the case’s stained and rotting contents. But none had noticed the thing he saw among a pile of clothes scattered nearby.
It was a human jawbone. A small one.
When the police arrived they found the rest of the skeleton, obviously a child’s — almost certainly a girl’s, judging from the clothes that had spilled out of the suitcase. It will take time for forensic scientists to confirm the working assumption that the dead child was a female aged between 30 months and four years.
What investigators do not yet know — or are not saying — is whether they can get a DNA sample from the bones to compare with samples already on record: samples taken from offenders, especially sex offenders. Having DNA would also give police a tool to eliminate — or implicate — any “person of interest”.
Anyone closely related to the child should be able to unlock the macabre mystery of what happened to her.
South Australia’s major crime squad has made an educated guess that the person they want is in their state, most likely within close range.
Taskforce Mallee has begun the investigation by doorknocking every house within 25km of Wynarka. Conscious of how easily investigations can veer off-course, miss vital clues or leave gaps that the guilty can wriggle through, detectives are taking their time, cross-referencing each inquiry so nothing is missed and nothing is left to chance.
No one has to be reminded that other investigations of notorious murder cases have been hampered by slapdash initial police work and hunches that didn’t pan out.
The Azaria Chamberlain case, for one. The Falconio case, for another. The Beaumonts and “The Family” murders in Adelaide.
Investigators are not revealing all they know about what happened to the child, because they have to keep some vital detail secret. Something only the killer knows and that timewasters don’t know.
Police know the victim was a little under a metre tall and had shoulder-length fair hair. They know that as long as seven years ago she died extremely violently, almost certainly murdered. Certain fractures suggest she was bashed to death. A defence lawyer might argue that such injuries could be accidental — but why would anyone would hide the body of a child who died in a genuine accident?
The killer or someone close to him or her then covered the body in a pile of clothes — maybe in an empty room, a cupboard or a shed. Then they left it for years — long enough to be reduced to a skeleton.
Then, probably early this year, something happened — something that prompted whoever had hidden the body to want to move it. The killer or an accomplice jammed the clothing and the skeleton into a suitcase and took it from the hiding place.
Why? Perhaps they had to move house and feared the body would be discovered by others. Perhaps they were jittery because of publicity about prosecution of other child killers. The brilliant detection of Daniel Morcombe’s killer — Brett Peter Cowan — generated nationwide publicity after Cowan’s Supreme Court appeal failed in May this year. In April there was a spate of fresh publicity about William Tyrell’s abduction in northern NSW last September. Either, or neither, might have been enough to spook a child killer.
Whatever the reason, someone took the suitcase from the hiding place to Wynarka. It is tempting to assume it must have been moved in a vehicle, but that does not necessarily tally with the strongest clue police have: that a man with a suitcase was seen in Wynarka some time between March and May.
WYNARKA township has about eight permanent residents. Early one autumn morning this year, roughly a quarter of the population — Denise Edwards and Monica Martin — were walking their dogs when they saw something that stuck in their minds.
It was a man, aged about 60, walking briskly up the main street towards the Karoonda highway that links Wynarka with the world, or at least with Murray Bridge.
The man was average height, lightly built and neat looking, with short grey hair. He was a complete stranger to both women, who are locals bred and born and tend not to mix with the “blow ins” who appeared in the district chasing cheap rent when the permanent community started shrinking a generation ago.
The most unusual thing about the stranger was that he had a large suitcase — and was carrying it rather than wheeling it, as if it weren’t heavy. As Monica recalled this week, “He wasn’t labouring, and he was walking briskly.” Her vague impression was of a man on a mission.
The stranger was close enough to see both women but he made no eye contact and no greeting, unusual in the country. There was no sign of how he had appeared in the street but it seemed unlikely he had walked all the way from some other area. It seemed likely that either a vehicle had dropped him there, or he had walked from relatively close by.
The problem for police is that if he arrived in Wynarka by vehicle he could have started his journey almost anywhere — over the border in Victoria, for a start.
Against the theory that he hitchhiked is that a middle-aged man carrying a suitcase should have stood out enough that motorists would have remembered seeing him and reported it, especially if they had given him a ride.
In an era of backpackers and cheap cars, you could drive around Australia and not see anyone carrying a suitcase on the open road.
INVESTIGATORS are eliminating the most obvious possibility: that the man came from one of the former farmhouses rented cheaply to transient tenants who come to the backblocks to escape unhappy pasts, unpaid debts and people who ask questions.
Some outsiders like isolated houses because they can produce (and consume) drugs there. Others, like the grotesquely inbred family finally uncovered in rural NSW in 2012, move regularly to isolated districts to stay a step ahead of the authorities.
That family, product of three generations of incest over 40 years, moved from New Zealand to South Australia, to Victoria and back to South Australia before their final move to a remote valley outside Canberra. No outsiders would have known if one of the dozen feral children in the family had died — or been killed.
As forensic experts do their best to extract usable DNA from the tiny bones, the investigators have been chasing leads on the clothes and the quilt found with the suitcase — and the case itself.
The clothing is mostly cheap and mass-produced, much of it available all over Australia from stores like Target. Probably the most distinctive garment is a glittery dark blue tutu. There is also one pink slipper-like shoe with a butterfly emblem.
Police have traced the likely origins of most of the 50-odd items of clothing found. But five brand names have not yet been traced back to retail outlets.
One is “Sally”. Others are “Miss X Australia”, “HF” and “Gaf”. The oddest one looks like HAOLAILH, printed on the tag in uneven capitals.
Police dressed a tot-sized mannequin in a new version of the blue tutu in the hope it would jog someone’s memory. So far, it hasn’t, even though only 28 of the tutus were sold in South Australia in the last eight years. Each sale has to be traced.
Perhaps the most intriguing clue is the quilt. It is a “one-off”, apparently homemade from mostly hexagonal patches of brightly patterned material but machine-stitched, not hand sewn.
On one hand, it could have been made by a relative of the girl’s — a loving grandmother, perhaps. Or it could have been picked up at an opportunity shop or some other charity. Either way, investigators want anyone who thinks they recognise it to tip them off — even anonymously.
The other clue is the suitcase itself. Like the clothes, the Lanza brand case is “budget” quality. Lanza is the cheapest line of the brands sold by the national luggage retail chain, Strandbags.
Police have learned that the store “gave away” a large number of the suitcases for as little as $9 each several years ago. Any one of them could have ended up in a charity store, or been picked up from the street during a hard rubbish collection, even recycled at a tip.
The suitcase is variously described as “faded blue” or “grey”, although police have used a black model to use for publicity purposes. Whatever its original colour, it looks as if it was severely weathered before the guilty party put the clothes and the bones in it.
The police suggest the Lanza was sold exclusively by Strandbags outlets at Murray Bridge, McLaren Vale, Rundle Mall, Salisbury and Elizabeth. The question of whether it could have been bought in Renmark or Mt Gambier or over the border in Mildura or Warrnambool — or at any of the other dozen or more stores in Victoria — remains unanswered.
AS the investigation moves into its second month, the neat man with the suitcase seems the strongest lead. Every day that he fails to come forward to clear himself confirms him as a better suspect.
The officer who took charge of the case last month, Detective Supt Des Bray, has since gone on leave.
Before he left he said: “The man with the suitcase is a bit of an unknown that could be something or absolutely nothing to do with the investigation. It is really strange that nobody has been able to identify him.”
Police have spoken to more than a dozen witnesses who saw a man matching the description of the “suitcase man” in the Wynarka district during the autumn.
Two specific sightings were on April 13 and May 26. Either there have been two men, both with suitcases, or the same man was walking around the district on and off for weeks. And then vanished.
Wynarka, a tiny town clinging to the highway between the bare plains east of Adelaide, is home to about a dozen people, yet this is not the first time they have suffered the killing of a young blonde girl.
A typical camp site in bush near Wynarka where people go to fall out of society; ‘There’s people living here because they want to be alone’. Pictures: Kelly Barnes
Wynarka, a tiny town clinging to the highway between the bare plains east of Adelaide, is home to about a dozen people, yet this is not the first time they have suffered the killing of a young blonde girl.
These dirt streets are today at the centre of a murder investigation, after a passing motorist found a small female skeleton along with dozens of decomposing, multicoloured clothes spilling from a suitcase left beside the road.
Seven weeks since that discovery, on July 14, detectives still don’t know the girl’s name.
Standing in his backyard in Wynarka, 70-year-old Gilbert Baker remembers the last time detectives came to ask about a missing girl. Eight-month old Cassandra disappeared in 1978. Her parents left Wynarka suddenly one night and, for years, no one noticed she was gone.
In 1982, Cassandra’s mother told a welfare agency her daughter had been killed. Mr Baker used to rent a house out to the couple. The police dug up his lawn.
Cassandra’s parents were charged with manslaughter. Called as a witness at the trial, Mr Baker says their daughter “was the cutest little baby I’ve ever seen in my whole life.”
Her body was never found.
Last month, when the suitcase was reported to police, Mr Baker was in Darwin. He spoke to detectives several times by phone, including about Cassandra’s disappearance. South Australia Police have been investigating her killing since.
Almost certainly, Cassandra is not the girl in the suitcase; both were blonde but police believe their unnamed victim was older. The clothes found with her body are also much more recent, suggesting she died within the past eight years.
Mr Baker wonders when the police will come to ask him in person about Cassandra, and about her father, a British expat who The Weekend Australian has chosen not to name. Mr Baker called him Black Pom.
Newspaper reports from the time confirm Mr Baker’s account. After leaving Wynarka, they reveal, Black Pom moved to Sydney before being brought back by police. Aged 26 at the time he was arrested, he would be about 58 today.
In a statement, South Australia Police say Cassandra’s killing has been “investigated extensively by detectives” and “has all but been eliminated as being relevant to the remains of a young girl found near Wynarka in July.” The police would not confirm whether they had spoken to Black Pom.
The work done to identify the girl in the suitcase, however, has been relentless. Two weeks ago, on a Friday afternoon, Jeremy Austin from the Australian Centre for Ancient DNA received a call. Could he help with the case?
Given two pieces of bone, the associate professor — who previously worked with police investigating the death of Queensland schoolboy Daniel Morcombe — began working in his laboratory at the University of Adelaide.
By Saturday morning, he was holding a small tube of colourless liquid containing the girl’s DNA.
Whether that will be enough remains in doubt. DNA degrades over time and with the conditions in which a body is kept, “so you start losing information” says Professor Austin. In the South Australian Mallee country, where the summer heat passes 40C, it could degrade quite quickly.
“You also have to be lucky,” Professor Austin says. Even with a complete DNA profile, you still have to find a match.
Detective Inspector Greg Hutchins says this work is ongoing and “very complex”.
“We’re trying to put a face on our little girl,” he says, “but police work is often not an exact science.”
Their best estimate is that the girl was somewhere between 2½ and four years old, and 90-95cm tall, when she died. Her blonde hair was about 18cm long.
Judging by the clothes her skeleton was found with, she most likely died after 2007, although it could have been as recently as last year. One thing, the policeman says, is certain. “It’s a violent, horrible death. Let’s be clear, it’s a murder.”
And, he emphasises, they will find her killer. “No one’s come forward,” Inspector Hutchins says. Had she been abducted by a stranger, her parents would have contacted police.
“So you have to look at potentially a dysfunctional family-type environment.”
It bothers him that the suitcase was left lying on the hard dirt 1.5km outside Wynarka. It would have taken so little effort to hide it deeper in the scrub. “You’ve got this huge, big country haven’t you?” Inspector Hutchins says. “Why leave it there?”
Monica Martin may have seen the man who left the suitcase. Walking her dog one morning in April or maybe May, she watched a casually dressed man carrying a suitcase head out of town, over the railway line, towards the scrub.
Aged about 60, he stood out because he wasn’t from Wynarka. And if you are not, you have little reason to visit the town, Ms Martin says.
There are no shops, no train station, nothing more than a payphone beside the road.
It could be a coincidence. Other locals say a travelling salesman visits the area with a suitcase, selling perfumes and cologne.
For Ms Martin, “the big thing is that this man hasn’t come forward … There could be a simple explanation, but it hasn’t been explained.”
Without an explanation, without a name for the girl, sadness keeps interrupting daily life.
“It would be very easy to dwell on the horror of it, and let that be overwhelming,” says the grandmother of five.
It shows how children can go missing, often for years, before anyone realises they have fallen through the cracks.
Similarly, no one seems to have noticed Cassandra was missing. Her parents told authorities she was living with relatives in another state.
Today, South Australia Police are using commonwealth databases — they won’t say which ones, but vaccination and Centrelink records seem likely — to identify girls whose names appear one year, but not the next. They have found 256 such girls so far.
Cross-referencing these names against other state and territory databases is expected to show many are alive and well.
Where this can’t be done, local police will be asked to knock on doors, confirming the safety of those still missing from the files. It will be an exhausting investigation and — worryingly — one that could identify other missing girls.
Barry Edwards is not surprised to hear this.
Like others living in Wynarka, he remembers the father and young daughter who once lived in a caravan parked among the scrub outside town. One day, years ago, they disappeared.
Yet others are still living like that today.
Drive west along the highway from Wynarka, turn into the bush and you will find their camps, built from caravans, corrugated iron and an old oil drum for a stove.
“Once you get over the river here, there’s blocks out in the scrub and you’d have no idea,” Mr Edwards says.
“They just don’t want to be found. There’s people living here because they want to be alone.”
Australian Police appear to be no further forward in their quest to discover the true identity of the young girl whose bones and clothing were found in and around a suitcase near Wynarka, South Australia.
The township of Wynarka has about eight permanent residents yet a middle aged male stranger seen carrying a suitcase near the highway on several occasions between April and June has never been identified.
An update:
Behind mystery of girl in suitcase at Wynarka, South Australia
Sunday Herald Sun
By Andrew Rule
THE Beaumont children. Truro. The Family. Snowtown. Now there’s Wynarka and the little girl in the suitcase, the latest addition to South Australia’s back-catalogue of horror stories.
Wynarka is a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it collection of houses on the highway between nowhere and not much in the Murray Mallee, emptied-out farming country where communities have shrunk to little more than pairs of bullet-scarred road signs.
Just west of town on the Karoonda Highway there’s a patch of bush before the big wheat paddocks start. It was there, on July 15, that a curious motorist pulled up when something caught his eye.
He wasn’t the first to notice the faded suitcase abandoned under a bush. Others had been there over previous weeks and glanced at the case’s stained and rotting contents. But none had noticed the thing he saw among a pile of clothes scattered nearby.
It was a human jawbone. A small one.
When the police arrived they found the rest of the skeleton, obviously a child’s — almost certainly a girl’s, judging from the clothes that had spilled out of the suitcase. It will take time for forensic scientists to confirm the working assumption that the dead child was a female aged between 30 months and four years.
What investigators do not yet know — or are not saying — is whether they can get a DNA sample from the bones to compare with samples already on record: samples taken from offenders, especially sex offenders. Having DNA would also give police a tool to eliminate — or implicate — any “person of interest”.
Anyone closely related to the child should be able to unlock the macabre mystery of what happened to her.
South Australia’s major crime squad has made an educated guess that the person they want is in their state, most likely within close range.
Taskforce Mallee has begun the investigation by doorknocking every house within 25km of Wynarka. Conscious of how easily investigations can veer off-course, miss vital clues or leave gaps that the guilty can wriggle through, detectives are taking their time, cross-referencing each inquiry so nothing is missed and nothing is left to chance.
No one has to be reminded that other investigations of notorious murder cases have been hampered by slapdash initial police work and hunches that didn’t pan out.
The Azaria Chamberlain case, for one. The Falconio case, for another. The Beaumonts and “The Family” murders in Adelaide.
Investigators are not revealing all they know about what happened to the child, because they have to keep some vital detail secret. Something only the killer knows and that timewasters don’t know.
Police know the victim was a little under a metre tall and had shoulder-length fair hair. They know that as long as seven years ago she died extremely violently, almost certainly murdered. Certain fractures suggest she was bashed to death. A defence lawyer might argue that such injuries could be accidental — but why would anyone would hide the body of a child who died in a genuine accident?
The killer or someone close to him or her then covered the body in a pile of clothes — maybe in an empty room, a cupboard or a shed. Then they left it for years — long enough to be reduced to a skeleton.
Then, probably early this year, something happened — something that prompted whoever had hidden the body to want to move it. The killer or an accomplice jammed the clothing and the skeleton into a suitcase and took it from the hiding place.
Why? Perhaps they had to move house and feared the body would be discovered by others. Perhaps they were jittery because of publicity about prosecution of other child killers. The brilliant detection of Daniel Morcombe’s killer — Brett Peter Cowan — generated nationwide publicity after Cowan’s Supreme Court appeal failed in May this year. In April there was a spate of fresh publicity about William Tyrell’s abduction in northern NSW last September. Either, or neither, might have been enough to spook a child killer.
Whatever the reason, someone took the suitcase from the hiding place to Wynarka. It is tempting to assume it must have been moved in a vehicle, but that does not necessarily tally with the strongest clue police have: that a man with a suitcase was seen in Wynarka some time between March and May.
WYNARKA township has about eight permanent residents. Early one autumn morning this year, roughly a quarter of the population — Denise Edwards and Monica Martin — were walking their dogs when they saw something that stuck in their minds.
It was a man, aged about 60, walking briskly up the main street towards the Karoonda highway that links Wynarka with the world, or at least with Murray Bridge.
The man was average height, lightly built and neat looking, with short grey hair. He was a complete stranger to both women, who are locals bred and born and tend not to mix with the “blow ins” who appeared in the district chasing cheap rent when the permanent community started shrinking a generation ago.
The most unusual thing about the stranger was that he had a large suitcase — and was carrying it rather than wheeling it, as if it weren’t heavy. As Monica recalled this week, “He wasn’t labouring, and he was walking briskly.” Her vague impression was of a man on a mission.
The stranger was close enough to see both women but he made no eye contact and no greeting, unusual in the country. There was no sign of how he had appeared in the street but it seemed unlikely he had walked all the way from some other area. It seemed likely that either a vehicle had dropped him there, or he had walked from relatively close by.
The problem for police is that if he arrived in Wynarka by vehicle he could have started his journey almost anywhere — over the border in Victoria, for a start.
Against the theory that he hitchhiked is that a middle-aged man carrying a suitcase should have stood out enough that motorists would have remembered seeing him and reported it, especially if they had given him a ride.
In an era of backpackers and cheap cars, you could drive around Australia and not see anyone carrying a suitcase on the open road.
INVESTIGATORS are eliminating the most obvious possibility: that the man came from one of the former farmhouses rented cheaply to transient tenants who come to the backblocks to escape unhappy pasts, unpaid debts and people who ask questions.
Some outsiders like isolated houses because they can produce (and consume) drugs there. Others, like the grotesquely inbred family finally uncovered in rural NSW in 2012, move regularly to isolated districts to stay a step ahead of the authorities.
That family, product of three generations of incest over 40 years, moved from New Zealand to South Australia, to Victoria and back to South Australia before their final move to a remote valley outside Canberra. No outsiders would have known if one of the dozen feral children in the family had died — or been killed.
As forensic experts do their best to extract usable DNA from the tiny bones, the investigators have been chasing leads on the clothes and the quilt found with the suitcase — and the case itself.
The clothing is mostly cheap and mass-produced, much of it available all over Australia from stores like Target. Probably the most distinctive garment is a glittery dark blue tutu. There is also one pink slipper-like shoe with a butterfly emblem.
Police have traced the likely origins of most of the 50-odd items of clothing found. But five brand names have not yet been traced back to retail outlets.
One is “Sally”. Others are “Miss X Australia”, “HF” and “Gaf”. The oddest one looks like HAOLAILH, printed on the tag in uneven capitals.
Police dressed a tot-sized mannequin in a new version of the blue tutu in the hope it would jog someone’s memory. So far, it hasn’t, even though only 28 of the tutus were sold in South Australia in the last eight years. Each sale has to be traced.
Perhaps the most intriguing clue is the quilt. It is a “one-off”, apparently homemade from mostly hexagonal patches of brightly patterned material but machine-stitched, not hand sewn.
On one hand, it could have been made by a relative of the girl’s — a loving grandmother, perhaps. Or it could have been picked up at an opportunity shop or some other charity. Either way, investigators want anyone who thinks they recognise it to tip them off — even anonymously.
The other clue is the suitcase itself. Like the clothes, the Lanza brand case is “budget” quality. Lanza is the cheapest line of the brands sold by the national luggage retail chain, Strandbags.
Police have learned that the store “gave away” a large number of the suitcases for as little as $9 each several years ago. Any one of them could have ended up in a charity store, or been picked up from the street during a hard rubbish collection, even recycled at a tip.
The suitcase is variously described as “faded blue” or “grey”, although police have used a black model to use for publicity purposes. Whatever its original colour, it looks as if it was severely weathered before the guilty party put the clothes and the bones in it.
The police suggest the Lanza was sold exclusively by Strandbags outlets at Murray Bridge, McLaren Vale, Rundle Mall, Salisbury and Elizabeth. The question of whether it could have been bought in Renmark or Mt Gambier or over the border in Mildura or Warrnambool — or at any of the other dozen or more stores in Victoria — remains unanswered.
AS the investigation moves into its second month, the neat man with the suitcase seems the strongest lead. Every day that he fails to come forward to clear himself confirms him as a better suspect.
The officer who took charge of the case last month, Detective Supt Des Bray, has since gone on leave.
Before he left he said: “The man with the suitcase is a bit of an unknown that could be something or absolutely nothing to do with the investigation. It is really strange that nobody has been able to identify him.”
Police have spoken to more than a dozen witnesses who saw a man matching the description of the “suitcase man” in the Wynarka district during the autumn.
Two specific sightings were on April 13 and May 26. Either there have been two men, both with suitcases, or the same man was walking around the district on and off for weeks. And then vanished.
All these missing children 8(8-)) I cant understand why nobody recognizes the clothing.....unless of course they were purchased by the killer.
Another update with some videos http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3208414/Children-s-book-outback-white-fur-trimmed-coat-girl-wearing-identified-South-Australian-murder-mystery-girl-suitcase.html
Title: Re: Skeleton found in suitcase is child ‘murdered eight years ago’
Post by: Anna on September 01, 2015, 02:52:34 PM
Title: Re: Skeleton found in suitcase is child ‘murdered eight years ago’
Post by: John on September 01, 2015, 04:05:05 PM
Thanks for that Anna. It seems that there is a unique problem in Australia in that many white children are, according to Australians themselves, borderline feral and move constantly around the vast wilderness which accounts for most of the continent. Records held by social services and schools appear to not follow children in many cases thus exists the possibility that some of these children are dead.
This is the problem which Australia's police are now facing, they are attempting to trace all these children by cross referencing the records which exist in an effort to identify children who are really missing as against those who have simply moved to another State.
Title: Re: Skeleton found in suitcase is child ‘murdered eight years ago’
Post by: Anna on September 01, 2015, 04:34:05 PM
Thanks for that Anna. It seems that there is a unique problem in Australia in that many white children are, according to Australians themselves, borderline feral and move constantly around the vast wilderness which accounts for most of the continent. Records held by social services and schools appear to not follow children in many cases thus exists the possibility that some of these children are dead.
This is the problem which Australia's police are now facing, they are attempting to trace all these children by cross referencing the records which exist in an effort to identify children who are really missing as against those who have simply moved to another State.
This would be the case in most countries, though, I would have thought. In the case of a child being old enough to move alone, or the whole family disappearing, then that could mean a move to somewhere else. If a lone child is reported missing by family, I would have thought that the concentration of the search and cross referencing, would be there, first.
They could have the child's death date wrongly calculated too. It is difficult to calculate time of death, when it is that long ago. I think calculation has been done mainly on clothing. The bones may have been preserved to an extent in that suitcase.
It's all just too dreadful 8(8-))
Title: Re: Skeleton found in suitcase is child ‘murdered eight years ago’
Post by: Admin on September 16, 2015, 02:12:24 AM
Wynarka murder mystery continues
Police have compiled a list of nearly 260 names that could match the identity of a murdered little girl. Stacey Lee reports.
This is utterly astonishing. There are 260 young girls that are currently missing in Australia?!
Title: Re: Skeleton found in suitcase is child ‘murdered eight years ago’
Post by: Anna on October 22, 2015, 12:23:12 PM
Madeleine McCann: Body found in suitcase feared to be missing youngster finally identified 15:03, 21 Oct 2015 Updated 16:32, 21 Oct 2015
By Anthony Bond The body was discovered in Australia in July and resulted in British cops investigating Madeleine’s disappearance contacting local police The body was discovered in Australia in July and resulted in British cops investigating Madeleine’s disappearance contacting local police Getty Khandalyce Kiara Pearce's remains were found in a suitcase in southern Australia The body of a girl found decomposed in a suitcase in Australia prompting suspicions it could be Madeleine McCann has now been identified. The discovery of the fair-haired girl's remains resulted in British cops investigating Madeleine’s disappearance contacting local police. (http://i2.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article6675283.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/JS74894172.jpg) The skeletal remains were found by a motorist in a suitcase by the side of a remote highway near Wynarka in south Australia in July. Australian police said the remains were those of a girl aged between two and four who died in 2007 and had fair hair. Maddie was three years old when she vanished from the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz in 2007, prompting speculation the remains could be hers. However, it has now emerged the body has been identified as that of Khandalyce Pearce, a missing two-year-old girl. She is the daughter of Karlie Pearce-Stevenson whose skeletal remains were found in New South Wales in 2010. Getty Karlie Jade Pearce-Stevenson;s remains were found in New South Wales's Belanglo State Forest in 2010 (http://i2.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article6675284.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/JS74894175.jpg) Karlie's body was found in a forest about 750 miles away from where her daughter’s remains were found this summer. Police have finally been able to solve the mysery after receiving a tip-off from a caller to a crime prevention hotline. They are now urgently looking to identify the person responsible for both deaths. Detective Superintendent Des Bray of South Australia Police said: "This is one of the most shocking crimes - shocking and unimaginable - and another family has been torn apart and devastated. "Those people that are responsible for this crime are truly evil and must be quickly caught and held to account for what they've done." Police investigating Madeleine's disappearance contacted police in Australia when news emerged of the discovery. But they were told later that that she had been "totally excluded" as a potential victim. PA Madeleine McCann has been missing since 2007 South Australia Police said it had ruled out 43 missing children in connection to the grim discovery next to a remote motorway in Wynarka near Adelaide on July 15. Blonde Madeleine was three when she went missing from the family's holiday apartment in Portugal's Algarve on May 3 2007. Speaking at the time, Detective Superintendent Des Bray said: "I can confirm that Madeleine McCann has been totally excluded as a potential victim and UK police have been advised. "The Metropolitan Police have previously said they were aware of reports that a child's remains had been found and had contacted Australian authorities."
Title: Re: Skeleton found in suitcase is child ‘murdered eight years ago’
Post by: John on October 22, 2015, 01:58:00 PM
Thank you for posting that update Anna, hopefully now investigators can track down the monster who did this awful crime and get justice for Khandalyce and her mother.
Title: Re: Skeleton found in suitcase is child ‘murdered eight years ago’
Post by: Anna on October 22, 2015, 02:07:58 PM
Thank you for posting that update Anna, hopefully now investigators can track down the monster who did this awful crime.
The mother was found 750 miles away? Is the killer living in the middle of that 750 miles and was making a fair distance between him and them, or did he move away from that area? Very mysterious case indeed.
They will be checking out the mother's partners no doubt....She looks so young and that baby was so sweet.
It doesn't explain the clothing in the suitcase either, which I believe was from an older child.
Title: Re: Skeleton found in suitcase is child ‘murdered eight years ago’
Post by: John on October 22, 2015, 02:52:46 PM
Karlie Pearce-Stevenson left Alice Springs in 2006 with Khandalyce, planning to travel and work around Australia. They were reported missing in 2009 by Pearce-Stevenson’s mother, but the report was withdrawn when she was assured the pair were safe and happy but wanted no contact with family.
Police have said no family member, including the father of Khandalyce, is a suspect in the murder case.
Police are trying to piece together the pair’s movements between 2006 and 2008 and have appealed for anyone who had any contact with them to come forward.
Detective superintendent Des Bray urged caravan park owners, motel operators and landlords to check their electronic records over the past few years to see if the pair stayed with them.
“We’re not at the end of the investigation, we’re really at the start,” he told reporters on Wednesday. “And I guess you could say that initially we were looking for a needle in a haystack but we didn’t know what the haystack was.
“We’ve now actually got the haystack and we think we’re working towards a successful conclusion, but there’s a lot of work to be done and I’m confident that everybody across Australia will get behind the police and the family and provide information.”
Title: Re: Skeleton found in suitcase is child ‘murdered eight years ago’
Post by: John on October 22, 2015, 03:05:16 PM
Girl in suitcase: Detectives identify suspect in killings of Karlie Pearce-Stevenson and daughter Khandalyce
Detectives investigating the murders of a mother and her young daughter have made a major breakthrough in their inquiries identifying a key suspect in the killings.
Police in NSW and South Australia have been inundated with information and tip-offs from the public a day after they went public with the identities of single mother Karlie Pearce-Stevenson and her daughter Khandalyce Pearce-Stevenson.
Fairfax Media has learnt that investigators in both states have made rapid progress in the investigation and have identified a male suspect.
It is understood the man is in custody in a NSW jail, serving a prison sentence for unrelated offences.
A spokesman on Thursday night said police were "keeping an open mind" to their inquiries.
Title: Re: Skeleton found in suitcase is child ‘murdered eight years ago’
Post by: Anna on October 22, 2015, 03:43:49 PM
Thanks John, So she wasn't with her husband? I hope they find this person very soon. It looks like the police are well on track of finding where they were living before ......
Title: Re: Skeleton found in suitcase is child ‘murdered eight years ago’
Post by: misty on October 28, 2015, 11:15:35 PM
Police in the Australian state of New South Wales have charged a 41-year-old man with the murder of missing mum Karlie Pearce-Stevenson, whose body was found in Belanglo State Forest near Sydney in 2010, but who was only identified last month. Following that breakthrough, police were able to identify the remains of a child found in a suitcase 1,200km away in Wynarka, South Australia in July 2015, as Karlie's two-year-old daughter, Khandalyce.
Daniel Holdom was arrested in Cessnock jail, where he is an inmate. He is said to be an acquaintance of Karlie. Although he has not been charged with Khandalyce's death, there are hopes police may come closer to finding out who killed the child and why the two bodies were found so far apart. It is thought both were probably killed shortly after they were last seen alive by police on the Stuart Highway near Coober Pedy on 8 November 2008.
Earlier this week it emerged that in the year following Ms Pearce-Stevenson's disappearance, someone withdrew around AU$90,000 from her bank account and in 2010 a woman in a wheelchair, claiming to be the missing mum, went to a credit union claiming to be Karlie. The bank account was accessed until 2012 and closed in 2015 due to inactivity.
Wages from a job also went into the account and a woman even phoned the family several times claiming to be Karlie and persuading them to transfer money to an account. Text messages were also sent. Karlie's mum, who had initially reported her missing, had withdrawn the report six days later when she was reassured Karlie was safe and well. Karlie's mum died in 2012.
Police have not said if they believe those responsible for the identity fraud were also responsible for the murder of the mum and daughter. However, Det Supt Bray said, "It's clear that some of the people involved in the frauds knew without doubt that Karlie and Khandalyce were dead and continued with their role."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A tragic & twisted tale. Hopefully the Au police will now also be able to identify the person who dumped the suitcase.
Title: Re: Skeleton found in suitcase is child ‘murdered eight years ago’
Post by: Anna on November 11, 2015, 04:01:08 PM
Karly knew this family and she possibly lived with them on a caravan site
Where can we find the news of this crash and what other passengers were in the car? Found it………Rolled his 4x4 Toyota on Stuart highway about 30 miles north of marla south Australia 15 september 2008
2 children killed and one younger injured… all flown to hospital.
Holdom got engaged to a 16 year old after Karlie;s death. ……………………………….........
According to the Weekend Australian, Daniel Holdom, 41, was set to marry Toni Blundell, 16, who resides in the Canberra suburb of Charnwood. Engaged 2012 july
Title: Re: Skeleton found in suitcase is child ‘murdered eight years ago’
Post by: Anna on November 11, 2015, 04:29:00 PM
Karlie Pearce-Stevenson murder: Homicide detectives question wheelchair-bound Adelaide woman Hazel Passmore October 30, 2015 9:36pm Sean Fewster, Andrew Hough, Ashlee MullanyThe Advertiser (http://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/950f7b1f93f3f1efb045af6447e6e5c9?width=650) Hazel Passmore, 33, and her son are pushed to the Adelaide police station by her partner. Picture: Sean Fewster HAZEL PASSMORE: Social media dismantled as pressure increased ARREST: Man accused of murdering Karlie Pearce-Stevenson faces court SNOWTOWN COP: ‘It does take this to another level of criminality’ ID THEFT: How Centrelink was fooled by Karlie’s impersonator SHOCK REVELATION: Killers stole Karlie’s identity The wheelchair-bound former partner of the man accused of killing Karlie Pearce-Stevenson has been released without charge after spending hours with Major Crime detectives inside Adelaide’s main police station. Hazel Passmore, 33, of Davoren Park, arrived at the Wakefield St station at 1pm with defence lawyer Bill Boucaut SC. At about 5pm she was driven home from the police station in the company of detectives. It is understood detectives are investigating whether Ms Passmore was the woman in a wheelchair who allegedly impersonated Ms Pearce-Stevenson following her death in December 2008. Major Crime detectives questioned Ms Passmore last week over allegations more than $90,000 was stolen from Ms Pearce-Stevenson’s bank account. Just before 1pm, Ms Passmore — the former partner of alleged murderer Daniel Holdom — was wheeled across Wakefield St toward the station. Other Stories Wheelchair woman released without charge
Suspect found with Karlie’s bank card  Her current partner, who did not give his name, told the media to “f--- off” as she was asked whether she was making a formal statement. Ms Passmore did not respond to any questions. The couple, who had a young child with them, were met inside the station by Major Crime detectives. Inside the station, Ms Passmore and her partner waited in the lobby while Mr Boucaut spoke with detectives, before they all moving into an interview room. Ms Passmore’s partner and their child left the station about 4pm through a side exit. An hour later, Ms Passmore was driven away by detectives. A police spokeswoman confirmed she had been released. Ms Passmore was crippled in Outback South Australia in September, 2008, in a vehicle rollover which killed two of her children. The man who was behind the wheel of the Toyota 4WD was Daniel Holdom, who was charged on Wednesday night with the murder of Karlie Pearce-Stevenson. Holdom’s 4WD rolled on the Stuart Highway about 55km north of Marla about 10pm on Wednesday, September 15, 2008. Two of Ms Passmore’s children, Willow, 9, and Ryan, 7, were killed. Her third child, Lauren, survived. Holdom, Ms Passmore and Lauryn were flown to Alice Springs for hospital treatment after the crash. The crash happened just three months before Holdom — who has also gone by the names Daniel Bishop and Daniel Marshall — allegedly murdered Ms Pearce-Stevenson in the Belanglo State Forest in NSW. Ms Passmore now lives at Davoren Park in Adelaide’s northern suburbs with a new partner, her surviving daughter and another son.
Hazel Passmore, the former girlfriend of Daniel Holdom, leaving her home in Davoren Park this morning. Picture: Simon Cross She was questioned last week by detectives investigating the murders of Karlie and her two-year-old daughter Khandalyce, whose body was found in a suitcase beside a highway near Wynarka in SA. Major Crime detectives are focusing on how Ms Pearce-Stevenson’s bank account was repeatedly raided in the years after her death as fraudsters who impersonated her to welfare authorities and in phone calls to her family stole over $90,000. It is understood Ms Passmore has been questioned over identity theft and the use of Ms Pearce-Stevenson’s phone and bank card in the years following the murder. They said a woman in a wheelchair had visited a credit union in Adelaide’s northern suburbs and posed as Ms Pearce-Stevenson to update her records in June 2010. A woman in a wheelchair also had gone to Centrelink at Salisbury claiming to be Ms Pearce-Stevenson in December 2010. The accused killer of Karlie Pearce-Stevenson, Daniel Holdom. Holdom, 41, a former acquaintance of Ms Pearce-Stevenson, faced a NSW court charged with her murder on Thursday morning. It is understood a police trace has allegedly placed Holdom’s mobile phone in Belanglo at the time Ms Pearce-Stevenson was allegedly killed. Holdom was taken into custody by homicide detectives at 3.45pm (SA time) on Wednesday. He was charged with one count of murder several hours later relating to the death of Ms Pearce-Stevenson — but has not been charged over the murder of Khandalyce. Holdom was refused bail and appeared by video link in the Maitland Local Court, in the Hunter Valley, on Thursday morning. He will appear again in the Central Local Court in Sydney on November 12. A court sketch of Daniel Holdom. Illustration: Bernd Heinrich Police are investigating whether Holdom played any role in Khandalyce’s death, but it is understood he is not co-operating and has refused to be interviewed. He had formerly lived at a caravan park on the NSW Central Coast, according to his charge sheet. In a short press conference in Sydney on Thursday morning, NSW Homicide Squad boss Det Supt Mick Willing said Khandalyce was kept alive for some time after her murder. “We will allege Karlie was murdered between the 14th and the 15th of December, 2008,” he said. “We believe that Khandalyce was murdered at some point after Karlie and we are trying to establish when.”Karlie Jade Pearce-Stevenson’s remains were found in NS’s Belanglo State Forest in 2010.The remains of Khandalyce Pearce’s remains were found in a suitcase on the side of the Karoonda Highway, near Wynarka in SA. TIMELINE OF MURDER AND FRAUD 2006: Khandalyce Kiara Pearce born in Alice Springs to single mother Karlie Jade Pearce-Stevenson. 2008: Ms Pearce-Stevenson leaves family in Alice Springs and starts travelling around Australia with her young daughter. Nov. 2008: The last photos of Ms Pearce-Stevenson and Khandalyce were taken at Marion Shopping Centre, Khandalyce wearing a pink dress. Last known sighting was driving on the Stuart Highway near Coober Pedy. Sept. 2009: Following less and less contact, her mother files a missing persons report with NT police. The report is closed a week later. It was believed Ms Pearce-Stevenson was safe, but did not want contact. Aug. 2010: The remains of a young woman were found by a group of trail bike riders in Belanglo State Forest in NSW. The woman’s time of death is determined to have been anywhere from six months to 10 years prior. A distinctive T-shirt with Angelic motif found with the remains prompts the victim to be known as ‘Angel’. Dec. 2011: Her remains are still unidentified and a computer-generated image of the face is released. July 2015: The skeletal remains of a child are found dumped in a Lanza suitcase alongside the Karoonda Highway, near Wynarka, on July 14. Several items of clothing and a distinctive handmade quilt are found. Detectives determine the child met a violent death aged 2 ½ to 4 and was killed up to seven years earlier at another location. DNA testing fails to yield her identity. Aug-Sept. 2015: Police doorknock hundreds of properties in the Murray Mallee and receive more than 1000 Crime Stoppers calls. Clothing and quilt a key focus. Data-matching software identifies 6300 possible victims. Daniel Holdom at a primary school sports day in Alice Springs. Picture: Facebook Oct. 8, 2015: One caller nominates Khandalyce as possibly being the little girl in the suitcase. Investigators then find a witness who had seen Khandalyce and her mother at Marion Shopping Centre in November 2008. She had photographed Khandalyce in a pink dress that was identical to that found in the suitcase. Police provided with photos of Khandalyce in a stroller with the handmade quilt that was also found in the suitcase. Oct. 2015: A blood sample from Khandalyce’s medical records matches the DNA profile taken from the remains in the suitcase. Blood samples from Ms Pearce-Stevenson’s medical records is used for a DNA profile. Police confirm they match Belanglo remains. October 27: SA Police reveal Karlie’s identity was stolen after her death and used to steal more than $90,000 — welfare benefits, wages and money from her family — from Ms Pearce-Stevenson’s account. The fraudsters impersonated Ms Pearce-Stevenson to authorities and her family members in brief phone calls. October 28: A 41-year-old man is taken into police custody at Cessnock, NSW, for allegedly murdering Ms Pearce-Stevenson. He was charged with the murder late on Wednesday night. October 29: Daniel Holdom appears in court charged with Karlie’s murder and is denied bail. It is revealed he was in a fatal car crash in SA’s Far North three months before Karlie’s murder that killed his girlfriend’s two children and left her in a wheelchair.
The body of two-year-old Khandalyce Pearce whose skeletal remains were dumped beside a tattered suitcase alongside a South Australian highway will soon be buried in Alice Springs.
Khandalyce's white coffin with silver handles sat on a table covered with a pink organza material and flower petals scattered around it inside an Adelaide funeral home before it heads to Alice Springs in the Northern Territory, the ABC reported.
A colourful floral wreath, paid for by detectives who worked on her case, tied together with a pink ribbon lay on top of the casket and framed photographs of the girl were leant up against it as candles burned on either side along with bouquets of white flowers surrounding the shrine.
The toddler's body will soon be reunited with her mother's Karlie Pearce-Stevenson whose body was found five years before her daughter's in the Belangalo State Forest, south of Sydney.
South Australian Commissioner for Victims' Rights Michael O'Connell spoke on Wednesday on behalf of Khandalyce's family who shared their grief at losing not just one but two of their loved ones.
'In this time of sorrow, Karlie's and Khandalyce's parents and grandparents want to express their and their family's gratitude for the compassion shown by those who have travelled the emotional rollercoaster,' Mr O'Connell said, according to the ABC.
'Karlie and Khandalyce were loved. They were missed. Their family lived with the hope they would one day return.'
The family also expressed their thanks to the police and forensic experts who helped identify the body of the little girl and now they wanted 'the person or persons responsible for these most heinous crimes called to account'.
Khandalyce and Karlie's memorial services, headstones and other funeral-related costs will be partly paid for by the kind donations made by strangers who heard or read about the mother and daughter's sad story.
An OzCrowd campaign raised almost $4,000 for the pair's family.
'The family of Karlie and Khandalyce would like to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all your generous donations and for sharing our campaign so publicly,' the fundraising organiser wrote.
'We should now have enough to bring our angels home and give the funeral and goodbyes they deserve.
'All funds will be used to lay these angels to rest, provide them with a beautiful service and to cover the costs of the memorials, headstones and other funeral related costs.'
The two-year-old's body was found alongside the Karoonda Highway near Wynarka in South Australia's Murray-Mallee in July and police launched an Australia-wide appeal to identify her.
Months later, investigators connected her to Alice Springs mother Karlie Pearce-Stevenson, who was allegedly 'stomped' to death in the forest where her body was found.
Daniel James Holdom, 41, has since been charged with the murder of Karlie and it has emerged a birth certificate of Khandalyce was allegedly found in a home linked to her mother's accused killer, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.
To date, no charges have been laid in relation to the toddler's 'violent death'.
According to reports, police received a tip off that Holdom allegedly took two suitcases to his sister's house that contained Ms Pearce-Stevenson's possessions.
Police will allege they found the identifying document during a search of the property last month - on the very same day detectives announced that they had identified the link between two young victims, the Herald claimed.
Detectives will also allege Holdom - who used several other aliases - had been in a romantic relationship with Ms Pearce-Stevenson before she 'met a violent end', claiming he was pulled over in January 2013 with an expired key card in the name of 'K Pearce-Stevenson' in his wallet.
A person close to Ms Pearce-Stevenson’s family told police the 20-year-old had a drug debt to the tune of $25,000 and had planned to do a drug run between South Australia and the Northern Territory when she left Alice Springs with her daughter in 2008, The Advertiser reported.
A missing person report on Ms Pearce-Stevenson and her daughter was filed in September 2009 - almost a year after she was spotted driving a red Commodore wagon on the Stuart Highway in Coober Pedy - however it was closed only days later after police believe they made contact with the young mother, who had decided not to speak with her family.
Police said Ms Pearce-Stevenson was murdered between December 14 and 15, 2008. They believe her daughter suffered the same fate a month later.
Ms Pearce-Stevenson's body was found in the notorious forest two years later, but detectives were unable to formally identify her and dubbed the woman 'Angel', which she was known as up until October 21.
The investigation into her gruesome death was given new life after police received a tip off relating to her daughter Khandalyce - who became known as the 'suitcase baby' - leading to detectives from South Australia and New South Wales working collaboratively to link the two cases.
Since identifying the two murder victims, police discovered that almost $100,000 was spent or withdrawn from the 20-year-old's bank account between November 2008, when she was last seen, and March 2012.
Police said her bank card was used at a McDonald's, KFC, petrol stations and a handbag store - in cities across Adelaide, Canberra, Alice Springs, Coober Pedy and Port Augusta - while Centrelink payments and an unidentified person's wages had been deposited into the account.
It is believed the suitcase Khandalyce's skeletal remains were found next to had been paid for using funds from Ms Pearce-Stevenson's account.
Detectives revealed that a woman in a wheelchair had been pictured impersonating Ms Pearce-Stevenson at the Australian Central Credit Union in Elizabeth in June 2010 and successfully managed to update her banking records.
In December 2010, a woman claiming to be Ms Pearce-Stevenson also attended a compulsory interview with Centrelink.
During the years Ms Pearce-Stevenson was unaccounted for, an unidentified female also duped her family into believing she was alive - speaking to them on the phone and via text to convince them to transfer money into her account.
Police believe Holdom was romantically involved with the woman who allegedly assumed Ms Pearce-Stevenson's identity in a bid to defraud her accounts.
His ex-girlfriend Hazel Passmore, 33, was interviewed by police in October during their inquiries into the tragic murders.
She was left paralysed - bound to a wheelchair - following an car accident with Holdom at the wheel that killed two of her children - Willow, 9, and Ryan, 6.
According to reports, Holdom and Ms Pearce-Stevenson started connecting romantically when Ms Passmore had been hospitalised after the accident.
Chilling photos of two-year-old Khandalyce were also discovered on Ms Passmore's Facebook account, which police believe were taken only months before her brutal murder.
The blonde toddler was pictured standing in front of a white vehicle at a car show in the Northern Territory, which were believed to have been taken at some stage in 2008.
Finally mother & daughter will be reunited to RIP. They drew one of life's short straws. There are no words to describe just how calculating & evil those involved in this double murder & long-term deception are. The accused's picture is chilling & eerily familiar. It almost defies belief that he had accomplices & they all escaped justice for so long,
Title: Re: Skeleton found in suitcase is child ‘murdered eight years ago’
Post by: Admin on December 08, 2015, 02:50:32 AM
The man charged with the murder of Karlie Pearce-Stevenson is being sued by his ex-girlfriend, Adelaide woman Hazel Passmore, over an accident that killed two of her children and left her wheelchair-bound, a court has heard.
Hazel Passmore seeks compensation from Daniel Marshall over accident that killed her children, left her wheelchair-bound.
Ms Passmore, 33, had her left leg amputated above the knee and suffered severe damage to her right leg and vital organs after the accident in 2008.
The car was being driven by her then partner Daniel Marshall, also known as Daniel Holdom, when it rolled near Indulkana in South Australia's far north.
He was charged with murdering Ms Pearce-Stevenson in October and remains in custody in New South Wales.
Title: Re: Skeleton found in suitcase is child ‘murdered eight years ago’
Post by: Admin on December 08, 2015, 02:59:06 AM
Adelaide resident Hazel Passmore questioned over identity theft.
Major Crime detectives are focusing on how Ms Pearce-Stevenson’s bank account was repeatedly raided in the years after her death as fraudsters who impersonated her to welfare authorities and in phone calls to her family stole over $90,000.
It is understood Ms Passmore has been questioned over identity theft and the use of Ms Pearce-Stevenson’s phone and bank card in the years following the murder.
They said a woman in a wheelchair had visited a credit union in Adelaide’s northern suburbs and posed as Ms Pearce-Stevenson to update her records in June 2010.
A woman in a wheelchair also had gone to Centrelink at Salisbury claiming to be Ms Pearce-Stevenson in December 2010.