The Little boys, Susan Goodwin, Brian Holder: Crimes that shocked Port Lincoln
From the horrific deaths of children to a doctor seeking revenge, shocking crimes have rocked the Port Lincoln community over the past 50 years.
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A shocking murder-suicide involving two little boys, numerous unsolved crimes and a meth-dealing mum – here are some of the crimes that rocked the Port Lincoln community over the past 50 years.
Who killed baby Dylan Lindsay?
This year marks two decades since the death of Port Lincoln infant Dylan Robert James Lindsay but his killer is yet to be convicted.
The 12-month-old boy was found dead at a Port Lincoln house on March 28, 2004. Police said his injuries included five broken ribs, a lacerated liver and a bruised heart.
Pathologists told detectives such injuries could have been caused by stomping or hitting.
Disturbingly, it emerged someone sought to cover up the bruises on his body with a marker.
A $1m reward remains on offer for anyone with information that leads to a conviction.
The murder of Cameron James Hull
Among the most shocking crimes the region saw during the 1990s was the murder of nine-month-old Cameron James Hull.
The baby boy was killed by his own father Mervyn Keith Hull in August of 1995.
In court, the then 31-year-old pleaded guilty to killing Cameron with a tomahawk in Port Lincoln.
Cameron’s mother and Hull’s former wife Valerie Staunton believes he murdered Cameron out of hate for her.
Ms Staunton broke off their relationship in May, 1995. Following the separation, she and Cameron moved to Port Lincoln. According to previous reporting by The Advertiser, Hull proceeded to abuse her for this.
In August that year, Hull took Cameron on an access visit in Port Lincoln but did not return him. It was reported he was suffering severe depression at the time and believed keeping Cameron longer than he should have would affect visitation rights.
Hull told police he first tried to kill both himself and his son but failed. He however allegedly feared his son sustained brain damage from the incident and struck Cameron with the tomahawk.
In 1996, Hull was sentenced to life in prison with a non-parole period of nine years, which was later increased to 14.
The disappearance of Susan Goodwin
The person suspected of killing Susan Goodwin likely still resides in Port Lincoln more than 20 years on from the day the local woman disappeared, investigators believe.
Susan Gae Goodwin, 39, was reported missing after she never arrived to pick up her partner Michele Peterson from work on July 19, 2002.
After Ms Peterson got a ride home from a colleague, she discovered fresh meat was out, intended to be cooked for dinner. Ms Goodwin’s car was in the driveway.
Ms Goodwin was last seen at the local Coles and Woolworths around lunchtime that day.
Police firmly believe she was murdered and the crime was committed by someone she knew well.
Ms Goodwin was reportedly a recreational drug user and may have been trying to get drugs on the day of her disappearance.
Police believe she had been buried in a shallow grave within a 30km radius of Port Lincoln.
In 2022, 7NEWS reported police have narrowed down the number of potential suspects to one person.
A $200,000 reward is on offer for information that leads police to the body or conviction of those responsible for her death.
The Port Lincoln pedophile who filmed kids in Kmart
A former Port Lincoln panel beater would cover himself in children’s clothes while inappropriately filming kids at a local Kmart, the court heard last year.
Reece George, 40, had pleaded guilty to multiple counts of possessing child exploitation material and indecent filming.
The court heard he filmed children in toilets, at Kmart, restaurants and the Port Lincoln jetty.
Judge Emily Telfer said police found videos taken at a pizza restaurant where George recorded an inappropriate video of a child believed to be around four years old.
Police also found child exploitation material among 1845 images and 55 videos at his home in 2019 and then again 2021.
George had been sentenced to six years and six months imprisonment with a non parole period of four years, backdated to January 10, 2022.
The attempted murder of Nanette Clarke
Nicholas Wayne Lowe was serving a prison sentence for fraud when his attempt to kill Port Lincoln woman Nanette Clarke became public in 2015.
Lowe violently attacked Ms Clarke – his girlfriend’s stepmother – at her Port Lincoln home in 2003.
She survived the bashing but suffered serious head injuries and had to relearn to walk and stand.
A prosecutor said Lowe would have killed Ms Clarke if a change in weather didn’t bring her partner home early.
The crime remained unsolved for years.
Then in 2012, Lowe provided DNA for a million-dollar Victims of Crime Fund fraud case and the authorities were able to match it with the DNA from the scene of Ms Clarke’s bashing.
He was charged with attempted murder in April of 2013 but his identity suppressed to avoid prejudicing his trial, The Advertiser reported.
That suppression order lapsed with the guilty verdict in 2015.
Lowe was sentenced to 10 years for stealing from the Victims of Crime Fund but the Supreme Court later jailed him for a further 20 years, with a non-parole period of 13 years for the attempted murder of Ms Clarke.
The appalling crimes of Ronald John Hendrie
Former truck driver Ronald John Hendrie spent years abusing three children in the 1970s but it would be several decades before his victims would see justice.
The crimes, committed while Hendrie was living in Port Lincoln, were all against children younger than 12 at the time.
So appalling were the details of the offences that Judge Sydney Tilmouth would not expand on them during sentencing in 2011.
“Three innocent, defenceless and vulnerable children were degraded and humiliated to such an extent that they lost all sense of self-dignity,” he said.
Following his sentencing in 2011, one of the victims said Hendrie would tied him up, rape and beat him, with the abuse starting from he was eight years old and continuing for years.
“My life doesn’t mean anything to me anymore. At the moment, I’m lost,” he said.
In 2011, the then-66 year old was sentenced to 19 years in prison with a 13-year non-parole period for the crimes against the three children in what has been described as the one of the harshest penalties handed down in SA at the time.
Earlier, he had also been convicted in Queensland and the Northern Territory for crimes against children.
What happened to Eric Thomas Lynch?
The last time anyone saw Port Lincoln drug dealer Eric Thomas Lynch he was driving off in a white VN Holden Commodore, with number plate VUY720, on February 10, 2004.
That car would later be found covered in his blood, leading police to conclude the 44-year-old was murdered.
Lynch was a convicted cannabis trafficker and police believe drugs played a role in his death.
One suspect in the case was a man who appeared with him at the Port Lincoln Magistrates Court on drug trafficking charges.
Police believe Lynch visited the suspect at his property in Kapinnie, 60km north of Port Lincoln, on the day he disappeared.
That suspect and another man were charged with murder in March 2005 but those were later withdrawn.
Lynch’s body is also yet to be recovered.
Police are offering a $200,000 reward for anyone with information that leads to a conviction in the case or finding the man’s remains.
The vengeful attack on a Port Lincoln pharmacist
A Reynella doctor reported for wrongdoing tried to stab Port Lincoln pharmacist Kelly Akehurst in revenge.
Brian Holder was 69 when he was found guilty of one count of attempted murder in 2018.
Holder planned the attack on Ms Akehurst after the pharmacist reported him to the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency for overprescribing drugs to Aboriginal women in Port Lincoln.
Supreme Court Justice Ann Vanstone said Holder had “performed reconnaissance” before attempting to kill Ms Akehurst.
When he attacked, she forced him into a display stand and after stumbling, Holder fled.
Holder claimed he brought the knife in the event of a “kerfuffle”.
In 2018, Holder was sentenced to 15 years jail with a non-parole period of 10 years after a judge found him guilty of attempted murder.
The shocking child murders that rocked Port Lincoln
The Port Lincoln community was left horrified after two small children were killed in 2016 by their father, who also took his own life.
Damien Little, 34, shot himself, his year-old son Koda, 4 and nine-month old Hunter, before driving them and himself off a jetty and into Boston Bay.
Little’s family said for years he had been struggling with mental illness.
The father posted a suicide note on social media minutes before killed himself and his children.
Melissa Little, the mother of the two boys and the wife of Damien, spoke about the anguish she experienced on every anniversary of their deaths.
She became a children’s author to help other children navigate their own loss and grief.
The Port Lincoln mum who turned to meth
Port Lincoln mother-of-three Kara Jane Larking thought meth would help her tackle responsibilities and be a “super mum”.
But then she lost a loved one, her addition worsened and she began dealing to fund her drug use.
Larking had been moving meth from Adelaide to Port Lincoln and was intercepted in September, 2020.
Police discovered a large quantity of drugs that could have sold for as much as $130,000 as well as other items such as tick lists.
She already had previous drug convictions.
In 2021, Larking, then 33, pleaded guilty to multiple charges of driving with methamphetamine in her system, driving with a disqualified license and breaching a good behaviour bond.
She was sentenced to three years and nine months jail, with a non-parole period of two years and three months.
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