Tanja Ebert Outback murder mystery: The backpacker, the grazier and a tragic mystery
THE unlikely union between the Outback grazier and the young German backpacker was — on the surface — a fairytale intercontinental love match. But it led to a terrible tragedy that has orphaned two little boys.
- Police call off search for Tanja at Outback homestead
- How a smile hid her secret pain of unhappiness
- Devastated family speaks out: ‘We never saw this coming’
For help with depression, suicidal thoughts or personal problems, call Lifeline on 13 11 15 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636
THE unlikely union between the Outback grazier and the young German backpacker was — on the surface at least — a fairytale intercontinental love match.
But real life is rarely the stuff of romance novels.
Michael Burdon and Tanja Ebert’s wide circle of friends and family have this week been hurled into a maelstrom of despair, anger and confusion as they reel from the shocking apparent murder of the 23-year old and subsequent suicide of her husband 18 years her senior.
The veneer of domestic bliss shattered irrevocably as the realisation that the smiles and devotion to their toddler sons masked a darker truth.
Adding to the already overwhelming anguish is the growing possibility that those left behind may never learn the truth of what transpired between Tanja’s disappearance on August 8 and Mr Burdon’s suicide eight days later.
Mr Burdon, who took over the family property after the death of his father three years ago, shot himself on Wednesday inside their home, as police swarmed about the property looking for his wife.
While Major Crime detectives are all-but certain Mr Burdon killed his wife then lied that she had stormed out of their car near Roseworthy on August 8, there is so far no official confirmation she is dead.
A wide-scale search of the homestead, on the outskirts of Mannahill, 360km north of Adelaide, raised expectations, but it was abandoned as night loomed on Friday, without providing any answers.
Romance blooms
IT was a “sliding doors” moment that led to Michael and Tanja first crossing paths in the tiny hamlet of Olary, 37km east of Mannahill.
Tanja was still a teen when she embarked from her home in the German town of Sinzig, near Cologne, in 2012, bound for an Aussie adventure.
At high school, Tanja was popular and maintained close friendships including some who later travelled to the outback of South Australia to participate in her wedding to Mr Burdon.
After her initial arrival in Australia via the nation’s biggest city of Sydney, Tanja’s journey soon took her off the beaten track. She soon found herself immersed in the remote heart of an isolated land that bore almost no resemblance to her German home.
Tanja’s affable nature ensured she found work through a backpacking program and her beaming smile soon endeared her to the small group of locals who frequented the outback Olary Pub.
The attractive blonde inevitably caught Michael’s eye one night as she poured beers and a connection formed.
Michael began to visit Tanja at work regularly after supply runs to Broken Hill.
On cold winter nights, it was common for patrons to spot the two nestled close together, enjoying each other’s company on couches in front of an open fireplace at the pub.
After only a few months, Tanja left the hotel to start a job on Michael’s Oulnina Park property.
While their relationship was not made official straight away, locals said it was obvious there were “romantic sparks”.
Tanja would drive back to Olary town hall every Wednesday to take part in a pilates class held for the women who lived on surrounding farms.
She was popular and almost always joined the other women for a drink at the Olary pub afterwards.
While Tanja missed her family and spoke of them regularly, her brother made multiple trips to Oulnina Park to work for Michael.
He would stay on the farm and enjoyed life with Tanja, Michael and their young boys before returning home to Germany after the work season.
Tanja outwardly embraced her new life and the vast property she now called home, which could scarcely have been more alien than where she grew up.
The whirlwind love affair soon led to Tanja becoming pregnant barely out of her teens, followed by the birth of their second child less than two years later.
The young parents then tied the knot early this year, exchanging vows to protect and honour each other until death — which on that warm day was the last thing on the minds of those present.
About 60 guests attended Michael and Tanja’s wedding at Oulnina Park in February, as the bright summer sunshine symbolised their seemingly promising future.
New life together
FEW of the friends who have spoken to The Advertiser about the tragedy said there was any hint of trouble beyond the stresses that accompany raising two infant boys.
But head of Major Crime, Detective Superintendent Des Bray, said police now believed there were serious problems festering beneath the couple’s united public front.
Long-distance driving is a part of everyday life in the remote region in the far northeast, and the couple would often strap their boys into baby capsules and take the Barrier Hwy to Broken Hill across the NSW border.
The trips to stock up on food and other supplies for the station would invariably include a coffee and treat at Broken Hill’s The Silly Goat cafe.
Cafe manager Emily Keenan said she initially thought Tanja was a backpacker when she first went to the cafe, describing her as a “little bit of a hippie, free-spirited type”.
“Most of the time Tanja would usually get our raw slices, like our vegan and gluten-free slices,” she said.
“(The children would) often get little sweets. They often they sat out the front, outside, when they would eat and drink.”
Ms Keenan said Tanja was a “lovely woman” and her boys were “good kids”.
“She was a really sweet, beautiful, kind person; really affectionate with her kids,” she said.
“They’re really polite and they’ve got good manners, they just seemed like a really happy little family.”
Fateful last trip
THE young family’s last holiday together to Adelaide included a visit to the South Australian Museum on North Tce, where CCTV cameras captured what are likely to have been the last images of Ms Ebert alive with her children.
The truth of what happened in the hours or days after they embarked on the return journey home was known by just one person — Mr Burdon.
He told police that he had no idea what happened after claiming Tanja got out of their car at Roseworthy, but detectives were immediately suspicious.
Mr Burdon told officers that on the trip back from Adelaide, she had disappeared near a service station at Roseworthy.
He claimed she left behind her boys and personal possessions including her passport, purse and phone and had a large amount of cash.
But he did not report her missing and it was not until days later that suspicions began to grow into fear.
Another family member contacted police, who on Sunday quietly issued a missing person’s appeal which gave little indication that she may have been murdered.
The suicide of the well-known grazier echoed that of his brother Mark Burdon, who died of his own hand at Oulnina Park in May 1997.
The State Coroner will hold a mandatory inquest into the circumstances of his death, and will likely focus on how police allowed Mr Burdon to walk into his home and shoot himself.
While the inquest may highlight mistakes in how the police kept watch over the suspected killer, the suicide effectively snuffed out any chance of the full truth emerging.
A grief-stricken family left behind
MR Burdon’s mother Marlis, who was also recovering from the death of her former husband Peter three years ago, is believed to be with the surviving children, who will one day be forced to cope with the shocking events that robbed them of their parents.
The family, understandably grief-stricken and confused by the horrific events, nominated a spokesman to relay their anguish.
“Everyone is feeling really numb. Everyone is worried sick about Tanja — asking ‘where is she?’. We are worried silly about her,” he said.
The spokesman said that Mr Burdon, known to many as Mike, had a love of “station life”, animals, fishing, motorbike riding, food and his family.
He went to high school in Port Lincoln — before living with Bungaree Station’s Mark Stewart, who was in his bridal party.
Mr Burdon then went to the University of South Australia at the Mawson Lakes campus, where he studied management.
“They both had a passion for food and life, particularly station, they loved the outback. They loved the lifestyle and the isolating life,” the spokesman said.
Tanja, despite her comparative youth and inexperience in country life, at least outwardly embraced her new life, donning traditional farm garb and working hard to bring a personal touch to the historic homestead, another friend said.
“She transformed that place. She had such a good appreciation of life and adventure,” the friend said.
While Mr Burdon ran the farm as his family had for years, Ms Ebert concentrated on creating as many opportunities as possible for their sons.
The search for answers
POLICE yesterday urged any of Ms Ebert’s friends or acquaintances to contact them with any information about her state of mind in the weeks leading up to her disappearance.
Detectives hope Ms Ebert may have confided in friends if she did plan on leaving her older husband, in what could provide the key to piecing together the complete picture.
Victims’ Rights Commissioner Michael O’Connell has offered financial and emotional support to their surviving relatives, including Tanja’s parents, who are returning from Germany to the place they saw her married six short months ago.
It is still unclear what the next move of police will be in their quest to find Ms Ebert’s remains — on the assumption she is no longer alive.
They will reconvene this morning to decide where to focus their attention next.
Police yesterday briefly believed they had identified a possible burial site — just 50 metres from the couple’s home — but no remains were recovered.
Anyone with information about the movements of the couple after they left Adelaide on August 8 or who spoke to either about their relationship issues in recent months is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Detectives stress that even snippets of information that seemed minor at the time could help solve the tragic riddle and bring the smallest of consolations to those left to pick up the pieces of a shattered fairytale romance.
