Wynarka murder update: Police raid suspects’ homes over Karlie Pearce-Stevenson and Khandalyce Pearce murders
UPDATED: Police have discovered that the car being driven by murder victims Karlie Pearce-Stevenson and her daughter Khandalyce was re-registered in NSW after their disappearance. Police have several suspects — including a prison inmate — and have made “extremely productive” raids on several properties.
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- THE REACTION: Wynarka residents relieved for ‘little angel’
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- MYSTERY: 13 questions that need answers
POLICE have revealed they have raided the homes of several suspects in South Australia and Canberra as part of a nationwide investigation into the disappearance and murder of Karlie Pearce-Stevenson and Khandalyce Pearce.
Detective Superintendent Des Bray, the SA Police head of Major Crime, today provided an update on the “complex and fast-paced investigation” into the horrific murders of the Alice Springs mother and daughter.
Detectives in five states and territories are involved in the inquiry.
Police have identified the vehicle being driven by Ms Pearce-Stevenson and say it was re-registered in New South Wales after her disappearance in late 2008.
Police now believe the pair were murdered in December, 2008.
The 1996 red or maroon VL Holden Commodore had been registered in the Northern Territory but was transferred to someone’s name in NSW after she vanished.
Detectives have spoken to the person who took ownership of the car and ruled that person out of the investigation but say it has led to several strong leads.
They are yet to locate the car.
“Homes in South Australia and Canberra have been searched — people associated with Karlie and Khandalyce in some way. Those searches have been extremely productive and have advanced the investigation,” Det Sup Bray said.
“We do have very strong lines of inquiry and there is every indication that friends and associates of Karlie and Khandalyce may provide crucial clues.
“We won’t talk about any particular suspect but I can tell you we are looking at more than one person.”
A man serving time in a NSW jail is understood to be one of the suspects.
Police on Wednesday revealed DNA had established the identities of the slain pair — a two-year-old girl found in a suitcase near Wynarka in South Australia in July and her 20-year-old mother found in a notorious forest south of Sydney in 2010.
Investigators are looking into the movements of the prisoner, who is understood to be awaiting sentence on unrelated charges. A NSW police source confirmed the man was being looked into while officially police said they were keeping an open mind.
The source said dumping Ms Pearce-Stevenson’s body, which was found by trail bike riders in August, 2010, in Belanglo State Forest, was most likely a deliberate ploy to point the finger at Backpacker Murderer Ivan Milat.
“Where else would you put a body if you wanted to blame someone else?” a police source said.
Police are trying to find the car the pair were travelling in when they disappeared, with phone records and bank records being checked since their bodies were identified.
The focus of the inquiry is how Ms Pearce-Stevenson ended up in the Belanglo State Forest and her daughter in South Australia, after the pair were last seen by authorities when they were pulled over by police on the Stuart Highway near Coober Pedy in November 2008.
Meanwhile, overwhelmed by the grief and the kindness of the Australian community, the family of two “angels” are reeling from the grim discovery that has shocked a nation.
Too distraught to speak publicly, the family of Karlie Jade Pearce-Stevenson and her toddler daughter Khandalyce on Thursday took to social media sites to pay tribute to the murder victims.
The grieving family on Wednesday launched an online appeal to raise funds for a proper burial in Ms Pearce-Stevenson’s home town of Alice Springs.
Aiming to raise $5000, the appeal already attracted enough pledges in less than a day after it was placed online.
The post said the family had “spent the past six years desperately trying to locate their whereabouts”.
“Our family is asking for assistance to help us raise the funds to bring Karlie and Khandalyce’s remains home to Alice Springs so they can be reunited and laid to rest together with family.”
However, the funeral is likely to be paid for by the state, after Commissioner for Victims’ Rights Michael O’Connell secured funding to ensure the family would not be left to pay for the service and the repatriation of the remains.
Mr O’Connell said he had advised the family late on Thursday and “they were overwhelmed.’’
“They are thankful because this has taken an additional burden from them ... they would have found it difficult to deal with while they are grieving,’’ he said.
“My office has received many, many unsolicited offers to pay for the funeral in recent moths from people who genuinely have been touched by the death of the little girl and its circumstances,’’ Mr O’Connell said.
The family’s online appeal page pledged that any extra funds donated would go to other victims of crime.
Ms Pearce-Stevenson was known to her friends as “Mouse” while family members referred to Khandalyce as “Candles”.
Ms Pearce Stevenson’s body was found in the notorious Belanglo Forest in NSW in August 2010 while her daughter’s remains were found inside a suitcase on the side of the Karoonda Highway near the tiny town of Wynarka in July this year.
Karlie’s stepfather Scott Povey last night revealed his devastation.
“(I) just miss them so much ... some days I am just numb and other days I, dunno, just (feel) empty,” he told Seven News.
“We had a lot of Facebook pages and everything else ... she just disappeared like she did not want to be found but I think we all knew that something wasn’t right.”
Aunties and uncles of Ms Pearce-Stevenson also took to social media to thank friends and strangers alike for their support.
“I’m absolutely overwhelmed with people’s kindnesses (sic) and generosity. Thank you all so very much,” one aunty’s post read.
She lamented how four generations of a family had now been lost.
“Four generations taken from us ... Three of them so cruelly,” she posted.
Ms Pearce-Stevenson’s mother, Colleen Povey, passed away in 2012, aged 44, still believing her daughter and granddaughter were safe and living interstate.
Her grandmother, Connie Duffy, died in 2011.
The family has used social media sites including Facebook during the seven years since she was last sighted with her daughter on the Stuart Highway near Coober Pedy on November 8, 2008.
On a Facebook page set up to find the young mother, relatives pleaded with her to contact her mother before it’s “too late.”
“Has any 1 at all since this girl it is very important we find her or get hold of her asap so if any 1 knows anything at all plz lets me no thank u,” her cousin Samantha Harris wrote in 2012.
Karlie’s former Alice Springs High School classmate Samantha Camwell Devlin remembered the young mother as “energetic, fun and always laughing”.
Ms Camwell Devlin, 26, said she was devastated when she learned of the murder.
“I immediately raised my hand to mouth because my mouth dropped open and I just couldn’t believe it,” she said.
The pair played in the same netball team, it was through netball that Karlie earnt the nickname ‘Mouse’.
“We called her Mouse because she was small and really quick,” she said.
“Her mum (Ms Povey) was our coach in under 17s, she was great.”
The Advertiser has spoken to a number of other family members, who said they were too upset to speak publicly and were hopeful police would make a fast breakthrough in tracking down the killer or killers.
— with Nigel Hunt and Jill Poulsen
Missing person report closed after ‘signs of life’
NORTHERN Territory Police have confirmed a missing persons report raised for Karlie Pearce-Stevenson in 2009 was closed a week later after her mother heard from her daughter.
NT Police Assistant Commissioner Jamie Chalker provided further information on the report.
“It is known that Karlie’s mother raised a missing persons report on 4 September, 2009, in Alice Springs and normal initial investigation inquiries at that time indicated signs of active life,” he said.
“It was understood that Karlie had travelled interstate with her daughter and that family contact had been intermittent.
“The investigation was subsequently filed on 10 September, 2009, after Karlie’s mum withdrew her concern as she advised that she had received contact from Karlie, that she was safe and did not want further contact.”
Ms Pearce-Stevenson’s mother, Colleen Povey, died in 2012. It is understood her family believed Ms Pearce-Stevenson was still alive but estranged.
Police hunt for Karlie’s car
THE car that Karlie Pearce-Stevenson and her daughter Khandalyce were travelling around Australia in has emerged as a major focus as detectives hunt their killer or killers.
Detectives from South Australia and New South Wales on Thursday continued to trawl through new calls to Crime Stoppers — which yielded the breakthrough that shocked the nation on Wednesday.
Police quickly ruled out any family members including Khandalyce’s father as suspects but are pleading for any information that could help track down their killer.
Major Crime detectives have refused to say how many suspects they may be investigating.
A major focus of the investigation is finding the Holden Commodore that Karlie and her daughter were last seen driving in when they were pulled over by police near Coober Pedy.
Detectives cannot yet establish if the murders occurred at the same time or exactly how they died.
“It is a rapidly moving investigation,’’ NSW Homicide Squad Detective Superintendent Michael Willing said.
“We are working with the SA police to try establish the circumstances of both deaths.’’
As of Thursday afternoon, there had been 30 Crime Stoppers calls received in SA and dozen in other states.
Landlords and operators of hotels, motels, and caravan and cabin parks are also urged to check their records to see if Ms Pearce-Stevenson stayed with them.
Police renewed their appeal for friends and associates of Ms Pearce-Stevenson and Khandalyce to make contact with police through Crime Stoppers.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or online at Crime Stoppers