Police charge Bundaberg man over 1976 Lennons Plaza murder of Rex Keen
A 43-year fight for clues to solve a brutal Brisbane murder has had a major breakthrough thanks to modern technology, leading to the arrest of a 69-year-old Queensland man who can now be identified.
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THE bad luck that has dogged investigators of the infamous Black Friday murder of a Bowen man has finally lifted with a suspect in custody.
Bowen hotel manager Rex Kable Keen, 46, was found brutally murdered in a plush Brisbane hotel room on August 14, 1976.
After an 18-month cold case review, the man allegedly responsible, Benjamin Jansen, was yesterday charged with the murder.
Police had been looking for the man, allegedly drinking with Mr Keen before his death, from the get go.
But for 43 years Jansen, now 69 and living in Bundaberg, managed to hide in plain view.
The breakthrough came, police say, with advances in technology and new information from witnesses who were re-interviewed.
Homicide Detective Inspector Damien Hansen praised investigators for their grit in looking to solve the ice-cold case.
“There’s always hope out there,” he said “Cases don’t get put on the shelves, never to be reviewed. We’ve got a great team that continues to look at how to advance cases.”
Mr Keen’s family had been waiting a long time for justice, he said.
“It’s 43 years ... they’d be going through a lot of emotion at the moment,” he said.
Mr Keen was in Brisbane for a medical appointment about his liver, to catch up with friends and see an exhibition.
He booked a room on the 12th floor of Lennons Plaza Hotel, in Queen St, where he was a regular guest. On the fatal night he was seen drinking with a man in the Crest Hotel bar. About two hours later a waitress delivering room service to Mr Keen noticed another man there. Police believe the victim had invited in his own killer.
Mr Keen’s body was discovered in his bed the next morning. It had been a violent death.
Blood saturated the bed and carpet. A post mortem examination revealed a shattered his skull and two stab wounds near his shoulders. Thousands of dollars and his camera had been taken.
Police obtained near identical descriptions of the man seen drinking with Mr Keen but he could never be located.
The case was dubbed the Black Friday murder as it happened on Friday the 13th and bad luck bedeviled investigators.
The alleged killer will appear in Bundaberg Magistrates Court today.
Originally published as Police charge Bundaberg man over 1976 Lennons Plaza murder of Rex Keen
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