Salt Creek kidnapper Roman Heinze petitions court to block destruction of his 4WD, says he will appeal to the High Court

Salt Creek sex monster Roman Heinze says police must not destroy the 4WD used in his crimes – he needs it for a High Court appeal.

The 4WD used to kidnap, then run down, backpackers at Salt Creek must not be destroyed, a court has heard – so the sex-obsessed predator who drove it can appeal to the nation’s highest court.

Roman Heinze has asked the Adelaide Magistrates Court to stop SA Police destroying the Nissan Patrol used in his infamous crimes five years ago.

Already four years into his maximum 22-year sentence, Heinze is now preparing to mount an application for special leave to appeal his convictions in the High Court.

Heinze wants the vehicle kept as-is until that application is determined – or, in the alternative, released for inspection by a mechanic of his choosing.

Convicted Salt Creek kidnapper Roman Heinze.

Blood on the side of Roman Heinze’s 4WD following his crimes at Salt Creek. Picture: Supreme Court registry.

He told the court that would only occur once SA Police and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions revealed where the 4WD had been kept since his arrest.

“I have given the mechanic explicit instructions and diagrams for everything that is to be done,” he said by video link from prison.

“I’ve got the mechanic, I’ve got everything … the only thing holding us back is ‘where is the car?’.

“This has just been dragging on and on and on … I’m quite fed up with it, and I’m sure this court must be as well.”

Lena Rabente, left, and Beatriz, right, survived Heinze’s crimes. Picture: 60 Minutes.

Heinze, 64, is serving a 17-year minimum term for violent sexual offending including the 2016 assault and kidnapping of two backpackers at Salt Creek.

He tied up and sexually assaulted Beatriz, from Brazil, and chased Lena Rabente, from Germany, through sand dunes in the 4WD, repeatedly running her down.

The women – just two of 14 foreigners Heinze had approached online – survived their ordeal and gave evidence at trial, ensuring his conviction.

In 2019, The Advertiser revealed Heinze was suing multiple parties, including one of his sons – whom he dubbed a “money-hungry turd” – and SA Police over his belongings.

He claimed the 4WD belonged to his late brother and he had been denied his rights over $26,000 worth of purported assets.

However, a Heinze family spokesperson said the sex-obsessed kidnapper was “harassing” them for money.

In court, Brigid Symes, for the ODPP, said there had been “communication, but not fruitful communication”, with Heinze.

From the video link, he responded: “Bulls--t.”

Ms Symes said she would take personal conduct of the case and determine the 4WD’s current location so that the matter could proceed.

“Our position has not changed – it’s in our custody and we seek to destroy it under the Criminal Assets Confiscation Act,” she said.

Magistrate Michael Fotheringham adjourned the case until January, telling Heinze it would not be destroyed without a further hearing.