South Australia’s unsolved cases with a $1 million reward
Cleo Smith's case had a happy ending, but many SA families are still longing for information on their loved ones. Can you help solve these cases?
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From shocking disappearances to unsolved cold cases, here are South Australia’s unsolved cases with a $1 million reward.
In 2014, police raised the reward for all unsolved high profile cold case child murders to $1 million each, in a bid to solve them.
The case of mother and daughter Rosemary and Melissa Brown, a $1.2 million reward is on offer – $1 million for information on Melissa’s disappearance and $200,000 for Rosemary’s.
DARREN JASON SHANNON
Baby Darren Jason Shannon was taken by his father, John Shannon, during an access visit on June 9, 1973, and never seen again.
He was taken from a house on Blackdown Street at Davoren Park.
Two hours after taking the baby, at about 9.15pm, John Shannon was killed in a head-on collision with another vehicle on Main North Road, south of Roseworthy.
Police searched the car but could not locate baby Darren, aged 11 months.
Despite extensive searches, Darren was never located.
Police believe the baby was either murdered by his father prior to the crash and disposed of in an unknown location, or given to a friend or relative to raise in secret.
At the time of his disappearance, Darren was wearing a long white nightdress, blue buttoned cardigan and nappy.
LILY JEAN SCHETTINI
How infant Lily Jean Schettini died from blunt head trauma in Salisbury remains unknown.
The 18-month-old was found dead at her Smithfield Plains home in the bedroom she shared with her three-year-old sister on Tuesday, June 1, 2010.
Police say she died as a result of acute blunt head trauma, consistent with being shaken or her head hitting a hard surface.
Four other people were home at the time of her death, around 12.30pm.
Neighbours attempted to resuscitate Lily but were unsuccessful.
Police suspect one or more people were responsible for the tragedy.
KAREN MICHELLE WILLIAMS
The last time teenager Karen Williams was seen was at a Coober Pedy petrol station in 1990.
The 16-year-old spent time with friends and associates at the Opal Inn at Coober Pedy before going to a private party near by at Sergios Restaurant in the early hours of Saturday, August 4, 1990.
She and three friends were picked up in a car by an associate and driven to Medway Drive, where three other people got out of the vehicle. Michelle left with the driver and headed north along Dawes Street.
The car was seen leaving a Caltex Service Station at Coober Pedy shortly after, driving south onto the Stuart Highway. Ms Williams has not been seen since.
In 2016, Nikola Novakovich, 45, was acquitted of murder charges in the Supreme Court.
Justice Tim Stanley said there was evidence to infer Mr Novakovich had an involvement in Miss William’s death and disposal of her body but ruled it did not amount to proof he had killed her.
There have been multiple intensive searches of mine shafts around Coober Pedy in search of the teen’s body, but Miss Williams has never been found.
Prosecutors originally alleged Mr Novakovich raped and killed Michelle because she witnessed him and another man robbing an opal miner days earlier.
DYLAN ROBERT JAMES LINDSAY
No amount of ink could hide the fact that baby Dylan Robert James Lindsay was violently killed.
On Sunday March 28, 2004, Dylan, 1, was found dead at a home on Ellen Street at Port Lincoln.
He had visible abdominal injuries, and police say he was victim to a serious assault.
His injuries included broken ribs, a bruised heart, a laceration to his liver and swelling to his brain.
An unknown person attempted to disguise his injuries with a marker.
Frank Neil Kartinyeri and de facto wife Vickie Cherie Kent were charged with his murder – the two people caring for Dylan that night.
The charges were later dropped due to a lack of evidence.
A witness has told police that loud yelling from a male could be heard near the house about 2am on the Sunday
MARILYN RUTH QUALMANN
At just 14, Marilyn Qualmann disappeared from her Riverland home without a trace.
She was last seen by her sister at her Moorook Road home was Sunday, September 21, 1975.
Marilyn was reported missing the following day, and has not been seen since.
Police believe Marilyn was murdered.
JUAN MORGAN
It was not until seven years after anyone had seen 15-year-old Juan Morgan that he was identified as missing by police.
While investigating the disappearances of three other men in 1999, police discovered Juan was missing, and his suspected murder may be linked to three other cold cases.
They began making inquiries with relatives, who confirmed Juan had not been seen or heard from since 1992.
Police believe Juan was taken to an unknown location in late February of 1992, possibly east in country SA, where he was shot, killed and buried.
The motivation for Juan’s murder is thought to be his stealing of a car from a criminal associate and damaging of that person’s property.
There are two suspects for Juan’s murder, and at least one of those suspects is believed to be involved in the disappearances and suspected murders of Leo Daly, David McWilliams and Robert Pendergast.
Major Crime detectives are investigating the murder of all four victims under the title Operation Jarrah but lack the evidence to issue murder charges.
The suspect, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, could be one of SA’s most notorious serial killers, as all four men vanished in a seven-year period in the 1990s.
MICHAELA GODAU
Mystery surrounds both the relationship 15-year-old Michaela Godau had with her stepfather, and how she disappeared from her Davoren Park bed 30 years ago.
Michaela was born in Germany, and migrated to Australia in 1981 with her mother, brother and stepfather. Her mother returned to work a year later in Germany, and Michaela stayed with her stepfather and brother in their Walpole Street home.
The last time Michaela was seen was at 10pm on Sunday, December 19, 1982.
Her stepfather, Herwarth Godau reported her missing the following morning, claiming that she had taken $460 in cash, some toiletries, her passport and, strangely, some sleeping pills.
Police suspect the teenager was murdered.
MELISSA AND ROSEMARY BROWN
Rosemary Brown’s body was found hidden in mangroves at Garden Island but the 33-year-old’s daughter, 15, remains missing and believed murdered.
Ms Brown lived with Melissa and son Nathan Davidson in a caravan park in Windsor Gardens until they were evicted on May 3, 2000, over unpaid rent, and complaints of youths loitering around their caravan.
The three moved into the caravan of another resident at the park, Mark Nicholls, at his invitation.
Three days later, all four were evicted from the caravan park and slept at the Garden Island boat ramp in Mr Nicholls’ caravan.
The following day, Ms Brown arranged for them to stay in the caravan in a friend’s yard at Blair Athol.
Mr Nicholls was the last to see Ms Brown and Melissa at 1.30am Saturday, May 13, 2000, when they left the caravan on foot to find Ms Brown’s son.
Ms Brown’s handbag was recovered in Stirling Street at Northfield on May 23, following an appeal to the public for information.
Seven weeks after the pair went missing. Ms Brown’s body was found in the mangroves at Garden Island. Melissa has never been found, and police believe she was murdered.
Nathan Davidson, Ms Brown’s son, still clings to hope that his half-sister is alive.
RHIANNA BARREAU
On a regular Wednesday in the school holidays, 12-year-old Rhianna Barreau planned to walk to a nearby shopping centre to buy a Christmas card for her pen pal.
But somewhere between her visiting Southgate Shopping Centre at Reynella, and returning to her home nearby Rhianna disappeared.
She lived on Wakefield Ave in Morphett Vale, with her brother and mother, who were both not home at the time she vanished.
Rhianna was last seen walking away from her home at 10.30am on Wednesday, October 7, 1992
A Christmas card was found in her home when Rhianna’s mother Paula arrived home from work at 4.10pm that day.
It is possible Rhianna was abducted from her home, or abducted in public with no witnesses.
While it has been 28 years since she vanished, more than 200 pieces of evidence have been re-examined by forensics officer in recent years in the of revealing new leads.
HEATHER TURNER
Teenager Heather Turner was spotted a couple of times in the days before her body was found floating in a creek at Port Gawler.
The 16-year-old visited her best friend Kali Edmonds at Semaphore on January 16, 1998. It was the last time Kali ever saw her.
When Heather left Kali, she was heading back to her Largs Bay home.
She was last spotted in the early hours of January 19 leaving a house occupied by petty criminals on Ashton Road in Davoren Park with a male acquaintance. Police think she intended to return home to Largs Bay.
On Saturday, January 31, 1998, Heather’s body was found partially submerged in a creek at Port Gawler.
What happened after January 16 is unknown but it appears Heather was violently assaulted and her body was kept on dry land for days before it was dumped in the creek.
PEARCE FAMILY
Stuart Pearce is still missing 30 years after police believe he murdered his wife and three children before setting their Parafield Gardens home alight.
On January 5, 1991, Meredith Pearce and her children Adam, 11, Travis, 9, and Kerry, 2, were murdered, almost certainly at the hands of Mr Pearce.
Their bodies were found inside their burned out Jackson St home.
Ms Pearce was found tied to a chair with a towel pushed into her mouth, while her three children were suffocated with plastic bags over their heads.
The blaze is thought to be lit by Mr Pearce, then 33, whose location remains unknown.
After dumping his Datsun at Kilkenny Shopping Centre, Mr Pearce disappeared.
His arrest warrant for the four murders remains active.
He is the only person on South Australia Police’s Interpol red notice list, allowing law enforcement worldwide to provisionally arrest him if located.
There have been reported sightings of Mr Pearce in country SA, interstate and overseas but none have been confirmed.
Matthew Pearce, who was at a friend’s house the night he was orphaned at the hands of his father, was jailed in 2018 for dealing ice.
Pearce was declared a member if the Comanchero bikie gang, and described to the court the terrible impact the tragedy had on his life.
RICHARD KELVIN
Richard Kelvin was abducted in a North Adelaide Street and held in an unknown location for weeks before he was murdered and his body dumped in 1983.
The 15-year-old was taken around 6pm on Sunday, June 5, in a laneway off Ward Street, just 300m from his family home.
Witnesses close by heard raised voices and a car with a loud exhaust fleeing the scene, leading police to believe more than one person was involved in the teenager’s abduction.
They also believe Richard was held captive at an unknown location for around five weeks.
About six weeks later, a family searching for moss rocks near a dirt airstrip at Kersbrook found his body.
There were indications Richard was washed and dressed after he was killed, and toxicology results revealed the presence of alcohol and sedative drugs in his system at the time of his death.
Bevan Spencer von Einem was convicted for Richard’s murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. Richard’s death is linked to what is known as The Family Murders.
Four other murders have been linked to The Family, including Alan Barnes, 17, Mark Langley, 18, Neil Muri, 25 and Peter Stogneff, 14.
Richard was the son of former Nine News Adelaide presenter Rob Kelvin.
PETER STOGNEFF
At 14, Peter Stogneff planned to skip school and meet his cousin in Rundle Mall on a Thursday in 1981.
He vanished the same day and his skull was found in bushes by a Two Wells property owner nearly a year later,
The teenager was reported missing by his parents on August 27, 1981, when he failed to come home. The cousin he made plans with never went to the city and could not say if Peter had.
Police believe Peter may have been seen with an adult male a Tea Tree Plaza the day he went missing.
Police confirmed remains found by a property owner clearing land near his Middle Beach Road on June 22, 1982, were those of Peter. Police link his murder to the notorious Family Murders.
ALAN ARTHUR BARNES
Alan Barnes never returned home after visiting a friend on June 18, 1979.
His worried mother reported the 17-year-old missing and his body was found a week later under the South Para Bridge near Williamstown.
Forensic examination revealed Alan had died no more than two days earlier.
Police say Alan was not murdered in the area his body was found, but they are unsure where the crime occurred.
It is also evident Alan had been washed and redressed after his murder, as was Richard Kelvin. Toxicology reports showed Alan had alcohol and sedative drugs in his system.
There are multiple unconfirmed sightings of Alan near the area he was last seen, including one sighting of him with two other males in the evening prior to his body being found.
The two males are known to police and are suspects for Alan’s murder.
Police also link Alan’s murder to the Family Murders.
JOANNE RATCLIFFE AND KIRSTE GORDON
The case of two young girls disappearing from a busy football match at Adelaide Oval nearly 50 years ago still bewilders police and remains one of SA’s most infamous mysteries.
Joanne Ratcliffe, 11, and Kirste Gordon, 4, left the Edwin Smith stand and went to the toilet on August 25, 1973. They have not been seen since.
A short time later Mr Ratcliffe went looking for the girls but the only reports from witnesses suggested the girls may have been seen later with an unknown man near Port Road at Thebarton.
Police believe the girls were forcibly removed from Adelaide Oval by a man thought to be aged in his 40s.
More than 2000 lines of inquiry have been followed by investigators including the production of a sketch of the potential suspect.
Sites at Two Wells and the Mid North have been searched on several occasions, as a result of a call to Crime Stoppers.
PATRICIA SCHMIDT
About 16 hours after she finished her shift at Burger King Darlington, Patricia Schmidt’s naked body was found on a dirt track at Hallett Cove.
Patricia, 16, left work on foot as her father was running late on the evening of Saturday, December 18, 1971, from the corner of South Road and Marion Road at Darlington.
She was reported missing at 9.30am the following day, after she failed to return home. Her body was found naked off a dirt track at Hallet Cove at 6.30pm.
Evidence at the scene indicates she was sexually assaulted and murdered before her body was dumped.
Only nights before, a stranger offered to drive her home after her first ever night shift. On Tuesday of the same week, she told a friend a man she didn’t know had given her a lift home.
Patricia described him as not very good looking, had pimples, and was “old”, or about 30.
Once she got in the car, the man suggested they go for a drive to the Adelaide Hills but she refused. He then started driving towards Hallett Cove, but Patricia insisted she be taken home, so the man dropped her at her house.
It is unclear whether police believe the man who picked her up on Tuesday was her murderer.
Police renewed calls for information about Patricia’s murder in 2016, and said DNA evidence from the case would be sent across the Tasman Sea to be analysed in New Zealand.
BEAUMONT CHILDREN
It was Australia Day 1966, the perfect weather for three siblings to catch the bus to Glenelg and enjoy a pasty.
Jane, 9, Arnna, 7, and Grant, 4, left their home on Harding Street at Somerton Park to head to the beach. They left the house with enough money to buy pasties, a meat pie, drinks at Wenzels bakery, and their bus fares.
The final confirmed sighting came at 12.15pm that day, as the children waited on a seat near the Colley Reserve change rooms. They were seen in the company of a blonde man in dark blue swimming trunks on January 26. Witnesses said the children seemed to be comfortable around the man, jumping over him and playfully hitting him with a towel.
The principal suspect of the case was Harry Phipps, who co-founded and built the New Castalloy Factory in North Plympton. The site was excavated in February 2018, but no remains were found. Mr Phipps died a wealthy man with no criminal charges to his name in 2004.
Nancy Beaumont, the children’s mother, died at age 92 in September 2019.
The Beaumont case remains the most mysterious cold case in the state’s history.
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