Brisbane crime: Family hopeful of breakthrough in cold case murder of Lesley Larkin at Noosa Heads

IT’S been 31 years since a young yoga instructor was murdered but her family are confident her killer will be found, saying “every year that goes by the hope strengthens”.

IT was a “particularly ghoulish” murder with perhaps only one witness – a boxer dog named Riff-Raff whose whimpering alerted a neighbour.

Lesley Patricia Larkin, 31, a bubbly and energetic yoga instructor, lay naked and bleeding from the head in her unit on the Sunshine Coast.

The front door was open and as neighbour Michael John Welsh entered the flat just after midnight to return the dog, he sensed trouble.

He found Lesley semi-conscious on her bed, having been bashed two or more times with an unknown weapon, possibly a gym weight.

Nothing was stolen, there were no signs of a struggle and Lesley was not sexually assaulted.

There was so much blood it led Nambour Police District Inspector Vince Stedman to declare that whoever committed the crime would have been covered in blood “so someone must know who the murderer is or at least have seen something at the time”.

Someone, somewhere was holding onto a “grim secret”.

That was 31 years ago.

Detectives are re-examining evidence in Lesley Larkin’s case.

Since the unexplained attack on 9 November 1984 not one clue has yet led detectives to the culprit.

But the decades-old cold case has been re-opened and detectives are re-examining evidence in the hope advances in forensic science will offer a breakthrough.

Lesley’s younger sister Juanita Wotherspoon, 41, says the family has never been able to finger a suspect, nor could they understand why Lesley was so violently bludgeoned.

“We literally have no idea,” says Juanita, a make-up artist from Toowoomba.

“Police have gone through people in the early stages and it hasn’t been solved.

“But we have such faith in their work. This person is not safe and it will definitely be solved one day – I know it.

“So whoever did this is not safe.”

Juanita was only 10 years old when her older sister, who was fascinated with astrology, was brutally murdered.

Twenty-one years her senior, Lesley was the third eldest of eight children and had lived in Sydney before moving to the comparatively quiet and relaxed tourist town of Noosa about 17 months earlier.

She had been living alone in her unit on Kareela Avenue, Noosa Heads, for only three weeks after breaking up with her boyfriend.

On the night of the attack, police say Lesley was interviewed for a waitressing job by a man who lived nearby.

Police believe he then left the residence and Lesley might have gone out for a short time before returning home.

Lesley Larkin’s mother Patsy Lleiss and her sister Juanita Wotherspoon.

Shortly after she arrived back, the assault took place and she died the next day in Royal Brisbane Hospital without ever regaining consciousness.

More than 150 people were interviewed as the initial investigation expanded to include Sydney. In the early days two potential persons of interest were identified because neither could provide airtight alibis. But there was also no proof linking either to the crime.

Two years later, with still no answers, an inquest was held in Brisbane which heard unusual reports from witnesses.

Charles Bushby, a friend of Lesley’s ex-boyfriend Timothy Marlowe, told the inquest Marlowe was possibly a jealous type who suffered sudden mood changes.

Rodney Harris, who worked with Marlowe, revealed that the restaurant employee had mentioned his girlfriend had declined him sex.

A statement tendered to the Brisbane Coroners Court by Charles Bushby also contained the bizarre revelation that Marlowe told of wanting to kill Lesley after she was already dead.

“Tim looked at me and started to shake and quiver,” he said.

“Tim said ‘I will kill Lesley then myself.’

“He would at one stage be showing immense grief and then change instantly to talking about death, suicide and his Eastern philosophical beliefs.

“I couldn’t quite believe what I was hearing.”

Police believe Lesley may have gone out for a short time before she was beaten in her Noosa Heads home.

The inquest also heard that in a recorded interview with police, Lesley’s ex-boyfriend said several men were infatuated with her and one restaurateur had asked her “intimate” questions during a job interview.

Lesley’s ageing mother Patsy Lleiss says her daughter’s horrific and unsolved murder has “been a terrible thing for our family and has had repercussions in our family”.

Pat will turn 85 this year and has lived with the huge sadness and distress of not knowing for almost a third of her life.

But the therapist and counsellor won’t let go of her belief that ‘justice will prevail’ and in fact her hope continues to grow.

“I accept and believe quite implicitly that one of these days that exact little bit of information will come.

“Ultimately I hold onto this hope more and more.

“Whether it’s in my lifetime or not, there will be a resolution and that holds me strong in my emotional life.”

Pat Lleiss won’t let go of her belief that ‘justice will prevail’.

Juanita shares an absolute faith that the killer will one day be identified and the family will have answers.

“I’ve spent a lot years scared. It’s especially concerning that this person could still be walking the streets freely.

“But every year that goes by the hope strengthens. I’m addicted to cold case shows because they prove that even after 31 years or 50 years you can solve a case.”

Homicide Investigation Unit Acting Detective Inspector Chris Knight says Lesley’s case has plenty of potential.

“Regardless of time, we hope that bringing these cases back in people’s minds could spark something and we hope it does motivate someone to talk about it.

“Relationships change, people change and hopefully someone will come forward.”

A $250,000 reward and indemnity from prosecution remain on offer for information which leads to the apprehension and conviction of the person or persons responsible.

Call Crimestoppers on 1800 333 000