Have police tracked down origins of suitcase that had Khandalyce’s bones inside?

IS this a crucial clue in the hunt for Khandalyce’s killer? Detectives may have uncovered the origin of the suitcase that carried her bones.

Murder victims Khandalyce Kiara Pearce and Karlie Jade Pearce-Stevenson

A PURCHASE made at a South Australian bag store could be a vital clue in the ongoing double murder investigation of Karlie Pearce-Stevenson and her daughter Khandalyce.

Detectives have identified a purchase made from Ms Pearce-Stevenson’s bank account at a Strandbags store in Mount Gambier on November 17, 2008, reports The Australian. The chain was the only Australian stockists of the dark grey Lanza suitcase in which Khandalyce’s remains were found near an Outback highway in July this year.

Police believe 20-year-old Ms Pearce-Stevenson was murdered in mid-December, weeks after the purchase was made, and have previously said they think Khandalyce was slain shortly after.

They type of clothing and suitcase Khandalyce was found in.

Hundreds of purchases made on Ms Pearce-Stevenson’s bank cards between November 2008 and 2012 are being scrutinised by investigators, which was accessed hundreds of times after she was killed.

A man known to Ms Pearce-Stevenson, Daniel James Holdom, 41, has been charged with her murder. No charges have been laid against anyone over Khandalyce’s death.

South Australian police refused to comment on the possible suitcase link, when they planned to speak to Strandbags management, or if they have established a clearer timeline of events concerning the mother and daughter’s movementsin late 2008.

“We will not be providing any further comment at this time,” a spokeswoman said.

Both Ms Pearce-Stevenson and Khandalyce were known to be in the company of Holdom and his then partner Hazel Passmore, 33, in the last half of 2008. Photographs of Khandalyce in November show her wearing clothes that were found in the tattered suitcase, The Australian said.

Khandalyce Pearce.

One of the many unanswered questions in the double murder inquiry has been how Khandalyce’s remains were found more than 1000km from her mother’s, in NSW’s notorious Belanglo State Forest.

That discovery was made in 2010, almost two years after police believe she was killed. It is also unclear if Khandalyce was buried and then exhumed and what link, if any, an old man seen in Wynarka carrying a similar suitcase has.

Meanwhile, South Australian Police Commissioner Grant Stevens has told an Adelaide radio station the high profile search for Khandalyce’s identity led directly to police intervention in four at-risk children’s lives.

A withdrawl from Karlie Pearce-Stevenson’s bank account was made at a Strandbags store in Mount Gambier a month before she died.

Mr Stevens told ABC891 police uncovered cases where children were “in circumstances of concern” and authorities were able to take action.

“We’ve had three or four kids that we’ve been able to intervene in terms of their current circumstances because of the fact that we’ve been looking for this one individual child, so there’s offshoots of this investigation that have proved to be of benefit as well,” he said.

“We’ve been able to make sure that the right measures were put in place to ensure the safety of those children as well.”

Daniel Holdem, who is accused of murdering Karlie Pearce-Stevenson.

Originally published as Have police tracked down origins of suitcase that had Khandalyce’s bones inside?