Sam Reusser murder: Killer Stephen Bowen faces strict release conditions

It was a murder that shook a sleepy Central Coast hamlet to its core as a beloved Swiss-Australian caravan park manager was bashed to death with a pair of fire tongs. Now, a judge will decide whether the man responsible can be released back into the community without supervision.

Samuel Reusser's grave at Kincumber South. A judge will determine whether his murderer Stephen Bowen will be placed on community supervision following expiration of his parole.

• Mountain Sounds creditor’s report reveals paltry compensation for those owed money
• Leisl Smith murder accused James Church granted bail

The man who heartlessly and violently murdered beloved Empire Bay caravan park owner Samuel Reusser in 1999 remains a menace to society some 20 years after the heinous crime.

A NSW Supreme Court judge is poised to consider whether Stephen Bowen, now 53, should be slapped with a strict three year community supervision order upon the expiration of his parole tomorrow.

Justice Robertson Wright has placed an interim order on Bowen but will decide by the end of June whether he should be classified as a high risk offender after serving a three year and five month prison sentence, imposed after causing grievous bodily harm to a female victim in June 2015.

Bowen had previously served more than 13 years of an 18 year prison sentence for the murder of 66-year-old Swiss-Australian Mr Reusser and was released from prison on parole for that crime, in June 2013.

How the Express Advocate reported Mr Samuel Reusser's murder in 1999 at Empire Bay.

He was returned to prison in October of that same year charged with sexual assault offences although was found not guilty at trial and released on parole again in December 2014.

Justice Wright has ordered Bowen be assessed by psychiatrists and psychologists before he determines his judgment.

On September 4, 1999, Bowen beat Mr Reusser to death with a wooden baton and a pair of fire tongs. His bicycle was lying on top of him and some of the rooms in the house had been ransacked.

A bag that Mr Reusser had used to collect almost $4000 in rent was also found emptied.

An autopsy revealed there were a number of fractures to Mr Reusser’s skull, fracturing to his ribs and a broken finger. There were 24 lacerations to his head and bruising all over his body.

The cause of death was determined to be a brain injury suffered as a result of a fracture to his skull.

Bowen had been living and working at the caravan park at the time but was sacked by Mr Reusser over concerns he had been stealing money.

In the early hours of September 4, a witness told the court that Bowen arrived at his home with Mr Reusser’s dog.

“I’ve just bashed this bloke,” he said. “I’ve just bashed this bloke bad. I don’t know what I done. I’m going to throw the dog off the Rip Bridge.”

“I’m going to throw the dog off the Rip Bridge.” Picture: Sue Graham

The sentencing judge described the attack on Mr Reusser as being “frenzied”.

When Bowen was released on parole on Christmas Day 2014 he promptly moved into a Maroubra unit with a woman and the pair began a romantic relationship.

Six months later Bowen attacked the woman. He was convicted and jailed after punching her repeatedly in the face while the pair sat inside a car on Beach Rd, Maroubra.

At a hearing held on May 16, the Supreme Court heard Bowen recently lost his job as a casual truck driver “because he became aggressive with his female boss”.

Bowen will continue to be subject to electronic monitoring and a night-time curfew between 10pm and 4am. He will also be required to submit to drug and alcohol testing and is not permitted to enter any licensed premises.