Carrington: Samantha Kay’s open letter to the person who murdered her mother Susan Kay and her friend Joanne Teterin

Samantha Kay was just nine when her mum didn’t answer her Mother’s Day call. A quarter of a century later – and with the man who murdered her mum and a friend still not identified – she has bravely addressed the killer in an open letter.

The Mother’s Day call was supposed to be the same as countless others on that Sunday morning – a happy and excited nine-year-old girl ringing her dear mum to wish her all the best.

So when Susan Kay never picked up the call, little Samantha Kay immediately thought something was amiss.

Her mum always answered. Always.

Little did she know, but her mum had already become the victim of a brutal double killer who had struck three days earlier and silently walked from the suburban Newcastle crime scene with no one the wiser.

The body of Susan Kay, along with her friend Joanne Teterin, were not discovered inside Ms Teterin’s Carrington cottage for another few days after Mother’s Day.

A precious image of Samantha Kay as a baby with her mother, Susan Kay. Susan was murdered in 2000 and her killer has never faced justice.

And young Samantha’s decades’ long nightmare formally began.

That call was 25 years ago, and the now 34-year-old Samantha is still without answers to her questions.

Susan Kay.

Joanne Teterin.

For a quarter of a century, the murderer has remained free of justice.

And, on the 25th anniversary of the deaths on Sunday, Samantha has courageously written an open letter to the unknown killer – and to those that both her and seasoned homicide detectives believe know his identity.

“I was nine years old when you murdered my mum on May 11, 2000,” Samantha writes.

“Three days later, and while mum had still not been found, I innocently tried to call her for Mother’s Day.

Samantha Kay, the daughter of Susan Kay, has spoken for the first time about her mother’s murder. Picture Ross Swanborough.

“I thought it was strange that she didn’t answer because she would never miss a call. A couple of days passed and I began to worry that she had not returned my call.

“I recall one night, about a week after Mother’s Day, seeing my dad on the phone. He left the room and he looked really worried.

“He returned a short time later and told me we needed to have a talk. It was then he had to explain to his nine-year-old daughter that her mum was dead and would never see her again.

“My mum was only 32.”

Susan Kay and Joanne Teterin had both been bashed, probably by someone known to Ms Teterin, after she answered a knock on the door minutes after she had received a phone call.

Despite a long investigation and an inquest, no one has ever been charged.

Police outside house the home on Doran Street at Carrington the day after the bodies of Susan Kay and Joanne Teterin were discovered on May 17, 2000. A coroner would later rule they were murdered on May 11, 2000. Picture: Robert McKell.

But homicide squad investigators have not given up hope, and believe new technology was the key in bringing the killer to justice.

To Samantha Kay, the torturous wait has been painfully personal.

“My world shattered immediately. I could not believe or accept that my mum was gone. I woke up the next morning, convinced it was just a bad dream.,” she writes.

“When I realised it was not, I broke all over again. This occurred on a daily basis for as long as I can remember.

“As I got older, I learned of the horrific circumstances of my mum’s death. How could someone do this to her? Why would someone cut her life so short?

“The uncontrollable grief soon turned to anger. I was furious that some coward brutally bashed my mum to death, while she slept, defenceless.”

Samantha Kay has courageously penned an open letter to the man who murdered her mother Susan Kay and friend Joanne Teterin. Their unsolved murders occurred 25 years ago on Sunday. Picture: Ross Swanborough.

Samantha Kay is strong and courageous when she turns to addressing the killer herself.

And she know’s there are others out there who know more than they have ever told authorities.

“For 25 years, you have been living your life, free of the ramifications of your actions, free in the community, while my family has been left picking up the pieces, not knowing why or who,” Samantha says.

“I wonder if you still have your mother. I wonder if you have a partner and children now, and if you could imagine having to do what my dad did, that no parent should ever have to do – and tell their kids their mum is dead at the hands of a truly horrible individual.

I wonder who you might have told about what you did.

“To the people who know this secret, please come forward. Now is the time.

“We understand you may have not been in a position to come forward earlier for your own reasons. We are not here to judge why it has taken so long. We just ask that when you see this, you think of your own mum, and your own family.

“What would your mum want you to do? What would you want done if this happened to your mum? We know you want this off your chest, we can understand it would be a heavy burden to carry, and we would be forever grateful if you would help us with answers.”