COLD CASE: The 1992 murder of 89-year-old Hugo Benscher in his Gold Coast home remains unsolved

COLD CASE: IT’S been 24 years but Ron Benscher still can’t erase the image of his father’s lifeless body from his mind.

Hugo Benscher whose body was found bound and gagged in his canal-front Paradise Point home in 1992.

RON Benscher can’t get the image of his father’s lifeless body from his mind.

Hugo Benscher was 89 when he was killed in a botched home invasion in his luxury canal-front home.

A friend found him unresponsive in the hallway of his Paradise Point home about 8am on Sunday, June 21, 1992. He had been gagged, blindfolded and suffered a nasty head injury.

The house had been raided and ransacked, leading detectives to believe it was a robbery gone wrong.

Mr Benscher’s son is now 69 and wants justice for his father.

“It would just mean the world to me for justice to be done,” he said. “It won’t change what happened, but someone needs to be accountable.

“I have heard nothing from the Queensland police in recent years. The case remains open, but it is cold.

“Last I heard they were looking at people in prison on other crimes, but no one has ever been charged or taken to trial.”

Mr Benscher said his father had moved to the Gold Coast after his mother passed away, having lived in his Paterson Place home for about eight years.

“Dad was German and a very strong man. He loved his life on the Gold Coast, with his boat and home on the water.

“Even at 80 my father could beat me in an arm wrestle, which shows he wasn’t exactly a frail old man.

“Every time I think of my parents now, I think of my father and what happened to him. Detectives had me fly up from Sydney when it happened and they had him laid out for me to see.

“They often say that people have a look of peace after they pass, but my father looked angry and he had a terrible head injury. I’ll never forget it.

“I want to see someone charged for this crime. It is so important to me and my family.”

Mr Benscher said there had been several robberies in the area around the time of his father’s murder.

“Police told me it seemed the robbers came from the canal, as there were footprints in the sand,” he said.

“My father was hard of hearing and often had his hearing aids off. It is possible he never heard anyone in the house and stumbled upon the robbers without knowing.

“I was told the cause of death was suffocation. His mouth was gagged with electrical tape and his hands were bound.”

In 2006, Detective Sergeant Daren Edwards said it was believed two men were involved in the break-in at Mr Benscher’s home.

“I think he hadn’t gone to bed and maybe he had a go at them,” he said. “But then I think what type of person would then attack a very old man?

“We are not going to rest until the coward is caught.’’

The reward for information leading to the arrest of a killer or killers rose from $100,000 to $250,000 in 2014. But still no arrests have been made and the case remains open.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.