QLD cold cases: Chilling unsolved crimes still haunting investigators
Murders, kidnappings, arsons, and assaults. We take a look at the cold cases haunting investigators — and the rewards on offer to help solve the crimes — some even decades on.
Cold Cases
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Some of Queensland’s most shocking, evil, and complex crimes are still unsolved, in many cases after decades of intense public, media, and police interest.
But that doesn’t mean police have given up.
Murders, kidnappings, arsons, and assaults are all covered on the list of unsolved crimes, as well as other, more unique events like the 1987 deliberate derailment of the Westlander train, which killed a baby boy in a resulting fire.
Some of the crimes could be part of a bigger web – notorious serial killers like Ivan Milat and Lenny Fraser have been suspects in a number of mysterious disappearances across Queensland.
SCROLL DOWN TO SEE THE BIGGEST COLD CASE MYSTERIES
A specialist task force within the Queensland Police Service continues to investigate the very worst unsolved crimes from across the state in the hopes that new information, however trivial, could help bring closure to victims and their families.
Detective Senior Sergeant Tara Kentwell of the Homicide Investigation Unit cold case team said rewards can help to encourage people to come forward years after the fact.
“Rewards are important in cold cases, particularly in cases where there has been a significant passage of time,” she said.
“Relationships and loyalties change and releasing a reward, or even re-releasing a reward, is a good opportunity for people who have not come forward before to do so.”
Detective Senior Sergeant Kentwell said rewards also help to refresh people’s memories about events long since forgotten.
On Sunday The Courier-Mail examined the oldest listed Queensland cold case, the horrific and brutal killing of Betty Shanks, who was brutally murdered as she walked a suburban Brisbane street 70 years ago on the 19th of September, 1952. There is still a $50,000 reward on offer for information that helps catch and convict her killer.
Criminal profiler and investigator, Mike King, revealed details about a new suspect in the case - you can watch a video interview with him in the video player below, and listen to his podcast, Mapping Evil - Season 2, when it is released on September 19.
The following list of 15 cold cases from across the state is by no means exhaustive, but demonstrates the variety of cold cases still being investigated to this day.
If you know something about any of these cases, or any other unsolved case, speak up. You can contact policelink on 131 444, Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000, or by making a report online.
MURDER OF ROBIN JEANNE HOINVILLE-BARTRAM & ANITA CUNNINGHAM
$250,000 REWARD
On November 15, 1972, her remains were located at Sensible Creek under a bridge on the Flinders Highway, about 80km west of Charters Towers.
Robin had been murdered, shot twice in the head with a .22 calibre rifle.
No trace of Robin’s friend, Anita Cunningham, has since been found, but speculation about what fate met the two women has run rampant for years.
Retired Sandgate police Detective Mick Gurn has spent the past eight years doggedly investigating the disappearance of Robin and Anita, and in 2020 revealed to The Townsville Bulletin that he believed convicted and notorious backpacker murderer, Ivan Milat, could have been involved.
Det. Gurn handed the entirety of his evidence to Queensland police, but no breakthrough in the case has been made.
MURDER OF ANN MAREE KROPP & CHRISTOPHER LEIGH NANCARROW
$250,000 REWARD
On Monday, February 1, 1999, the bodies of Ann Maree Kropp, 24, and Christopher Leigh Nancarrow, 27, were located at their home on Springbrook Road, Springbrook, on the Gold Coast.
Both had suffered knife wounds and are believed to have been murdered sometime over the past weekend (Saturday, January 30, and Sunday, January 31), having last been seen alive leaving a friend‘s home at Oxenford at 7pm on the Saturday night.
The couple had moved to the Gold Coast area from Maitland, New South Wales about 12 months before their deaths.
In 2011 Allan Richard Carnell, 46, and Andrew William O’Grady, 44, faced court over the murders in a month long trial, but it took little more than an hour for the jury to acquit them both.
In 2016, Ann-Maree’s mother, Shirley, spoke to The Gold Coast Bulletin about her heartbreak.
ARSON OF OAKDALE GUEST HOUSE IPSWICH
$250 000 REWARD
On 29 December 1990, a suspicious fire ripped through the Oakdale Guest House at 5 Milford Street, Ipswich.
The guesthouse was completely gutted and five occupants, Edward Turner Boyne, Salvatore Mario Tusa, Trevor Ganter, Desmond William Bemi and Eldred Frederick Glode perished in the flames.
Investigations conducted to date have established that the fire was deliberately lit, but the culprit has never been identified.
In 2015, The Courier-Mail examined the case in detail and spoke to survivors about the tragedy.
MURDER OF JOAN KATHLEEN PITT
$250,000 REWARD
At 1:30pm on Thursday, January 1, 2004, the body of Joan Kathleen Pitt, 83, was located in her home, Unit 11, 36 Sandford Street, St Lucia.
Police say the time of Ms Pitt’s death is believed to have be between 8:30pm Wednesday December 31, 2003, and 1:30pm Thursday, January 1, 2004.
Investigators have revealed that entry into the unit was gained by forcing the handle of the door, and that Ms Pitt died as a result of injuries sustained during the incident.
Ms Pitt’s bedroom had been ransacked and a quantity of jewellery valued at about $500,000 was stolen.
The long-running theory is that Ms Pitt’s murder was part of a robbery gone wrong, but who was responsible remains anyone’s guess.
Reports from the days after her murder indicate she was strangled.
MISSING PERSON JASON JOHN VANCE
$250,000 REWARD
Jason John Vance had been in the company of two associates when he disappeared, all three men attending a remote forest location north of Chinchilla to engage in what police have long suspected was drug related activity.
It is believed the trio had met up on the Gold Coast and travelled to the Barakula State Forest in two separate vehicles, one of which was later found to be stolen.
Police believe the trio created a makeshift bush camp, which is where Mr Vance was last seen by his two associates wandering off into the bush.
Mr Vance’s associates became separated from one another, one driving back to the Gold Coast while the remaining associate was found alive in the forest on October 29, 2013.
Mr Vance was reported missing on October 31, 2013, and multiple searches of the area failed to find any sign of Mr Vance or his body.
In the years since, all inquiries to date have failed to locate Mr Vance or determine the exact circumstances behind his disappearance.
In 2017, a coronial inquest found that Mr Vance, a father of three, had died, but could not categorically identify a cause of death.
In 2019, Lester Marriage, Mr Vance’s father, said he believed his son had been executed and that drugs were involved.
“Absolutely he met with foul play, there is no question in our mind,” he said.
No trace of Mr Vance has been found since he disappeared.
MURDER OF MARILYN JOY WALLMAN
$250,000 REWARD
The longest running child abduction case in Queensland, the disappearance of Marilyn Joy Wallman on her way to her Mackay school on March 21, 1972, has perplexed and troubled police ever since.
Her family has been left waiting 50 years for information that could bring some semblance of closure, but that is not to say that new information has not been forthcoming.
In 2015, police revealed that a skull fragment found in a paddock near Mirani two years after Marilyn’s disappearance (about 40km from where she was last seen alive) did indeed belong to the missing 14-year-old.
Her parents, Daphne and John Wallman, and brothers Fred and David Wallman, were all present when police made the announcement.
In February 2014, police excavated a backyard in the hopes of finding more information but came up empty-handed, and in 2018, they doubled the existing $250,000 reward for information.
Police at the time said that they were “very, very close” to a breakthrough in the case and offered the increased reward of $500,000 for one year, saying that an aqua and white Holden sedan seen near where Marilyn disappeared was a big part of their investigation.
The increased reward yielded few results and it returned to $250,000 a year later.
Earlier this year, on the 50th anniversary of Marilyn’s disappearance her brother, David Wallman, said he wanted to be able to give his parents – both in their mid-80s – some closure.
“We have to give especially mum a solution before she dies,” Mr Wallman said.
“We just want to know why. If we could find those answers out. Why did it happen? Was it by accident that someone drove up there and hit her with their car? Was it a planned thing? And where is she now?”.
A $250,000 reward is still current for any information that leads police to Marilyn’s killer. Anyone with information is urged to contact investigators.
DERAILMENT OF THE WESTLANDER TRAIN
$50,000 REWARD
In the early hours of Friday, November 6, 1987, the Westlander train heading to Quilpie was derailed at Bindango Siding between Hodgson and Muckadilla, around 25km west of Roma in remote outback Queensland.
Investigators determined that the derailment had been caused by someone tampering with track point equipment, which ultimately caused the train to deviate from the main line and into the siding while at speed.
The train left the track and became a twisted pile of train carriages, and a resulting fire burnt 9-month-old David Timothy Frank Smit to death and injured nine other people.
Queensland Cabinet minutes from 1989 recorded the application for a reward for information to be issued.
“The acting commissioner of police submits that a reward of $50,000 be offered for information which may lead to the apprehension of the person or persons responsible for the derailment of the Westlander train at Bindango Railway Siding on November 6, 1987, which resulted in the death of David Timothy Frank Smit,” the police submission read.
“The acting commissioner further recommends that the printed reward notice include advice to the effect that a free pardon will be extended to any accomplice.”
That $50,000 reward still stands. Anyone with information is urged to contact police.
MURDER OF TINA GREER
$250,000 REWARD
Tina Louise Greer, born January 26, 1979, was last seen departing Tamborine Mountain on January 18, 2012, to travel to an address in Clumber.
The 32-year-old was on her way to visit her boyfriend, notorious outlaw bikie Les “Grumpy” Sharman, when she disappeared.
The Finks gang member was a major person of interest for investigating police, but he was never charged and later died in a car crash.
Earlier this year, the Queensland Coroner ruled that an inquest into Ms Greer’s death was not necessary, devastating her daughter, Lili.
SUSPECTED MURDER OF MICHELLE CORAL LEWIS
$500,000 REWARD
Michelle Coral Lewis, aged 21 when she disappeared in 1989, was living with her foster family living on Alexandra Street, Rockhampton when she disappeared.
On the evening of Saturday, January 14, Michelle visited a friend’s house on Stanlake Street, North Rockhampton, to watch television.
At about 11.00pm Michelle left on her red and white BMX bicycle, telling her friend she was riding home, but she would never make it.
The distance between the two locations is approximately 1600 metres and police estimate it should have taken only a few minutes, but the following morning, Michelle’s foster family reported she had not returned home.
To date, no further contact has been received from Michelle and neither her nor her bicycle have been located.
A number of theories persist about what happened to her, including one that suggested she met with foul play at the hands of serial killer Lenny Fraser.
A $500,000 reward was offered earlier this year, but has so far turned up no new leads.
MURDER OF DEBORAH ANNE SMYKALLA
$500,000 REWARD
At about 9.45pm on Sunday, September 6, 1981, Deborah Anne Smykalla was found dead inside her Howlett Rd home at Capalaba in the most horrific of circumstances.
A house mate found Deborah lying face down on the kitchen floor with her head inside an open gas oven.
The oven’s gas knob was in the ‘on’ position and police identified two small fires had been set in the kitchen and living room.
An autopsy found strangulation to be the cause of Ms Smykalla’s death.
A Coronial Inquest concluded that Deborah Smykalla was murdered by people unknown to her, but despite an exhaustive investigation, the murder has remained unsolved for the past 41 years.
Any member of the public with information that could assist police is asked to come forward.
Earlier this year, police announced a $500,000 reward and will use the latest DNA technology in a fresh attempt to discover who was behind the horrific murder.
MURDER OF DORIS BEATRICE HARBOTTLE
$250,000 REWARD
At about 9.00am on Thursday, November 13, 1986, Doris Harbottle‘s body was found in room 21 of the Royal George Hotel on Brunswick Street, Fortitude Valley, by a hotel cleaner.
She was lying face down on the bed with her hands tied behind her back with red ribbon, her left eye was swollen and bruised, he lips bleeding and, bizarrely, she was found with three small puncture wounds on her face.
Her cause of death was ultimately determined to have been strangulation.
In 2014, The Courier-Mail reported Doris had been a regular visitor at the Royal George Hotel, often for a few drinks after work.
A man in his 20s had approached Doris at a table in the lounge bar the afternoon she was murdered, but no one knows who he was.
He booked and paid for room 21 using the name ‘Burton,’ and Doris was last seen standing outside the hotel with him, but he later came back to the bar around 9.30pm alone.
Police at the time described the case as a “senseless killing,” and among their theories was that Doris had been murdered for her recently collected pension money.
But whether that was the case, nobody knows.
Doris’ killer has never been identified, and $250,000 is still on offer for information to catch them.
ABDUCTION AND SEXUAL ASSAULT OF 23 MONTH OLD FEMALE INFANT
$250,000 REWARD
At about 3:00am on Saturday, August 17, 2002, a 23-month-old female infant was abducted from a residence at Stanley Street, Yarrabah where she was sleeping peacefully in her bed, a crime that sent shivers up the spines of parents around the country.
The baby girl was taken on foot about 300 metres down a dirt track at the rear of Stanley Street, where it is suspected the abhorrent sexual assault took place.
Later that night, witnesses said they observed an unidentified man with the child in his hands, and when he was challenged, the man placed the child on the ground and ran from the scene.
Witnesses helped the child, who was suffering from serious injuries, and called police and ambulance crews who took the baby to Cairns Base Hospital for treatment.
The baby’s identity has never been revealed and the hunt is still on for her attacker.
MURDER OF BRIAN WILLIAM ANDREWS
$250,000 REWARD
Brian William Andrews was last seen alive on Tuesday August 1, 1978, at Brian Andrews Motors, Slacks Creek.
He left the business about 6.30pm that night to show a red Holden Monaro sedan, made unique with a yellow bonnet, registration number ODC-002, to a potential client.
The car, though, was found at about 6.00pm the next day in an isolated area of Marsden about 10 kilometres from the car yard at Slacks Creek.
No trace of Mr Andrews was found in the vehicle or in its vicinity, but on June 21, 1979, his remains were found in bushland off Daisy Hill Road at Daisy Hill.
A bullet hole was found in the right temporal region and a .22 calibre projectile was recovered from his skull.
There was also a horizontal skull fracture about 8 centimetres above the left ear, but police have never revealed if they know what caused it.
A wedding ring, wrist watch, and part of a neck chain were missing from Mr Andrew’s remains.
GRIEVOUS BODILY HARM INFLICTED ON SENIOR CONSTABLE TENELLE LUSCOMBE
$100,000 REWARD
Police exist to protect others from harm, but that often means putting themselves in harm’s way.
Constable Tenelle Luscombe was left with permanent facial damage after she was king hit at a Townsville car park in July, 2007, after she responded to reports of a wild brawl.
Ultimately, around 80 people were involved, either at the centre of the fight or trying to break it up.
Const. Luscombe was one of the latter, and for her efforts ultimately ended up with a metal plate implanted in her face after she was attacked.
She spoke with the Townsville Bulletin in 2017 and said that she could still remember the attack 10 years on.
“We got a call for a disturbance on Flinders St, but when we got in there, the car park across from the nightclubs was just full of people fighting, I reckon 60 to 80 people, just spot fights everywhere,” she said.
“My partner and I were trying to stop some fights and I was talking to someone and someone reached around me and started uppercutting the guy who I was talking to and I got pushed out of that little fight.
“Then I just felt a smack to the head. I had no idea what had happened. It knocked me back a couple of steps and I crouched down and realised I’d been hit.”
Constable Luscombe underwent facial reconstruction after she suffered a fractured eye socket, cheek bone, and jaw.
“I had to have an operation that required 26 staples over the top of my head and they inserted six plates and so many screws to hold it.
“It is still in there right now, and I still have nerve damage in my face, which gets pins and needles.
“I’d like them to come forward, I’m assuming they’ve got a conscience.”
Despite exhaustive investigations into the matter, no one was ever charged.
A reward of $100,000 is still out information leading to an arrest and conviction of the offender.
SERIOUS ASSAULTS, ABDUCTION AND RAPE OF A 19-YEAR-OLD MALE
$250,000 REWARD
Little has ever been revealed about the shocking sexual assault of a 19-year-old man abducted from a Townsville carpark while he was working as a hotel concierge.
The man, who has never been named, was abducted around 8.30pm from an Ogden St carpark near the Central Hotel, Flinders Mall where he had been working on the night of Friday, May 21, 1999.
Police say that he was driven to Hervey’s Range Rd – a distance of around 4km – and subjected to beatings, as well as sustaining burns to all parts of his body.
During the last of a number of violent assaults, he was held down and repeatedly sodomised, before being left partly naked and unconscious at the side of the road until passing motorists found him some time later.
He was taken to hospital and treated for his injuries but his attacker remains free – a reward of $250,000 is on offer for information leading to their apprehension and conviction.
Originally published as QLD cold cases: Chilling unsolved crimes still haunting investigators
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