Cold Case Files: Tracey Howard strangled and dumped in Ballarat, now police say the killer still lives in the area
THE person suspected of strangling Ballarat woman Tracey Howard and dumping her naked body still lives in the area, and police say they know why she was killed. | Cold Case Files
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TRACEY Howard did not deserve to die the way she did.
No innocent person does.
And to rub salt into the emotional wounds of her family, and the resolve of the detectives who have investigated the case, her killer has never been charged.
A reward of $100,000 has been offered for the capture and conviction of the person who strangled the Ballarat woman to death 16 years ago.
According to the Victoria Police cold case squad’s Acting Det-Insp Boris Buick, investigators have a suspect — but not enough evidence to charge that person.
“Investigators believe the killer was from the local area and remains in the local area,” Acting Det-Insp Buick told the Herald Sun.
The cold case squad boss also said investigators believe they know why Ms Howard was killed.
Her strangled body was found naked on a desolate country road at 4pm the day after she disappeared.
She had grown up in the Ballarat area and was living with her de facto husband when she was callously murdered and then dumped.
She had close friendships with members of local motorcycle groups.
Police know that Ms Howard, 33, was last seen leaving the Cheers nightclub, in Ballarat, alone about 3am on November 22, 1998.
And they still believe this 16-year-old murder mystery can be solved.
A vivacious young woman, Ms Howard always thought of others before herself.
People gravitated to her at school, work and social gatherings, where she was often the life of the party.
She mixed equally well with executives at the chocolate factory where she worked and with tough-looking bikies who were mates.
“It sounds unreal, but everyone loved her. It was as simple as that,” her best friend, Sue Slater, told the Sunday Herald Sun in November 1998.
From all reports, Ms Howard planned to marry her partner of five years and have children.
She apparently had no enemies, apart from one.
Back in 1998, Ms Slater appealed for her friend’s callous killer to come forward.
“Why did you kill a wonderful woman who would never hurt even a fly?” Ms Slater said.
“No one could have asked for a better friend and now some bastard has destroyed her.
“I have one thing to say to the killer — you took away my best friend and now you must pay.”
Ms Howard was last seen in the early hours of Sunday, November 22, at Cheers, a popular over-30s night spot.
She was not carrying money or a purse, and her visit to the nightclub had been a spur-of-the-moment decision.
CCTV footage showed Ms Howard left the club alone at 3.08am.
She had been there with Ms Slater who last saw her friend when she went to the toilet.
“She must have come out, done a lap (of the crowded club), couldn’t find me and left,” Ms Slater recalled.
There had been no obvious dramas at the nightclub.
When Ms Howard did not arrive home, her de facto of five years, Shane Dunn, assumed she had stayed at her girlfriend’s overnight.
About 37 hours after Ms Howard disappeared and 17 hours after Mr Dunn had reported her missing, her naked body was found dumped next to Clarkes Hill Rd, a stretch that cuts through the back blocks of Pootilla, about 20km east of Ballarat.
Her clothes had been strewn over a 500-metre stretch of the road.
Her blue jeans, black and orange velour top, underwear and black lace-up ankle-boots were apparently tossed out as the killer drove along Clarkes Hill Rd, about 500m from the intersection with Springbank Rd.
There were no obvious signs of sexual assault and no great attempt had been made to conceal the body.
Acting Det-Insp Buick confirmed there was no evidence Ms Howard’s killer sexually assaulted her.
It appeared she was strangled.
At the time of the body find, Det Sen-Sgt Jeff Maher, of the homicide squad, said: “It’s a puzzling case. She was a very responsible and hardworking girl.”
Ms Howard worked as a paymaster at the Mars Confectionery factory.
She bought a home in the middle-class Ballarat suburb of Brown Hill after she and three workmates won a major Tattslotto prize.
During an exhaustive investigation, police interviewed all 54 taxi drivers working the night Ms Howard was murdered.
None of Ms Howard’s friends could understand why someone would want to hurt her.
“She was fun-loving, adored life and shared this with everyone,” Robyn Dalgleish said.
“She had 30 or 40 years left to live and her life was taken.”
Anyone with information is urged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
paul.anderson@news.com.au
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