Police release images of man in push to solve bashing of Altona bookstore owner Jill Brookes
New images of a man who may provide a breakthrough in the decade-long hunt to find who brutally bashed Jill Brookes, 61, at her second-hand bookshop.
Police & Courts
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The homicide squad is making a fresh push to bring justice in the horrific bashing of an Altona book store operator.
Jill Brookes, 61, suffered critical injuries to her upper-body after a brutal onslaught at her Harrington Square second-hand business on July 20, 2012.
She never fully recovered and died in 2021.
Money was missing from the store’s till, which was found open in the aftermath of the attack.
Police have today released two images of an unidentified man who was seen in the area on the day of the assault.
They say he was first seen walking into the Altona Railway Station just before 3.25pm, before he caught a train one stop to the Westona station, where he alighted just after 3.30pm.
A witness later said a man matching his description walked along Maidstone St, Altona, near Harrington Square, at about 3.30pm.
There is nothing to indicate the man is responsible for what happened to Ms Brookes but investigators say they need to speak to him because he may be able to offer other avenues for the inquiry.
Ms Brookes was found by a fellow Harrington Square trader at about 5pm.
A $100,000 reward was in 2014 posted to find the attacker of Ms Brookes.
A year earlier, a man dropped a letter related to the incident in a mailbox at the Altona North police station.
It contained a newspaper clipping about the book store bashing and a note written using letters cut from the paper.
Police believe the note is a key element of the investigation but the man has never been identified.
Detective Senior Constable Matthew Noonan of the homicide squad said he had been involved with the case for 12 years and never forgotten it.
He said the family of Ms Brookes had never understood why such an attack happened to her
“Sadly, we have never been in a position to give them the answers despite a significant investigation,” Sen-Con Noonan said.
“Jill suffered life threatening injuries during the assault, and those injuries had an enormous impact on her quality of life up until she died. We haven’t given up trying to get to the bottom of who was responsible for the assault on Jill and why, and we’re hopeful that this man may be able to provide us with new lines of enquiry.
Sen-Con Noonan said police had followed up hundreds of information reports and analysed “countless” hours of CCTV in their quest to catch who was responsible.
“I also know this incident had a longstanding impact on the local community in Altona and many people would still like to see justice done for Jill,” he said.
“I understand that a significant amount of time has passed, however we are still hopeful that this case can be solved. All we need is the right piece of information from the right person.”
Anyone with information about the incident or the pictured man’s identity can call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or visit the website www.crimestoppers.com.au
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