Police to review cold case murders of Eva Webel and Denise Govendir

Homicide detectives will review the cold case murders of Sydney mothers Eva Webel and Denise Govendir, both of whom were bashed and killed in their homes 15 years apart. Their deaths were investigated in a Sunday Telegraph podcast series, The Alibi.

• George Webel: ‘My wife’s murder will never be solved’
• 99.9 per cent accurate DNA tech to catch cow thieves

The cold-case murders of two Sydney mothers killed in ­almost identical circumstances will be “imminently” reviewed by homicide detectives after years of laying dormant.

Family members of the two victims — Eva Webel and Denise Govendir — welcomed the development with relief and gratitude.

A NSW Police Force official said the review of case files would occur in the coming weeks.

“We’re delighted,” said Michael Freedman, a cousin to Mrs Govendir.

“All we hope is that this review leads to a fresh inquiry of Denise’s murder and fin­ally some justice.”

Denise Govendir on her wedding day in 1969.

Eva Webel on her wedding day. She was killed in 1983.

Ms Webel died in 1983; Ms Govendir in 1998. Their deaths commanded little public profile until an ­investigative podcast series — The Alibi, launched by The Sunday Telegraph in 2015 — examined the startling links between the two crimes.

MORE NEWS:

City of the future: What Sydney will look like in 2040

Sky is the limit for Badgerys Creek aerotropolis

For a start, the women were close friends. Both were beaten to death in their homes, the crime scenes were made to look like robberies and the murder weapons used in each crime were never located. Neither had any enemies and both had been in the middle of divorce proceedings at the time of their deaths.

The Sunday Telegraph has learned that fresh information was given to police about the Govendir murder in the aftermath of the podcast series and that this information would form an integral part of the impending review.

Karen Webel welcomes the review into her mother’s murder. Picture: John Appleyard

“Mum deserves it,” said Karen Webel, Eva’s daughter, but conceded any outcome of the review would be bittersweet.

“It’s not going to bring mum back or return the last 36 years without her.”

Only one of the murders saw any charges laid. Mr Webel went on trial for the murder of his wife in 1985 and was promptly found not guilty by a jury, in part because of an alibi given for him during the hearings.

The alibi was provided by Mr Govendir, Mr Webel’s close friend at the time. Thirteen years later, when his own wife would die in similar circumstances, Mr Govendir would tell police that intruders broke into his home, tied him up with cable ties and brutally bashed his wife in their bed.

Denise Govendir’s husband Aaron was friends with George Webel. Picture Craig Greenhill

George Webel was acquitted of his wife’s murder. Picture: Kym Smith

Among the many curious aspects of his account, an inquest was told Mr Govendir was allegedly seen buying cable ties from a hardware store near his home in the weeks prior to the ­murder.

“Why was she killed and her husband spared?” asked Jacqueline Milledge, the acting state coroner who presided over the inquest into Denise Govendir’s death, in 2008.

When contacted on Friday about the developments to the case, Mr Govendir said: “I don’t want to talk to you,” before hanging up the phone.

He has previously declined to make a public appeal to find his wife’s killer, as has Mr Webel about his own wife. Mr Webel did not return a request for comment.

Denise Govendir was murdered in 1998.

Eva Webel’s murder is still unsolved.

The NSW Unsolved Homicide Unit is not short of cold cases and choosing which matters to revive is always a delicate task. The Unit reformed its processes last year to speed up this task — it is now co-opting experienced detectives from all over NSW to examine cases requiring attention.

With a review now imminent, senior police are appealing for further information.

“Anyone who has ­information about the circumstances surrounding the murders of Mrs Webel or Mrs Govendir, no matter how insignificant it may seem, is urged to make contact,” said Mark Henney, ­Detective Acting Superintendent of the NSW Homicide Squad.

“Our investigators are always keen to receive information relevant to cases under their ­responsibility and these investigations are no different.”

Originally published as Police to review cold case murders of Eva Webel and Denise Govendir