Estranged husband arrested in connection with alleged murder of Sharon Edwards

HE PLEADED for people to come forward with information about his wife’s disappearance. Now John Edwards has been arrested.

THE estranged husband of NSW primary school teacher Sharon Edwards, who police suspect was murdered more than two years ago, has been arrested in Queensland.

The 55-year-old grandmother and primary school teacher’s body has never been found.

Ms Edwards vanished around the Lawrence area, north of Grafton, on March 14 2015. She was due to teach classes the following Monday but failed to attend.

Her husband, John Edwards, was arrested at a Redcliffe home, north of Brisbane, on Tuesday afternoon.

Sharon Edwards went missing in March 2015.

The 61-year-old was the last person to see her alive. He told police he saw her at their home in Riverdale Court around 10.30pm on March 14. Ms Edwards had spent the evening having dinner with friends at a hotel in Grafton and NSW Police have previously said her demeanour was positive, according to CCTV footage of her leaving the premises.

In early 2016, NSW Police named Edwards as a suspect in her disappearance.

John Edwards arrested in Queensland on Tuesday over the alleged murder of estranged wife Sharon Edwards.

Detective Inspector Darren Jameson told reporters a year after the popular teacher disappeared there was no reason for her to make the 30km trip to Lawrence that night.

Police know Ms Edwards changed her clothes at her Grafton home and left her car in the garage, but her purse, keys and phone have not been found. Neither has her body.

“If you’re asking me ‘Is he a suspect?’, yes, Mr Edwards is a suspect,” Det Insp Jameson said in March 2016.

John Edwards, pictured in late 2015. Photographer: Frank Redward

Two weeks after Ms Edwards went missing her estranged husband made a plea for anyone with information to come forward, saying the pair had been married 33 years and had plans for the future.

“Someone out there must know some little something. I’ve just been sitting at home racking my brains out going crazy,” he said.

Ms Edwards’ youngest son, Josh, in March 2016 said the previous year had been tough on the family but they had the support of the tight-knit Grafton community.

“A year is a long time without any contact and any answers. It’s heartbreaking for all of us — we miss her so much,”

NSW Police searching the home of John Edwards, the estranged husband of missing Grafton schoolteacher Sharon Edwards. Picture: Frank Redward

The family of Ms Edwards held a memorial for her in March to mark the two-year anniversary of her suspected murder.

The memorial, organised by her three adult sons and held in the NSW north coast town where the disappeared was dubbed a “celebration of her life”.

Edwards last year denied murdering his wife and claimed he was only a suspect because “people always think it’s the husband”.

Edwards is set to be extradited from Queensland to NSW on Wednesday where it’s expected he will be formally charged with murder.