Donna Steele murder: Police allege they found killer’s shoe at grisly scene

A CRUCIAL clue was found close to Donna Steele’s body in a croc-infested creek. Now the significance of it can finally be revealed.

FOR months the small town of Cooktown was engulfed in a murder mystery — who killed Donna Steele?

Investigators descended on the community, 320km north of Cairns, and locals gossiped about everything from motives to suspects. Police made appeals and carefully searched the creek bed where the mother-of-two’s body was found, wrapped in material and dumped in a crocodile-infested creek.

Police were tight-lipped throughout the search about what “items” they found — but eventually they revealed they were looking for the owner of a men’s size 10 black Champion Gusto jogging shoe.

Detective Acting Superintendent Geoff Marsh initially held a picture of the shoe at a media conference in October last year and urged anyone who recognised it to come forward.

He didn’t explicitly state police believed the shoe belonged to the alleged killer, only that the owner of it could provide further details to the inquiry.

“It may be something totally innocuous. Someone may see that shoe and say ‘that’s mine, I’ve left it there’. It may free up a lot of our time to be able to do that,” Det Insp Marsh said at the time.

“If they know who owns that shoe or have information in relation to the shoe, we want them to come forward.

“It may lead us to further avenues of investigation. It may also eliminate lines of inquiry.”

It’s now understood the shoe belongs to a man police have since charged with Ms Steele’s murder.

Police found what they will allege is the shoe owned by Donna Steele's killer found in the same creek where she was found.

Donna Steele was allegedly surprised by an intruder in her home.

Police have not revealed how Ms Steele died.

Media were initially asked not to publish pictures of several items, including the shoe, that had been pulled from the murky Isabella Creek at Leggett’s Crossing by police divers.

The Australian revealed why police linked the man they charged with Ms Steele’s murder, Matthew Ross White, 25, to the shoe.

The young father was also charged with interfering with a corpse, and entering a dwelling with intent.

The shoe was found underwater as divers combed the creek bed. It was not old and was weighed down by a rock, the report said.

It’s now understood police will allege the shoe is Mr White’s.

A police spokesman today told news.com.au: “We can confirm the shoe which was located at the scene and was the subject of a public appeal in 2017 will form part of a brief of evidence. As the matter is now before the court it would not be appropriate to comment further.”

After Mr White was arrested, Det Insp Marsh told reporters in Cairns that police believed Mr White was alone when he allegedly killed Ms Steele, but would not comment on the motive for the crime.

A $250,000 reward led to publicity around the case but all information has been “supplied freely”.

WHITE BASHED IN JAIL: REPORT

Mr White is reportedly now in hospital after being bashed in jail. He was attacked by a group of inmates shortly after arriving at the Lotus Glen Correctional Facility on Tuesday afternoon, The Cairns Post reported.

He was taken to the Mareeba Hospital, where he remains in a stable condition.

Crocodile inhabited Isabella Creek at Leggett's Crossing where Donna Steele's body was discovered. Picture: Liam Kidston

Matthew Ross White will next appear in court on May 2.

Ms Steele’s husband, Tony Brown, was working away from Cooktown and returned home on Thursday, August 3 to find her missing. She had been last seen at an IGA supermarket the previous day.

Her two boys, aged 8 and 10, came home from school that day and found their mum gone. They ate biscuits for dinner and put themselves to bed, and then got up and took themselves to school the next day.

The boys didn’t tell anyone at the school or any teachers that they had been alone.

Detective Acting Superintendent Geoff Marsh appealed for the owner of the shoe or anyone who may have further information to come forward. Picture: Andrea Falvo

Det Marsh said Ms Steele’s family, including her husband and their two sons, were relieved by news of the arrest.

“Mr Brown is also extremely relieved that he can now tell his sons what happened to their mother and they can move on,” he said.

Police have said Mr White and Ms Steele were known to each other. News.com.au has been told Mr White’s mother lives near where Ms Steele lived, and the two families knew each other.

Friends took to social media to react with shock at his arrest. “He was the most placid kid at school”, while another remembered him as a “quiet kid”. One man said he coached Mr White at AFL and, when he was a teenager, the boy had boarded in his family home. “He seemed like a good kid,” the man wrote on Facebook.

His AFL club president, Robbie Taranto, told the ABC the team was in shock.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with Ms Steele’s family … and we’ll see the outcome in due time,” he said. “He was at training on Tuesday night — you wouldn’t have even picked [that he would be arrested].”

Mr White will next be in court on May 2.

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