Woman, 61, arrested and charged with murder of Tanya Lee Glover years after skeletal remains discovered in north Brisbane unit
Police have revealed a bombshell update in their investigation into the alleged murder of a woman whose body was found wrapped and buried behind a besser block wall.
A woman has been arrested and charged with the murder of her friend, whose body was found tightly wrapped and buried in a unit wall with police alleging she was killed and moved into a crawlspace more than 12 years ago.
Friday’s bombshell development into the homicide probe of Tanya Lee Glover comes almost three years after cleaners made the grisly discovery at the unit complex in Alderley, in northern Brisbane.
Ms Glover’s skeletal remains were found tightly wrapped in clothing and bedding behind a besser block wall of the unit complex in December that year.
Later forensic analysis confirmed the remains were Ms Glover’s, who possibly died more than 12 years ago when she was about 38-years-old.
She was not known to Queensland Police and she was not reported missing.
Initial inquiries indicate Ms Glover moved to Queensland from NSW in 2006 and resided in the Fortitude Valley area until 2010.
In bodycam footage released by Queensland Police, detectives are seen knocking on the door of 61-year-old woman from Wulguru, a southern suburb of Townsville.
The woman, who has been blurred out in the vision, is seen smoking a cigarette before the bodycam cuts to multiple detectives standing around her home.
“You are now detained for the purpose of this (search) warrant,” an officer is heard saying.
He continues: “We are here in relation to the murder of Tanya Glover. There are other charges... misconduct with a corpse and fraud.”
The woman is then seen being led to a waiting police vehicle.
On Friday, North Brisbane District Detective Inspector John Mison said police would allege the 61-year-old was a friend of Ms Glover’s.
“We will be alleging Tanya Glover was murdered in January 2010 and her body was moved into a void or crawlspace of a unit block, located at Alderley,” Inspector Mison said.
“Investigations took detectives all over Australia to confirm the victim’s identity was that of Tanya Lee Glover.”
Inspector Mison said the woman’s arrest was the culmination of extensive investigations that identified a person of interest – whom they alleged was known to Ms Glover.
The 61-year-old has been charged with murder, misconduct with a corpse and fraud.
She will front Townsville Magistrates Court on Saturday.
Inspector Mison did not go into detail about the fraud charge.
“I’ve been in the police for 35 years – I’ve never come across anything like this,” he said.
“She (Ms Glover) was located approximately five kilometres from the centre of the city and had been there for 12 or so years, so that in itself is quite remarkable.”
Inspector Mison said Ms Glover’s death was a tragedy and detectives had worked tirelessly to get answers for the family.
Inspector Mison said: “At the heart of this investigation, it was about uncovering what had happened to Tanya many years ago. She deserves that justice.”
“It is also a warning to any alleged offender that officers are relentless in their investigations to hold offenders to account for their crimes.
“We are not deterred by any timeframe gaps between an offence occurring and it being reported to police.”
A $500,000 reward remains on offer for information that leads to the conviction of the person, or persons, found to be responsible for Tanya’s murder.
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In addition to the reward, an appropriate indemnity from prosecution will be recommended for any accomplice, not being the person who actually committed the crime, who first gives such information.
That same offer was reiterated by former Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll at the time police were still probing Ms Glover’s murder.
“In the case of an offence being identified, an appropriate indemnity from prosecution will be recommended for any accomplice, not being the person who actually committed the crime,” she said.
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