Death of Meaghan Rose: Huge update in grisly Aussie cold case
In July 1997, the body of Meaghan Rose was discovered at the bottom of a 40m cliff. Queensland police thought it was a suicide – until now.
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Police have confirmed that it was a podcast listener who potentially helped blow a grisly cold case wide open after 28 years of mystery.
In July 1997, the body of Meaghan Rose was discovered at the bottom of Point Cartwright Cliffs in the popular tourist hotspot of Mooloolaba on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.
The 25-year-old’s gruesome death has been deemed a suicide for many years, however homicide detectives re-examined the case in 2023 and launched a new investigation.
It was then they announced that they were looking for one person: Keith Lees.
Now, thanks to the Australian True Crime podcast, the now 72-year-old fugitive has been arrested and charged over the alleged murder of Meaghan Rose.
Mr Lees has denied all allegations against him and has not been convicted of any crimes against Meaghan.
He was discovered in Dural, in Sydney’s north-west, in early January and extradited to Queensland, where his murder charge was heard in the Brisbane Magistrates Court.
Mr Lees is currently in custody and the case adjourned to April 28.
Keith Lees was Meaghan Rose’s former partner and almost 20 years her senior.
The pair had been spotted going to the local Maroochydore RSL on the last day she was seen alive in public.
Police said that Mr Lees claimed he had last seen his partner in their Marcoola unit the night of her death, around 7.15pm, and had offered her a warm drink before leaving.
Upon his return 45 minutes later, he said Ms Rose was no longer there.
The following morning, a member of the public spotted a wine cask on a seat and a glass on the grass at the top of Point Cartwright.
Her lifeless body was then discovered on the cliffs below – a terrifying 40 metre deadly drop.
Deemed non-suspicious for many years, detectives announced they were re-opening the case in 2023 after new information had come to light.
Queensland police revealed that a life insurance policy had been taken out for Ms Rose prior to her death.
“Initial investigations suggested her death was non-suspicious, however new information came to light revealing suspicious circumstances, including a life insurance policy which was taken out prior to her death,” the police media release stated.
After cold case detectives spoke to Mr Lees in June 2023, he went missing and police launched a national appeal to find him.
He was spotted in Port Fairy, in southwestern Victoria on June 26, 2023 and the following day, was seen on CCTV buying new clothes in Geelong before heading to Shepparton train station.
There were no further confirmed sightings and police confirmed to news.com.au that it was a podcast listener that led them to the arrest.
Keith Lees was the subject of twoAustralian True Crimeepisodes released in December 2024.
Hosted by author and broadcaster Meshel Laurie, the popular show, hosted by Acast, has had more than 80 million total downloads since it launched in 2016.
The episodes on Lees were created in collaboration with Queensland Police and featured interviews with members of both Rose and Lees’ families.
Meshel said having the podcast lead to a breakthrough in a case was “always the hope” but knowing that it was one of her listeners that helped lead to an arrest was “mindblowing”.
“We’ve received information about cases before, which we’ve passed onto police, but we never know if it’s helpful or not,” she told news.com.au.
“This is the first time we’ve had an outcome like this. It’s gratifying to help people tell their stories, but to actually have it lead to a breakthrough like this is mind-blowing.
“We cover a lot of unsolved cases that are begging for new information, so I hope this will bring us more listeners, and therefore more possible witnesses.
“In this instance we worked with Keith’s family, Meaghan’s family and Queensland police. It’s a credit to all of them really. To their co-operation and tirelessness.”
Meshel said that she actually had never heard about the case until Mr Lees’ child, Wren Dawnsong, contacted the podcast and asked them to cover it.
“Most of our guests approach us,” she explained.
“I hadn’t heard about it before then, which demonstrated to me how important it was to get it out there.”
Ms Rose’s sister, Christine Richards, spoke to the Australian True Crime podcast about the moment she found out her sister was dead.
“The police came in and said, ‘Meaghan’s body has been found’... but there was no suspicious circumstances,” Richards said.
The couple had been together about a year before they moved from their hometown of Mowell in regional Victoria up to the Sunshine Coast with Mr Lees’ child.
Lees’ child, Wren, was living with their father and Meaghan at the time of her death.
“We moved up to the Sunshine Coast because it is somewhere Meaghan always wanted to live,” they told the podcast.
A day after police questioned Mr Lees in 2023, his car was found abandoned beside cliffs at Portland in Victoria, and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
Ms Rose’s sister Christine said the news of Mr Lees’ arrest was very welcome news after “27 years of waiting for this to happen”.
“I am struggling because I have found it to be overwhelming,” she told the Courier-Mail.
“I couldn’t believe the phone call that I got, I didn’t believe it.
“The moment I was notified of her death, I told the police then that it wasn’t suicide. I had no doubt from the day that I was informed.
“Meaghan had so much to offer and so much to give. It’s just not fair.”
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