No body, so no parole for inmate

Queensland’s new ‘no body, no parole’ laws have been used to keep an inmate behind bars for the first time.

Queensland’s new “no body, no parole” laws have been used to keep an inmate behind bars for the first time, after his story about how he disposed of victim Timothy Pullen was rejected.

The Parole Board of Queensland said yesterday it was not convinced Stephen Dale Renwick had co-operated satisfactorily with the investigation to find Pullen’s remains.

At a parole hearing last month, Renwick said the body had been incinerated and his “microscopic” remains would never be found.

He also submitted that any chance of finding traces of Pullen, 34, was lost when Cyclone Debbie tore through the area last March, dumping 200mm of rain in 24 hours.

The Parole Board found Renwick’s claim about cremating the body at the location where he led police was “implausible”.

If the body was cremated at all — and there were “significant doubts” about this — then it was not at the location Renwick nominated.

Parents Leanne and Gary Pullen said the decision provided new hope of finding their son and could help other victims’ families. Pullen disappeared from Mackay in 2012.

“Ultimately we want to know where Tim is,” Ms Pullen told The Weekend Australian.

“No body, no parole” laws were introduced last year to keep killers and accessories behind bars until they revealed the ­location of their missing victims.

In 2016, Renwick and co-­accused Luke Shayne Kister pleaded guilty to being access­ories after the fact to Pullen’s manslaughter.