Donna Steele murder: FNQ police close in on suspect

Police have revealed they have a person of interest and ‘credible’ information to solve Donna Steele’s murder.

Cooktown mother Donna Steele, 42, whose body was found at Leggett's Crossing.

For months it looked like police were struggling to make progress investigating the murder of mother of two Donna Steele in Cooktown, in far north Queensland.

But a reward and offer of ­indemnity may have given ­detectives the breakthrough they needed, with police revealing they have a person of interest and “credible” information to solve the crime.

Detective Inspector Damien Hansen yesterday said police now believed Steele’s killer was not a resident and had been passing through the town.

The new information followed police offering a $250,000 reward for information leading to an ­arrest and conviction.

“We believe that the person responsible may have been travelling through Cooktown and had come from as far away as Cairns,” Inspector Hansen said.

Steele, 42, was last seen at Cooktown’s IGA at about 12.15pm on Wednesday, August 2. She failed to collect her two sons, aged eight and 10, when they were dropped off by a school bus.

Her body was found wrapped up and discarded in a crocodile-infested creek at Leggett’s Crossing, about 15km from her home, on the following Sunday.

Inspector Hansen, from the homicide squad, appealed for anyone around Cooktown on August 2 to contact investigators through Crime Stoppers.

“We believe that persons from Cooktown had knowledge of this offence and are also covering for that person,” he said.

“What I say to these people is it’s never too late to come forward and do the right thing. There’s two young boys who are growing up without their mother. Come forward and help these boys bring justice for their mother.”

He reiterated there was an indemnity from prosecution for people not directly involved.

“I won’t go into the specifics of the evidence but it is credible information we’ve received. I’m very confident we will get a result from this. It reiterates some of the information investigators had.

“The $250,000 is still available. A number of people can apply for that at the end of the court proceedings.”

He believed people were covering for the killer “out of loyalty for the person”.

“People move in similar circles and there’s a loyalty among people. Loyalty changes. Look at those two little boys. They’re now growing up without a mother.”