‘Be a man’: Stepdaughter urges killer to reveal location of father’s body

The devastated family of a father who vanished in Victoria’s southwest nearly two decades ago have pleaded for his killer to tell them where his body is so they can lay him to rest.

Chris Jarvis’ children have pleaded with his killer to reveal where his body is. Picture: Supplied.

The grieving stepdaughter of a father who vanished nearly two decades ago has pleaded in court for his killer to reveal where his body is.

The remains of Christopher Jarvis, 38, have never been found after he disappeared from his Wangoom home near Warrnambool, in the state’s southwest, in June 2006.

Glenn Fenwick, 61, who pleaded guilty to the father-of-three’s manslaughter, faced off with Mr Jarvis’ family in the Supreme Court sitting in Warrnambool on Tuesday, where they revealed the heartache over his death.

“For years you have known where dad is, yet you choose to keep that information from us,” stepdaughter Nicole Raitt said through tears.

“The cruelty of that is unbearable, I don’t know how you live with this on your shoulders.

“You took away our father from us and you still keep him from us.

“For once be a man and tell us where our dad’s body lays so we can put him to rest.”

Christopher Jarvis’ stepdaughter Nicole Raitt and son, Cale Jarvis, outside the Supreme Court earlier this year. Picture: Aneeka Simonis

In a victim impact statement read out by a prosecutor, Joanne McLaren said she was initially told her brother had taken his own life or had run off.

“I couldn’t accept this in my heart. I knew my brother would never abandon his family, they were his world,” she said.

Ms McLaren said another sibling spent months combing the coast looking for clues about his disappearance but he, along with their mother, died without answers.

“Chris’ death has destroyed our family in every way,” she said.

Bree Jarvis, who was 15 when her father died, fought back tears as she described how she was for years left without knowing what had happened to him.

Christopher Jarvis vanished nearly two decades ago.

Fresh details about the 18-year cold case were earlier revealed during the pre-sentence hearing, including that Fenwick was recruited by his friend — known as AB — to evict Mr Jarvis amid a dispute over unpaid rent.

The men allegedly confronted Mr Jarvis in the driveway of his home as he left for work on the morning of June 13, 2006.

The court heard Mr Jarvis was seriously assaulted before he was bundled into the boot of his own car and driven to nearby Framlingham Forest where his assailants dug a shallow grave.

Still alive, he was stripped of his clothes before AB allegedly delivered a fatal blow to his head with a baseball bat.

Chris Jarvis’ car was found torched at Thunder Point, a popular coastal lookout in Warrnambool.

The court heard the men then drove into sand dunes near Thunder Point, a popular coastal lookout in Warrnambool, where they torched Mr Jarvis’ car.

Fenwick, who appeared in court via video link from custody, and AB were charged with murder but the charge against AB was later dropped and Fenwick’s downgraded to manslaughter.

The burnt-out station wagon belonging to Chris Jarvis.

In her submissions on Tuesday, Fenwick’s lawyer Julia Munster said her client apologised for the profound loss and grief his actions had caused.

“The loss of Mr Jarvis’ life is tragic,” she said.

“This is a man who wanted to come forward much earlier but was fearful of AB and didn’t know what to do.

“It’s not an excuse, your Honour, but it is an explanation.”

The court heard Fenwick told a former girlfriend about the killing in 2018 while discussing things they regretted.

But he was not arrested until 2022 after the case was reopened.

He pleaded guilty to manslaughter last week ahead of his trial.

Despite his guilty plea and extensive searches, Mr Jarvis’ remains have not been found.

Fenwick will return to court in December for a further pre-sentence hearing.

Originally published as ‘Be a man’: Stepdaughter urges killer to reveal location of father’s body