Maureen McLaughlin

Personal Details

Reward: $200,000.

Status: Unsolved Murder

Convicted: Nil

Last Seen: March 31, 1992

Age:23

Gender: Female

Year of birth: 1970

Height:                   Build:

Eyes:

Hair: Brown

Complexion: Fair

Distinguishing Feature:

Racial: Caucasion

Circumstances: The 23-year-old was last believed seen on March 31, 1992 at a hotel on Main Street, Lithgow, and her father reported her missing to local police three days later. Her body was discovered by a bushwalker in a shallow grave off State Mine Gully Road at Lithgow on April 13, 1992.

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New leads on 20 year old murder

ABC Australia Posted June 22, 2011 09:08:00

Unsolved Homicide detectives say they have received new information about the murder of a woman at Lithgow almost 20 years ago.

Twenty three year old Leura woman, Maureen McLaughlin, disappeared from Katoomba in March 1992.
Detective Sergeant Jason Darcy, from the Western Region Unsolved Homicide Team, says her body was found in a shallow grave at Lithgow a few weeks later.
He says the new lead was received within 24 hours of the State Government offering a $200,000 dollar reward for information on Monday.
"We're treating it with a great deal of weight," he said.
"It's corroborated with information that the investigators had at the time and we've obviously given it some sort of importance as to travel to Lithgow today, and we'll be here for the rest of the week."
He says the new lead relates to the final movements of Maureen McLaughlin.
"We've confirmed her movements in the Blue Mountains on the last day she was seen on the 31st of March 1992.
"She was seen at the Katoomba RSL at around four o'clock that afternoon.
"There's then been some uncorroborated information that she was in the Lithgow area later that afternoon.
"Obvisouly, we want to speak to people who may have seen Maureen that afternoon."

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$200,000 reward for 20-year cold case

Nick Ralston   SMH      June 20, 2011 - 1:12PM

Maureen McLaughlin ... went missing in 1992.

The sister of a woman whose body was found in a shallow grave in the state’s central west has urged anyone who knows what happened to her to come forward and give closure to the family after 20 years.
Maureen McLaughlin, 23, was last seen on March 31, 1992 at a hotel on Main Street at Lithgow.
The day before, she had been at Katoomba RSL where she made three withdrawals from the ATM, caught a taxi home to Leura and then left again a short time later.
Ms McLaughlin was reported missing by her father on April 3. Her body was found 10 days later with injuries to her head and body in a a shallow grave off State Mine Gully Road at Lithgow.
The NSW government announced a $100,000 reward in 1994 but no one came forward.
Today, Police Minister Mike Gallacher said that reward had now been doubled to $200,000.
"For 19 years, everyday of our life, we have wondered what has happened to our sister," Maureen’s sister Jane McLaughlin said.
"We would just like someone in the public who knows something what happened to her, why she was taken from us, just to come forward so we as a family can have closure that we rightly deserve."
Unsolved Homicide chief, Detective Inspector John Lehmann, said officers were currently re-interviewing witnesses, speaking to those who were not interviewed in 1992, as well as following up new information that has come forward.
However, he refused to disclose what that information was.
"We have no doubt that there’s more than one person out there that knows how Maureen died and also more than one person who knows how her body was disposed of when it was found in the shallow grave," he said.
Mrs McLaughlin said she had promised her father, who died in May last year, that she would not let up on finding out what happened to her sister.
"I do believe that the grief [my father] went through contributed to a long death for him, but the one wish in life he wanted was to know what happened to Maureen and he never got that,’’ Ms McLaughlin said.

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$200,000 reward for cold case murder

Blue Mountains Gazette News    BY KRYSTYNA POLLARD   22 Jun, 2011 10:07 AM

A $200,000 reward is being offered for information in relation to the cold case murder of Leura woman, Maureen McLaughlin. The 23-year-old was last believed seen on March 31, 1992 at a hotel on Main Street, Lithgow, and her father reported her missing to local police three days later.
Her body was discovered by a bushwalker in a shallow grave off State Mine Gully Road at Lithgow on April 13, 1992.
Police Minister Michael Gallacher announced the state government was posting the reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the murder alongside police and Ms McLaughlin’s sister, Jane, on Monday, June 20.
A $100,000 reward was offered in 1994 for 12 months but no one came forward, he said.
“The slightest piece of information could help detectives put the puzzle together to solve this case, so I’d encourage anyone with information, no matter how small to come forward,” Mr Gallacher said in a statement.
Ms McLaughlin had attended the Katoomba RSL club on Lurline Street on March 30 where she made three separate ATM withdrawals, the last at 4.37pm.
She then caught a taxi home to Leura before leaving again a short time later.
Investigations into her disappearance were conducted by Blue Mountains police before the bushwalker reported discovering a body at Lithgow, later identified as Ms McLaughlin.
Mr Gallacher hoped the appeal would lead to the case being wrapped up.
“Maureen McLaughlin’s family has lived in limbo for almost 20 years, and I sincerely hope this reward leads to someone coming forward with the information that will help solve this case,” he said.

Annette Maree Steward

Circumstances: ANNETTE Steward’s family should have been attending her 30th birthday – instead it was her funeral. Just two days shy of the mother-of-two’s milestone, she was found bashed, strangled and possibly raped inside her

Hope St

home in Geelong West.
She failed to turn up to work at the Winchester ammunition factory in Point Henry and a work colleague – and former flat mate – went to her home to check on her. He will never forget what he saw as he walked in at 1pm: Ms Steward naked and sprawled diagonally across her double bed. She was motionless – a plastic electrical cord wrapped around her neck – and covered in bruises. Police named her former lover as their top suspect. The pair had a sexual relationship before her death and were seen arguing two days before her killing. Ms Steward had complained to family and friends that she was being sexually harassed by a workmate.

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Coroner names murder suspect
POLICE were tightlipped on whether they will charge a man today named by a coroner as the chief suspect in the murder of a Victorian woman 15 years ago.
Victorian Coroner Iain West today named Craig Cameron Rogers as the sole suspect in the 1992 murder of Roger's co-worker Annette Steward in her Geelong West home.

Victoria Police spokesman Senior Constable Adam West would not confirm whether police would now charge Rogers, but said investigations were continuing.

Ms Steward, 28, was found naked in the bedroom of her home with a plastic electric cord around her neck and head injuries on March 18, 1992.

In delivering his findings today, Mr West said suspicion surrounded the activities of Mr Rogers - who worked with Ms Steward at the Winchester Ammunition Factory at Point Henry - and the accounts he provided to investigators.

"Mr Rogers remains a person of interest to investigating police, despite his consistent denials of killing her," Mr West said.

On the last day Ms Steward attended work on March 16, 1992, she was angry and told colleagues she had argued with Mr Rogers.

Mr Rogers - who had known Ms Steward about two years - was also identified as the person who broke into her house about a week earlier, entering her bedroom and waking her from sleep.

Ms Steward had also complained to family and friends she was being sexually harassed by a co-worker.

Another man, Keith Pengelly, admitted to having an affair with Ms Steward and was co-operative with police about their relationship.

Mr Pengelly had visited Ms Steward at her home on March 16, 1992, with three friends.

But after extensive investigation, police found no evidence to link him to her murder.

Mr Rogers, however, was interviewed by detectives several times where he gave a number of false denials, Mr West said in his finding.

"But they established that he was far more involved with the deceased than he had previously led police to believe."

The victim's sisters, Jannette Path and Gillian Steward, and the victim's son Aaron Steward, were present at the hearing.

Outside the Victorian Coroner's Court, Ms Steward said the family welcomed the finding.

"It was everything we expected and it was good to hear it from the coroner," Ms Steward said.

"It confirms what police have been investigating."

Ms Steward said the family hoped the finding would shed more light on the unsolved murder.

"We do hope that someone will come forward with more evidence the police can use and one day resolve the case," she said.

"(If) someone has had a falling out or someone has said something years ago that hasn't meant anything then, but after the case now and the coroner giving his findings, it may trigger something that they do remember, and come forward and let the police know."

AAP

From: Herald Sun January 30, 2007 12:00AM