Kathryn GROSVENOR - Murder

Blue Boots Linked to an Unsolved Canberra Murder.

15 July 2011 , 1:42 PM by Louise Maher - ABC

ACT police are urgently trying to track down the woman who bought this pair of electric blue platform boots from a St Vincent de Paul store in Wagga this week.
The shoes are thought to be connected to the murder of Kathryn Grosvenor.
23-year old Kathryn was last seen at her home in Canberra in March 2002. Her body was found nearly a week later in Lake Burley Griffin.
When Kathryn was last seen she was wearing dark coloured hipster pants and a pair of boots identical to the ones in the photo.
Louise Maher spoke to Detective Superintendent Brett McCann about the boots and details of the case.
If you know anything about them please contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Karen MORTON

Personal Details
Last seen: Saturday, 9 February 2002
Year of birth: 1967
Height: 165cm
Build: Slim
Eyes: Green
Hair: Shoulder length brown hair
Complexion: Caucasian
Gender: Female
Distinguishing Feature: Numerous tattoos on her legs and arms





Circumstances: At the time of her disappearance Karen was residing in a unit at Pennington. Due to Karen's failure to appear over time Police together with family members have fears for her safety and welfare.

Carmel Louise GIANNASCA

Missing Persons
Sex: Female
Year of Birth: 1969
At Time of Disappearance on 14 January 2002
Age: 32
Height (cm): 175.0
Build: Thin
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Brown
Complexion: Olive
Racial Appearance: Caucasian


Circumstances: Carmel Louise Giannasca, 32, was last seen at her home in Albert Street, Gladesville,in Sydney's north-west, at 7am on January 14, 2002.
Carmel packed two suitcases and left the house after an argument with her husband and drove off in a dark green 1995 Holden Commodore registered TVN 835. The vehice was recovered in Newcastle several weeks after her disappearance.
Carmel has not been seen since nor has she contacted her family or friends which is quite out of character for her.
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Police Investigate Vanishing Mums
Daily Telegraph 11-5-2005 - Brad Clifton

MOTHER-of-three Lisa Franks left home to go for her daily walk a little over two weeks ago.
She has not returned.
Since April 9, the 36-year-old's children Nicholas, 15, Patricia, 11, and Christian, 9, have been distraught, while police and her husband Ken remain baffled.
Mrs Franks is the latest in a string of mothers who have disappeared without trace in recent years, leaving behind shattered families.
In some cases, police believe they have met with foul play.
But in others there is evidence to suggest the women merely abandoned their families to start anew.
In Mrs Franks' case, she was last seen about 4.45pm on April 9 walking along Bungaree Rd, Toongabbie, in western Sydney, towards Pendle Hill railway station.
She had been seen earlier that day carrying two plastic bags full of clothing -- a possible indication that she had planned to leave home.
"There's been a number of sightings, which we're trying to prove or disprove," Parramatta crime manager Detetective Inspector Ian McNab said.
"We can't confirm it was her in any of these sightings.
"We've run by a number of scenarios that she may have met with foul play, she may have caused herself harm, she may have gone off somewhere, we just don't know."
Mrs Franks' bank accounts have remained untouched, but her family is hoping that some type of stress could have caused her to temporarily seek a break from home life.
A similar situation exists for Matthew Girkin, whose wife Cassandra, 30, has not been seen since leaving a Central Coast shopping centre on February 14. v Mr Girkin said she told him she was going to the toilet, but security camera footage shows she left the complex.
The couple's three daughters, Teegan, 9, Chloe, 7, and Georgia, 5, are constantly asking their father, "When will mummy come back?"
"It's just not fair, it really isn't," Mr Girkin said yesterday.
"What do you tell the kids? Just to take each day at a time, that's all I can do. I just try to keep myself busy, because if you just sit there thinking about it you end up going mad."
While there is evidence to suggest Mrs Franks, Mrs Girkin and another Central Coast woman Kylie McKay - who disappeared in 2002 - may have willingly left their families, police have reason to believe some other missing mums have met a more sinister fate.
Detectives are currently compiling evidence for a coronial inquest into the death of Gladesville mother-of-two Carmel Giannasca, 32, who disappeared in 2002 after an argument.
Police feel she has met with foul play and are hoping the upcoming inquest will lead to an arrest.
Grave fears are also held for Dubbo mother-of-four Lateesha Nolan, who has been missing since January 4.
Ms Nolan, 24, has not been seen since dropping off her two youngest children at their grandmother's house.
Her abandoned car was found next day near the Macquarie River.
Her children, aged 2, 3, 4, and 5, are being cared for by their grandmother.
"We've discussed the fact of foul play and that, on face value, seems very much apparent because of her situation with the children," Dubbo crime manager Acting Inspector Mark Meredith said.
"It would be very uncharacteristic of her to get up and leave her children in that way. She's very, very closely aligned to her family."

Janine Mary VAUGHAN

Personal Details
Sex: Female
Year of Birth: 1970 on 7 December 2001
At Time of Disappearance
Age: 31
Height (cm): 164.0
Build: Thin
Hair Colour: Blonde
Eye Colour: Green
Complexion: Fair
Racial Appearance: Caucasian

Circumstances Janine was last seen in Bathurst.
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PIC inquiry to hear evidence about missing woman. 5
ABC Australia Orange Monday, 5 June 2006. 10:39
PIC inquiry to hear evidence about missing woman
Witnesses will appear before a Police Integrity Commission (PIC) hearing that begins in Orange today into the investigation surrounding the disappearance of a Bathurst woman.

Janine Mary Vaughan disappeared four-and-a-half years ago, on December 7 2001, after leaving a Bathurst nightclub.

The police investigation into her disappearance has since failed to find what happened to Ms Vaughan, 31, after she was last seen getting into a red car outside the nightclub.

The PIC became involved after claims one of the investigating police officers was involved in her disappearance.

It has set aside five days at the Orange courthouse to hear from people who may have information to help the investigation.

It is only the second time a PIC hearing has been held outside Sydney.
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Romance was on missing woman's mind
SMH Stephen Gibbs June 6, 2006

COUNTRY copper smiles - perhaps even winks - at a young woman through her shop window. The woman tells her mum later he is drop-dead gorgeous.

When Janine Vaughan vanished from a Bathurst street early one morning 4½ years ago, Detective Sergeant Brad Hosemans and his colleagues simply got on with their job.

This series of events - with a few complications - has stalled the investigation into Ms Vaughan's disappearance and dragged some of the state's most respected detectives to Orange this week for a costly Police Integrity Commission inquest.

When Ms Vaughan disappeared in 2001, Mr Hosemans was simultaneously a well-known detective and the deputy mayor of Bathurst.

He managed the investigation into her possible abduction while facing unrelated charges of aggravated indecent assault over an incident at the local golf club, which he subsequently beat. He left the police force in 2003.

The commission says its inquiry will investigate the circumstances surrounding Janine Mary Vaughan's disappearance and the conduct of police involved.

Counsel assisting the commission, Mark Buscombe, said yesterday it was important to stress at the hearing's outset that this was not a coronial inquest, or a substitute for one, and by the end of the day, at least that was clear.

Mr Buscombe said the hearing would be about "aspects of the policing investigation". Since the commission announced its investigation, "considerable new information" had been forthcoming, which will presumably be revealed this week.

Mr Hosemans, who now runs a fish-and-chip shop, gave evidence, followed by seven policemen, including senior detectives from the sex crimes and homicide squads.

Ms Vaughan had just left the Metro Tavern when she was last seen getting into a red car in Keppel Street, Bathurst, about 4am on Friday, December 7, 2001. When interviewed a year later, Mr Hosemans told investigators he spent that week with his mother in the Hunter Valley, returning on December 7.

Yesterday Mr Hosemans conceded he might have been back in Bathurst a day earlier, having last week found a receipt for petrol bought at Wyong on December 6.

Strike Force Toko, under the command of Detective Inspector Paul Jacob, had investigated the disappearance, and half a dozen assaults on women in the area. All remain unsolved.

In January 2002, Ms Vaughan's mother, Jennifer Vaughan, told the strike force she did not recall her daughter talking about any men except "a guy she had seen in Bathurst and who she described as drop-dead gorgeous".

Her daughter had found out this man was Brad Hosemans.

Mr Hosemans had smiled at Ms Vaughan from outside her shop, and winked, her best friend said.

No police who gave evidence were surprised by those statements and none had known a missing persons case managed by a detective facing charges of indecent assault in the past.

The hearing continues.

Patricia Anne Riggs

Personal DetailsStatus: Declared Dead Murdered
Last seen: Sunday, 30 September 2001
Year of birth: 1967
Height: 165cm
Build: Medium
Eyes: Green
Hair: Light Brown
Complexion: Fair
Gender: Female
Distinguishing Feature:
Circumstances: Patricia was last seen in Margate, QLD at her home address on 30 September 2001. There has been no contact with family or friends since that time.
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Court declares Patricia Anne Riggs of Margate dead Mark Oberhardt From: The Courier-Mail December 29, 2010 10:34AM

A BRISBANE swimming instructor missing for nearly a decade in mysterious circumstances has been declared dead in a Supreme Court ruling.
Patricia Anne Riggs, of Margate in the Redcliffe area, has not been seen since September 30, 2001.

Mrs Riggs, then aged 34, was to begin a new job as a swim instructor on October 1, 2001 but never turned up for work nor contacted her would-be employers.

Three days after Mrs Riggs was last seen her husband Ian reported her missing.

He told police the mother of four children had left after an argument and not returned.

Police have made widespread investigations into her disappearance without a result.

After making it clear they believed Mrs Riggs could have been murdered, police offered a $250,000 reward for information leading to the discovery of her fate but it has never been claimed.

Mrs Riggs daughter, Matilda Riggs, went to the Supreme Court seeking three declarations - that Mrs Riggs was dead, that she died on September 30, 2001, and she died in Queensland.

In a written judgment Justice Glen Martin said the details he was supplied on Mrs Riggs's disappearance were "startlingly brief".

He noted Mrs Riggs had a share in properties with her husband in the Northern Territory and ACT.

Justice Martin said there was nothing unusual in Mrs Riggs's bank accounts in the lead up to her disappearance and there was nothing to suggest she had left the state.

He made the three findings sought by Matilda Riggs.

The decision means Mrs Riggs's assets can be dealt with and her affairs finalised.

Kellie Ann CARMICHAEL

Missing PersonSex: Female
Year of Birth: 1977
At Time of Disappearance on 26 April 2001.
Age: 24
Height (cm): 180.0
Build: Thin
Hair Colour: Brown
Eye Colour: Complexion:
Racial Appearance: Caucasian
Circumstances Kellie was last seen in Katoomba

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New serial killer fears From: News Limited newspapers November 02, 2009 10:11AM
THERE are fears a missing Victorian woman may be the victim of a serial killer.
A New South Wales coroner wants police to re-open Kellie Ann Carmichael's cold case and check to see if a string of other similar disappearances are connected.

Schoolfriends of ther Geelong woman have pledged their support, offering to write to Victoria's Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione and urge him to set up a special taskforce to investigate the mystery, The Geelong Advertiser reports.

Deputy State Coroner Carl Milovanovich wanted police to set up a taskforce to reinvestigate a string of missing young women after learning the possible murder of Ms Carmichael was treated as a suicide for more than three years.

Ms Carmichael, 24 at the time she vanished, was last seen checking out of a lodge in the Blue Mountains on April 29, 2001.

She was due to fly home to Geelong later that day but was never seen again.

When her parents reported her missing, it was classed as a potential suicide because she had earlier been diagnosed with a mental illness.

Three years later police were given a tip-off she had been murdered but her body was never found.

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Coroner's cold case plea - let's find our missing women

By Kara Lawrence From: The Daily Telegraph August 10 2009

A CORONER has recommended homicide police set up a task force to reinvestigate a string of missing young women cold cases because he fears they have been murdered.

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Disappearance and death of Kellie Ann Carmichael
The NSW Government today offered a $200,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of the person(s) responsible for the disappearance and death of Kellie Ann Carmichael.

The 24 year old Geelong woman was last seen by staff at a hostel in Katoomba on the 29th April 2001.

Minister for Police Michael Daley said that when Kellie left, she told staff she would be back later that today to collect her belongings.

“Tragically, that was the last time she was seen alive,” he said.

“Her parents, John and Margaret, contacted hostel staff on May 5th and after discovering that her belongings were still at reception, they reported her missing to Katoomba Police Station.

“Around May 12th Kellie’s parents travelled to Katoomba where they collected her belongings – which included her ID, wallet, mobile phone, bankcard, Medicare card, camera and toiletries.

“Her parents spent two days searching for their daughter, and were later joined by their son Danny for another unsuccessful week.

“Since then, they’ve wondered what happened to their youngest daughter.”

In 2004, State Crime Command Homicide detectives took over the investigation.

Despite numerous inquiries police have so far been unable to arrest any person they believe is responsible for this crime.

Mr Daley said police believe people in the community may have information about Kellie’s disappearance and this substantial reward may encourage those people to come forward.

“The person responsible for this crime deserves to be behind bars – and police will not give up until they are,” Mr Daley said.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Information can be given anonymously at anytime of day or night.
Deputy State Coroner Carl Milovanovich wants police to take a fresh look at the disappearances after learning the likely murder of a young woman was treated as suicide for more than three years.
Senior homicide squad officers are currently reviewing evidence in the case of Kellie Carmichael - much of which has been suppressed - to determine if the task force gets the go-ahead.
Mr Milovanovich delivered an open finding in the disappearance of the 24-year-old at Westmead Coroner's Court last week.
She was last seen checking out of a lodge in The Blue Mountains on the morning of Sunday, April 29, 2001. She left her bags at the hostel and said she would return in the afternoon before flying home to Victoria.

When her parents reported the matter to police it was dismissed as a potential suicide.

However, in 2004 the homicide squad was called in to investigate and in 2006 officers publicly stated that they feared foul play was involved.
They said she had links to people in the Bathurst area whom she may have visited.
The case prompted Mr Milovanovich to make the unusual recommendation that the Police Minister Tony Kelly and Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione consider setting up a "special task force" to "look at a number of unsolved homicides and missing persons (suspected deaths) of young women in NSW".
In his recommendations he did not specify any names of missing or dead victims, nor the number of cases he wanted investigated or whether there were links.
He also recommended that Ms Carmichael's disappearance be referred to the homicide squad's unsolved homicide team and that consideration be given to offering a $200,000 reward in the case.
Homicide squad commander Detective Superintendent Geoff Beresford said police had yet to make a decision on whether to establish a task force.
A spokesman for Mr Scipione said police would look closely at the recommendations and seek advice from the head of the homicide squad.

Sarah Anne McMahon

Personal Details
Last seen: Wednesday, 8 November 2000
Year of birth:
Height: 173 cm
Build: Slim
Eyes: Green
Hair: Auburn
Complexion:
Gender: Female
Distinguishing Feature:
Circumstances
Sarah McMahon has not attended work since Wednesday 8 November 2000. Sarah was last seen driving her vehicle, a 1986 White Ford Meteor Sedan, registered number 7FO-731 in an easterly direction on Great Eastern Highway, Greenmount. She was last seen wearing dark jeans, black turtle neck sweater and black suede jacket. Concern is held for her safety and welfare.

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Violent attacker is suspect in murders

LUKE ELIOT THE WEST NOV 8 2011

Guy Magowan/The West Australian ©Enlarge photo

A street prostitute who narrowly survived a brutal bashing at the hands of a sexual deviant who is suspected of being involved in two unsolved suspected murders says she is still haunted by the chilling attack and believes her assailant may have killed other women.

In her first media interview since the December 2003 attack, the woman, who did not want her name published, described crawling through a swamp and scaling a 2.4m high concrete wall in a bid to escape.

"I know there are other girls who aren't as lucky as I was," the woman said.

In September 2005, career criminal Donald Victor Morey was convicted after trial of attempted murder.

In handing down a 13-year jail term, Supreme Court Justice Geoffrey Miller accepted the prosecutor's submission that there was no sexual motive to Morey's crime as he was impotent at the time.

"This woman was a random target and . . . it was predatory conduct on your part," Justice Miller said. "It was a premeditated offence, that you planned to take her to a remote area and it was not the case that you voluntarily desisted from what you were doing."

Morey's appeals were dismissed and he remains behind bars.

He is a suspect in the murder of Darylyn Meridith Ugle, a prostitute who was last seen alive while soliciting for sex in March 2003, and to the disappearance of Sarah McMahon, a 20-year-old Parkerville woman who has not been seen leaving her Claremont workplace exactly 11 years ago today. Her vehicle was found at Swan District Hospital. Morey denies involvement in both cases but admits he knew Ms McMahon.

Ms Ugle's body was found in April 2003 near Mundaring Weir - a short distance from Morey's Chidlow home and from the Helena Valley street where he took his December 2003 victim. The two prostitutes knew each other.

"We don't think it is going to happen to us but I didn't put two and two together," the prostitute who escaped said.

"I'm not a dumb girl. I have good instincts and he was good enough to make me go against my instincts."

She said she felt uneasy getting into Morey's car that night in December 2003 but accepted $900 to have sex with him.

"I think he might have panicked because I realised he was going around in circles," she said.

"He calmly pulled his car over to the side of the road and he already had rope wrapped around his hand when he turned his car off."

Morey tried to place the rope over the woman's neck but she put her back against the passenger door and repeatedly kicked him.

"I fell out backwards and hit the kerb with my back," she said.

"He dived out over the top of me and I got him in the face with my feet. I think that dazed him a little bit. I crawled to the back of the car and he followed me.

"He was punching into me for about 15 minutes and I was screaming. I climbed on to the back of his car . . . to try not to let him get me back into the car again."

The woman managed to climb a high wall and stumble through a swampy area.

"I was screaming," she said. Morey eventually got back in his car and drove off.

The woman said the attack changed her life.

"I couldn't walk out in the street at night," she said.

"If I see someone who looks like him I jump a little, even though I know he is in jail."

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Man investigated for links to high profile murder cases

Thu Mar 4, 2004 12:56pm AEDT ABC

Police have confirmed that a man, who has been charged over an attempted murder last December, is being investigated for possible links to two high profile cases.

Detective Senior Sergeant Peter Delamont says the man cannot be named, but is believed to have been the last person to have contact with Sarah McMahon who disappeared in November 2000.

Sergeant Delamont says the man has become a "person of interest" in the murder in March last year of sex worker Darrylyn Ugle because of location similarities between her disappearance and the circumstances surrounding the man's latest charges.

But he says investigations are continuing.

"We're continuing avenues of inquiry in regard to forensic examinations etcetera and obviously asking for anyone who has any information about those two murders to come and talk to us," he said.