Twist in cold case of three murdered children as police offer a $1million reward for information 30 years after the mysterious killings
- Three children vanished from small town Bowraville, NSW and two bodies found
- The killings occurred between late 1990 and early 1991 in the NSW town
- Police offered a $250,000 reward but upgraded it to $1million on Wednesday
- NSW Police believe the three children were murdered and deaths were linked
Colleen Walker-Craig’s body has never been found but her clothes were found lying on the bottom of Nambucca River in 1990
A $1million reward is on offer for information surrounding the mysterious killings of three children from a small town thirty years ago.
NSW Police announced the reward on Wednesday after two 16-year-olds and a four-year-old vanished in Bowraville, in the state’s mid north coast in 1990 and 1991.
Despite one of the bodies never being found, police believed the three children were murdered and the deaths were linked.
Colleen Walker-Craig was just 16 when she was last seen at a party in Bowraville on September 13, 1990.
She was reported missing the next day and her clothes were later found weighed down with rocks in the Nambucca River.
Colleen’s body has never been found but the NSW Coroner said she had died and was likely murdered.
Evelyn Greenup, who was Colleen’s four-year-old cousin went missing after her grandmother put her to bed on October 4, 1990.
The following April, her remains were found in bushland and a post mortem found that she had likely been hit in the skull with a sharp object.
Clinton Speedy-Duroux was 16 when he also vanished after leaving a party on January 31, 1991.
He was later found dead in the same bushland Evelyn was found in February 1991.
The three deaths were linked by the Homicide Squad under Strike Force Ancud and a man was charged over two of the murders but was acquitted.
The investigation is now undergoing a formal review by the Unsolved Homicide Unit and the reward has been upgraded from $250,000 to $1million.
NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller said the award would help the families who were still grieving.
‘The increased reward forms part of our commitment to providing justice – firstly to the victims and their families – but also to the entire Bowraville community,’ Commissioner Fuller said.
Four-year-old Evelyn Greenup’s body was found in bushland in April 1991
‘I’m in awe of their strength and resilience, but I’m conscious that the sins of the past have required such resolve.’
He said he hoped the hefty award would lead police to arrest and convict someone.
‘These murders have never left the hearts and minds of the Bowraville community, and captured the attention of people around the world, but to progress, we need people to come forward,’ Commissioner Fuller said.
‘I believe this reward gives us an opportunity to appeal to those who know what happened to Evelyn, Clinton and Colleen, but may have been reluctant to talk to detectives in the past.
‘This is one of our most challenging investigations – but we don’t back down from a challenge – we will continue to stand alongside the children’s families and the Bowraville community in the pursuit of justice.’
The suspected murders caught the attention of the public after becoming the subject of a true crime podcast ‘Bowraville’.
The suspected murders caught the attention of the public after becoming the subject of a true crime podcast ‘Bowraville’