Fury as monster who kidnapped, raped and murdered a 12-year-old schoolgirl by luring her to death with a fake dog in crime that shocked Australia makes a disturbing bid for freedom
- Killer who raped, abducted and murdered a school girl has applied for parole
- Barrie Watts killed 12-year-old Sian Kingi on Sunshine Coast on November 1987
- Local authorities and Sian’s family have expressed outrage at the killer’s plea
The killer who abducted, raped and murdered a 12-year-old girl in a sickening crime that shocked Australia nearly 35 years ago has made a plea for freedom.
Barrie Watts brutally killed young school girl Sian Kingi on the Sunshine Coast on November 27, 1987 with the help of his then-wife and mother-of-six Valmae Beck.
The pair lured 12-year-old Sian to help look for a ‘white poodle with a pink bow’ before Watts abducted her into the backseat of a Holden Kingswood station wagon.
After gagging Sian and driving her to a remote forest, Watts performed a fantasy he shared with Beck by repeatedly sexually assaulting Sian before strangling and stabbing her.
The man who killed 12-year-old school girls Sian Kingi (pictured) on the Sunshine Coast in 1987 is making a bid for freedom
Barrie Watts (pictured) who raped, abducted and murdered Sian Kingi has applied for parole
Beck and Watts were both sentenced to life imprisonment but Beck later died in 2008, taking her secrets of other potential crimes to the grave to the dismay of detectives.
Now Watts, who is serving a life sentence at Wolston Correctional Centre, has applied for parole almost 35 years after his crime.
State Member for Ninderry Dan Purdie expressed outrage at Watt’s plea and said it sent ‘a shockwave through my community, police and Sian’s family.’
‘All – including her parents who I spoke to again this morning – have grave concerns for the persons living in any community in which Barrie Watts may be released into,’ the Courier Mail reported.
Mr Purdie said Watts deserved to serve his entire life sentence in prison.
‘If Watts is given parole, what precedent would this set? How many others child killers would be released while they still represent an unacceptable risk to the community?’ he said.
Watts brutally killed young school girl Sian Kingi in 1987 with the help of his then-wife and mother-of-six Valmae Beck (pictured)
Former Queensland police commissioner Bob Atkinson, who investigated Sian’s murder as a detective, said Watts ‘would be an unacceptable community risk.’
Retired detective Neil Magnussen also joined the chorus of dismay and said Watt’s will ‘never, ever be rehabilitated, ever.’
‘He’s got a thing about young women and girls. He’ll never stop. He’s a danger to the public,’ Mr Magnussen said.
The Morcombe family have thrown their support behind Sian’s family after their 13-year-old son Daniel was murdered and abducted in 2003 by Brett Cowan.
Denise Morcombe tweeted on Thursday calling for the Queensland Parole board to not free Watt’s from prison.
‘You cannot be serious QLD Parole Board even thinking about letting Barrie Watts out – the child killer!’ Mrs Morcombe wrote.
‘The Kingi and Morcombe families say NO NOT EVER.’
Valmae Beck (pictured) was also sentenced to life imprisonment but later died in 2008