Murder Charge Issued in 2002 Cold Case Following Human Remains Found Hidden in South Australian Residential Property
Police have charged a individual with murder, mere moments following bones were located during a search for the body of a woman who vanished more than 20 decades previously.
Major Development in Longstanding Investigation
The discovery of human remains, thought to be those of Susan Goodwin, buried in the garden of a house in Port Lincoln, a southern state, signaled a significant breakthrough in the long-dormant investigation.
Major crime investigators arrested and charged a 64-year-old local resident with the murder of the victim, who was reported missing in mid-2002.
Legal Proceedings
The suspect was due to appear in the local magistrates court on Thursday.
Search Efforts
Prior to the arrest, authorities stated they had temporarily halted their search after the unearthing of bones at a local property during initial excavations.
A bone specialist from the state forensics department and additional resources from the evidence collection section and major crime division were dispatched to the location to verify if the bones were of human origin and continue excavations.
Investigators had been using advanced ground-penetrating technology to examine a property on a local street, which adjoins another residential area, where the missing woman had lived.
Family’s Two-Decade Search
Earlier this week, a senior detective stated that it was “a tragedy that the victim’s family have spent the last 23 years without closure”.
Case History
The victim was spotted around lunchtime on a July day in 2002, after running errands at local supermarkets in Port Lincoln.
Authorities had earlier suggested she was killed “by someone who was very close to her” and suspect the perpetrator still lives in the town.
Several years ago, police revealed that a public appeal for information had resulted in seven persons of interest being cleared by the investigation.
A reward of as much as two hundred thousand dollars is available for information leading to the conviction of the perpetrator and/or information that helps locate the discovery of her remains.
