Ava Benny-Morrison - The Lost Girls

Contents

Contents

Dozens of people from around the country spoke with me as part of this book, including a knowledgeable few off the record.

To the anonymous sources who went out of their way to help me piece this case together, thank you. I am extremely grateful to my employers and colleagues at The Sunday Telegraph for affording me the time and support to juggle this project. Thank you to my publisher, Jude McGee, and ABC Books for backing me from the outset and guiding me through this unchartered territory, New South Wales Police and the media team at the New South Wales Department of Justice.

Thank you to my dear friends Ashleigh and Hannah for living the deadlines with me, Emma for always picking up the phone to offer reassuring advice, Jack for your patience and sharp eye and my family, Lisa, Peter and Lily, for your love and encouragement.

Finally, Id like to acknowledge the friends and family of Karlie Pearce-Stevenson and Khandalyce. For reasons that will never be clear, you have been forced to suffer unimaginable grief and loss. Yet you kindly opened your homes and shared your precious and, at times, painful, memories with me. I am grateful for your trust and in awe of your strength.

A ceiling fan whirred above Scott Povey as he looked out across one of Darwins picturesque bays. It was the peak of summer and most people had cleared out of the city in search of cooler weather for the holidays.

Scott didnt mind the empty streets hed only recently started venturing outside a close network of friends and family again after a very dark time in his life.

The anxiety that had consumed him post October 2015 had sent him into a self-imposed period of isolation for almost a year. He didnt work and avoided going out in public in case a random encounter with an old friend on the street led to a conversation about his dead daughter and granddaughter.

Hed only recently come good, he explained, after deciding he needed to try and resume a normal life again.

Two weeks earlier had marked the tenth anniversary of Karlies and Khandalyces murders. Three weeks prior, the man responsible for the killings was jailed for life. As the harshest sentence available under Australian law, it was the result Scott had hoped for.

But with the court case that hung over his family for three years now over, Scott reflected on what it all meant. There was a softness in the way he carefully chose his words. Despite the subject matter, there was never a hint of anger or malice in his voice.

As he pondered whether it would be more satisfying to see Holdom dead or alive, it was clear he had thought about the question deeply. For instant gratification yes but... to see him suffer and suffer, I cant change that, he said.

If someone pulled the trigger or the trap door Id be the first one there. But it wouldnt be enough because it puts him out of his misery. In many ways Id rather see him stay alive, I really would.

Like Scott, Tanya has been through torturous periods of blaming herself. She wondered whether she did enough to help Karlie and Khandalyce and whether she missed any blatant warning signs.

The phone call with Karlie the week before her death haunts her especially. If Tanya had intervened would it have put Karlie and Khandalyce on a different path? At the very least, it might have meant their bodies werent left discarded in desolate locations for two and seven years.

Colleen didnt live long enough to find out what happened to her daughter and granddaughter and Tanyas glad for it. If Colleen had known what Karlie and Khandalyce had gone through, it wouldve killed her.

I dont think she would have been able to deal with that, she reflected after the sentencing. What mother would?

Tanya remains close to Scott and Luke, not only because she sees them as family but because she made a promise to her best friend before she died.

The words, uttered by Colleen from her bed in the palliative care unit, will forever be etched in her memory.

She said, can you look after Luke and can you find Karlie? Tanya remembered through tears. Dabbing a tissue under her eyes she chuckled awkwardly: I told myself I wouldnt cry.

It was clear the burden of Colleens final request weighed heavily on Tanya and, at times, she felt like shed failed her. But the self-blame was misplaced. Tanyas loyalty and love for her dear friend meant she never stopped looking for Karlie.

She helped the family bring Karlie and Khandalyce home, where they were buried beside Colleen and with Connies ashes in the Alice Springs Garden Cemetery. The headstone reads: In our hearts and each others arms forever.

Content for this book was collected from a range of sources, including historical court files, court hearings, welfare records, medical reports and through interviews with friends, relatives, investigators and experts.

Given the passage of time, peoples memories of certain events or conversations varied. Sometimes these versions of events were supported by other material, such as old emails or official records.

Where information was based on one persons memory, I have made that clear.

Due to the nature of this case, some accounts provided were self-serving and had to be treated very carefully.

I have strived to accurately reflect the events of the past ten years by taking into account many different versions, recollections and opinions.

AVA BENNY-MORRISON has been a journalist since 2009 and is currently The Sunday Telegraphs crime reporter. She has previously worked at The Sydney Morning Herald and Australian Associated Press. Ava has won awards for reporting on crime and domestic violence. She grew up in Queensland and currently lives in Sydney. The Lost Girls is her first book.

Chapter 4

R v Milat & Klein (2012) NSWSC 634, NSW Caselaw, viewed 1 November 2018, www.caselaw.nsw.gov.au/decisi on/54a637ad3004de94513d9a99

Chapter 6

Australian Bureau of Statistics 2016, Census Quickstats Wynarka, viewed December 8 2018, quickstats.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2016/quickstat/SSC41647

Place names of South Australia W, The Manning Index of South Australian History, viewed 18 November 2018, www.slsa.sa.gov.au/manning/pn/w/w10.htm#wynarka

Chapter 7

National Pathology Accreditation Advisory Council, 2018, Requirements for The Retention of Laboratory Records and Diagnostic Material, ed. 7, accessed 10 December 2018, www.health.gov.au

Bowman, D & Studdert D, 2011, Newborn screening cards: a legal quagmire, The Medical Journal of Australia, vol. 194, no. 6, www.mja.com.au/journal/2011/194/6/newborn-screening-cards-legal-quagmire

Chapter 9

Australian Bureau of Statistics 2016, Census Quickstats Alice Springs, accessed 8 December 2018, quickstats.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2016/quickstat/LGA70200

Chapter 23

Williams, B, February 2015, Homicide, Police Journal, pages 1021, viewed 14 February 2018, issuu.com/policeassociationsa/docs/policejournal_february2015_5

Chapter 34

Spigleman, CJ, 2009, Swearing in ceremony of The Honourable Robert Allan Hulme, accessed 8 December 2018, classic. austlii.edu.au/au/journals/NSWJSchol/2009/5

Chapter 35

NSW Office of Environment and Heritage, 2010, Sydney Supreme Courthouse (Old Supreme Court), accessed 10 December 2018, www.environment.nsw.gov.au/heritageapp/ViewHeritageItemDetails.aspx?ID=3080013