AUS Haunted by the mystery of Lee Ellen's last hours

Very sad, this one. I posted it because it sheds a bit more light (for me
anyhow) on how the justice system works in Australia. I still don't have a
clear understanding of it though. 12 years to have a coronial inquiry.

jc
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Haunted by the mystery of Lee Ellen's last hours
EAMONN DUFF
November 8, 2009
Twelve years ago Lee Ellen Stace's remains were found in a bush grave. Her
parents hope that a coronial inquiry into the schoolgirl's unsolved murder
will help to lessen their agony. Eamonn Duff reports.

Peter and Robyn Stace will forever be haunted by the possibility their
precious daughter climbed into a killer's car to save the price of a bus
fare.

Lee Ellen Stace vanished on September 2, 1997, after finishing her shift as
a checkout operator at the Bi-Lo supermarket in Yamba.

Instead of using the handful of change her mother had given her for the
journey home, the pretty, blonde 16-year-old hitched a ride home with a
stranger.

"We will always ask ourselves why that happened," said Mr Stace before
tomorrow's long-awaited coronial inquiry.

"She was due to head off on holiday to Dreamworld, on the Gold Coast, with a
friend's family the following week. The only conclusion we can reach is that
she decided to save the bus fare for the trip."

Dozens of locals joined the NSW Police dog squad and SES crews from seven
districts in a desperate search for the missing teen. Days turned into weeks
but her distraught family never gave up hope. But 47 days after she
disappeared, Lee Ellen's remains were found by campers, dumped in sand dunes
at Red Cliff, just north of her Brooms Head home.

Despite a $100,000 reward being posted 12 months after the murder, no one
has been arrested. Today, the schoolgirl's death still haunts the Clarence
Valley community - not least her family, who believe a local person holds
the truth.

Mr Stace said: "We know there are no guarantees with an inquest. We're
trying not to get our hopes up but it's hard not to. It's been a long 12
years. We've carried the pain with us every day. People still stop us in the
street and ask how the investigation is going.

"It's such a small community and I've always had a hunch someone locally
holds the key. Perhaps they're trying to protect someone. I'd ask them to
please come forward. If ever there was a time to do the right thing, it's
now. This could be our final chance."

The two-week inquiry will call 50 witnesses to Grafton Courthouse. Among
those giving evidence before Deputy State Coroner Carl Milovanovich will be
Detective Senior Constable Tony King, who has spent eight years
investigating the case.

"The next fortnight will be spent joining together all the pieces of the
jigsaw we do have, in the hope of creating a clearer picture about what
happened," Constable King said.

Paying tribute to Lee Ellen's family, he said: "I've maintained regular
contact with them. I don't think we will ever end their grief but if we can
find the killer, we might at least give them the closure they deserve."

Over the years, police have worked on several theories. One was that a
serial killer might have been responsible for Lee Ellen's death and those of
two other young women on the NSW North Coast. Less than 12 months before her
disappearance, musician Ineka Hinkley, 20, was found dead in bush south of
Coffs Harbour, after she went missing a fortnight before. On April 11, 2003,
Rose Howell, from Bundagen, south of Coffs Harbour, disappeared hours after
delivering invitations to her 19th birthday. She was last seen hitch-hiking
on the Pacific Highway, less than two kilometres from a truck stop where
Hinkley's body was found.

Constable King said: "It's been looked at several times by the Homicide
Squad but they feel there's no connection." He has his own theory on the
identity of Lee Ellen's killer but would not elaborate. The prime suspect
was Anthony Apps, who is in jail for a different murder. Apps, 33, killed an
acquaintance, Christopher Lamb, in 2003, by shooting him in the back of the
head. He will be eligible for release in 2017.

Constable King said: "The police investigation has identified Anthony Apps
as a person of interest. Evidence relating to him will be presented to the
coroner."

On July 21 each year, the Stace family travels to a home-made memorial in
bush near where Lee Ellen's body was found. They celebrate the birthday of
their daughter who would now be 28.

Mr Stace said: "I actually head there quite regularly. I was there only
yesterday. It's a place where I can feel close to her. Obviously, her old
school friends feel the same way because sometimes I turn up and there's a
new keepsake that wasn't there before. It's nice to know she's still in
other people's hearts, too.

"She was just so innocent. She loved the beach and hated school. She was
just your normal 16-year-old teenage girl.

"As a father, I feel guilty that I wasn't there the one time she needed me
most. It's part of life, mate. It's something I have to deal with but it
doesn't get any easier."

eduff@fairfax.com.au

http://www.smh.com.au/national/haunted-by-the-mystery-of-lee-ellens-last-hours-20091107-i2
uc.html

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