Unsolved Missing Jessica Small - Bathurst

[Kurve]

Of interest.
Missing Janine Vaughan - Bathurst

 

[Kurve]

Abducted 1997, never seen again. Presumed murdered.

Jessica 15 years old and her friend Vanessa after a night out in Bathurst were attempting to get to a friends house when they were offered a lift by a man in what was described as a white Commodore or Camira which they accepted. Soon after, the man stopped on the side of the road and began to attack the girls. Vanessa escaped and ran to a house with a light on, Jessica was also running but was captured by the driver.

The incident was witnessed by a local who misunderstood and thought what he'd seen was a domestic argument.

Jessica was never seen again.

Eight months later in the nearby forest, torn clothing and underwear was found with a bottle of bleach and a blood soaked blanket. The police were called and the items collected and inexplicably destroyed.

Disappearance and suspected murder of Jessica Small - NSW Police Public Site

www.police.nsw.gov.au

Inquest findings are quite shocking.

Site Maintenance

 

[Power Ballad]

Wow, such a sad story made even worse by the absolutely appalling Police follow-up, or lack there of.

Just read about Janine Vaughan and now this, doesn't make Bathurst police look great.

 

[Kurve]

Wow, such a sad story made even worse by the absolutely appalling Police follow-up, or lack there of.

Just read about Janine Vaughan and now this, doesn't make Bathurst police look great.

It is really sad, she was only fifteen years old and even with two witnesses can't find the man who took her.

 

[FTY1]

New bid to solve 27-year-old mystery of NSW teen's disappearance

Jessica Small was kidnapped and likely murdered almost 30 years ago. Police have a identified a "potential person of interest" and a $1 million reward is on offer, but they still don't know what happened to the 15-year-old.

www.abc.net.au

Police renew their appeal to find more information on Jessica Small cold case.

 

[craffles]

New bid to solve 27-year-old mystery of NSW teen's disappearance

Jessica Small was kidnapped and likely murdered almost 30 years ago. Police have a identified a "potential person of interest" and a $1 million reward is on offer, but they still don't know what happened to the 15-year-old.

www.abc.net.au

Police renew their appeal to find more information on Jessica Small cold case.

So in 2020 they put a bloke away for SA’ing Jessica when she was 14 and 12 and he would have been 19 and 17.

Am I reading the article right?

 

[FTY1]

So in 2020 they put a bloke away for SA’ing Jessica when she was 14 and 12 and he would have been 19 and 17.

Am I reading the article right?

So there was a Strikeforce Carica 11 looking into her death many years too late and that was one thing they discovered. It didn't come out at the inquest.

https://coroners.nsw.gov.au/documents/findings/2014/jessica%20small%20findings%20final.pdf

The Deputy State Coroner was pretty scathing as to the investigation lack of investigation. Key witnesses were not interviewed at the time. While her friend that was interviewed was believed by the police at the time, the impression was that she disappeared to escape her mother.

A white commodore or similar was seen by several witnesses and headed to near the Oberon area. 2 possible POIs came out of the inquest.


"This matter has unfortunately been complicated by the serious inadequacies of the
initial investigation into Jessica's disappearance. It became abundantly clear upon
receipt of the brief of evidence, that very little was done between the period between
1997 and 2007 by Bathurst police in relation to Jessica's disappearance."

"Strike Force Carica II has gathered and examined in the course of its investigation into
Jessica's disappearance a large body of evidence concerning a significant number of
"persons of interest". However, out of those persons, two men, namely Mr Andrew
McBride and Mr Craig Robertson remain persons of interest in relation to Jessica's
abduction and presumed murder, and accordingly both were the focus of the final
weeks of this inquest"

 

[BomberManU]

I wonder how they found out that the two persons of interest had a 'predilection for younger looking women'/'teenage girls'? Is there any other info about these two POI?

 

[FTY1]

I wonder how they found out that the two persons of interest had a 'predilection for younger looking women'/'teenage girls'? Is there any other info about these two POI?

So the Inquest said that at Amuse Me where Jessica and Vanessa had been earlier in the night there was a man showing interest in Jessica that said he worked at Oberon Timber Mills. There were several sightings of a white holden commodore or similar car around the traps driving suspiciously on the early hours of Sunday morning headed on the Sydney road without headlights on that turned towards Oberon. There were also woman's underwear found by forestry workers near Jenolan Caves in 1998. These were destroyed about 12 months later.


"I do not intend to traverse the evidence in detail in relation to either Mr McBride or Mr
Robertson. This was canvassed by Counsel Assisting in submissions on the final day
of hearing. It is clear, in summary that both:
1. Were possibly in the Oberon / Bathurst region around the time of Jessica's
disappearance and had worked at the Oberon Timber Mill;
2. Fit the general description given by the various witnesses who described an "older
man" at Amuse Me on 25 October 1997;
3. Possibly left the Oberon region just after Jessica's disappearance;
4. Possibly had access to a white Holden Commodore;
5. Had a predilection for younger looking women (in the case of Mr Robertson) or
teenage girls (in the case of Mr McBride);
6. Had a history of violence towards women; and
7. Can not provide any clear evidence or alibi as to where they were the night Jessica
disappeared.

An inquest such as this has the ability to either inculpate or exculpate persons of
interest. However, in this case there is no direct evidence linking either Mr McBride or
Mr Robertson to Jessica's disappearance. The converse is also true, there is also no
evidence to eliminate them as persons of interest.

I note at this point the submission of Mr Butterfield, Counsel for Mr McBride, that bank
records indicate a deposit made by his client at the Frenchs Forest Branch of Westpac
Bank on Friday 24 October 1997 would tend to indicate that he was not in the
Oberon/Bathurst vicinity. I agree that the deposit was made and it was likely made in
person as a special clearance was made on that cheque. However, those bank records
also indicate that Mr McBride made constant trips between Sydney and Oberon on a
regular basis. Accordingly, I cannot be satisfied without direct evidence to the contrary
that he did not make another trip that weekend to Oberon or Bathurst. Accordingly, Mr
McBride remains a person of interest.

 

[FTY1]

So in 2020 they put a bloke away for SA’ing Jessica when she was 14 and 12 and he would have been 19 and 17.

Am I reading the article right?

So the article was wrong. I did wonder about how they discovered this.

Editorial note: This story has been updated to remove details about a court case unrelated to Ms Small’s disappearance.

I went to News archives and found that it was unrelated sexual assaults that were found while investigating Jessica Small's disappearance.