Unsolved Murder of Penny Hill - $1million reward

[Kurve]

* This case was the focus of a really popular podcast, The Rockstar and the Nanny.

Penny Hill 20 years old, started her first job as a nanny, caring for the three young children of former drummer for Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs Col Baigent and his then-wife Barbara, who had recently taken ownership of the Black Stump Motel.

Three days later on July 8, 1991, Penny was found clinging to life and slumped against a roadside fence after being bashed. She died two weeks later in John Hunter Hospital.

Three decades of investigation

At the time, police made extensive public appeals for information leading to a conviction, but were unable to solve the case.

Two inquests into Ms Hill's death have both returned open findings, but police maintained the hearings had given them a number of leads to follow.

Since the case was reopened in 2010, police have travelled across the nation to obtain evidence.

Following the inquest, investigators took DNA samples in Coolah, Dubbo, Orange, Lithgow and Sydney from men who were in the area at the time of Ms Hill's bashing.

Investigators believe Penny knew the person who assaulted her.

Penny Hill was bashed to death 30 years ago, but her killer has never been caught

Police are seeking information about the death of a 20-year-old nanny who was brutally attacked and dumped on the side of a country road in 1991.

www.abc.net.au

 

[Lady O]

I wonder how you could access the inquests for some more information?

 

[Lady O]

SMH March 26 2013

More than 20 years after a young nanny was bashed and left for dead beside a road in north-western NSW, police have identified a new person of interest in her death and are appealing for information about a vehicle that could help solve the mystery.

Detectives seized a blue Datsun Stanza in Sydney on Monday and are forensically examining the vehicle following the death of Penny Hill, who was beaten unconscious and found slumped against a paddock gate on the side of a road in the tiny town of Coolah on July 8, 1991.

The 20-year-old was taken to hospital in Newcastle but never regained consciousness. She died two weeks later.

Now, nearly 22 years after her death, police have received new information about a car seen at the Black Stump Motor Inn in Coolah where Ms Hill was staying on the night she was assaulted.

Police initially were told that the vehicle seen at the motel was a Commodore, but they now believe it was a dark blue Datsun Stanza, which was also seen driving around Coolah in the early hours of the morning that Ms Hill was assaulted.

Detective Sergeant Jason Darcy, from the Western Region Unsolved Homicide Squad, said the new information had come to light in the past month.

Police had scoured vehicle registration records from the time and had narrowed down their list to ‘‘a handful’’ of vehicles, which would be forensically examined in the coming weeks.

‘‘It’s new information, we believe it has got some weight and we’ve identified a new person of interest,’’ Detective Sergeant Darcy said.

He said the vehicle that was examined in Sydney on Monday had changed ownership many times since the early 1990s.

‘‘That car had been spray painted since 1991, from a dark blue to a light blue, but we’re more interested in the interior of the car because it was in original condition,’’ he said.

‘‘Being so long ago, there’s not too many Datsun Stanzas left in existence, or registered. It’s making it hard to locate, and we’re obviously doing a wide search.’’

Ms Hill had moved from her home in Narrabri to Coolah on Friday, July 5, 1991 after she was offered a job as a nanny to the three boys of Col and Barbara Baigent, the new owners of the Black Stump Motor Inn.

Mr Baigent had been the drummer for the rock group Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs in the 1960s, before he and his wife moved to the country to raise their family.

However, after one day Mrs Baigent decided Ms Hill was too young and not responsible enough to care for her children and planned to let her stay the week before sending her home with a reference.

It was a busy weekend in Coolah on the night Ms Hill was assaulted, with a golf tournament, tennis competition and rugby league game all major events in the town.

Police believe Ms Hill was probably bashed in her room at the motel, although there were no obvious signs of struggle, before her body was dumped 800 metres down the road.

She was discovered early the next morning, fully clothed, bleeding from the head and with a cord from an electric jug clenched in her left hand.

In the weeks after her killing, police suspected the restaurant chef, a loner and firearms enthusiast, might have been the killer. He died in a car crash in November that year and police no longer believe he was the murderer.

The inquest heard that DNA samples were found in a secret compartment last year in the Black Stump Motel. A rifle butt and a used condom were in the compartment which police can date to the time of the death of Miss Hill.

Police have collected DNA from hundreds of men who were in Coolah on the weekend of Ms Hill’s death in a bid to track down anyone connected to her death.

Detective Sergeant Darcy said the new information about the Datsun was separate to the DNA analysis, which was still taking place.

Anyone with information has been urged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000

 

[Lady O]

Open finding in death of Aztec's drummer's nanny

A NSW coroner has referred the death of a young nanny who worked for Billy Thorpe and The Aztecs drummer Colin Baigent back to police for further investigation.

www.abc.net.au

 

[Lady O]

 

[Lady O]

PressReader.com - Digital Newspaper & Magazine Subscriptions

Digital newsstand featuring 7000+ of the world’s most popular newspapers & magazines. Enjoy unlimited reading on up to 5 devices with 7-day free trial.

www.pressreader.com

 

[Lady O]

'I have nothing to do with her death'

Penny May Hill was killed 24 years ago, but police have a new person of interest after reexamining evidence taken from the crime.

au.news.yahoo.com

 

[Lady O]

Unsolved Australia

Australia's most baffling homicides and mysterious missing persons' cases are uniquely explored in this stunning true-crime book in which you the reader are invited to play armchair detective.Featuring 18 infamous cases, Unsolved Australia unearths a host of jaw-dropping new evidence via...

books.google.com.au

 

[Kurve]

Podcasts NI ROCKSTAR AND THE NANNY - Longform

immersive.pacificmags.com.au

This is one I checked in to a while ago, it was actually really awful. The lady that found her by the side of the road never got over it iirc, I might listen again as a refresher.

Given the reward and publicity this seems to be getting, there might be some movement in the investigation.

 

[Kurve]

 

[Lady O]

This is one I checked in to a while ago, it was actually really awful. The lady that found her by the side of the road never got over it iirc, I might listen again as a refresher.

Given the reward and publicity this seems to be getting, there might be some movement in the investigation.

Interested to read they have DNA off her clothes but no match. They reckon as time goes on it will end up being identified.

 

[Lady O]

 

[Lady O]

 

[Lady O]

 

[Lady O]

 

[Lady O]

 

[Lady O]

Finished reading the podcast episodes and it raises a few questions.

Why did Barbara Baigent decide to sack Penny, saying she was "too young and not responsible enough"?
What was Penny doing on Saturday night, did she go out when she was supposed to be minding the children?
If so, where did she go and who did she spend time with?
Who was Penny talking to (and playing darts with) on Sunday night at the pub?

Penny was strangled with the jug cord from her motel room, so presumably this happened in the room.
The toilet seat was up, indicating that a male had been in the room.
There was only a small amount of blood (not enough for the head injuries), so I think she was strangled, taken from the motel (carried unconscious) and she started to wake up and then was head bashed elsewhere (in the car she was taken in?).
Then she was deposited on the roadside where she was found, no effort was made to hide her "body".
Did it require two people to carry her?
If you thought you had killed her, (evidenced by strangle followed by head bash), then you found out she was still alive the next morning, wouldn't you be worried about her regaining consciousness and identifying you?

 

[Lady O]

Strangulation most commonly by men against women.
Strangulation in domestic situation most commonly manual.
Strangulation by ligature more common in stranger or acquaintance assault.
Ligature strangulation most commonly by serial killer.
Serial killer most commonly targets vulnerable females (elderly, disabled) or in Penny's case "naive/trusting".

I wonder if the Police have ever considered a serial killer unknown, or only fleetingly known, to the victim?

 

[Lady O]

Anyone else watch Million Dollar Murders on Ch 9 last night?

 

[Kurve]

Anyone else watch Million Dollar Murders on Ch 9 last night?

Missed it and I wanted to check in to this too. Did you watch it?

 

[Lady O]

Missed it and I wanted to check in to this too. Did you watch it?

Yes, there was a couple of things weren't in the podcasts. DNA samples were taken from Baignet and Williams, (plus hundreds of others) but not the cook, Bob Lee. I would have thought that if he was a serious suspect, they would have exhumed his body (he died in a motor vehicle crash months after Penny died) and at least eliminated him. There was no DNA taken from females (so presumably the DNA was male?), and yet there was suspicion of Barbara Baignet at one time.

 

[Kurve]

Yes, there was a couple of things weren't in the podcasts. DNA samples were taken from Baignet and Williams, (plus hundreds of others) but not the cook, Bob Lee. I would have thought that if he was a serious suspect, they would have exhumed his body (he died in a motor vehicle crash months after Penny died) and at least eliminated him. There was no DNA taken from females (so presumably the DNA was male?), and yet there was suspicion of Barbara Baignet at one time.

Bob Lee the cook was eliminated I read somewhere? Didn't say how they did it though.

 

[Lady O]

Bob Lee the cook was eliminated I read somewhere? Didn't say how they did it though.

I can't find anything about it. The Cop last night on the program said that he hadn't agreed to DNA and they reached out to family, but apparently they weren't interested.

Something else I remember from last night.

When she was found on the roadside by the school teacher she wasn't propped against the fence, but lying on her side. I think that the teacher might have sat her up when she realised she as alive. Also, the teacher did not notice the jug cord around her neck, but did see the end of the cord in her hand (presumably it had parted company with the cord). The ambo removed the cord. No one has said if the jug cord came from her room. If it did, it suggests that it wasn't planned. But if it came from elsewhere, then it would suggest pre-planning. I think that's important. The other thing that wasn't mentioned was the amount of blood from the head wound, only that she was bleeding from the nose/ears/eyes. Would that be from a blow or from the strangulation?

 

[jason_recliner]

I can't find anything about it. The Cop last night on the program said that he hadn't agreed to DNA and they reached out to family, but apparently they weren't interested.

Something else I remember from last night.

When she was found on the roadside by the school teacher she wasn't propped against the fence, but lying on her side. I think that the teacher might have sat her up when she realised she as alive. Also, the teacher did not notice the jug cord around her neck, but did see the end of the cord in her hand (presumably it had parted company with the cord). The ambo removed the cord. No one has said if the jug cord came from her room. If it did, it suggests that it wasn't planned. But if it came from elsewhere, then it would suggest pre-planning. I think that's important. The other thing that wasn't mentioned was the amount of blood from the head wound, only that she was bleeding from the nose/ears/eyes. Would that be from a blow or from the strangulation?

Nose/eyes/ears suggests it's from strangulation

 

[Kurve]

I can't find anything about it. The Cop last night on the program said that he hadn't agreed to DNA and they reached out to family, but apparently they weren't interested.

Something else I remember from last night.

When she was found on the roadside by the school teacher she wasn't propped against the fence, but lying on her side. I think that the teacher might have sat her up when she realised she as alive. Also, the teacher did not notice the jug cord around her neck, but did see the end of the cord in her hand (presumably it had parted company with the cord). The ambo removed the cord. No one has said if the jug cord came from her room. If it did, it suggests that it wasn't planned. But if it came from elsewhere, then it would suggest pre-planning. I think that's important. The other thing that wasn't mentioned was the amount of blood from the head wound, only that she was bleeding from the nose/ears/eyes. Would that be from a blow or from the strangulation?

There would be a lot of jug cords in motels back then and after catching up on the Ch 9 segment, I'd be pretty confident she was attacked in one of the rooms there and for some reason, whether they were involved in what happened to her or not, she was removed and taken off the motel's grounds. They didn't want the cops there, likely because crooked ex cop turned cook was on the run and wanted by the police.

What a coincidence though, that there was a violent incident the same night in one of the other motel rooms between one of the pro golfers and his partner and she had to be separated in to another room.

Nobody rang the police through the first incident or the second assuming she was attacked at the motel and I'm pretty sure she was. I wonder if Penny had tried to call the police and had to be connected via Motel reception, alerting the owners that she might have become a problem that would draw their attention.

She died of severe head injuries, her face was also severely damaged so while bleeding from the ears can happen through strangulation and petichiae can appear in small spots, imo it would be the head injuries that caused it. I think the jug cord was used as a control.