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Cheryl Gene Grimmer, then aged three, was kidnapped outside the change sheds at Fairy Meadow Beach, Wollongong NSW on Monday 12 January 1970, where she was spending the day with her mother and three brothers.
A Coronial Inquest conducted in 2011 found Cheryl had died but her cause and manner of death remained undetermined. Her body has not been located. The Coroner recommended the investigation be referred to police for future investigation.
In 2012, a re-investigation was conducted by Wollongong Police District under Strike Force Wessel. Following a major crime review late last year, the case will be moved to the Homicide Squad’s Unsolved Homicide Unit for potential further re-investigation.
A 65-year-old man, who cannot be named as he was underage at the time, was arrested in March 2017 and charged with Cheryl's murder, whose body has never been found. The charges were subsequently withdrawn as an old police interview he gave when he was 17yo was ruled out as admissable on the basis of unfairness, his state of vulnerability with no adult present and being of below average intelligence.
Part of the interview:
In response to detectives asking him what he knew about Cheryl’s disappearance, the teenager said: “I arrived at Fairy Meadow Beach early on the morning of the 12th January, 1970, I hung around the beach area until I seen (sic) these bunch of children come up from a swim.
“They all went into the changing room and I took that they changed themselves then they came out of the change room. I saw this little girl get a drink from a bubbler outside the change room. Some of the children started to walk away and this little girl hung back. I came around from the back of the shower block and grabbed the little girl …”
Justice Hulme said the teenager made further admissions during a "walk through" interview with police the following month.
"Police then sought evidence to confirm the truthfulness of the accused's confession. In the end they were not satisfied that they had enough in this respect and no charges were laid," he said.
A Coronial Inquest conducted in 2011 found Cheryl had died but her cause and manner of death remained undetermined. Her body has not been located. The Coroner recommended the investigation be referred to police for future investigation.
In 2012, a re-investigation was conducted by Wollongong Police District under Strike Force Wessel. Following a major crime review late last year, the case will be moved to the Homicide Squad’s Unsolved Homicide Unit for potential further re-investigation.
A 65-year-old man, who cannot be named as he was underage at the time, was arrested in March 2017 and charged with Cheryl's murder, whose body has never been found. The charges were subsequently withdrawn as an old police interview he gave when he was 17yo was ruled out as admissable on the basis of unfairness, his state of vulnerability with no adult present and being of below average intelligence.
Part of the interview:
In response to detectives asking him what he knew about Cheryl’s disappearance, the teenager said: “I arrived at Fairy Meadow Beach early on the morning of the 12th January, 1970, I hung around the beach area until I seen (sic) these bunch of children come up from a swim.
“They all went into the changing room and I took that they changed themselves then they came out of the change room. I saw this little girl get a drink from a bubbler outside the change room. Some of the children started to walk away and this little girl hung back. I came around from the back of the shower block and grabbed the little girl …”
Justice Hulme said the teenager made further admissions during a "walk through" interview with police the following month.
"Police then sought evidence to confirm the truthfulness of the accused's confession. In the end they were not satisfied that they had enough in this respect and no charges were laid," he said.
Charges dropped for accused Cheryl Grimmer killer after police interview excluded from trial
Charges have been dropped for the man accused of murdering Cheryl Grimmer almost 50 years ago.
www.smh.com.au