No justice for Bronwyne
Key points in the case
NAME: Bronwyne Richardson
AGE: 17
DATE MISSING: October 12, 1973
BODY FOUND: October 14, 1973
CIRCUMSTANCES: Bronwyne Richardson was abducted from Smollett St in Albury at 7pm on October 12, 1973.
Her body was found in the Murray River, 7km west of Albury,two days later.
She had been bashed, raped and strangled.
Detectives reported Ms Richardson was supposed to attend a function near Albury on the night she was murdered.
Her boyfriend had organised for a friend to pick her up when she finished work at Coles supermarket in Albury, but car trouble had delayed him and Ms Richardson was abducted about 7pm.
One of her shoes was found in Smollett St and two days after Albury search and rescue squad started searching, they found her body snagged on a tree.
Det-Sgt George Harvie, who has since died, said at the time it had been obvious that more than one person had been involved in her disappearance because of what was found at the scene.
Three men were charged in relation to her murder.
One man was charged with murder and other counts but they were withdrawn in October, 1990.
In April,1993 two men were charged with concealing knowledge of the murder but were acquitted on points of law.
Family's anguish at unsolved murder
The Border Mail, October 10th 2003
THE passage of time has failed to ease the sorrow, pain,frustration and anger that have been Stan and Noelle Richardson's constant companions for the past 30 years.
Tomorrow those emotions will be stronger than ever as they try to cope with the 30th anniversary of the murder of their daughter Bronwyne.
"It does not get easier, it's got worse," Mrs Richardson said yesterday.
"There is no action, nothing we are in limbo, there is no feeling like it."
Mr and Mrs Richardson's lives changed forever on the night of October 12, 1973, when police told them Bronwynne had been abducted in Smollett St, Albury.
Her body was recovered from the Murray River just west of Albury two days later.
From that moment on their burning hope has been for justice for their murdered daughter and closure for them and their other children, Robert, Gary, Jannette, Helen and Fiona.
But Bronwyne's killer remains at large.
"Instead of getting easier, it is getting harder because the person who did it has not been brought to justice," Mrs Richardson said.
"We can never put Rest in Peace on Bronwyne's headstone until that happens, and that is our one great wish.
"It would be an absolute miracle if it did we pray for that miracle each day, but itnever happens."
Mrs Richardson said Bronwyne's murder had fractured their family with the only regular contact coming from Jannette and Fiona.
"It has busted the family wide apart over the years,but they have their lives to live," she said.
Mrs Richardson said the past 18 months had been horrendous with Mr Richardson battling cancer.
"When Stan was so sick we did not know what was going to happen it was touch and go several times," she said.
"The past 18 months have been horrendous not as bad as when Bronwyne died, but very close to it."
Mrs Richardson said Mr Richardson was now in remission but was not well enough to visit Bronwyne's grave at the Carlisle cemetery near Rutherglen.
"We are not going to Bronwyne's grave this year, it would be too much for Stan. It will be the first year we have not been down."
Mrs Richardson said that while Mr Richardson was ill she had battled to save their home from the bushfire that raged through Canberra.
She said they had heard nothing from police for months.
Police step up bid to catch showgirl's killer
The Border Mail, May 27th 2010
By John Conroy
THE reward on offer for information about the vicious rape and murder in 1973 of teenage Corowa showgirl Bronwyne Richardson has been quadrupled to $200,000.
And a second coronial inquest looking into the death will beheld in Albury later this year, 35 years after the first inquest discovered the 17-year-old had been bashed, raped and murdered but did not determine who was responsible for the crime.
"Ms Richardson's family have lived with this tragedy for too long without closure," NSW Police Minister Michael Daley said.
"They have a right to know what happened to their daughter and who was responsible.
"Investigators believe specific people have information regarding the murder of Ms Richardson but they are reluctant to come forward.
"I'd encourage anyone with information, no matter how insignificant it may seem, to come forward.
"It might just be the missing piece of the puzzle that leads to criminal charges."
Ms Richardson was last seen getting into a vehicle in Smollett Street, Albury, just after 7pm on Friday, October 23, 1973.
Her body was found two days later at Horseshoe Lagoon, next to the Murray River, about 7km west of Albury.
Det Sgt Steve Morgan, of the Southern Region Unsolved Homcide Squad, said police were keen to correct earlier media reports which might have deterred witnesses from coming forward.
"Following the murder, a witness was reported as saying that a red-coloured vehicle was being sought in connection with this investigation," he said.
"We are anxious to remind the public that while this witness reported such a vehicle, police would appreciate information from other people who may have seen any vehicle of any colour acting suspiciously in the Smollett Street area of Albury around 7pm to 7.30pm on that Friday.
"Detectives are also still seeking information from former patrons who frequented Brady's Hotel in Smollett Street, Albury, in October, 1973 -- not Bromley's Hotel, as earlier reported."
Ms Richardson's parents, Noelle and Stan, who now live in Canberra, said yesterday they were heartened by the news of the reward increase.
They are expected to be at a police press conference in Sydney today.
The Government said the reward was double what was usually offered for unsolved homicides.
In 1975, a coronial inquest found Ms Richardson died of strangulation and drowning.
In June 2008, the case was reopened by the Southern Region Unsolved Homicide Team under Strike Force Kulaman.
Investigators re-interviewed witnesses on the Border.
Noelle Richardson said then the family had strong suspicions as to who murdered their daughter.
Anyone with information relevant to the investigation, andwho has not been in contact with police in recent months, should contact CrimeStoppers on 1800 333 000.
All information will be treated as strictly confidential.
The Border Mail, May 28th 2010
A SISTER of murdered Corowa beauty queen Bronwyne Richardson has told how her sister's death had affected the family for more than three decades.
Janet Swinton was 19 when her 17-year-old sister was raped,strangled and drowned at Albury in October 1973.
"It has affected myself and the way I have brought upmy children as to what they were allowed to do," Mrs Swinton said.
Miss Richardson's family yesterday begged her killers or any witnesses to come forward as police announced a $200,000 reward for information on the murder.
"We really plead to you to come forward and help put some closure to this dreadful murder," her mother, Noelle Richardson, said as the reward was announced in Sydney.
Mrs Richardson said she believed that someone in the Albury community knew what happened to her daughter.
Miss Richardson moved to Albury after being crowned Miss Corowa Showgirl in 1973.
On the night of her murder, a friend of Miss Richardson's boyfriend was to have picked her up after her shift but found no sign of her, Mrs Richardson said.
She had been waiting for a lift home after her shift at Coles in Smollett Street, Albury, at 7pm on October 12, 1973, when she was abducted.
Miss Richardson was forced into a vehicle and driven to Horseshoe Lagoon, next to the Murray River, about 7km west of Albury, where she was raped and murdered.
Thirty-six years later, police are still searching for her killers and say it was likely Miss Richardson knew who they were.
"Not being a large community ... it's a very strong possibility that Bronwyne did know her killers," Detective Chief Insp John Lehmann said.
Miss Richardson's death will be investigated by a second coronial inquest later this year.
New evidence in Richardson murder case
The Border Mail, May 12th 2011
BY KATE COUGHLAN
A FRESH inquest into the murder of Corowa beauty queen Bronwyne Richardson will be held in Albury following the discovery of new evidence.
A spokesman for the NSW Attorney-General's Department, Angus Huntsdale, confirmed a new brief of evidence had been received by the coroner'soffice.
Bronwyne, 17, was abducted from Smollett Street on October 12, 1973.
Two days later, her body was found bound and partly clothed at Horseshoe Lagoon, seven kilometres west of Albury.
She had been bashed, raped and strangled.
The Border Mail broke the news of the inquest to Miss Richardson's parents, Noelle and Stan Richardson, last night.
"We're thrilled to bits to know after all this time there's hope," Mrs Richardson said.
"Miracles do happen."
The passage of time had not healed the family's wounds.
"We thought maybe one day it might but it hasn't, as we've got older and Stan's had cancer and battled through it the pain of her death has always been with us," Mrs Richardson said.
The couple, who live in Canberra, will attend the inquest.
"We'll be there, most definitely," Mrs Richardson said.
"We can hold our breath and hope that this time,maybe."
The first inquest, held in 1975, into Miss Richardson's death found she died of strangulation and drowning but did not identify who did it.
In 1990, based on new information, police charged three men in connection with the crime.
The case subsequently did not proceed and no one has been charged with her murder.
It was reopened in 2008 and since that time police have interviewed a large number of new witnesses and evidence has been re-examined.
Detective Sgt Steve Morgan was stationed in Albury during the 1980s and looked into the murder brief during that time.
Now, more than 30 years later, he leads the Southern Riverina cold case team, which asked for a new inquest into Miss Richardson's murder.
"There has been further investigation and there has been further evidence that we want to put before the coroner," Sgt Morgan said.
"There are a number of theories but it will be nice to test this evidence in a court and hopefully thereby bring about some kind of result for the family.
"Closure is an overused word these days but it would be nice to have, especially with the disappointment they've had in years gone by with people being charged."
The inquest will be held over five days from November 28 to December 2.
Magistrate Carmel Forbes has been allocated to preside over the inquest, according to the NSW Attorney-General's Department.
Inquest findings
Bronwynne Richardson murder
The Border Mail, July 31st, 2014
THE brutal murder of Corowa teenager Bronwynne Richardson was put under scrutiny for the third time with an inquest held late in the year in Albury.
Deputy State Coroner Carmel Forbes returned an open finding into thedeath after four days of evidence and recommended that NSW police from the coldcase unit continue investigating.
But the agonising 38-year wait for answers continues for her family --father and mother Stan and Noel, sisters Jannette, Helene and Fiona and brothers Robert and Garry.
Her parents and sisters attended the inquest which was told a reward for information leading to a conviction over the unsolved murder increased from$50,000 to $200,000 last year.
Ms Richardson, 17, died at or near Horseshoe Lagoon from a combination of strangulation and drowning.
When handing down her finding Ms Forbes expressed profound sympathy to Ms Richardson's parents and family.
The inquest was held after countless hours of investigation by policewith officers compiling more than 1200 pages of evidence and exhibits.
Two men, Geoffrey Charles Brown from Lavington, and Ross Eames from South Australia, were identified as persons of interest.
Mr Brown was Ms Richardson's boyfriend when she went to school at St Paul's College, Walla.
Their relationship ended about 18 months before her death, but he apparently had trouble accepting it was over.
On the evening she disappeared, October 12, 1973, she was waiting nearSt Patrick's Church in Smollett Street, Albury, for a ride to Corowa.
Her body was found two days later.
The inquest was told four men, Mr Brown, Mr Eames, Max Martin and Kevin Newman, were present when Ms Richardson was raped and murdered. It was allegedly carried out by Mr Brown and Mr Martin as the other two watched.
Mr Martin and Mr Newman are now dead.
Two anonymous phone calls were made to police in South Australia after a television program about Ms Richardson's murder was aired in 1989.
Mr Brown was charged with murder after Mr Eames and Mr Newman were given immunity against prosecution by police.
They failed to give evidence at a committal hearing and Mr Brown was discharged.
Later there was failed legal action against Mr Eames and Mr Newman for concealing a serious indictable offence.
The latest inquest came after more people were interviewed and statements taken in 2009, but only time will tell whether anything substantial comes from the further investigations.
Bronwynne Richardson murder charges dropped
The Border Mail, November 3, 2015
By Anthony Bunn
PROSECUTORS have dropped charges against the man accused of killing, kidnapping and raping of Corowa teenager Bronwynne Richardson in 1973.
The withdrawal of the counts against Colin Michael Newey occurred in Albury Local Court on Tuesday morning.
A Department of Public Prosecutions representative told magistrate Tony Murray that the case would not be proceeding and charges of murder, abduction and rape were being discontinued.
No reasons for the decision were given to the court.
A committal hearing had been due to run over five days in Albury Local Court later this year.
Newey was arrested in July last year and extradited from his home in South Australia to NSW.
He was then charged and held in custody, before a successful bail application in November.
Miss Richardson worked as a cashier at Coles in Albury on October 12, 1973, and was later abducted from outside a church in Smollett Street.
A shoe and her handbag were left behind and her battered body was found two days later in a lagoon west of Albury after a large-scale land and water search.