Media Releases

As many people plan to spend this Christmas closer to home because of ongoing travel restrictions and the impact of COVID-19, Crime Stoppers SA has launched a new awareness campaign in a range of languages to encourage all South Australians to share what they know about unsolved crimes and suspicious activity.

The “It’s what you know, not who you are” campaign has been developed in Arabic, Cantonese, Greek, Hindi, Italian, Mandarin, Punjabi and Vietnamese, to encourage people from culturally and linguistically diverse communities to come forward with information about criminals and their illegal activities.

Crime Stoppers SA Chair, Sharon Hanlon, said the Federally-funded initiative followed independent market research which found participants born overseas and who come from a non-English speaking background have lower levels of awareness of Crime Stoppers, despite the program now operating in 28 countries.

“Crime happens across all different cultural backgrounds, so we want to reinforce that Crime Stoppers is here for everyone. Even though some people might have come from countries that are war-torn or have an embedded distrust of police and authority, we are an independent program that acts as a trusted link for anyone wanting to share information about unsolved crime and suspicious activity without having to deal direct with the police,” Ms Hanlon said.

“The latest census data shows that we are a fast changing, ever-expanding, culturally diverse nation. Nearly half of all Australians are either born overseas or have one or both parents who was – and one-fifth of Australians speak a language other than English at home,” she said.

“Of the more than 6.1m Australians who were born overseas, nearly one in five arrived since the beginning of 2012, which shows the community is evolving rapidly, and it is critical that Crime Stoppers adapts and keeps pace.”

Australia’s leading Out of Home advertising company, oOh!media, has committed to promote the initiative at hundreds of prominent retail sites across the country as of late December.

Chief Commercial and Operations Officer at oOh!media, Noel Cook, encouraged other industry leaders to also support the volunteer-led charity and its crime-solving efforts.

“Crime Stoppers does a great job helping reduce crime in Australia, and we will use our extensive advertising network as a public noticeboard to support this campaign. With the scale of our retail-based displays, we have the power to reach a large number of Australians in prime locations,” Mr Cook said.

“We are proud to be supporting Crime Stoppers through our oOh! Community program and have a long history of working with several very worthy causes. This one really struck a chord because most Australians are aware of criminality, or have even been a victim of crime. We need to encourage people to contact Crime Stoppers without them having to worry about saying who they are and will therefore spread this messaging far and wide.”

In South Australia, an average of 25 crimes are solved every week, thanks to about 2000 contacts every month from the community. In 2019, Crime Stoppers SA received 22,598 calls and 4,539 online reports which resulted in 436 apprehensions and 859 charges laid.

The new Crime Stoppers materials include flyers, pull up banners, stickers, social media assets and a series of animated videos in the eight chosen languages.

“As we head into a Christmas period with a difference, we want everyone to remain active participants in community safety, stay alert for suspicious activity, and know they can share any information they have with Crime Stoppers for us to pass on to police,” Ms Hanlon said.

Our message is clear. Regardless of your background, everyone can play a part in making a safer Australia by contacting Crime Stoppers and sharing what they know without having to say who they are by calling our toll-free hotline on 1800 333 000 or going to www.crimestoppers.com.au

Lu Linh Le was last seen alive leaving the Royal Adelaide Hospital on 3 December 1984.

The Croydon man had been receiving treatment for a gunshot injury to a shoulder from a domestic dispute in September. A man was convicted and jailed over that shooting.

On the day of his disappearance, the 25-year old was seen in the company of a young woman. His clothing was left behind at the hospital.

Police say he may have been lured from the hospital on the pretence of going to see his girlfriend.

He was reported missing by his brother on 12 December and his disappearance was officially declared a major crime two years later.

In January 2013 the body of Mr Le was found in a shallow grave near Bakers Road at Long Plains, about 75km north of Adelaide. His body was partially clothed in hospital-issued pyjamas and his hospital identification tag was also located.

Several people of interest have been identified but no one has yet been charged with the murder.

A reward of up to $200,000 is on offer to anyone who provides information leading to a conviction in the case.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or at www.crimestopperssa.com.au

Anna Rosa Liva was an Italian national who was in Australia on a backpacker adventure of a lifetime.

The experienced traveller from Pordenone, in northern Italy, arrived on a bus at Coober Pedy from Alice Springs at 10pm on 27 November 1991.

She booked into accommodation on Olive St, just off Hutchison St – the town’s main thoroughfare.

That night the accommodation was full of backpackers eager to explore the Outback town. It is unknown whether she went out that night but at 8am the next morning – ­ 28 November – Anna ate breakfast at the Last Resort Cafe a few hundred metres from her accommodation and left around 8.45am.

By 9.15am, she had returned to her accommodation and had a cup of coffee and spoke to staff. She told staff that she planned to go “noodling’’ for opals – a term she is suspected to have picked up during a conversation with a local.

There was an unconfirmed sighting of Anna at 9.30am when a local saw a woman matching her description in Edward St, off Hutchison St.

Her last confirmed sighting was at 11.30am at the council chambers, at the corner of St Nicholas and Hutchison streets.

She had been seeking tourist information and had a conversation with a worker about a common interest – the Jehovah’s Witness religion. She had made plans to go to a meeting of Jehovah’s Witness’ at 7pm that night in Coober Pedy.

She also collected information about a Jehovah’s Witness establishment at Ingle Farm and obtained a map of Coober Pedy.

It is suspected that she disappeared shortly after leaving the council chambers and never returned to her accommodation, which was only about 300m down Hutchison St.

Police believe it is most likely that she had a discussion with someone and went willingly with her killer.

Her body is believed to have been disposed of in one of the thousands of disused mineshafts that surround the Far North town. More than a dozen shafts near where Anna was last seen have been searched and nothing located.

A reward of up to $200,000 is on offer to anyone who provides information that leads to a conviction or the recovery of her remains.

Rodney Larcombe was brutally murdered and found on the bedroom floor of his Warradale home in 2013.

The blunt and sharp force injuries to his head suggest that his killer was angry or quite frenzied at the time of the attack.

The 65-year-old lived alone at the Kildonan Road address.

At about 4pm on Thursday 28 November 2013, his sister attended his home to check on his welfare after he was unable to be contacted.

Police believe that no sign of forced entry suggests that the offender was either allowed into the house, or simply entered through an unlocked rear sliding door.

Investigations have determined that Mr Larcombe was most likely killed between 5pm and 8pm on Wednesday 27 November 2013. They do not believe it was a random attack.

Mr Larcombe was active on ‘gay contact’ websites and had an extensive circle of male associates who were substantially younger than him who apparently visited his address for sexual purposes.

Mr Larcombe had been sentenced to 20 months’ jail in November 2010 after pleading guilty to six counts of indecent assault. He was convicted of sexually abusing two male victims between 1 January 1977 and 31 December 1988.

Police have previously released CCTV footage recorded at a house close to the victim’s address in the hope of identifying a number of people seen walking along Kildonan Road on the day of the murder.

Several people have been interviewed, and while two of those are of particular of interest there is insufficient evidence to progress the matter.

A reward of up to $200,000 is on offer to anyone who provides information leading to a conviction in the case.

Today marks another year since Emma Jade Pawelski was last seen alive.

Emma had just celebrated her 30th birthday in October 2005 – which, sadly, was her last personal milestone.

The 30-year old was last seen carrying a cat as she walked along Regency Rd, at Prospect, on November 26, 2005 – two days after she had walked out of the house she shared with her partner in Payneham.

While no one knows where she was heading, her badly beaten and burnt body was found on the side of a remote track 300m from a gate off Chalks Rd in Mt Crawford Forest, near Williamstown, eight days later.

She was still wearing the same clothes and it is believed that she was murdered at another location.

A suspect known to Ms Pawelski has been identified, and investigators have previously received credible information that suggests more than one person was involved.

But public assistance is needed to put the final pieces of the murder together.

Crime Stoppers has been a valuable assistance in the investigation and was used by a person who has twice made contact about the murder.

Calls received on 7 December 2014, and 26 February 26 2015 appear to have been made by the same person who provided information that has since been shown to be accurate.

Investigators are particularly interested in information about the use of a red Ford Telstar sedan around the time of Ms Pawelski’s death and a distinctive leather belt found on her body. They are confident that the red Telstar is associated with Emma’s disappearance and possible movement from Regency Rd up to Mt Crawford.

They know that in the weeks leading up to Emma’s disappearance it was being used by her and her associates.

Police have also received information that suggests more than one person was involved in the murder and disposal of Emma’s body.

A reward of up to $200,000 is on offer to anyone who provides information leading to a conviction in the case.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or at www.crimestopperssa.com.au

The suspected murder of Jason Plews continues to frustrate investigators, because they have key information about what happened to him but lack sufficient evidence to arrest the person they believe responsible.

Despite extensive police inquiries his remains have never been found. Information received during the investigation has suggested that body may have been placed into a mineshaft or hole.

A reward of up to $200,000 is on offer to anyone who either provides information leading to the recovery of his remains or information leading to a conviction in the case.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or at www.crimestopperssa.com.au

Watch an unsolved crime segment on this case here.

Samuel Hayward was found murdered in his Cygnet Terrace unit at Kingston Park on 22 November 1988 by his mother and sister after he failed to turn up for work.

The 46-year old accountant was believed to be single at the time of his death, however, police are interested in a link to the gay community at the time.

The cause of death was a series of blows to his head with a dumbbell, which was located next to his body. He had also been strangled with an electrical cord.

One single unidentified fingerprint belonging to the probable offender was found in Mr Hayward’s bathroom.

Based on the available evidence, investigators believe Mr Hayward knew his killer and had most likely spent the previous few days with him.

Inquiries have revealed that he had lunch with his suspected attacker at McLaren Vale on Saturday, November 19. There was also a sighting of him walking on the beach at Kingston Park the same day and police believe he was murdered either that night or early the next day.

The attacker fled the scene in Mr Hayward’s Suzuki hatch, which travelled through Victoria and up the east coast of New South Wales — using Mr Hayward’s two credit cards to buy petrol and clothes, pay for accommodation and withdraw cash.

The card was first used at Horsham in Victoria on Sunday, November 20. It was used nine times in that state and another six times in NSW. On each occasion the person neatly forged Mr Hayward’s signature.

On Thursday, November 24, the person tried to buy a pair of Ray-Ban sunglasses at Port Kembla using Mr Hayward’s Mastercard but by then it had been flagged as stolen and the transaction was refused.

Mr Hayward’s Suzuki was found parked under a tree at 10pm that day at Wollongong, possibly as a result of the credit card being confiscated and the offender becoming spooked, aware that police were searching for the vehicle.

Detectives have confirmed that the man using the credit cards was the man who was at Mr Hayward’s unit, with fingerprints on the card slips matching the crime scene, along with a matching fingerprint also located on the vehicle.

The last location the second credit card was used was at a Kings Cross motel on Darlinghurst Rd on November 26.

Besides the Suzuki, items stolen from Mr Hayward’s unit included a 36cm colour television, a stereo unit and a scale model of the early warship USS Constitution. They may have been taken either to be sold for cash or to make it seem that the murder was a robbery gone wrong.

The trail of the suspect has since gone cold.

Despite the fingerprints being uploaded onto the national database, there has been no hit against any recorded, and a wider search on the Interpol database has also not assisted to identify the suspect.

A reward of up to $200,000 is on offer to anyone who provides information leading to a conviction in the case.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or at www.crimestopperssa.com.au

Julian Rapadas was last seen at 7pm on 18 November 2008 in the Hendon Hotel carpark before disappearing without a trace.

He is suspected to have been murdered.

It is believed that the 23-year old was heading to the home of a Finks Motorcycle Club member. That suspect later took his own life.

Mr Rapadas was known to associate with people involved in criminal activities and is believed to have been murdered by an associate of the Finks MC in retaliation for his ‘perceived’ role in the murder of Karim Morrison in 2004.

Investigations have revealed that Mr Rapadas had no involvement in the death of Mr Morrison.

A reward of up to $200,000 is on offer to anyone who either provides information leading to the recovery of his remains or information leading to a conviction in the case.

Watch a previous unsolved crime segment on this case here.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or at www.crimestopperssa.com.au

Pellegrino “Rino” Villani was gunned down in the driveway of his Magill home on the evening of 17 November 1990.

He had attended a wedding at the Enfield Hotel with his fiancé earlier that evening.

When the pair left the hotel at about 11.30pm, Mr Villani drove to Portrush Road where his fiancé caught a taxi the rest of the way home.

The 29-year old then drove to his house at Jervois Avenue, Magill, arriving home just before midnight.

When he got out of his car he was shot by an unknown person who is believed to have been waiting for him.

He collapsed on the footpath and died from his injuries.

Despite a prime suspect being identified, charges have never been laid.

A reward of up to $200,000 is on offer to anyone who provides information leading to a conviction in the case.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or at www.crimestopperssa.com.au

Watch the unsolved crime segment here.

Today marks another year since the unsolved murder of Brett Winn. His loved ones still wait for justice.

The 24-year-old was last seen on the night of November 16, 1989.

His fiancé saw him get into a late-model white Ford sedan at their home on The Esplanade at Port Noarlunga about 8pm. It was being driven by an unknown male.

Brett rang her later that night to say he would be home soon but was never seen or heard from again.

Adding to the mystery, the Hallett Cove Foodland supermarket where he worked was robbed — and with a PIN code used to gain entry and keys used to open the safe there is little doubt that the robbery was an inside job.

Almost $60,000 in cash was stolen. With his sudden and unexplained disappearance occurring at the same time, a warrant was issued for Brett’s arrest in connection with the robbery.

With no clues as to Brett’s whereabouts and little to go on with the case, information received in 1997 following a public appeal for help suggested he had been murdered.

The information led police to believe that Brett was part of a three-man gang suspected of several robberies on supermarkets in the southern suburbs shortly before his murder.

In 1999, police identified two suspects – David Christopher Cox and a second man who cannot be identified for legal reasons – and declared the case a major crime.

Both suspects were interviewed and while they conceded they knew Brett, they denied any knowledge of his murder or involvement in the Foodland robbery.

In 2002 a person came forward and said Brett’s body had been initially dumped on the side of the road at Cape Jervis, but had been taken a few days later to Cox’s house at Hackham West.

When investigators excavated under the floorboards of a bedroom on 1 February 2002 they found Brett’s skeletal remains inside a surf bag.

While Cox was charged with murder, he was acquitted by a jury in the Supreme Court in 2004. Cox committed suicide a number of years later.

While the murder of Brett Winn remains unsolved, the third member of the supermarket robbery crew remains a suspect — but more information is needed to resolve the case.

A reward of up to $200,000 is on offer to anyone who provides information leading to a conviction in the case.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or at www.crimestopperssa.com.au