Media Releases

It’s now been 7 years since the murder of Adelaide man Tadeusz Ligas, with his killer or killers still not held to account.

At 5.50am on Thursday 30 August 2012 neighbours reported a house fire at East Avenue, Black Forest.

The house was completely destroyed, and the home’s sole occupant – Tadeusz Ligas – was not at home and neither was his vehicle.

At 6.50am on that same morning a vehicle fire was reported at the rear of a block of flats at Jervois Street, Torrensville.

The car – a black 2010 Holden SSV ute – was the same one owned by Mr Ligas.

Sadly, the 55-year old’s gagged and bound body was found in the rear of the ute. He was formally identified using dental records.

The Poland-born man has been described as an unemployed loner with only a small group of friends.

The specialist welder had previously worked in the mining industry in SA and other states.

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

Neil Muir lived alone in a unit at Carrington Street, Adelaide.

The 25-year old is believed to have led a transient lifestyle and moved regularly from place to place.

He was known to frequent a number of Adelaide nightspots including hotels in Hindley Street, the Duke of York Hotel and the Buckingham Arms Hotel.

At about 2.30 p.m. on 28 August 1979, two people were fishing in the Port River, adjacent to Mutton Cove, Osborne when they spotted two garbage bags, one inside the other, between the high and low tide marks.

What appeared to be the heel of a human foot could be seen and police were called.

The garbage bags were found to contain the body of Mr Muir.

Forty years on, his last known movements remain unclear.

During the initial investigation a man was arrested and charged for the murder of Mr Muir, but was acquitted after a Supreme Court trial in 1980.

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

It’s been 38 years since Peter Stogneff was abducted and murdered.

No one could have predicted back in 1981 that a teen boy planning to spend a day off from school would become one of South Australia’s most notorious murder investigations.

The 14-year old had originally arranged to meet his cousin in the city.

But a change of plans saw his cousin not make the trip into Rundle Mall,  so whether Peter actually made the journey into the city remains a mystery.

On Thursday 27 August 1981, he was reported missing by his parents.

It was 10 months later that a remote property, 50km north of Adelaide would confirm the worst about what happened to the missing teenager.

As part of efforts to clear land adjacent to Middle Beach Road, Two Wells, a local farmer was bulldozing bushes and boxthorns. He returned to the bushes on 20 May 1982 and set them alight, with the fires burning for about two days.

On 22 June 1982, the farmer returned to the area and located a human skull that had become exposed amongst the debris. He returned home and contacted the police the following morning, with the skeletal remains identified as being Peter.

Information received during the investigation indicated that Peter may have been seen with a male adult at Tea Tree Plaza on the day of his disappearance.

That male has never been identified.

Police believe this murder is associated with other high profile killings commonly referred to in the media as the “Family Murders”.

A reward of up to $1,000,000 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

At about 1.30am on Tuesday 26 August 2008, Benjamin Young returned home to his property at Luhrs Road, Payneham South.

The 26-year old parked in the driveway and was shot walking to the front door.

He staggered across Luhrs Rd from his driveway before collapsing and dying in front of a block of units in the quiet, suburban street.

Mr Young had been a full member of the Finks MC but left the Club in March 2008.

Mr Young was known to be involved in a number of business enterprises including brothels, racehorses, property development and industrial premises.

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

It’s one of South Australia’s most notorious crimes, and 46 years later the disappearance of 11-year old Joanne Ratcliffe and 4-year old Kirste Gordon still remains a mystery.

So, what happened to the pair on that fateful day on 25 August 1973, when they had attended a football match at the Adelaide Oval?

What is known is that there was a substantial crowd in attendance on that day when the girls left the Edwin Smith stand to go to the toilet.

A short time later when they had not returned Mr Ratcliffe went looking for them.

Witnesses reported the girls may have been seen later with an unknown man near Port Rd, Thebarton.

The investigation identified that the girls may have been forcibly removed from the Oval by a man thought to be aged in his 40s.

Since that day more than 2000 lines of inquiry have been followed by investigators.

A sketch of a man (below) was produced and is the one that has featured regularly since the disappearance.

Detectives have previously searched Yatina sites – including two wells in the mid-north region on several occasions for clues.

The searches were the result of a call to Crime Stoppers and the culmination of information gathered over time.

A reward of up to $1,000,000 remains on offer to anyone who either provides information leading to the recovery of their 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

It has now been 20 years since Franco Murat was attacked while asleep in his home.

It was about 10pm on August 16, 1999, when three people entered his home on Prospect Rd, covered his head with fabric, assaulted him, demanded property then set him alight.

The 60-year old retired chef received burns to the upper torso, head and face including airway damage.

When police and ambulance officers arrived on scene he was able to speak about what happened, saying that while he did not see the faces of his attackers, two men and one woman were involved.

Mr Murat’s silver-coloured Magna sedan was stolen from his driveway that night and located, completely burnt out, in a laneway about a kilometre away.

Sadly, he died from his injuries on 3 September 1999.

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

On Tuesday 14 May 2002, Quyen Tu Au, aged 31 years, was reported as a missing person by the Major Fraud Section due to concerns as to his welfare.

Mr Au was an Australian citizen who was born in Vietnam.

It is believed that Au has been murdered, but his body has never been found.

Au was linked with the fraudulent use of a debit card, which was ultimately used to steal $6.326 million from a bank account held by the Bank of East Asia.

Security video recorded by a Port Adelaide bank’s ATM at 12:21pm on August 15, 2000, shows the last known images of Au as he withdrew $6000 using a stolen bank debit card

At about 12.54 p.m. the same date Mr Au contacted a friend using his mobile telephone. This is the last known contact that Mr Au had with any family or friends.

At the time of his disappearance, Mr Au was being sought by police in relation to his suspected involvement in the theft of up to $400,000 in cash from automatic teller machines.

The debit card used was stolen in Brisbane on May 19, 2000, from a Hong Kong student.

Because of a computer processing error, the stolen card was able to be used to make unlimited withdrawals from NAB ATMs.

The first unauthorised transaction was on July 28, 2000, and in total Au was recorded on security cameras 41 times conducting 465 transactions. The last of those was on August 15 when he made 12 transactions, the last at 12:35pm.

After August 15, three other people were recorded on ATM security cameras using the card to withdraw money from the account. On October 19, 2000, NAB became aware of the unauthorised transactions and the stolen card was retained by an ATM at the Tea Tree Plaza Shopping Centre.

In November 2000, police searched 16 Adelaide properties and found about $4.07 million in cash under the floorboards of the main bedroom of a property in Kitchener Street at Kilburn.

Four people were arrested and charged with offences relating to the use of the stolen card, but Au was never found.

Police know that until 5th August 2000, Au was residing at Rosewater Lodge in Rosewater, but information supplied anonymously via Crime Stoppers suggests that he had also stayed at the Kitchener Street address where the cash was found.

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