CRIME
Australian Police Offer $1 Million Reward In 1978 Cold Case Murder Of Mother Of 5
Victoria Police
Australian authorities have offered a $1 million reward for information leading to an arrest in the cold case of a mother stabbed to death in 1978.
Victoria Police said in a statement ahead of the 46th anniversary of the murder of Mary Anne Fagan that detectives believe that it is possible there are still people in the community who know what happened to Mary Anne and who was responsible.
Fagan, who was 41 at the time of her death, lived on Dandenong Road in Armadale, and on the morning of Friday, Feb. 17, 1978, she was getting her five children ready for school while her husband was at work. She packed her children, ages 15, 13, 12, 6 and 17 months, into the family’s Holden station wagon and drove them to school at around 8:30 a.m.
She returned home at around 9:15 a.m., and a short time later, a neighbor saw her talking to council workmen who were repairing the road outside the home. A witness who drove past her house saw her in the front year at around 10:30 a.m. At 11 a.m., she had a brief phone conversation with her husband, and that was the last anyone heard from her.
Her children returned home from school at around 4 p.m. and saw the side gate was open, and heard the baby crying inside the house. After calling their father from a nearby phone box, they broke a window to gain entry into the house.
They found their mother bound and gagged, and fatally stabbed in the front bedroom.
Police said that despite significant investigation, detectives have never uncovered a motive for the murder, and personal items taken from the home have never been recovered.
Mary Anne is still much missed by her family, in particular her children who remain hopeful of getting answers about what happened to their mother, police said.
In April 1978, a $20,000 reward was offered, and it was increased to $50,000 in June of that year. Now, police are offering a $1 million reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible.
Investigators are hopeful this reward will encourage someone to come forward with information, police said.
Police are asking anyone with information to come forward or submit an anonymous tip.
TMX contributed to this article.
