Twenty years ago today the bludgeoned body of 73-year-old grandmother Janie Perrin was found lying dead in her Bourke home.
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The murder has never been solved but police still keep a full-time investigator on the “heinous crime” which saw Mrs Perrin sexually assaulted before she was killed.
Police said she was slain the night before she was found, some time after 9pm when she was last seen walking into her unit.
A worried neighbour contacted police concerning the welfare of Mrs Perrin the following day.
Officers who looked inside a window saw her lying dead inside her small flat.
A number of personal items belonging to Mrs Perrin were also stolen at the time of her death.
Two decades and hundreds of interviews later police have not charged anyone over the murder.
Earlier this year they increased a reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the murder to $100,000.
“We’ve currently got a number of lines of inquiry stemming back to forensic evidence which we can’t reveal at this time,” acting crime manager for Darling River Local Area Command Inspector Mark Gorton said.
Inspector Gorton described the forensic evidence as a “recent hit” and the “overwhelming” message police wanted to get out was that they were “still actively seeking any information from the community, particularly in Bourke,” concerning Mrs Perrin’s murder.
The murder was subject to a ‘cold case’ review and the reward had been doubled in hope of securing enough
evidence to lead to a conviction.
“Anyone who is shielding the killer through some form of misguided loyalty is urged to please now do the right thing and tell the police what you know,” a police statement released in February said.
“Mrs Perrin’s family is still living without closure and needs your help to finally allow them to end this horrific chapter in their lives.
“This will only come with seeing the person or persons responsible for the death of their mother being brought to justice.”
Anybody who has any information about the murder can contact Bourke police station on 6870 0899 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 anonymously.