The brother of Annette Deverell believes only money will help unlock the mystery of who killed his beloved big sister almost 40 years ago.
Australian Community Media's true-crime podcast Annette: Cold Case Unlocked has been examining the suspicions and secrets surrounding the September 1980 disappearance and death of 19-year-old Annette from the small coastal town of Mandurah, south of Perth.
The fourth and final episode of the special investigation begins with a surprising phone call we received about the panel van which retired police detective Jeff Beaman said Annette was last seen in on the night she disappeared.
EARLIER EPISODES:
The revelation could change the course of the current police investigation.
In Justice for Annette we also hear from Annette's younger brother Michael "Digger" Deverell, who shares fond memories of the protective sister whose mysterious death changed his life.
Mr Deverell says the only way the case would be solved is if there was a reward for information.
"The reason why there should be a reward is because it's someone who knows all of us," he said.
"Money changes everyone. It'll make them talk. If you don't get a reward, the case will never be solved I don't reckon."
Mr Deverell said Annette's friends and acquaintances, many of whom still live in and around Mandurah, would be open with information if they cared about her.
"They should be talking if they wanted to actually get answers," he said.
Mr Deverell said he had found out information about Annette's case by listening to the podcast.
"I always thought Annette was last seen in a yellow panel van," he said.
The fourth episode of Annette, available now on your favourite podcast app, interviews Western Australian Police Cold Case Homicide Squad officer in charge Tony Rosenberg, who explains how a cold case could be solved and the advanced forensic methods available to today's investigators.
And it includes reaction from WA politicians who say they support the Deverell family's call for a reward to be posted.
The reason why there should be a reward is because it's someone who knows all of us.
- Annette's brother Michael 'Digger' Deverell
Senior Sergeant Rosenberg says police need information from the community of Mandurah, where Annette spent her high school years.
"We're looking at someone who would have been a teenager back then," he said. "We know people's circumstances change over the years and we know people's allegiances can change.
"We just want to give the family some peace of mind to know what happened to Annette."
WA Police Minister Michelle Roberts says she will be speaking to police about the prospect of issuing a reward for information on Annette's case.
Mandurah MP David Templeman calls for justice and says a reward should be discussed with police as a "matter of "urgency".
Earlier episodes of Annette: Cold Case Unlocked explore the night Annette went missing from outside the Mandurah post office on Saturday, September 13, 1980.
She was given a lift into town to buy cigarettes by her mother before meeting with her friends and visiting local bars. Annette never returned home that night.
Her remains were found almost two years later in bush about 30 minutes from where she was last seen.
Annette's mother, Margaret Carver, can't shake the suspicion someone knows something about her daughter's death.
In Justice For Annette Margaret Dodd, another local mother whose daughter Hayley disappeared and was later found to have been murdered, shares her thoughts and suspicions about the Deverell case.
Ms Dodd recounts her drawn-out fight for a reward and inquest into Hayley's fate and why she believes police should review Annette's case.
"If I was a police officer, I'd be intrigued by that case," Mrs Dodd said.
MORE ON ANNETTE: A COLD CASE UNLOCKED
"That case really does need to be opened up and now they have a resolution with the Claremont case, maybe they'll have the resources to actually start investigating it."
The final episode of the podcast also hears from Annette's friends and acquaintances, who share their long-held suspicions about who might have had something to do with Annette's death.
It is hoped that the Annette: Cold Case Unlocked series will spark someone's memory or encourage witnesses to come forward with the information that give the Deverell family the justice and closure they deserve and finally reveal the truth of what happened to Annette.
- Written and presented by journalist Carla Hildebrandt, the fourth and final episode of Annette: Cold Case Unlocked is available by searching "Annette: Cold Case Unlocked" in Apple Podcast, Spotify, PodBean, TuneIn and SoundCloud.
If you have any information that could help police solve this case, contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
You can contact Carla Hildebrandt by emailing annettepodcast@gmail.com.
Photo credit: Margaret Carver, Mandurah Historical Society, Carla Hildebrandt.
Music credit: https://www.freesfx.co.uk/