For more than two decades, the family of Teresa Binge has
lived with a question that has never gone away: Who killed the 43-year-old
Gomeroi woman and left her body inside a roadside drainage culvert in northern
New South Wales?
Her disappearance began with an ordinary afternoon in
July 2003. She was seen leaving a hotel in Goondiwindi, Queensland, with a
local man. Eleven days later, road workers discovered her severely beaten body
beneath a country road near the Queensland border.
The investigation crossed state boundaries, involved
two police jurisdictions and eventually became one of the region's most
persistent unsolved
murder cases.
But there was another problem that would become
particularly difficult to explain.
For years, the public police appeal reportedly
contained incorrect information about where, when and on what date Teresa had
last been seen. The correct details were not reflected in the notice until
detectives renewed their investigation more than 22 years later.
By then, her family had spent years demanding
answers, an original detective had spoken publicly about the difficulties of
the investigation, and a $100,000 reward had been increased to $1 million.
Despite the renewed attention, no one had been
charged in connection with Teresa's death in the account provided.
Her daughter, Daylene Barlow, continued to ask for
something that should never have been so difficult to obtain: the truth about
what happened to her mother.
The Last Confirmed Sighting at a
Queensland Hotel
Teresa Binge was 43 years old when she disappeared in
July 2003.
A Gomeroi woman from Boggabilla, New South Wales, she
was a mother of three and a grandmother. Her family and friends remembered her
as gentle, friendly and easygoing.
Her daughter Daylene Barlow later described her
mother as someone who was deeply loved and had a happy-go-lucky personality.
On Friday, July 18, 2003, Teresa was reportedly seen
at O'Shea's Royal Hotel in Goondiwindi, Queensland.
She was wearing a black-and-yellow horizontally
striped football jersey, silver track pants and white running shoes.
Witnesses reportedly saw her leave the hotel with a
local man who was carrying alcohol and heading towards his home. The pair were
seen walking together.
That was the last confirmed sighting of Teresa.
There was no indication that she was planning to
disappear or leave her family. She had not told relatives that she intended to
travel, and her sudden absence quickly became concerning.
Goondiwindi and Boggabilla are separated by only a
short drive. Residents regularly crossed the state border for shopping, social
visits and everyday activities.
In such a close-knit region, people often knew one
another through family connections, friendships and community gatherings.
When Teresa failed to appear over the weekend, her
absence did not go unnoticed.
On Monday, July 21, her family reported her missing
to Queensland Police.
Investigators began asking questions and speaking
with people who had been at the hotel. They also interviewed the man who had
reportedly left with her.
According to his account, Teresa had walked out of
his home and continued on her way.
At the time, investigators had no confirmed
explanation for where she had gone.
Then came the discovery that transformed a
missing-person inquiry into a homicide investigation.
Eleven Days Later, Road Workers
Found Her Body
On Tuesday, July 29, 2003, a road crew working along
Mungindi-Goondiwindi Bridge Road made a disturbing discovery.
Inside a drainage culvert beneath the road lay the
body of a woman.
The location was approximately 12 kilometres south of
the Queensland border, in a stretch of relatively isolated countryside
surrounded by farmland.
The remains were later identified as Teresa Binge.
She had suffered a severe beating.
Investigators examining the scene noted the condition
of her clothing, including track pants gathered around one ankle and a shoe
still on her foot.
The evidence suggested that she had been killed
somewhere else before her body was taken to the culvert.
That distinction immediately raised important
questions.
If Teresa had been killed elsewhere, where had the
attack occurred? Had the person responsible known the surrounding roads well
enough to select an isolated dumping location? And how had her body been transported
without attracting attention?
The culvert offered investigators a location where
her remains had been abandoned, but it did not necessarily reveal where the
murder itself had taken place.
The search for answers now involved two states.
Teresa had disappeared in Queensland, but her body
had been discovered in New South Wales.
That geographical detail would become a significant
complication in the investigation.
The State Border That Complicated
the Murder Investigation
The investigation was transferred to New South Wales
Police because Teresa's body had been found within that state's jurisdiction.
The case was handled through the Barwon Local Area
Command, with major-crime resources based in Moree, approximately 115
kilometres south of Boggabilla.
Detective Inspector Greg Lamey took charge of the
investigation, which became known as Strike
Force Flare.
The detectives faced a complicated situation.
The last confirmed sighting had occurred in
Queensland. Potential witnesses lived on both sides of the border. The body was
found in New South Wales, while forensic examinations and specialist resources
required coordination with agencies farther away.
For residents, the border was little more than a line
on a map.
For investigators attempting to assemble a
prosecution-ready case, it created additional administrative and operational
challenges.
Detectives needed to coordinate interviews, collect
statements, review evidence and establish a reliable timeline across
jurisdictions.
The geographical distance also made sustained
investigative work difficult.
Moree was far from the communities where Teresa had
spent her final days. The people who might have known something about her
disappearance were in Boggabilla and Goondiwindi, not necessarily close to the
investigators managing the file.
The case demanded persistent local engagement, but
the resources available to the original investigation were reportedly limited.
A Small Community, Growing Rumours
and a Family Demanding Answers
As investigators worked through the evidence, rumours
began circulating in the surrounding communities.
The man reportedly seen leaving the hotel with Teresa
became a subject of local discussion.
Teresa's daughter later said that certain names had
been mentioned almost from the beginning.
But rumours and suspicion are not the same as
evidence.
Police needed reliable witness accounts, forensic
connections and information that could withstand scrutiny in court.
The man interviewed during the original inquiry was
not charged, and the information provided does not establish that he committed
any offence. No individual should be treated as guilty simply because their
name has circulated in a community.
The distinction was especially important in a small
region where stories could spread quickly.
Detectives also had to build trust with residents who
had longstanding reasons to feel disconnected from government institutions.
Boggabilla and nearby Toomelah had experienced
decades of social disadvantage and inadequate services. Historical reports
documented serious problems affecting housing, employment and essential
infrastructure.
These conditions formed part of a wider relationship
between Aboriginal communities and public authorities.
In a murder investigation, witnesses need to feel
confident that speaking to police will lead to a fair and meaningful response.
That trust cannot be assumed.
For Teresa's family, the situation was devastating.
They were trying to understand how a woman who had been part of their everyday
lives could disappear and be found murdered without anyone being held
accountable.
As the months passed, the investigation produced no
arrest.
The 2006 Rally That Refused to Let
Teresa's Case Disappear
Three years after Teresa's death, more than 100
relatives and supporters gathered in Boggabilla in July 2006.
They wanted the investigation to receive greater
attention and demanded answers from authorities.
Heavy rain disrupted plans for a march, forcing
organisers to change the arrangements. But the gathering went ahead.
Photographs of Teresa appeared on T-shirts and
posters, keeping her face at the centre of the campaign.
Her sister Lilly spoke about the family's
determination to continue seeking justice.
The gathering also highlighted concerns about the way
police had handled the investigation.
Some relatives and community members questioned why
more extensive DNA testing had not been undertaken. Others expressed
frustration over communication with investigators and the lack of visible
progress.
Lilly acknowledged that gossip was widespread, but
she understood that rumours alone would not solve the murder.
The family wanted an official investigation that
could establish what had happened and identify whoever was responsible.
An inquest became one of the next important steps.
The Coroner's Inquest Exposed More
Than an Unsolved Death
An inquest into Teresa's death began in 2007, with
hearings continuing in Moree through 2008.
Deputy State Coroner Jacqueline Milledge examined
evidence from police officers involved in the investigation and considered the
available forensic material.
On February 4, 2009, she delivered her findings at
the Coroner's Court in Glebe, Sydney.
Her conclusion was that Teresa had died as a result
of homicide by a person or persons unknown.
The finding formally recognized that her death was a
murder, but it did not identify the person responsible.
The coroner referred the case to the NSW Police Cold Case Squad
and requested progress reports twice each year. She also noted that the inquest
could be reopened if new evidence emerged.
More importantly, the inquest raised concerns about
the practical difficulties of investigating serious crimes in communities
divided by state borders.
Milledge recommended that the New South Wales
government urgently pursue legislative changes and arrangements with other
states so police could investigate effectively across jurisdictional
boundaries.
The case had demonstrated how a crime involving
witnesses in one state and a body in another could expose gaps in investigative
coordination.
The coroner also recommended improved counselling and
victim-support services for Aboriginal communities, particularly those in
remote areas.
For Teresa's family, the inquest represented an
opportunity to have their concerns heard.
But the central question remained unanswered.
Who had killed Teresa Binge?
A New Reward, but Little Progress
for the Family
In 2009, the New South Wales and Queensland
governments jointly announced a $100,000
reward for information that led to an arrest and conviction.
The case was transferred to the State Crime Command's
Unsolved Homicide Team and continued under the name Strike Force Flare 2.
The move was intended to give the investigation
renewed specialist attention.
However, Teresa's relatives later described feeling
increasingly disconnected from the people responsible for investigating her
death.
The original investigation had involved officers who
knew the region and could speak directly with people in the community.
The later cold-case process was managed from much
farther away.
The family said that communication became
increasingly limited and that they did not receive the regular progress reports
they had expected following the coroner's recommendations.
There was also an unexpected practical problem
involving the public reward notice.
The original instructions directed people with
information to contact the Barwon Local Area Command.
Between 2017 and 2018, NSW Police underwent a major
restructuring, replacing local area commands with police area commands.
Barwon no longer existed under its former name.
According to the account of the case, the link on the
reward page continued to direct members of the public towards a restricted
login screen rather than a usable public reporting page.
For a family already frustrated by years of silence,
this was another source of concern.
Someone with information might have been willing to
come forward, only to encounter outdated instructions.
The problem illustrated how administrative details
can matter in a long-running cold
case investigation.
A reward is only useful if people know how to provide
information and can reach the appropriate investigators.
The Daughter Who Kept Asking What
Happened
As the years passed, Teresa's children and
grandchildren grew older.
Her daughter Daylene Barlow continued to speak
publicly about the loss.
She remembered her mother as a quiet, harmless person
who had not caused trouble for anyone.
The sudden disappearance had been particularly
difficult because Teresa was part of a community where people noticed when
someone stopped appearing at familiar places.
Barlow said her mother had been missed quickly.
Yet the investigation continued without a
prosecution.
For the family, every passing year meant another
birthday, Christmas and family gathering without Teresa.
Her grandchildren grew up knowing that their
grandmother had been murdered, but without having the answers that might
explain why.
The emotional consequences of an unresolved homicide
do not end when an investigation becomes a cold case.
Relatives must continue living with uncertainty,
while the people who may hold important information can move away, forget
details or die.
That is why time is such a serious challenge in
historical murder investigations.
The 2023 Protest That Brought the
Case Back Into Public View
On July 20, 2023, the 20th anniversary of Teresa's
death, Barlow and other relatives travelled to Sydney to protest outside the
Law Courts Building.
The family wanted renewed attention from police and a
clear explanation of what was being done to advance the investigation.
They placed ochre handprints on the building's glass
facade and displayed a banner reading “Justice
for Teresa B.”
Photographs showed relatives and grandchildren
standing together, determined to keep her memory visible.
Barlow said the case had repeatedly been pushed
aside.
Police responded that information recently supplied
by the family would be assessed as part of the ongoing investigation.
But the family continued to express frustration about
the lack of direct communication.
The protest also brought renewed attention to the
broader issue of missing
and murdered Aboriginal women.
Teresa's case was not simply an unresolved homicide.
It was also a story about a family that felt it had struggled for years to
receive the attention and support it deserved.
Gwenda Stanley, a Gomeroi woman and Aboriginal
Embassy representative who attended the protest, criticised the police
response.
The original lead detective, Greg Lamey, also spoke
publicly about the difficulties of the investigation.
He said the case had played a significant role in his
eventual departure from the police force, and he continued to maintain contact
with Teresa's family.
Lamey questioned whether the same level of
investigative attention would have been given to a white woman from a more
affluent Sydney suburb.
His comments reflected concerns about unequal
treatment and the longstanding difficulties experienced by Indigenous families
seeking justice.
A Television Investigation Brought
Teresa's Story to a Wider Audience
In 2018, the case received additional national
attention through NITV's investigative program Cold Justice.
The program devoted two episodes of its second season
to Teresa's disappearance and murder.
Journalist Allan Clarke revisited the region,
examined the last known movements of Teresa and spoke with members of her
family.
The coverage helped introduce her story to viewers
who might never otherwise have heard about the case.
It also brought renewed scrutiny to the investigation
and the difficulties faced by the family.
But public attention did not immediately lead to an
arrest.
The case remained open, and Teresa's relatives
continued waiting for a breakthrough.
For Barlow, television coverage was important because
it gave the family another opportunity to explain why the investigation
mattered.
But exposure was not the same as justice.
A Witness Came Forward With a
Story From 2016
Another development emerged in 2025.
A woman reportedly approached Barlow with information
about a conversation she said she had overheard nearly nine years earlier.
According to the woman's account, she had been
travelling from Moree to Melbourne in 2016 and spent a night at a gathering
with local people while waiting for a train.
During the gathering, a man who had been drinking
heavily allegedly began discussing Teresa's murder and mentioned names.
The woman said the host intervened, telling the man
to stop talking because he was drunk and revealing too much.
She further alleged that the host put their hands
around the man's face to prevent him from continuing.
The woman said she had carried the memory of that
incident for years before deciding to contact Barlow.
The account attracted attention because the woman
reportedly had no established connection to Boggabilla and had only passed
through Moree while travelling.
However, the story remains an allegation that
requires independent verification.
It does not establish that the man at the gathering
had genuine knowledge of the murder, nor does it prove that anyone named in the
conversation was involved.
Police would need to assess the account, establish
the identities of those involved and determine whether other evidence supports
it.
Barlow passed the information to investigators.
She later said it took three days for an officer to
return her call.
For a family that had spent more than two decades
seeking meaningful communication, even that delay added to the frustration.
The $1 Million Reward That Changed
the Scale of the Appeal
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On November 4, 2025, NSW homicide detectives
travelled to Moree to announce a major increase in the reward for information
about Teresa's murder.
The previous $100,000 reward was raised to $1 million.
The announcement represented a tenfold increase and
signalled that police wanted to encourage someone with potentially important
information to come forward.
Detective Superintendent Joe Doueihi, the homicide
squad commander, appeared alongside Barlow outside Moree Police Station.
He described the killing as a solvable crime and
appealed to people in the community to be brave enough to share what they knew.
The renewed investigation included a week of activity
across Moree, Goondiwindi and surrounding communities.
Detectives visited locations, knocked on doors and
distributed flyers in cafes and community centres.
A mobile Crime Stoppers billboard carrying Teresa's
photograph and the reporting telephone number travelled through the border
region.
The public appeal also received attention through
social media.
For the family, the announcement was an important
moment.
Barlow said the family needed answers and had waited
far too long.
She spoke about Teresa not only as a murder victim
but as a mother, sister, auntie and grandmother whose absence continued to
affect several generations.
The increased reward was intended to encourage people
who might previously have remained silent to reconsider coming forward.
But a larger reward does not guarantee an arrest.
The value of the information matters more than the
amount of money attached to it.
The Police Notice That Had the
Wrong Hotel, Date and Time
The November 2025 announcement also brought attention
to a troubling detail in the official public appeal.
For years, the police notice reportedly stated that
Teresa had last been seen leaving the Victoria Hotel in Goondiwindi at
approximately midnight on June 17, 2003.
That information was incorrect.
The correct location was O'Shea's Royal Hotel.
The correct date was July 18, 2003.
And the correct time was around midday, not
midnight.
This was not a minor difference.
The incorrect notice described a different hotel, a
different date and a different time of day.
Anyone relying on the public appeal might have been
trying to remember an event that had not actually happened as described.
Someone who had been at O'Shea's Royal Hotel during
the afternoon of July 18 might not have recognised the relevance of the police
notice.
Likewise, a person who remembered seeing Teresa around
midday could have assumed their information did not match the official
timeline.
The correction therefore mattered for more than
historical accuracy.
It potentially changed the way witnesses understood
the last confirmed sighting and whether they realised that their memories could
be relevant.
The discrepancy also raised an obvious question: how
had incorrect details remained in a public notice for so long?
The available account does not establish precisely
how the original error occurred or why it was not corrected earlier.
But after more than 22 years without a charge, the
discovery added another troubling chapter to the family's experience.
Why Correct Information Matters in
a Cold Case
Cold-case investigations depend heavily on people
remembering events from the past.
A witness may recall a conversation, a vehicle, a
particular location or an unusual encounter without realising that it could be
important.
Police appeals are designed to connect those memories
with the facts investigators are trying to establish.
If the information in an appeal is inaccurate, that
connection can become more difficult.
The Teresa Binge investigation illustrates why accurate police records,
accessible reporting channels and consistent communication are essential.
A person who remembers a woman leaving a hotel at
midday may not respond to a notice describing a midnight sighting at another
venue.
A person who once tried to contact a defunct police
command may not make another attempt.
And relatives who receive little information about
the investigation may lose confidence that their concerns are being heard.
These issues do not establish that a particular
person would have been arrested if the notice had been correct.
They do, however, demonstrate why accurate public
information is especially important when detectives are asking communities to
help solve a decades-old murder.
What Happens Next in Teresa
Binge's Murder Investigation?
The NSW Police Unsolved Homicide Team does not
routinely close its cases simply because many years have passed.
Strike Force Flare 2 remains an active investigation
in the account provided, with detectives able to revisit earlier evidence and
assess new information.
The $1 million reward represents a significant
renewed appeal.
Investigators are particularly interested in
information that could help establish what happened after Teresa left O'Shea's
Royal Hotel on July 18, 2003.
That could include:
·
Anyone
who saw Teresa during the afternoon or evening of July 18.
·
Anyone
who remembers seeing her with another person after leaving the hotel.
·
People
who may have information about a vehicle travelling between Goondiwindi and
Boggabilla.
·
Anyone
who knows something about the circumstances in which her body was transported
and abandoned.
·
People
who may have heard conversations about the murder but were previously unwilling
to speak.
·
Anyone
with information that could independently verify or challenge the accounts
already provided to police.
Investigators need information that can be checked
and compared with the evidence already held in the case.
Even a detail that initially appears unimportant
could help establish a timeline or direct detectives towards another witness.
Teresa's Family Is Still Waiting for
Justice
More than 22 years after Teresa Binge was murdered,
her family continues to live with the consequences.
Her daughter has spent much of her adult life trying
to find out what happened during the final hours of her mother's life.
Her grandchildren have grown up without knowing their
grandmother in the way their parents and older relatives did.
For them, the case is not an old newspaper story or a
historical investigation.
It is a loss that remains part of everyday family
life.
The $1 million reward and renewed police activity
have created another opportunity for information to emerge.
But the family still needs more than an announcement.
They need an investigation that produces answers and,
if the evidence supports it, a prosecution.
Teresa was 43 years old when she disappeared. She was
a mother, grandmother and member of a community that remembered her as a gentle
person.
Her body was found in a drainage culvert beneath a
country road, far from the hotel where she was last seen.
Someone may know what happened between those two
places.
Someone may remember a journey, a conversation or an
event that has never been reported to police.
And someone may have information that could finally
explain why Teresa never returned home.
Anyone with information about
Teresa Binge's murder can contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
The central question has remained unanswered for more
than two decades.
Who killed Teresa Binge—and what happened after she walked out of O'Shea's Royal Hotel on that July afternoon in 2003?
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