Australia Australia - Jessica Small, 15, Bathurst, NSW, 26 Oct 1997

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TootsieFootsie said:
In local paper today

http://www.westernadvocate.com.au/story/4029387/500000-reasons-to-think-they-just-dont-care

"GRIEVING Bathurst mother Ricki Small is right when she says it’s time the State Government considered increasing the reward on offer for information relating to her daughter’s abduction and presumed murder in 1997.

In fact, it should have happened long ago"
Click to expand...

Thank you Tootsie for the update. I'm just wondering if people/witnesses come forward with the extra reward money involved? If someone knows something, why not speak the the truth and have it over with. Do they think speaking off the record and having the reward will make them a target? I just don't know if the payments are secret. Can they just not have compassion for a mother who has lost her baby girl?
 
TootsieFootsie said:
In local paper today

http://www.westernadvocate.com.au/story/4029387/500000-reasons-to-think-they-just-dont-care

"GRIEVING Bathurst mother Ricki Small is right when she says it’s time the State Government considered increasing the reward on offer for information relating to her daughter’s abduction and presumed murder in 1997.

In fact, it should have happened long ago"
Click to expand...


Yep, I thought it was a big slap in the face to Ricki Small when the reward turned out to be a fifth of the recommended amount.

They should at best, increase it at least.
 
attachment.php

please delete if not ok, taken from the 60 mins video on Jessica Small,
this looks like a kids or baby quilt.

Went past your roadside memorial the other day Jessica, your not forgotten.
 

Attachments

  • 7.JPG
    7.JPG
    60.9 KB · Views: 62
I am Craig Gregory Robertson's second wife...
He targeted me when I was turning 18... He was 12 yrs older..
We had two daughters.. One of whom had a birthday on the day Jessica disappeared.
Our relationship was dysfunctional, overwhelmed by his alcohol abuse, aggression, illegal acts and deception.
I learned a few years later, that he had had 3 more children with a lady even younger than I.. not sure if they were married..
I believe he is an extremely damaged person, his childhood was full of abuse at the hands of his father and his mother passed when he was 17.
He displayed his ability criminal activity shortly after he secured my confidence.
I'm conflicted as to whether he perpetrated any violence towards Jessica.. He was an abusive husband but an amazing father... However, at that time, I believe he was a loose cannon and may have been triggered by the particular date...
I had left him approx 2 yrs before...
If further info is required please feel free to contact me.
 
Welcome to the thread FGC

.:wagon:

Thank-you for you post and the personal insights you shared.
I'm sorry to hear that your relationship was full of these experiences at such a young age :(
I hope you can further add your voice to the thread.
Looking forward to reading & replying your posts if you wish to join in further.

Cheers!
 
FGC said:
I am Craig Gregory Robertson's second wife...
He targeted me when I was turning 18... He was 12 yrs older..
We had two daughters.. One of whom had a birthday on the day Jessica disappeared.
Our relationship was dysfunctional, overwhelmed by his alcohol abuse, aggression, illegal acts and deception.
I learned a few years later, that he had had 3 more children with a lady even younger than I.. not sure if they were married..
I believe he is an extremely damaged person, his childhood was full of abuse at the hands of his father and his mother passed when he was 17.
He displayed his ability criminal activity shortly after he secured my confidence.
I'm conflicted as to whether he perpetrated any violence towards Jessica.. He was an abusive husband but an amazing father... However, at that time, I believe he was a loose cannon and may have been triggered by the particular date...
I had left him approx 2 yrs before...
If further info is required please feel free to contact me.
Click to expand...

Hi FCG,
Was he ever considered a poi by police? Do you know if he owned a vehicle that matches the suspects at The time? Did he have an orange blanket in the car?
Did he ever say something about her to you or others that seemed strange at the time?
 
Extract from the NSW Coroners Inquest Report for Jessica Beth Small
below


http://www.coroners.justice.nsw.gov.au/Documents/jessica small findings final.pdf

Page 21....

Strike Force Carica II has gathered and examined in the course of its investigation into Jessica's disappearance a large body of evidence concerning a significant number of "persons of interest". However, out of those persons, two men, namely Mr Andrew McBride and Mr Craig Robertson remain persons of interest in relation to Jessica's abduction and presumed murder, and accordingly both were the focus of the final weeks of this inquest.

I do not intend to traverse the evidence in detail in relation to either Mr McBride or Mr Robertson. This was canvassed by Counsel Assisting in submissions on the final day of hearing.
It is clear, in summary that both:
1. Were possibly in the Oberon / Bathurst region around the time of Jessica's disappearance and had worked at the Oberon Timber Mill;
2. Fit the general description given by the various witnesses who described an "older man" at Amuse Me on 25 October 1997;
3. Possibly left the Oberon region just after Jessica's disappearance;
4. Possibly had access to a white Holden Commodore;
5. Had a predilection for younger looking women (in the case of Mr Robertson) or teenage girls (in the case of Mr McBride);
6. Had a history of violence towards women; and
7. Can not provide any clear evidence or alibi as to where they were the night Jessica disappeared.

Page | 22

An inquest such as this has the ability to either inculpate or exculpate persons of interest. However, in this case there is no direct evidence linking either Mr McBride or Mr Robertson to Jessica's disappearance. The converse is also true, there is also no evidence to eliminate them as persons of interest.


 
$1 million reward to catch Bathurst teen Jessica Small’s killer

"TWENTY-ONE years to the day since Bathurst teenager Jessica Small was abducted from Kelso, a $1 million reward will be announced for information leading to her killer’s conviction.

Jessica’s mother, Ricki, who has campaigned for a reward since her daughter went missing, said it was great news “but not before time”.

The $1 million reward is equal to the highest ever offered by the NSW Government, with only four other cases receiving that amount.

They include the unsolved cases of William Tyrrell, Maria Smith, Lynette White and Raphael Joseph"


$1 million reward to catch Bathurst teen Jessica Small’s killer

The Western Advocate went behind a paywall this month but I found if you save the page, you can read the text, minus the pics. I use Firefox mostly.
 
After reading the article I was gobsmacked that it mentions Eglinton as a remote area.

I don't consider Bathurst, remote and Eglinton is less than 6km from Bathurst. Also roads in Eglintion were sealed at that time. Maybe roads beyond it weren't.

A possible sighting of the car in Eglinton was mentioned which I either have forgotten or don't recall hearing about before.
 
Cold case investigators receiving ‘great support’ from community

Cold case investigators receiving ‘great support’ from community

Behind a paywall

"HOMICIDE detectives investigating the murder of missing Bathurst teenager Jessica Small say they “have received great support” from the community as they continue to investigate her case.

A spokesperson for the State Crime Command, which has carriage of the investigation, said the response to the increase in the reward had been good, and investigations under Strike Force Carica II are continuing.
 
Last edited:
TootsieFootsie said:
Cold case investigators receiving ‘great support’ from community

Cold case investigators receiving ‘great support’ from community

Behind a paywall

"HOMICIDE detectives investigating the murder of missing Bathurst teenager Jessica Small say they “have received great support” from the community as they continue to investigate her case.

A spokesperson for the State Crime Command, which has carriage of the investigation, said the response to the increase in the reward had been good, and investigations under Strike Force Carica II are continuing.
Click to expand...
Thanks Tootsie - the article is no longer behind the paywall now - there's some good work and support happening for Jessica and for other cases as well.
Keeping fingers crossed.
 
I'm just curious cause I have only just become aware of this case from watching an old 60mins episode on it.
My first thought when I heard this sent me right back to the Bega Schoolgirl murders.
So I looked it up and it said that the Murders of the Bega schoolgirls (Lauren and Nichole) were committed on the 6th of October 1997. That the car that was used for that murder was found in Canberra on the 25th of October 1997.
That Leslie Camilleri and Lindsay Becket who committed these murders weren't actually arrested until the 27th of October 1997.
Am I the only one that thinks these 2 cases sound really familiar.
Two young girls walking alone in a country setting get asked for a lift as they are walking to go see friends. The girls get into the car and taken to another location.
I know one murder was committed by 2 guys and the second by 1. But it is also said that the men who committed the Bega schoolgirl murders also had criminal records based on sexual crimes they committed alone.
Just a thought I can't seem to get out of my head and curious if anyone else had the sane thoughts.
 
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