Australia Australia- Marea Yann, 69, threatened by Nigerian 'witch doctor'', viciously bludgeoned @ home, Victoria, 29/9/03 *Fresh initiative, $1m reward*

[dotr]

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/subscribe/news/1/?sourceCode=HSWEB_WRE170_a_GGL&dest=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.heraldsun.com.au%2Ftruecrimeaustralia%2Fpolice-courts-victoria%2Fvictoria-police-hope-1m-reward-could-be-the-tipping-point-in-helping-solve-the-marea-yann-case%2Fnews-story%2F1970301f57a4573fc9d6d0c58ecb8232&memtype=anonymous&mode=premium&v21=dynamic-low-test-score&V21spcbehaviour=append

May 14 2023

‘Horrific’ cold-case murder of Marea Yann back in the spotlight

The truth has a strange way of worming its way to the surface. It might take months, years, a lifetime, but in my experience, the truth always wins. Injustice gnaws at the marrow, sits uneasy in the soul, we are hard wired for fairness and entitled enough to demand it.

www.skynews.com.au

''The old camcorder vision crackled to life on the screen. Hazy exteriors of a beautiful old homestead on a hillside in country Victoria. The police operator walks through the front door, framed photos of a beautiful woman line the hallway, the kitchen is untouched, the bedrooms unruffled, tidy, thoughtful, a houseproud woman.

It's not until the officer walks into the living room that you see her. Her body is stiff in her favourite TV lounge chair, a small 69 year old grandmother in comfortable clothes ready for a Monday night in front of the telly. It could have been my grandmother, it might have been yours.

The damage to her is horrific. Marea Yann was struck 22 times to the side of the head. 22 times is a crime of passion, the killer was consumed with rage, and blood spatter hit the opposite walls of the loungeroom.''


''Both of them immediately saw through the killers attempt to make it look like a robbery, a scattered purse and a few missing bank cards. The front door was open, unlocked, no forced entry, either there, or at any of the windows. The TV was turned down, as if Marea was ready for a conversation with someone. She knew her killer, had even perhaps invited them in.''

''Back then, by the end of the investigation they had one suspect and one suspect only, Joseph “James” Unumadu. Originally from Nigeria but now a long time resident of Australia, he had married into the family in 1990. Married Marea’s daughter Pauline. But within years, the relationship was troubled, turbulent, and laced with threats. Police alleged James had essentially killed Marea to hurt Pauline. To leave a daughter with unending grief.


The detectives were certain they had their man, but a jury thought otherwise. In 2008 James Unumadu was acquitted of the crime and walked from court a free man.''

''Investigative Reporter Denham Hitchcock presents “Who Murdered Marea?”, premiering at 8pm AEST on Sky News Australia this Wednesday, 17 May.''

Murder victim 'threatened' by witchdoctor

www.theage.com.au

2006
''A mother of three who was murdered in her own home was threatened by an African witchdoctor in the weeks before she was killed, the Coroners Court heard today.

Marea Yann, 69, was bludgeoned to death as she sat in an armchair in her Healesville home on September 29, 2003.

Two months earlier she had reportedly been threatened by a man purporting to be a Nigerian witchdoctor, who told her "something bad was going to happen" to her.''

 

[dotr]

Son-in-law only suspect in murder case

An inquest into the death of a Victorian woman has been told police have only one suspect, her son-in-law James Unumadu.

www.abc.net.au

2006
''An inquest into the death of a Victorian woman has been told police have only one suspect, her son-in-law James Unumadu.

Marea Yann, 69, was beaten to death in her Healesville home in September 2003.

No-one has ever been charged with the murder.

The coroner has heard Mr Unumadu manhandled Mrs Yann and harassed her in the months before she was killed.

His estranged wife, Pauline Yann, has told the court that although her mother once had a struggle with Mr Unumadu and was pushed by him, she never said she feared for her life.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

From 2021

Police review cold case murder

Marea Yann was a loved mother, nonna, sister and respected community member with a big heart, but tragically her life [...]

mountainviews.mailcommunity.com.au

Marea Yann was a loved mother, nonna, sister and respected community member with a big heart, but tragically her life ended in a brutal and horrendous way when she was murdered on September 29, 2003.

The 69-year-old’s body was found by her gardener the following day in her Juliet Crescent home in Healesville. She’d been bludgeoned to death.
Changes to double jeopardy laws now mean a person can be charged twice with the same crime if new and compelling evidence arises.

It’s believed all of the original 20 persons of interest could be reconsidered again, including one man who was charged and acquitted of Marea’s murder, her son-in-law James Unumadu.

Mr Umunda was charged in 2005 and went to trial in January 2008, but he was later acquitted.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Podcast Season 1, Ep. 273 Cold Case: Marea Yann August 2022

Cold Case: Marea Yann | Australian True Crime

Listen to Cold Case: Marea Yann from Australian True Crime. As we know, behind every cold case is a family, and 19 years after her shocking murder, Marea Yann’s family remains divided. Tensions that were developing in the lead up to her death, were cast in stone during the murder trial in 2008...

shows.acast.com

 

[dotr]

2008

Inquest close to murder answer

Homicide Squad Detective Senior Sergeant Ron Iddles spoke with Mrs Yann’s family (from left) Jeff Yann, Carmen Sullivan and Deanne [...]

upperyarra.mailcommunity.com.au

''Mr James Unumadu, the Nigerian-born estranged husband of Mrs Yann’s daughter, Pauline, and the person identified to the court by DSS Iddles as the sole suspect in the case, also appeared briefly on Wednesday but did not give evidence.
The court heard witnesses, including colleagues and friends from the Living and Learning Opportunity Shop in Healesville, which Mrs Yann managed, say she was fearful of Mr Unumadu after the turbulent relationship between him and his wife of 20 years broke down.

Tensions over the distribution of money from the sale of the couple’s Frankston home, Mr Unumadu’s harassment and threats to Pauline Yann and the withdrawal of Marea Yann’s support for Mr Unumadu were said to have led to the growing ill-feeling between the two.
Three witnesses told of phone calls to the opportunity shop in the weeks before the murder, which left Mrs Yann upset and fearful.

“I must tell you Marea was one frightened lady,” one colleague said.
She said: “Marea told James enough was enough and that he no longer had her support. She said he was very angry when she told him that. She was the cement that kept Pauline and James together.”
A Frankston neighbour who had known the family for a number of years said Marea had been a great support to Mr Unumadu. “She saw James as a son; loved him like a son and was very supportive,” he said.
“She regretted giving the Frankston house (previously the Yann family home) to Pauline and James as a couple because she felt James didn’t deserve a part in that,” he said.''

James Unumadu - Google Search

 

[TootsieFootsie]

From the podcast. During the marriage to Marea's daughter, James Unumadu had two children to two other women.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Cold Case: Marea Yann - Part 2 | Australian True Crime

Listen to Cold Case: Marea Yann - Part 2 from Australian True Crime. This is part 2 of our exploration into Marea Yann’s case and our guests are Esther Yann and close family friend of Marea and her family, lawyer Frank Chen. You know when someone says they’ll do anything they can to right a...

shows.acast.com

 

[dotr]

May 16 2023 rbbm.

Son of Marea Yann speaks out following new twist in cold case

The son of Marea Yann, who was murdered inside her home in 2003, speaks out on how he and the family are overwhelmed with the opportunity to find justice for his mother after police have offered a $1 million reward for information on the cold case. “Look, the family is overwhelmed … after 20...

www.skynews.com.au

''The son of Marea Yann, who was murdered inside her home in 2003, speaks out on how he and the family are overwhelmed with the opportunity to find justice for his mother after police have offered a $1 million reward for information on the cold case.
“Look, the family is overwhelmed … after 20 years, it’s like reaching the holy grail,” Mr Yann told Sky News host Chris Kenny.
“It means so much to our family, it’s acknowledgment that justice wasn’t served 20 years ago.
“Look, all we want as a family is peace and unity and healing on this.”

Marea was killed 'in the place she should have felt safest'. Decades later, police are offering a $1m reward

Homicide detectives have revisited the investigation into the death of Healesville woman Marea Yann in 2003. A $1 million reward for information is being offered.

www.abc.net.au

"Marea was a much-loved sister, mother and grandmother and we know her family still feel her loss as keenly as they did almost 20 years ago," she said.

"She was a vulnerable older woman who was brutally murdered in the place she should have felt safest."
"Time and time again it has been proven that even the smallest piece of information can make the biggest difference when it comes to solving a crime."
Anyone who has information can contact CrimeStoppers on 1800 333 000.''

 

[dotr]

True crime special: Who murdered Marea Yann?

This Sky News Australia exclusive true crime documentary examines the shocking 20-year-old murder mystery relating to the brutal death of much-loved mother of three, Marea Yann from Healesville, Victoria. Marea Yann was 69-years-old at the time she was murdered in her own home in September...

www.skynews.com.au

'May 17, 2023 - 8:03PM

This Sky News Australia exclusive true crime documentary examines the shocking 20-year-old murder mystery relating to the brutal death of much-loved mother of three, Marea Yann from Healesville, Victoria.
Marea Yann was 69-years-old at the time she was murdered in her own home in September 2003.
As the years went by the case turned cold despite the fact a senior police member described the crime scene as one of the most “horrendous” he had ever seen.
In ‘Who Murdered Marea?’, investigative journalist Denham Hitchcock explores the crime with close family members and senior detectives, unveiling disturbing revelations that have never seen the light of day.'

.

 

[dotr]

Noting, rbbm.

Cold case hub - $1 million offered 20 years on

www.churchilltrust.com.au

''The Victorian Police Homicide Squad Cold Case Hub was launched in 2021, and is a purpose-built online interactive platform hosted on the organisation’s website, designed to bring public attention to some of the more than 200 unsolved cold case deaths that currently sit within the squad’s files.

“It’s about providing a single source of truth, reaching people who don’t watch the news or pick up a newspaper anymore. Many are now on social media and we need to leverage that medium to assist us in investigating these cases,”

While many cases have been highlighted in the media or subject to public appeals from police over the years, the hub first time a dedicated website has been established by Victoria Police to give the community easily accessible direct information on unsolved murders.

The hub is based on a model Tim saw used by the Toronto Police Service in Canada, during his 2018 Churchill Fellowship. Tim’s Churchill Fellowship involved studying international homicide squad models in Canada, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the USA. The purpose was to gain insights and exchange knowledge, ultimately enhancing the national capability in investigating serious and organized crime.

Each case package promoted on the hub – the first of its kind in Australia – includes background on the investigation, a photograph of the victim and a personal appeal from the investigator to the public for information.''

Cold cases | Victoria Police

Learn about and help Victoria Police solve cold case murders being investigated by our Homicide Squad.

www.police.vic.gov.au

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Who murdered Marea Yann?

After 20 years, police taking over the case believe it can be solved.

www.newidea.com.au