In 2009, then-deputy state coroner Jacqueline Milledge found Binge had died near Goondiwindi on or around July 18. While the cause of death could not be determined, Milledge found Binge had been murdered by a “person or persons unknown”.
Milledge’s limited recommendations included that the investigation into Binge’s death be referred for reinvestigation under NSW Police’s Cold Case Justice Project.
“She was a lovely woman,” Barlow said.
“She loved everyone, and everyone loved her. She was happy-go-lucky.”
Barlow has never given up her pursuit for answers. The years since her mother’s death have been littered with “ups and downs”. Anxiety, depression and grief have loomed large while she has struggled to come to terms with the loss of her mother. No one has been charged over her death.
But now, a glimmer of hope.
Detectives from NSW Police’s unsolved homicide unit are renewing their efforts to bring Binge’s killer or killers to justice. A $1 million reward for information on Binge’s murder is now on offer. Police will on Tuesday announce the cash incentive as part of a push to solve the case that will also include the use of a mobile billboard travelling around Moree, Goondiwindi and surrounds.
Daylene Barlow (right) has been searching for answers since her mother’s murder in 2003.
Police previously offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction for Binge’s murder. After extensive inquiries in the years since her death, investigators had not been able to gather sufficient evidence to launch a prosecution, police said at the time.
Detectives believed someone in the Goondiwindi or Boggabilla communities had information about the killing, and urged them to come forward. The reward, they hoped, would help find new leads. No arrests were made.
Since then, Binge’s family has continued its search for the truth. To mark the 20th anniversary of Binge’s death, relatives, many of whom were critical of the police investigation into her death, gathered outside Sydney’s Law Courts Building, covering the windows and footpaths with red hand prints and a plea for answers: “Justice for Theresa B”.
Binge’s family have previously criticised NSW Police’s handling of her mother’s murder.
In its infancy, the investigation was complicated by the involvement of two jurisdictions; Binge was a NSW woman, missing in Queensland, found dead in her home state. Over the years, important details have been confused. At times, police said Binge was believed to have last been seen leaving Goondiwindi’s Victoria Hotel, not O’Shea’s. Appealing for information previously, police said she had left the pub at midnight on July 17 in the company of a man, not at midday on July 18.
Investigators hope a $1 million reward will help bring Theresa Binge’s killer to justice.
Barlow believes the inconsistencies may have stalled progress on finding her mother’s killer, but she has welcomed the renewed campaign.
“She’s got grandchildren here that she’s never met,” Barlow said.
“She’s a great-grandmother. They always ask me what she was like. She was a beautiful woman.”
Rumours of who may have killed Binge have circulated around the communities she spent time in. Several names have been passed on to investigators over the years and Binge’s family have long held their own suspicions about who was responsible for her death.
Several weeks ago, those names were again raised when a friend of Barlow told her she had been travelling through Moree in 2016 and that she had spent the night in the company of several locals. Eventually, the conversation turned to Binge’s murder, and who may have been involved. Barlow’s No.1 suspect, and the names of several other people, were mentioned.
“These names have been there since day dot,” Barlow said.
After a heated exchange between several people in the room at the time, the friend decided to keep the interaction to herself until recently. Gravely ill and desperate to get the information off her chest, she confided in Barlow, who immediately contacted police.
Officers working under the second iteration of Strike Force Flairs, established to investigate Binge’s murder, now hope the increased reward will encourage someone with information to come forward. The local community, they believe, still holds the key to solving the case.
“I’m not going to stop until I find something,” Barlow said.
“I want justice.”
Anyone with information about Binge’s murder is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
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