New South Wales police have increased the reward for information into the 2003 murder of Gomeroi woman Theresa Binge to $1 million, up from the initial $100,000. The announcement was made on Tuesday by detectives in Moree.
Theresa Binge was last seen around midday on July 18, 2003, leaving the O’Shea’s Royal Hotel in Goondiwindi, Queensland. Her badly beaten body was discovered two weeks later in a drainage culvert beneath the Mungindi-Goondiwindi Bridge Road, formerly known as Boomi Road, 10 kilometres south of the New South Wales border. A coronial inquest later determined she was most likely murdered.
The reward increase follows new information provided last month to Ms Binge's daughter, Daylene Barlow, who has never given up hope of finding those responsible. “We just need answers,” Ms Barlow said at Tuesday's press conference. “It's been 22 years too long. We just want justice for my mum, a grandmother. She was a sister, aunty, grandmother. She was real loved, happy-go-lucky. Why did she deserve this?”
NSW Police Minister Yasmin Catley stated the increase aims to provide closure for Ms Binge's family. “For more than twenty years, Theresa’s loved ones have lived with the pain of not knowing what happened to her,” she said. “This $1 million reward is a reminder that justice never expires and that every piece of information is critical.”
Police will deploy a mobile billboard bearing Ms Binge's face and name traveling between Moree and Goondiwindi, along with flyers posted in the area, to spark renewed interest. Homicide Squad Commander Detective Superintendent Joe Doueihi encouraged anyone with information to come forward, noting that relationships change over time, making it easier to speak up now.
