Australia Australia - Lynette White, 26, Coogee, NSW, 8 June 1973

Twenty-six-year-old Mrs White was at home with her 11-week-old baby in her Coogee apartment on June 8, 1973 when she answered a knock at the door.

A man burst inside, terrorised Mrs White and forced her at knifepoint to undress in front of him.

Her clothes were found folded in a neat pile not far from her body. She had been stabbed 11 times.

Her baby son, Shane, was found unharmed in his room when his father, Paul White, arrived home hours later.

Click to expand...

The narrow hallway was still there, as was the door frame where Lynette White's lifeless body fell.

A lick of paint and modern carpet were the only changes to the Coogee apartment in Sydney's sought-after eastern suburbs that looked like it had been frozen in time for more than 40 years.

So, when detectives peeled back the carpet last month, they found blood from the cold case murder still stained the concrete.

Investigators are now hopeful forensic analysis of the blood using technologies that were not around 40 years ago may help them finally identify the person responsible for one of the city's most horrific unsolved murders.

Click to expand...

Lynette Patricia White worked as a hairdresser before giving birth to her son, Shane. Photo: Paul Borderi

Click to expand...

New details have emerged in the unsolved killing of Sydney mother Lynette White, who received threatening phone calls and faced terrifying encounters with strangers before her death.

Click to expand...

The cold-case investigation was reopened in recent years and uncovered fresh DNA evidence.

New details to be aired on the ABC's Australian Story program on Monday night reveal Mrs White confided in her friends about being followed and having a man expose himself at her front door.

Writer and friend Bob Wurth said Mrs White started receiving obscene phone calls "out of the blue" that got more and more depraved.

"It was a young bloke saying things like 'I'm coming to get you, I know where you live,' " he told Australian Story.

Click to expand...

Senior Detective Kelly said there were also a few instances in which Mrs White was followed after she finished performing in shows as a hula dancer.

"But there's also the possibility of it being the same person responsible for the phone calls or the indecent exposure at her unit," he said.

Click to expand...

Fairfax Media reported last year that unsolved homicide team detectives returned to the unit.

They ripped back the carpet and found a bloodstain on the concrete.
Mrs White's DNA profile and two male profiles were found in the stain.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Murder by the Sea: The Lynette White Story airs on the ABC's Australian Story at 8pm on June 5.

Click to expand...

Australian Story will air chilling new evidence that Lynette had several alarm-bell ringing encounters with men before her violent death.

Former ABC journalist and friend Bob Wurth says the “obscene” and “depraved” calls began “out of the blue”, and escalated rapidly.
“It was a young bloke saying things like ‘I’m coming to get you, I know where you live’,” he says.
And then, at one stage: “I’ve got a white coffin for the baby”.
In another incident, Lynette heard a knock on the front door. Through the peephole, a man “flashed” at her.

Click to expand...

Lynette received “depraved” obscene phone calls ahead of her murder. Picture: News CorpSource:News Corp Australia

The cold case was reactivated two years ago, and while DNA technology has improved vastly since 1973, the investigation has been hampered by lost evidence — including the knife used in her slaying, and a nappy the killer may have wiped blood on — according to Detective Senior Constable Deon Kelly.
He tells Australian Story many leads weren’t touched — while a sketch of a man leaving the Coogee home in Sydney’s eastern suburbs about the time of the killing was released by police, anonymous tips about a man spotted in the area with a towel over his head weren’t followed up.
“To this day they remain anonymous but they’ve actually witnessed some very important details,” he says.

Click to expand...

“There’s a lot of documented cases of people being obsessed with her, men who would regularly come to the shows. And there were a few instances of her being followed after the shows,” he says.

Click to expand...

[h=2]Murder By The Sea[/h]
[h=4]05/06/2017[/h] The unsolved 1973 murder of young Sydney mother Lynette White terrified the community and has baffled police for more than 40 years.
Lynette’s husband Paul discovered her body when he returned home from work and has lobbied tirelessly in the years since to have the murder re-investigated.
When he joined forces with an old friend, former ABC journalist Bob Wurth, those efforts began to bear fruit.
Two years ago a cold case investigation began and vital new leads are now emerging.
Australian Story was granted rare access to this ongoing investigation, going behind the scenes with homicide detectives as they search for a breakthrough in the case.
[h=4]PROGRAM EXTRAS[/h] Murder By The Sea - Transcript [h=4]VIDEO[/h] Murder By The Sea full episode
[h=4]RELATED LINKS[/h] ABC News articlePlaying cards emblazoned with details of murders will be distributed to inmates in New South Wales prisons, in a bid to solve a cold case that has baffled police for more than 40 years.

Click to expand...

Lynette White was found dead in her Coogee home, in Sydney's east, on June 8, 1973 after she was stabbed 11 times and had her throat slit by an intruder.

The 26-year-old mother was forced to undress in front of him and fold her clothes in a neat pile as her newborn baby Shane lay in a cot nearby.

Friend Bob Wurth revealed on Australian Story on Monday night that Mrs White received obscene phone calls that became threatening before her murder.

​

Click to expand...

[h=1]Mystery killer in 40-year-old murder case urged to ‘show some guts’ as police raise reward to $100,000[/h]

Click to expand...

Police are still working to identify the two male DNA profiles found mixed in with Lynette's DNA in the stain discovered on concrete under the carpet of the unit.

Investigators believe she may have known her killer or killers, as there were no signs of forced entry.
The Whites had an active social life and a wide circle of friends at the South Maroubra Surf Club.

Click to expand...

"There is also some evidence nappies were touched, and the offender may have injured themselves," Unsolved Homicide Team Coordinator, Detective Chief Inspector Chris Olen said.

Police are hoping to re-interview everyone who knew the couple or who lived in the Coogee unit block at the time.

Click to expand...

dotr said:

https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/state/nsw/2018/06/09/million-dollar-reward-lynette-white-killer/
"Police had previously thought Ms White’s murderer could have been a fan of her Hawaiian dance troupe.
But the search has since narrowed to anyone who lived in the block of apartments at 26 Beach Street in Coogee between 1971 to 1973, in particular, a group of men believed to be from the UK.

“They (the group) often had loud parties and visitors,” NSW Detective Superintendent Scott Cook told reporters in Sydney on Friday.

“She had her throat slit and three stab wounds with a kitchen knife still implanted in her chest,” Det Supt Cook said.

She was also naked from the waist down.

“This murder needs to be solved, there are now a million reasons for someone to come forward and provide information,” he said."

Click to expand...

DRT said:

From Trove, Canberra Times article: Killer 'asked for glass of water' - The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995) - 9 Apr 1975
Inquest details:
Killer gained entry by asking for a glass of water.
A knock on the door by a delivery driver for laundered nappies interrupted the killer.
Rape intial purpose but killer deterred by blood.
Fingerprints eliminated one suspect.
No match from fingerprint and blood.

Click to expand...