A FORMER Mount Gambier man is expected to be charged with the cold case murder of his aunty after he was arrested in Victoria yesterday morning.
Steven Leslie Hainsworth, 44, will be extradited to South Australia and charged with the murder of Beverley Hanley, who was found dead in her home in Elizabeth North on October 6, 2010.
Investigators believe she was killed earlier that day, sometime between 7.30am and 11am.
She had suffered severe head injuries, her house ransacked and her handbag stolen.
Victoria Police yesterday arrested the accused and detectives from the SA Police Major Crime Investigation Branch have successfully applied for his extradition to South Australia.
He is expected to face the Adelaide Magistrates Court today.
The breakthrough comes following last year’s formation of Task Force Resolute to investigate her death.
The taskforce has also been investigating the murder of Mount Gambier man Stephen Newton, 55, with police previously identifying links between his death and Ms Hanley’s.
The decomposing body of Mr Newton was found in his Mount Gambier home on November 4, 2011, and like Ms Hanley he had been severley assaulted.
Similarly his house was also ransacked, with a number of items stolen including a TV, DVDs, a computer game console and games.
Phyllis Harrison, aged 71, was found dead in her home in Elizabeth South on in 1998 and her murder is also still under investigation by Task Force Resolute.
She had suffered multiple stab wounds and while her house had also been ransacked, it was unclear what was stolen.
While no arrest has been made in relation to Mr Newton’s or Ms Harrison’s murder, through Operation Persist, police said they will continue to review and investigate unsolved homicides cases.
Anyone with information that may be of assistance to police in any of the murders is urged to report it online at www.crimestopperssa.com.au or call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
