Revelle Balmain | Australian Crime Stories | S5E04

[Music] foreign [Music] disappearance and presumed murder of Ravel Balmain New South Wales police told us that after 27 years the case was under review in fact a very significant development was imminent it's one of Sydney's most intriguing murder mysteries Ravel Balmain hasn't been seen in almost 30 years police are now offering one million dollars to anyone who can help catch her killer we're very keen to get this reward out to the public and we thank the minister and the government for allowing us to offer a million dollars as a reward she was a model a dancer and a sex worker I said Revel Not all men are nice someone murdered Ravel Balmain was it the client on legal advice he declined to answer any questions the agency or someone else police naming the man they believe responsible for her disappearance she's never been found but a million dollar reward May Crack the Case thank you Saturday the 5th of November 1994 was to be Ravel balmaine's last day in Sydney the next day would be the start of a new chapter she would catch the train to Newcastle to visit her parents Ivor and Jan then it was off to Brisbane for two weeks rehearsal followed by a four-month dance tour in Japan her life had taken some dark turns now she was returning to her enduring passion [Music] much revolved from the age of three dance right up until she was 22. she had a lot of personality and a lot of emotion I think Jazz was her thing she enjoyed tap as well because it gave her more of a flair of her personality digital mum taped every said for that she actually put on so there's tape after tape after tape she was passionate about life her friends she was happy and friendly she was quite Headstrong well she was building she was cheeky she was loving she was affectionate but she was determined um you know if she wanted something she would go after it as a young adult she had goals most of them were through dance and later through modeling after she returned from Japan that's what she wanted to continue with Ravel was making inroads as a model she just shot her first magazine cover but it wasn't enough to pay the bills a 22 year old decided to supplement her earnings in Sydney by working as an escort I think there are a lot of younger women who work for a short period as an escort and she was one of those John Dale is a sydney-based writer with a deep knowledge of the Ravel Balmain case I think your attention was to get out of the industry for sure why do you think she wanted to get out of the industry well one reason why she'd met a new boyfriend who she was quite attracted to Piers Fisher Pollard here's Fisher Pollard 27 at the time started dating Ravel four weeks before she vanished he maintains he had no idea about his girlfriend's Secret Life as an escort she was genuinely one of those people who just walked into a room and Light It Up he is says that in the shore time they knewage they were inseparable we liked each other a very large and you thought that perhaps you could fall in love with her oh we were we were falling in love we've obtained a statement Piers Fisher Pollard gave police on November 10. five days after revell's disappearance he recounts the events of the previous Saturday he and revel woke up together at her Bellevue Hill apartment Pierce was suffering a migraine peers told police they went to a medical center in Bondi Junction Breville tried to call her best friend Kate brentnell from a public phone box but she didn't answer so Revel suggested she and Piers have lunch but he declined because of his migraine Piers watched reveal bought a bus headed to the city via Paddington at about 1pm that was the last time he saw Ravel knowledge of rebels movements over the next few hours is sketchy but we do know she called the select companions escort agency owned by husband and wife Zoran and Jane stanojevic Revell accepted a 4 pm appointment with a man named Gavin Owen Samer Samer was no high roller he worked for his parents clothing business packing boxes he was also a keen Surfer he lived in McNair Avenue Kingsford she arrived at ten to four she was carrying two bags she had these platform heel shoes she had a cardigan a long skirt she bought a bottle of champagne which he'd requested she rang the agency to say I'm here I'm safe everything's okay she was booked for two hours but unbeknownst to select companions according to Samer she organized for another hour of Moonlighting where he would pay her money in cash reveal had a pager with her before mobile phones took over people carried pages and received messages the same way we get texts today an hour into the booking Ravel got a page from her boyfriend who'd recovered from his migraine peers paged her at 5 pm and when he went to his friend's place a woman called Zoe Revell had already rang Zoe and told her that she was having a sleep peers readily accepted the story that Ravel was sleeping because she hadn't told him she was a sex worker at 7 pm she received a message from her best friend Kate said ring me at 15 minutes later she rang Kate at 7 15. Kate brittnall later made a statement to police about taking that phone call from Revell I said what are you doing she said I'm just sitting here I said is he sitting there she said yes I drew from this that Revel wasn't in the position to talk freely Ravel he said I'll call you from home in about an hour and get changed then I'll come to your house and we'll go to the Royal for a few beers and I'll meet up with Pierce later the Royal is a popular pub in Sydney so she was now afraid to make arrangements with peers and also Kate she was neither one she fulfilled that's correct that phone call was the last time she spoke to anyone other than Sameer that we know Gavin Samer told police that Breville had accepted a ride from him after the booking he dropped her off outside the Red Tomato Inn on Anzac parade Kingsford which was just a few blocks from where he lived the sun set that evening at 7 26 pm it was around then according to Samer that he'd last Saw Ravel getting out of his car es paged her a 753 according to the police report on to that page it's time peers had met with their mutual friend Zoe they went to various bars around the city he kept paging revealed regularly throughout the night his last page was 2 30 A.M and then he went home to bed revell's mother Jan became concerned when her daughter failed to arrive in Newcastle on the Sunday morning train from Sydney she rang reveals friends and her flatmate who said her half-packed suitcase was still on her bed her flatmate then reported her missing five days later the police issued a public alert and acknowledged that Ravel had disappeared [Music] police in Sydney fear for the safety of a young model who's been missing for six days 22 year old model Ravel Balmain went missing in Anzac parade at Kingsford around seven o'clock last Saturday night early on police believe bravel had been abducted after her last appointment police believe within half an hour of being dropped off she was simply snatched from the street members of the public found revell's personal items scattered in the streets around Kingsford within hours of her suspected abduction police recovered her shoulder bag Keys a pair of platform shoes and her diary we believe that they've been thrown out from probably motor vehicle has just driven away or is it driven to that other sports there was a live and being held captive by her abductors [Music] nearly seven weeks after she disappeared New South Wales police organized for a model dressed as Ravel to reenact her last possible movements walking the streets near the Red Tomato Inn the frustrating part is that there's someone out there or some people out there that do know and it's just so difficult to accept that there was relentless interviews with the media but the media assisted us greatly because we needed to keep her her story out into the papers and on TV ravel's distraught family were desperate they made Flyers which included the police's a abduction Theory we put these flies into the local shops they talk to people in the Kingsford area the only way that we could get through it was our conversations on the phone every night we are worried and we're not happy if you know [Music] if anything the police that's as easy as that we just hold your back next there are scratches on his chest Gavin Samer becomes a person of interest he said he didn't know how he got them there are increasing fears tonight that missing Sydney model Ravel balmaine may have been abducted 22 year old Ravel vanished at Kingsford on November 5. police suspect she was abducted I'm totally concerned for it because she's a young girl and uh to say that the situation may well have been that she was taken from the street the New South Wales police did nothing to discourage media from reporting that Ravel Balmain may have been abducted but here's what they weren't telling the public they didn't reveal details about her life as a sex worker nor where she was last seen alive two days after she disappeared police hauled in Gavin Owen Samer for questioning what did they learn from Gavin Sima they learned that there are a number of inconsistencies in his story that there were certain things they noticed about him there was a scratch like a fingernail scratch on the left-hand side of his neck there were scratches on his chest which the frenzy pathologist said were suggestive of fingerdale scratches and there was a cut in the middle of his left finger which again the forensic pathologist said was suggestive of a bite marked so how did Gavin Samer explain the scratches on his neck on his chest and the possible bite mark on his finger initially in the first interview he said he didn't know how he got them [Music] in the second interview he said he remembered that he got them surfing might have got them on his surfboard he wasn't sure police examines same as wetsuits to see if there was damage consistent with his scratches the results were inconclusive then later he said he could have got a couple of them gardening [Music] same as girlfriend who was away for the weekend that same a booked reveal noticed his scratches when she returned he told police he'd washed the bed sheets which was an unusual thing for him to do the car had also been cleaned so was there any DNA material whatsoever found in the car or was there a proper forensic examination of the car there wasn't any forensic investigation of the car until I think nine ten days later however there was no forensic search of the McNair Avenue property if there was any evidence of a blood trail in the house forensics would have found it police did our SEMA how he paid reveal for the booking the bill the three hours came to five hundred dollars same at all police that he hopped his girlfriend's clarinet for 250 on the boarding of that Saturday [Music] and that he went to the Red Tomato in played the card machines in 150. so he had four hundred dollars he said in his statement he paid her four hundred dollars cash and gave her a hundred dollar check from his family's checkbook when police asked to see the checkbook was missing didn't find it police did then go and search his home they did they searched it initially without a search warrant so they just had a look around police searched the home twice looking for The elusive checkbook it was never found the other interesting thing about the money is that where he played the card machines they weren't like poker machines where the money comes out you had to go to the bar and get credit no one remembered him playing those card machines on that day no CCTV back then no CCTV no mobile phones either oh foreign Churchill's the Red Tomato in was crucial to same as Alibi the night Ravel went missing he told police he dropped Revel outside the pub and parked his car around the back he went to the Bottle Shop bought some cigarettes and some Strongbow cider and then drove home to watch hey hey it's Saturday on Channel 9. but when police checked the Bottle Shop had no evidence of any transactions matching same as claims his Alibi had been shaken the police canvassed the Red Tomato in they checked everyone who was in there the owners they also dressed up a girl like Revell and had a walk around no one saw her into that hotel no one saw her in that area no one saw Seymour either but they'd found her cork platform shoe her diary around 11 20 11 30 that night someone coming back from the pictures of randwick Ritz found those items the next day they found the keys and the other shoe scattered in another Street oh a car similar to Gavin simers was seen stopped in araluan Street Kingsford late on the night of November 5. close to where ravel's house keys were found the next day [Music] despite the evidence implicating Sama there was not enough to charge him he was in fact a potential witness in the abduction Theory Sameer told police that he dropped Revell at the Red Tomato Inn but there was nothing to corroborate this all they had was same as word [Music] how do you think the police handled the initial investigation quite a few things unfortunately were missed it makes such a difference like 20 plus years down the track the last person to see her alive wasn't interviewed until late Monday afternoon which was over 24 hours after the report was made the property wasn't searched until five days later the car wasn't searched until seven days later her belongings that were found in the streets were thrown into an uncovered box anyone could have wandered into her room and take whatever they wanted because it wasn't closed off people that should have been interviewed weren't clients that should have been interviewed weren't and to my knowledge only one area of Sydney was searched coming up I know that Ravel had done enough to make them angry what do the owners of the escort agency know about ravel's last movements I've seen you know conflicting statements about where they were when Ravel disappeared which were huge red flags an up-and-coming model and Dancer life had never been better for 22 year old Revell but last Saturday night she simply vanished moments after being dropped off in Anzac parade at Kingsford I just remember when I saw Ravel on the news straight away I rang the agency and I said is that Rachel and she said yes and I said oh was she on a job and they said yes Kim Hollingsworth holds a unique position in the history of the New South Wales police force 1995 she was accepted as a recruit at the police academy in goulburn but was hounded out of the force when her former life as a stripper and a prostitute came to light we approached Kim to talk about her life as an escort when she knew reveal by one of her working names Rachel she was a strikingly attractive girl just beautiful gorgeous to look at and she had this Poise that I I think I never perhaps had she looked like she just walked out of finishing school you know and she was just elegant and and she spoke so eloquently and she was always polite so she kind of had the whole package going on for a client it would be well you know I haven't drawn the Short Straw on this one well this she's beautiful in those days we worked with Pages which were just an Antiquated kind of method of text messaging one way to us the agency would provide us with them and you'd hear this and you go oh no it's a job so you would have to quickly run to a landline ring the agency and they would tell you that there was a booking on this occasion it was at Paddington and there were two gentlemen and they wanted two girls my name was Natalie at VIP escorts and ravel's name was Rachel so all I knew was that this girl called Rachel was coming gentlemen were really nice we were just making small talk and then there was a small tap on the door and in glided the swan Ravel so while the gentleman retreated upstairs to decide who was going to see Ravel Ravel and I had a conversation and that conversation revolved around modeling and dancing and I distinctly remember Ravel said well Peter Chadwick is interested in me Peter Chadwick was the founder of Chadwick's models the Top Model agency at the time and it was just the way she said it that triggered me in thinking well the stereotypical client isn't going to want to hear that he doesn't want to hear you're successful all he wants to know is how good he is not how good you are you want her I want her what did you say I said Ravel um not all men are nice you've got to be really careful the way you talk and her exact words in response were I know what I'm doing and that terminated the conversation Kim knew from experience how dangerous Sydney's sex industry was in the 1990s every time Kim accepted a booking with a client the threat of violence was ever present we just went oh well you know they're going to get violent towards us we've got to be careful we have to Edge our way around that to make sure we come out of the booking in one piece it was very difficult every booking was different and and you had to really concentrate and you had to watch every move because you might be robbed you might be sodomized and before you knew it it just became this assault it wasn't just a prostitution job it was an assault because knowing the long history of women being murdered in the sex industry it's a very dangerous job hugely dangerous I don't think we realize quite how dangerous it was because we always thought the agency was going to support us but that that simply wasn't true the client was number one girls were money that's we were chattel we were money to them they should have been taking a lot more care of their girls and that was the problem with the agencies in that you know they wanted the money so bad we were being sent out to vacant blocks of land you know because it was a joke call and they had a lot of power because there's always somebody else who'll come and do the job so you were disposable Expendable exactly at the time Ravel disappeared she was working for select companions escort agency [Music] Kim had also worked for select and learned that reveal's relationship with the agency was Rocky I know that Ravel had done enough to make them angry she was Moonlighting she owed the money and she basically pissed them off and you learned pretty quickly don't do that select companions was owned by a husband and wife team Zoran and James donojevic I've been told police that Ravel owed them about four hundred dollars and she'd promised to pay it back on the night she went missing they had two more bookings for her after the same a job foreign [Music] was booked for the Gavin Sameer job from 4 pm to 6 p.m [Music] she rang select companions from Gavin's same as house at 5 50 pm she told them she was wrapping up the booking and not to pick her up same acclaims reveal had agreed to stay on an extra hour for cash Undeclared to the agency reveal then failed to show for his second booking for select companions later that night I've seen conflicting statements about where they were when Ravel disappeared which were huge red flags that I don't think the police addressed at the time that should have been looked at more closely four years later the New South Wales coroner called an inquest into ravel's case Jane and zorins donojevich from select companions were questioned on their movements on the day she went missing on the day they went to pick up a television from Harvey Norman and they bought that then they went for a pizza in darlinghurst they had conflicting stories of what happened after Zarin said that he went and installed the television at the agency and then went home his wife said that he went into work and worked that night which we know he did he worked from 7 PM I think all the way through we make no allegations against the stenographics Jane told us she did everything she could to assist the police next key suspects are called to the inquest on legal advice he declined to answer any questions I honestly believe someone went too far [Music] on the day before her disappearance Ravel Balmain told a close friend her short career as a sex worker was over on November 5th would be her last day of bookings she'd managed to keep her other life a secret from her family and her boyfriend police told him a few days after she vanished it's a pretty horrible moment because of his delivery and his attitude I need to sit out and just just want to let you know um whatever else been working as a prostitute she's she's no longer a missing person she's a missing prostitute exactly just a whole shift of attitude if reveal wasn't coming back police needed to eliminate all possible suspects including her boyfriend how much did Piers Fisher Pollard know of ravel's sex work could his movements that night have overlapped with reveals police always look to eliminate Partners in cases like this you always look at the boyfriend always on that day he had a headache he went away we don't know what he was doing did he know Ravel was working you know did he discover that Dave Ravel was working in these cases police look to those closest to the victim peers was of course a suspect do you think he's been eliminated certainly I I'd be 100 sure he's been eliminated I mean he had no knowledge of where she was that night no knowledge whatsoever and he was one of the few people apart from her own family and a couple of girls and a flatmate who pushed the police to investigate to take this case seriously that she hadn't just gone walk about as they initially suspected [Music] claims that some of reveal's co-workers were never questioned by police she also had these very strange girls around her that were very sexually forceful I remember one of them in a job and it was one of ravel's friends and and she pushed she pushed my head down like a man into her crotch and I just remember wow that was really violent and these were from a revell's circle of friends [Music] surprising new evidence today at the inquest into a missing Sydney model Ravel Balmain police naming the man they believed responsible for her disappearance Deputy New South Wales coroner John Abernathy held an inquest Into The Disappearance of Ravel belmane in 1998. what was the inquest like I thought there are a lot of red herrings that were brought up of people you know could have murdered her rumors said about who took her and I think even a Saudi Prince was supposed to have taken a you know there was a lot of mudding in the waters for the first time police named Gavin Samer as their Prime Suspect laying out all the evidence against him including the fingernail-like scratches on his neck and chest and the possible bite mark on his finger prevail's last known client was 29 year old Kingsford man Gavin Samer called as a witness today on legal advice he declined to answer any questions so what was the Coronas finding in the end open finding of homicide by personal person to known very unsatisfying particularly for the family and also the thing that kept us going was the fact that something will be done just as will be served but Justice hasn't been served today coroner John avenith he said while he had some real suspicions about Samer in the end there simply wasn't enough evidence to charge him [Music] the deputy coroner went on to say this whilst Mr Samus certainly had the opportunity to kill Ms Balmain and rightly in my view is the main person of interest to police there is no plausible motive however he was suspicious about sameer's story of how he paid for his time with Ravel Gavin Samus says he paid Revell 400 in cash which he got from selling his girlfriend's clarinet and winnings from the card machines at the Red Tomato Inn neither one of these things could be verified and then there's the missing 100 check [Music] the police asked him where was the checkbook and he said the checkbook is missing [Music] and there's something else I want to talk to Kim Hollingsworth about because she has personal experience of the dangers in the sex industry is there a Common Thread when things go wrong an atmosphere that is supercharged that can result in something that's completely unintended actually happening in that situation I think alcohol is the big one above drugs above anything alcohol particularly when you've got that mix of hormones and and their tense and and they want relief and then they top it off with alcohol if you were bringing alcohol to a job yes as Ravel did at night yes you'd have to be pretty sure of who you were drinking with yes you would so when Ravel was given a bottle of champagne to go to this job you don't know what state the client's in already if he's asking for alcohol he could already be intoxicated and you don't know what's going to happen it's just going to make him worse because alcohol is a factor in so many tragic outcomes in that industry absolutely I absolutely it's horrific Rebel had taken champagne to the booking and same as request he later confirmed to police that he'd been drinking throughout the day how inebriated was he that afternoon well he'd had five twist tops and two bottles of Strongbow cider and at least half a bottle of champagne if not more he's a big drinker and he was a strong man did Simon have any History of Violence at all there was one interview where the previous girlfriend to the one he had then who claimed that whenever he got drunk he got a bit violent and he'd punched her in the face given her a few black eyes he says that in the statement [Music] next did not look like a well man after 15 years off the grid Gavin Samer gives an exclusive interview well I asked him if he'd killed Revel Balmain foreign coroner returned an open finding into the Ravel Balmain case Gavin Sameer left the state for Tasmania where he worked as a chef in a small town south of Hobart John Dale was writing a book about Revel and wanted Gavin sameer's side of the story [Music] what did you learn in Tasmania I interviewed his employer she had a lot of little stories about him she said he was a huge Drinker always took his alcohol home didn't mix with the locals and that he always called his knife his stabber she said he'd say where's me stabber he said he was always sharpening knives all chefs would have a knife but calling it my stabber was a unusual what inferences did you draw from those conversations he was a loner who drank a lot who didn't mix with the locals who kept to himself he had a girlfriend just stayed with her so when he wasn't working the pub he diced alcohol and take it home she said he was a really big drinker same at once and that was when he was working in Tasmania at an oyster Farm he wasn't forthcoming what did he say it's off amazingly but more aggressively than that may have thought that apart from a curious author everyone had forgotten about him he was wrong [Music] in 2008 detectives from the unsold homicide Squad finally sent a forensic team into the Kingsford house where Samer used to live they were looking for anything to link the house to her murder and it was reported at the time they had found new evidence new forensics like DNA sampling and laser lights may also prove critical in cases like Ravel Balmain her shoes and other items found scattered around the Sydney suburb of Kingsford just days after her disappearance and now being re-examined for DNA that simply wasn't traceable even five years ago and then detectives five of them flew down to Tasmania to interview Kevin Samer and he refused to give a DNA test they didn't come up with anything apart from putting additional pressure on Samer no charges were laid and he melted back into the scenery Ten Years Later an eagle-eyed journalist saw his name on a Sydney Court list foreign Gibbs I've been covering crime for about 30 years in 2018 I saw Gavin Owen Samer appear on a court list I immediately recognized that name from ravel's disappearance and from the colonial inquest I attended court on the off chance that he would speak to me were there any other journalists there no there was no one else there Sameer was facing Sydney's Waverly court on theft charges Gavin Simon hadn't been saying for 20 years as far as I know no one had seen him or spoken to him since the cranial inquest you'd seen photographs of him from earlier times how did those tally with the man you saw in court Gavin Sima had changed remarkably in the 20 years since the cranial inquest clearly looked unwell lost a lot of condition he did not look like a well man so here's your moment describe the circumstances of getting out there and coloring him Mr Samus started walking down the street I approached him and introduced myself I said that I wanted to talk to him about The Disappearance of Ravel Balmain in 1994. and his first response was oh is it that long ago I said yes it is Gavin would you like to talk about it we sat in a bus shelter opposite the court for the next half an hour he recounted what he'd been doing for the previous 20 years and spoke to me about The Disappearance of Ravel Belmonte and so what questions did you put to him well I asked him if he'd killed Ravel Balmain and he said he had not he repeatedly said that he had nothing to do with her disappearance his most telling line for me was probably he said I've done nothing wrong I hired a hooker that's all I ever did big deal I found that cold some would say callous but he seemed to have far more interest in how this whole case had affected him than it had affected Ravel balmain's family he complained that occasional publicity about ravel's disappearance and the continued police interest in him costume jobs he generally felt persecuted and said he was unfortunate to be in that position so there must have been a reason to speak to you what do you think that was I don't know why Mr Samer chose to speak to me but he addressed every question I asked him he was aware that he was the main suspect in Ravel balmain's disappearance said numerous times I know that the police think that I am guilty but I am not Gibbs never expected to hear from Samer again but a year later he got a late night phone call it was 10 30 at night I was sadly into bed and phone rang and he said hello Stephen it's Gavin Simon have you heard the latest I said no Gavin what's the latest he said I've been charged with rape [Music] in 2019 Gavin Sama rang journalist Stephen Gibbs to say that he'd been charged with raping his flatmate Rosa Rosenberg at the apartment they shared in Sydney's Bondi in fact same wasn't charged with rape but indecent assault and assault occasioning actual bodily harm and stalking foreign [Music] ERG had a fairly troubled life she had physical and mental impairments there was a history of substance abuse and a court later heard that she had a complicated relationship with Gavin Samer [Music] Rosenberg had employed SEMA as her live-in Cara she relayed her version of the alleged assault to John Dale and he took notes she said she came home at 11AM he was drunk and abusive he started abusing me calling me crazy stupid he broke my office chair he burnt my candle I said leave my flat and give me back my key he stood up and he slapped me very hard I said you slapped me and you broke my earring I start to be very scared of him he found a bottle of wine and threatened to hit me I asked for my key and he wouldn't give it back he took my epilepsy tablets from the table he pulled the knife from the kitchen and put it to my throat and said I will [ __ ] cut your throat and watch every last drop come out Gavin Sameer was convicted of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and stalking or intimidating Rosa Rosenberg in September 2019. four months later and still facing the indecent assault charges there was a shocking development foreign 2020 there was an explosion and Fire in Rosa rosenberg's unit [Music] she suffered terrible Burns was taken to hospital and died was that fire suspicious Emergency Services seem to believe that that fire may have been lit by Rosa Rosenberg but that will be a matter for the coroner the coroner hasn't ruled yet on on what happened there but here's a person with whom he was Associated who's now dead it was described in court as unfortunate that Gavin Sima had these associations with two women who met bad ends [Music] for the Rosenberg case same as assault conviction was overturned on the basis of insufficient evidence that he'd physically harmed Rosa and the indecent assault charges were dropped Sameer moved to the Gold Coast and tried to keep a low profile but a current affair tracked him down can you tell me what you know about The Disappearance of Ravel Balmain see I've got no thoughts I've got no interest just piss off excuse me officer officer I'm being stalked by Andrew here can you turn off Gavin if you want to talk to these police would you be willing to speak to New South Wales police what would be the options that the are before him at the moment to meet this investigation head on and prove his innocence look Gavin Sama obviously does not have to prove his innocence police have to make any case but he could probably assist himself by giving one consistent version of what happened on the last day and night that Ravel Balmain was alive and some DNA as well he could also provide DNA do you think he's likely to do that given what you know of him I don't think there's any chance of going Sameer voluntarily providing DNA while we were investigating Ravel balmain's case detective Chief Inspector Stuart Bell invited us for a meeting at police headquarters he said he was re-examining the case and there would soon be a major announcement [Music] it's one of Sydney's most intriguing murder mysteries Ravel Balmain hasn't been seen in almost 30 years police are now offering one million dollars to anyone who can help catch her killer there's been a lot of advances in DNA technology and we are really examining all available evidence at the time she has a living sister which we went and saw last week we just want to see that this reward will bring them some satisfaction and that someone will be charged with the crime what would you say to anybody who's watching this tonight having any kind of information about what happened to reveal your sister it's important um I will I've always believed in an eye for an eye and I think you know to find her to find what's left of her um and to have someone charged that's the most important thing to me [Music] I must have taken a terrific toll on your family it did I remember both without happened among we're sitting next to her and her friend started to shake and I believe that was the start of her Parkinson's that's how upsetting that was for her I mean I couldn't talk to her for the past couple of years because it just was too upsetting either he wasn't very vocal I suppose but I could see the pain that was inside of him it was destroying reveal balmain's parents sat in the front row of that Coroner's Court every day hearing evidence that I'm sure they did not want to hear or expect to hear things that no parents should ever have to hear They Carried themselves with absolute dignity throughout the proceedings and I think the coroner John Abernethy wanted to acknowledge that he did so in a very classy way after the coroner had handed down his findings I stayed back in court just taking some notes eventually the coroner walks down from the bench and approached Ravel balmain's parents and hugged each of them individually something I've never seen before and I've never seen since there is still work going on in this case what would be your call now there's certainly still more that can be done anyone who saw anything on that night however seemingly insignificant at the time should be coming forward now someone must have seen something [Music] [Music]

Channel: Australian Crime

Views: 519,431

Keywords: Australia, Australian Crime, Australian crime documentary, Australian crime series, Gangs & Mobs, Psychology of Crime, Stalkers, child crime, con artists, crime, crime documentary, crime series, disappearances, family crime, murder, police, serial killer, true crime, true crime documentary, true crime series, Revelle Balmain, Balmain, Sydney, Crime Sydney, victim, true crime recaps, true crime podcast, true crime documentary netflix, Aussie, Aus crime, Crim, Missing, murder mystery

Id: ZB6Z841OA8A

Length: 54min 36sec (3276 seconds)

Published: Mon Nov 14 2022