Lois Roberts
Encyclopedia
Lois Martha Roberts was an Australia
n murder victim, whose death in 1998 remains unsolved.
Roberts was the daughter of Pastor Frank Roberts, an Aboriginal activist, and Muriel Roberts. She was the twin sister of the arts administrator and broadcaster Rhoda Roberts, and the sister of Philip and Mark. Brought up and educated in the Lismore
region in northern New South Wales, Roberts trained as a hairdresser until, at age 20, she was seriously injured in a car accident sustaining permanent brain damage. She was rehabilitated sufficiently to care for herself and went to live on her own near Lismore. Subsequently she had two children who were raised by her mother and twin sister.
Roberts was last seen outside Nimbin Police Station on July 31, 1998. It would appear that she was abducted whilst hitch-hiking between Nimbin
and Lismore and then tortured and abused before being killed. Her badly mutilated body was found about six months after her disappearance in January 1999. A bushwalker found the remains in Whian Whian State Forest deep in thick bush some way off a fire trail.
The perpetrator or perpetrators of the crime have never been identified. An inquest was held in June 2002. The senior stipendiary magistrate of the Lismore Court Circuit, Jeff Linden, sitting as a coroner
returned an open finding after a two week hearing.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n murder victim, whose death in 1998 remains unsolved.
Roberts was the daughter of Pastor Frank Roberts, an Aboriginal activist, and Muriel Roberts. She was the twin sister of the arts administrator and broadcaster Rhoda Roberts, and the sister of Philip and Mark. Brought up and educated in the Lismore
Lismore, New South Wales
Lismore is a subtropical town in northeastern New South Wales, Australia. Lismore is the main population centre in the City of Lismore local government area. Lismore is a regional centre in the Northern Rivers region of the State.-History:...
region in northern New South Wales, Roberts trained as a hairdresser until, at age 20, she was seriously injured in a car accident sustaining permanent brain damage. She was rehabilitated sufficiently to care for herself and went to live on her own near Lismore. Subsequently she had two children who were raised by her mother and twin sister.
Roberts was last seen outside Nimbin Police Station on July 31, 1998. It would appear that she was abducted whilst hitch-hiking between Nimbin
Nimbin, New South Wales
Nimbin is a village in the Northern Rivers area of the Australian state of New South Wales, approximately 30 km north of Lismore, 33 km southeast of Kyogle, and 70 km west of Byron Bay....
and Lismore and then tortured and abused before being killed. Her badly mutilated body was found about six months after her disappearance in January 1999. A bushwalker found the remains in Whian Whian State Forest deep in thick bush some way off a fire trail.
The perpetrator or perpetrators of the crime have never been identified. An inquest was held in June 2002. The senior stipendiary magistrate of the Lismore Court Circuit, Jeff Linden, sitting as a coroner
Coroner's Court of New South Wales
The name of "Coroners Court" is the generic name given to proceedings in which a Coroner holds an inquest or an inquiry in New South Wales. Coroners have jurisdiction over the remains of a person and the power to make findings in respect of the cause of death of a person...
returned an open finding after a two week hearing.
External links
- Death Of Lois Martha Roberts - speech by The Hon. Janelle SaffinJanelle SaffinJanelle Anne Saffin is an Australian politician. She has been an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives since November 2007, representing the electorate of Page. She previously served as a Labor member of the New South Wales Legislative Council from 1995 to...
in the Parliament of New South Wales 12 May 1999 - A Sister's Love - documentary (2006) by Ivan SenIvan SenIvan Sen is an Australian filmmaker. Throughout the late 1990s Sen worked on numerous short films, before making his feature film debut with Beneath Clouds in 2002. He studied filmmaking at the Australian Film Television and Radio School, where he produced his first short films, working with the...
- Interview with Rhoda Roberts - Life Matters ABC Radio NationalRadio NationalABC Radio National is an Australia-wide non-commercial radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.Radio National broadcasts national programming in areas that include news and current affairs, the arts, social issues, science, drama and comedy...
(audio download available) - Roberts faces her sister’s tragedy - article from Byron Bay Echo September 2007