On the eve of it being thirty years since the murders of his sister Georgina Watmore and her close friend Catherine Holmes, David Booth remains confident someone has answers to what happened in the early hours of April 15, 1987.
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Mr Booth, who was living in Canberra at the time of the murders, admitted he never imagined the case would remain unsolved for as long as it has, and fears his family and Catherine’s family may never have closure.
“I’d say someone knows something. You don’t just walk into a house and kill two people and no one ever knows what happened,” Mr Booth said.
“Whether it’s someone in town who knows something, I’m not sure.”
On April 14, 1987, Catherine, 28, held a small party at her Cowra home on Jindalee Circuit, which her 24-year-old colleague and friend, Georgina, attended.
The two women, who worked together at the Edgell cannery, were discovered the next day when they failed to attend work.
It is believed both women were bludgeoned to death with an unknown weapon after the party ended in the early hours of April 15, according to police.
The murder weapon has not been found.
Mr Booth said the police investigation was thorough.
“I thought police did a good job. They just don’t know who did it,” he said.
“Rumours started and they spread. You could imagine in a town like Cowra. It was very hard but we had to get on with life. I think the town rumours are all dead now, I’m not sure.”
The case is now under the responsibility of the Homicide Squad’s Unsolved Homicide Team.
Mr Booth’s opinion that someone has information about the murders was echoed by Team Manager, Detective Inspector Chris Olen.
“Someone knows something,” he said.
“These types of cases never leave our minds, and we are committed to bringing whoever is responsible to justice, and closure to the women’s families.
“Cowra is tight-knit community and we are confident someone knows something, but for whatever reason have not yet come forward.”
The $200,000 reward offered by the NSW Government in 2010 is still on offer to anyone who has information which leads to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the murders of Catherine and Georgina.
Detectives urge anyone with information about Catherine and Georgina’s suspected murders to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
