The brother of a Hunter woman found murdered in says a recent breakthrough in two other decades-old suspected murders of young women in the region is encouragement to keep looking for "the next thread to tug on" in his own family's cold case - despite the time that has passed since his sister's violent death.
Lake Macquarie police last month released details of a green Holden Torana, which detectives believe could be linked to the disappearance of Robyn Hickie, 18, and Amanda Robinson, 14, who each vanished in Lake Macquarie police have been re-investigating the suspected murders of Robyn, Amanda and Gordana Kotevski - a year-old who was snatched from a suburban street in Meanwhile, as the Newcastle Herald reported in July, Unsolved Homicide Squad detectives are re-examining another decades-old case - the murder of year-old Melissa Hunt.
Ms Hunt's brutally bashed body was found in a Hunter dam in April, - seven months before Gordana Kotevski was taken.
The Newcastle Herald is not suggesting the cases are linked, but Ms Hunt's murder is among a handful of unsolved deaths and disappearances of young women in the region from that period. The mother-of-two died of massive head injuries, including 11 skull fractures, and had been weighted down with sandstone rocks. Six months later, on November 24, Gordana Kotevski was last seen walking to an aunt's house at Charlestown after spending the evening shopping with friends. About 50 metres from her destination, the teenager was bundled into a white Toyota Hilux - she was never seen again.
She was last seen on foot at the Pacific Highway, Belmont North - she had left home about 7. A fortnight after Robyn vanished, on April 21, Amanda Robinson disappeared en route home from a school dance at Gateshead. Last month, Lake Macquarie police labelled a green mids model Holden Torana a "significant" lead in the investigation into the suspected murders of Amanda and Robyn. While you're with us, did you know Newcastle Herald offers breaking news alerts, daily email newsletters and more?
