Death prompts call for inquest

THE son of murdered Toowoomba woman Tarmara Smith says he will ask for an inquest, following the death of the prime suspect.

Brodie Bailey was six when his mother was sexually assaulted with a beer bottle , strangled and tied to a tree on Isabel St, Toowoomba on Easter Sunday 2002.

Now 22, Brodie spoke exclusively to The Sunday Mail last week about his anguish, revealing he had never told police about a series of incidents involving his mum and prime suspect Paul Templeton in the weeks before her death. He said Templeton had abused his mother in front of him, and they were forced to flee in the middle of the night.

Witnesses also told police they had broken up a physical altercation between a drunk Templeton and Ms Smith two weeks before she died.

There was a hung jury in Templeton’s first trial in 2002, but he was convicted of murder in 2004. The verdict was overturned on appeal due to lack of evidence.

Templeton died in 2016 from health complications.

Police say they never considered anyone else responsible for Ms Smith’s murder, despite the existence of at least one other person of interest , who fled to Europe after the grisly discovery.

During both trials, prosecution presented glass fragments from Templeton’s home that matched the broken bottle used to sexually assault Ms Smith. But there was no other evidence linking him to the crime.

Templeton’s family has declined to comment on his involvement, other than to say “I just hope it wasn’t true, but you never know.”