REMEMBER WHEN

GOLD COAST BULLETIN Saturday July 10, 2004

THE body of a 43-year-old Oxenford mother-of-three was found badly burnt in her exboyfriend’s car near Grafton.

But police said the woman, Amanda Jane Falconer, was already dead before the car burst into flames.

It was believed that she was murdered on the Gold Coast around the time that her Oxenford home, which she had shared with her boyfriend since January, went up in flames.

The cause of death had not been released.

A 50-year-old man was charged with one count of murder.

He was to appear in the Grafton Local Court for a hearing where police would seek his extradition to Queensland.

The tragedy began at 8.15pm on Thursday when a $400,000 Oxenford home was gutted by fire in Broxbourne Place. Amanda was supposed to be home alone; with her three daughters either interstate or working.

“Her eldest daughter, who is 18 and living in Grafton, had her youngest sister, who is 10 years old, visiting during the school holidays, while the 15-year-old daughter was working at a supermarket during late night shopping,” said Detective Inspector Ken Bemi of Surfers Paradise.

It appeared as though the fire started at the rear of the house, where police believed Amanda’s ex-boyfriend had been lying in wait.

How the fire started and the couple’s movements remained unclear.

The man was later acquitted of the incident and found not guilty of both murder and manslaughter.