Million-dollar reward for info on 1975 ‘murder’
Nearly 46 years since Juanita Nielsen disappeared from Sydney’s Kings Cross, NSW Police have announced a million-dollar reward for information on her suspected murder.
Nielsen, aged 38 when she disappeared, was a journalist and activist who advocated against developers via her community newspaper, NOW, to preserve the heritage of her inner city community of Potts Point.
She was also an heiress to the family fortune of businessman Mark Foy, whose Sydney department store building now houses the Downing Centre court complex.
Nielsen was last seen at Carousel Club, a Kings Cross nightclub, on the morning of July 4, 1975.
During initial investigations, police uncovered a conspiracy to kidnap Nielsen on June 30, 1975 – four days before her last known sighting – leading them to charge three men with conspiracy to kidnap. Two of the trio were subsequently convicted.
However, no-one has been charged over Nielsen’s actual disappearance and suspected murder.
A $50,000 reward offered in 1982 failed to turn up evidence that could lead police to an arrest.
The following year, an inquest found Nielsen was most likely killed but it was unable to establish how she died or who killed her. Her body was never found.
In the years since she disappeared, the fate of Nielsen has been the subject of intense public interest, but ongoing police investigations have failed to locate her remains or pin down anyone responsible for her death.
Yesterday, the NSW Police Minister David Elliott announced a million-dollar reward for information as part of a renewed appeal to the community to come forward with any information that may assist detectives.
‘‘Juanita Nielson disappeared at the prime of her life and had a lot to live for,’’ Elliott said. ’’Despite the passage of time, police and this government remain committed to obtaining information about her disappearance.’’