Daniel James Morcombe, an Australian adolescent, was kidn*pped from Sunshine Coast, Queensland on December 7th, 2003, at the age of 13. Brett Peter Cowan, a former resident of Sunshine Coast, was charged with Morcombe’s m*rder eight years later. Subsequently, in the same month, Daniel identity was confirmed through DNA analysis of bones discovered in the Glass House Mountains. On March 13th, 2014, Cowan was found guilty of the m*rder and received a life imprisonment sentence for committing indecent acts with a child and tampering with a corpse.
Morcombe was taken away from an unapproved bus stop located beneath the Kiel Mountain Road overpass in the Woombye area of the Sunshine Coast, about 2 kilometers (1.2 mi) north of the Big Pineapple on Sunday, 7 December 2003. According to reports from witnesses, Morcombe was seen at around 2:10 p.m. under the overpass. Daniel had intended to board the 1:35 pm bus heading to the Sunshine Plaza Shopping Centre for a haircut and to purchase gifts for Christmas, however, the bus had encountered a malfunction.
After a prolonged wait, a substitute bus arrived; however, it didn’t halt at the unofficial stop due to its tardiness. The driver communicated with the station to send another bus to collect Morcombe. During this time, the driver and other individuals observed two men in proximity to Daniel. Subsequently, a second bus appeared three minutes later, but Morcombe and the aforementioned men had disappeared.
Investigation
The vanishing of Daniel was subject to one of the most exhaustive criminal inquiries in the annals of Queensland. By 12 December 2008, the government had extended a reward of A$250,000, while private donors contributed A$750,000 as a reward for any pertinent information.
At the stroke of midnight on 31 May 2009, the privately donated reward expired. On that same day, the Seven Network made public that Douglas Jackway, a known ped*phile who had been released from incarceration just one month before Morcombe’s disappearance, could be of interest to the authorities. The Queensland Government was heavily censured for Jackway’s release, with independent Queensland MP Peter Wellington asserting that the Supreme Court had provided ample evidence of Jackway’s recidivism risk.
The subsequent media coverage led civil liberties organizations to demand legislation that would prohibit news outlets from disclosing the names of individuals linked to criminal cases.
Earlier in that month, a life-size clay replica of the individual believed to be involved in Morcombe’s a*duction was placed at the precise location where he vanished. The replica garnered more than 300 leads within just a few days. Subsequently, in July 2009, Morcombe’s parents urged a coronial inquest into their son’s disappearance. The family was particularly interested in some criminals who had informed the authorities that they knew who was responsible for Morcombe’s d*ath. The inquest was conducted from October 2010 to April 2011, and the bus driver who failed to stop for Morcombe at the overpass, a woman who had observed a man loitering near Morcombe, and various persons of interest were called as witnesses.
After an extensive police operation, on 13 August 2011, Brett Peter Cowan was apprehended and charged with Morcombe’s m*rder, child a*duction, unlawful detention, se*ual as*ault of a minor under 16, desecration of a corpse, and other related offenses. Undercover detectives led Cowan to Morcombe’s remains.
Cowan had been questioned by the authorities about the Morcombe case in 2006 and had acknowledged that he had driven along Kiel Mountain Road en route to buy marijuana from a drug dealer on the day of the disappearance. Cowan subsequently admitted to having seen and approached Morcombe, offering him a lift to the shopping center, and parking his vehicle in a nearby church parking lot he attended.
At approximately the same time, authorities confiscated a white Mitsubishi Pajero from a property located on Russell Island. It was suspected that the vehicle was utilized in Morcombe’s kidn*pping after a witness reported seeing a similar vehicle parked 100 meters (330 ft) to the north of the location where Morcombe was last seen during the coronial inquest.
Remains found
On 21 August 2011, during a search operation at Glass House Mountains, two shoes and three human bones were discovered. The shoes found bore a resemblance to the ones Morcombe was wearing when he disappeared. Additionally, underpants and a belt were also found at the site, although a pocket watch that Morcombe owned with the engraving “Dan” has yet to be located.
As the investigation progressed, seventeen bones were found, including a rib, hip, leg, arm, and vertebrae. Through DNA analysis using Morcombe’s toothbrush, all of the discovered bones were identified as belonging to Morcombe. The discovery led to Morcombe’s funeral being held at Siena Catholic College on 7 December 2012, which was attended by over 2,000 people.
Trial
On 7 February 2014, Cowan was ordered to face trial on charges of m*rder, indecently dealing with a child under 16, and improperly dealing with a corpse. The trial commenced on 10 February 2014 in the Supreme Court of Queensland under the supervision of Justice Roslyn Atkinson. The prosecution presented its case and closed on 7 March, with 116 witnesses providing testimony and over 200 exhibits being submitted as evidence. Cowan pleaded not guilty and chose not to give evidence.
On 13 March 2014, Brett Peter Cowan was found guilty of all charges, which included two previous convictions for child s*x offenses. The next day, Cowan was sentenced to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after 20 years.
He also received concurrent sentences of three-and-a-half years for indecently dealing with Morcombe and two years for interfering with his corpse. Judge Roslyn Atkinson expressed doubts about Cowan’s release even after 20 years. Cowan filed an appeal with the Queensland Court of Appeal, under Justice Margaret McMurdo, arguing that the confession obtained from him by police through an undercover operation was inadmissible in court. However, on 21 May 2015, his appeal was dismissed. A former Queensland Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie had also attempted to increase Cowan’s minimum sentence of 20 years, but this was also dismissed.
The Daniel Morcombe Foundation
In response to Daniel Morcombe’s disappearance, his family established the “Daniel Morcombe Foundation” with the goal of keeping his case in the public eye and finding answers regarding his disappearance. The foundation is focused on educating children about personal safety and raising awareness of the risks associated with predatory offenders throughout Australia. These efforts are widely supported by the Australian media and, each year on the anniversary of Morcombe’s disappearance, a “Day for Daniel” is held to promote awareness of child vulnerability. Additionally, an annual “Ride for Daniel” covering 50 km of the Sunshine Coast has been held since 2005 to further raise awareness of child safety.
In 2015, Bruce Morcombe, father of Daniel Morcombe, spoke to the family of another missing child, William Tyrrell, cautioning them about the potential influx of psychics offering “bizarre and offbeat” information that may be distracting. Morcombe found it distressing that they received hundreds of leads regarding the possible location of Daniel, such as a “shed or a water tank”, that ultimately proved unhelpful.
However, he emphasized that they couldn’t be ignored in case they contained a “disguised confession”. Bruce advised that collecting data from CCTV and ATM cameras was a more productive approach, as it may help disprove an alibi once the police have a suspect. He also advised William’s family to remain positive and assured them that the police would be working hard to solve the case.
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