Lois Martha Roberts ( – ) was an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

murder victim, whose death near

Nimbin, New South Wales Nimbin is a town in the Northern Rivers area of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of New South Wales, approximately north of Lismore, New South Wales, Lismore, northeast of Kyogle, New South Wales, Kyogle, and west ...

in 1998 remains unsolved.

Background

Lois Martha Roberts was the daughter of Pastor Frank Roberts, a minister with the

Church of Christ Church of Christ may refer to: Church groups * Christianity, the Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ * Christian Church, an ecclesiological term used by denominations to describe the true body of Christia ...

and an Aboriginal activist, and Muriel Roberts. She was the twin sister of the arts administrator and broadcaster

Rhoda Roberts Rhoda Ann Roberts (born 1960) is an Australian theatre and arts director, arts executive, television presenter, and actor. She was head of Indigenous programming at the Sydney Opera House from 2012 until 2021, among many other roles. She is a ...

, and the sister of Philip and Mark. Brought up and educated in the Lismore region in northern New South Wales, Roberts trained as a hairdresser until, at age 20, she was seriously injured in a car accident, sustaining permanent brain damage. She was rehabilitated sufficiently to care for herself and went to live on her own near Lismore, but was not able to manage relationships well. Subsequently, she had two children who were raised by her mother and twin sister Rhoda.

Disappearance

Roberts was last seen outside Nimbin Police Station on 31 July 1998. It would appear that she was abducted while hitch-hiking between Nimbin and Lismore and then tortured and abused before being killed. Her badly mutilated body was found about six months after her disappearance in January 1999. A bushwalker found the remains in Whian Whian State Forest, near

Dunoon Dunoon (; ) is the main town on the Cowal peninsula in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is located on the western shore of the upper Firth of Clyde, to the south of the Holy Loch and to the north of Innellan. As well as forming part of the cou ...

, deep in thick bush some way off a fire trail.

Investigation and aftermath

An inquest was held in June 2002. The senior stipendiary magistrate of the Lismore Court Circuit, Jeff Linden, sitting as a

coroner A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into the manner or cause of death. The official may also investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...

returned an open finding after a two-week hearing. The perpetrator or perpetrators of the crime have never been identified. Includes ''No Filter'' podcast, interview by

Narelda Jacobs Narelda Jacobs OAM is an Australian journalist, newsreader, and television presenter. Her career with Network 10 began in Perth, Western Australia, in 2000. In January 2020, she moved to Sydney to co-host ''Studio 10'', and also and present ' ...

Film

Indigenous filmmaker

Ivan Sen Ivan Sen (born 1972) is an Indigenous Australian filmmaker. He is a director, screenwriter and cinematographer, as well as an editor, composer, and sound designer. He is co-founder and director of Bunya Productions, and known for the 2013 film ...

made a documentary film about the murder and its impact on the family, '' A Sister's Love''. It was released in 2007 and shown on

ABC Television ABC Television most commonly refers to: *ABC Television Network of the American Broadcasting Company, United States, or *ABC Television (Australian TV network), a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia ABC Television or ABC ...

References

External links

Death Of Lois Martha Roberts
speech by

Janelle Saffin Janelle Anne Saffin (born 1 November 1954) is an Australian politician and a member of the Labor Party. She has been the Member for Lismore in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly since 23 March 2019. She was the Member for Page in the Aus ...

in the Parliament of New South Wales, 12 May 1999
''Roberts faces her sister’s tragedy''
- article from ''Byron Bay Echo'' September 2007 {{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Lois 1990s missing person cases Australian murder victims Deaths by person in Australia Formerly missing Australian people Missing person cases in Australia Unsolved murders in Australia 1998 in Australia History of New South Wales 1998 murders in Australia