Articles by Jeremiah Hassel,Sarah Tulloch

Technology

Two girls, 9 and 10, raped and murdered while out door-knocking for Halloween

Two young girls were raped and murdered on a beach after they went door-knocking in the days leading up to Halloween . Patricia Leedie, 9, and Leanne Oliver, 10, were out trying to earn some pocket money. While Oliver's parents were at a Sunday afternoon barbecue in a neighbour's back garden, the girls decided to go door-knocking. The friends were no strangers to odd jobs for a bit of cash - they had previously asked neighbours if they could do some chores in return for money. But on that fateful day on 29 October 1995, they didn't return home. Both girls were last seen around 3pm that day. By 7pm, they were reported missing, and a huge search was launched. The authorities scoured the area until midnight, then resumed the search at dawn, the Express US reports. Alby Oliver, Leanne's dad, was the first one to discover the girls that morning, roughly 12 hours after they vanished. Their partially clothed bodies were found lying side-by-side in the sand dunes at Warana Beach. Post-mortem examinations later revealed that both girls had been sexually assaulted, ABC reports. Police began questioning residents and attendees of the barbecue as they tried to piece together the events of the day and solve the double murder. Shortly afterwards, a wallet belonging to 27 year old Paul Stephen Osborne, a labourer from Wurtulla, who had previously served time for sexually assaulting a teenager, was found on the beach near where the girls' bodies were discovered. Osborne had attended the same barbecue as Leanne's parents on the afternoon of the murders, then was spotted heading towards the beach. The police interviewed Osborne the same night the girls were discovered and charged him with their murders that very night. The horrific attack sparked a public outcry, necessitating increased security at Maroochydore Magistrates Court on the day of his trial. Simultaneously, both girls' relatives and some family friends shed tears as they awaited the start of proceedings. As Osborne was brought into the courtroom, attendees shouted insults at him, resulting in many being thrown out of the gallery, according to ABC. Osborne admitted to all charges and received two life sentences for the murders and two 18-year sentences for the rapes. He remains a restricted prisoner due to the severity of his crimes. Even after three decades, the community of Warana, situated north of Brisbane in the Sunshine Coast region of Queensland, Australia , is still grappling with one of the most horrifying crimes it has ever witnessed. Osborne was recently denied parole and won't be eligible for release for at least another eight years. When Supreme Court Justice Glen Williams handed him two life sentences for murder and two 18-year sentences for rape, he stated that Osborne should never be released. Although he was eligible for parole in 2020, it was denied. Queensland Parole Board president Michael Byrne announced that Osborne would not be permitted to apply for parole again until at least May 22, 2032. Byrne acknowledged the gravity of the crimes, as reported by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, emphasising the risk Osborne's release would pose to the public.