A man is behind bars and will likely face extradition after his arrest over a woman’s alleged murder more than two decades ago.
Keith Lees, 72, remains in custody after spending about 18 months evading an arrest warrant over the death of his former partner, 25-year-old Meaghan Louise Rose, who was discovered at the base of Point Cartwright Cliffs on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast in 1997.
The warrant was issued in July 2023 in relation to the alleged murder.
Lees was refused bail in a Sydney court on Friday and will remain in custody to face court again on Thursday.
Rose’s death was initially ruled a suicide but the investigation was reopened in 2009 and a $500,000 reward for information was announced in June 2023.
Queensland detectives said they travelled to Victoria and spoke to her former partner, in June 2023, before his car was found abandoned the next day at Portland in the state’s south-west.
He allegedly gave a false name when spoken to by other officers at Port Fairy, but was spotted again on CCTV at the Waurn Ponds shopping centre in Geelong, where he bought new clothes, before the last sighting of him at the Shepparton train station.
Relatives had previously urged Lees to comply with the interstate arrest warrant.
“Help us to bring justice for Meaghan after all this time. Please help us let her rest in peace,” Rose’s older sister, Christine Richards, said.
Lees was arrested at Dural, in Sydney’s north-west, on Thursday morning.
In addition to his apprehension on the warrant, he was charged with assaulting police, dealing with identity information to commit an indictable offence and possessing identity information to commit an indictable offence.
He tried to bite an officer while he was in custody, New South Wales police alleged.
Queensland police have applied for Lees’ extradition.
Article by:Source Australian Associated Press
