Sian Kingi (16 December 1974 – 27 November 1987) was a 12-year-old New Zealand-Australian girl of Maori descent who was abducted, raped and murdered in

Noosa The Shire of Noosa is a local government area about north of Brisbane in the Sunshine Coast district of South East Queensland, Australia. The shire covers an area of . It existed as a local government entity from 1910 until 2008, when it was ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

in November 1987. Barrie John Watts and Valmae Faye Beck, a married couple, were convicted in 1988 of the much-publicised crime. Watts was sentenced to life imprisonment without

parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...

. Beck would have been eligible for parole after 14.5 years, but died while she was still incarcerated.Valmae Beck, Sian Kingi's killer, is 'close to death'
, Courier Mail, 7 May 2008

Disappearance

At around 4:30 pm on Friday, 27 November 1987, Sian Kingi, a 12-year-old schoolgirl, was last seen riding her yellow 10-speed bicycle home after school near Pinnaroo Park in

Noosa Heads Noosa Heads is a coastal town and suburb in the Shire of Noosa, Queensland, Australia. In the , the suburb of Noosa Heads had a population of 4,484 people. It is a popular holiday destination. Geography The suburb is bounded to the west by We ...

. Just beforehand, Kingi had been shopping with her mother, and took her regular route home afterwards through the park. When her mother arrived home and Kingi was not there as expected, it was assumed that she had met friends from her school or her volleyball team and was delayed. Later, when Kingi still did not return, her mother began calling the homes of her friends without success. By 8 pm, Kingi's parents began retracing her steps, and, after retrieving her abandoned bicycle from the park, visited the local police to report the disappearance.

Investigation

Despite the late notice, police were able to assist in having a missing person's report for Kingi inserted into the following day's newspaper. Police also began collecting information about people who had been in the park at the time of the disappearance. Police had little to go on until the discovery of Kingi's body on 3 December 1987, 15 km away near Castaway's Creek in the Tinbeerwah Mountain State Forest. Attention then turned to a dusty unidentified white 1973 Holden Kingswood station wagon, with interstate registration, that had been seen in the general area. In the weeks that followed, as police gathered evidence, numerous other incidents were linked to the vehicle (although exact details of the vehicle often varied), including the suspicious behaviour of the driver and three other assault incidents. The owner of the vehicle, confirmed as Victorian registration LLE-429, was finally identified as Valmae Beck. Beck and her husband, Barrie Watts, who had married a year earlier, had been living in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, but had moved to Victoria before renting a property in

Lowood, Queensland Lowood is a rural town and locality in the Somerset Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Lowood had a population of 4,159 people. Geography The town is on the Brisbane River, west of the state capital, Brisbane, and north ...

. Both had extensive criminal records and were out on bail. When police visited the Lowood property on 11 December, evidence indicated that Watts and Beck had last been there on 4 December (when news of the discovery of the body broke). Cut hair and dye kits indicated that both had changed their appearance. Fortunately, the owner of the property had received a money order for rent from the couple on 10 December from

The Entrance, New South Wales The Entrance is a coastal town and suburb in the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the Central Coast Council local government area. At the , The Entrance had a population of 3,873 people. The town occupies a p ...

. Plain clothes police were then able to locate and arrest the couple there on 12 December, and they were extradited to Queensland on 14 December. The couple were charged on 15 December with the abduction, rape, and murder of Kingi. During questioning, Watts refused to speak, but Beck was more talkative. Between Beck's comments and secret recordings from their adjacent holding cells, investigators were able to recreate the crime. Beck explained how Watts, unsatisfied with her because she was ten years his senior, had fantasised about raping a young virgin. After a number of previous attempts on other victims in

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...

, they noticed Kingi, and Beck stopped her on the premise that she was looking for her lost poodle.Letters of a child killer
, Courier Mail, 7 July 2007 After Kingi dismounted to help, Watts grabbed her from behind and forced her into the back of their car, where she was bound and then driven by Beck to Tinbeerwah. Kingi was then raped by Watts before being stabbed, strangled, and abandoned.

Trial

At a committal hearing in April 1988, Beck pleaded guilty to the abduction and rape, and not guilty to the murder, while Watts pleaded not guilty to all charges. The couple were tried separately at the Noosa Magistrates Court primarily on Beck's testimony. Beck's trial commenced in October 1988 and Watts's in February 1990. Beck was found guilty on 20 October 1988, and given three years, five years, and life imprisonment for the three charges. Watts, who remained unresponsive during trial, was found guilty on 28 February 1990, and given three years, fifteen years, and life imprisonment for the three charges.

Subsequent developments

Watts

During trial, it was revealed that Barrie Watts was an orphan with a long criminal record who had met Beck in 1983 and married her in 1986 in Perth. In 1995, he was tried for the murder of Helen Mary Feeney, who was last seen alive on 29 October 1987, one month before the murder of Kingi. The case failed due to lack of evidence. In 2007, in an unsuccessful effort to promote his parole chances, Watts finally confessed to his involvement in the murder of Kingi.'I killed Sian Kingi'
, Courier Mail, 10 June 2007

Beck

Valmae Beck had three older brothers, and as a 12-year-old, began working in a clothing factory. By 15, due to parental neglect, she became a

ward of the state In law, a ward is a minor or incapacitated adult placed under the protection of a legal guardian or government entity, such as a court. Such a person may be referenced as a "ward of the court". Overview The wardship jurisdiction is an ancient j ...

and spent much of the period from 1961 to 1972 in and out of jail. While in prison in Perth, she met and was influenced by serial killer

Catherine Birnie David John Birnie (16 February 1951 – 7 October 2005) and Catherine Margaret Birnie (née Harrison; born 23 May 1951) were an Australian couple from Perth, Western Australia, who murdered four women at their home in 1986, and attempted to mur ...

. Prior to her relationship with Watts, Beck had six children from two previous marriages. In prison, Beck was targeted by fellow inmates and was assaulted frequently. At one point, she was struck in the head with a tin can in a sock, causing serious injury. Beck eventually had to be transferred to the Townsville Correctional Centre. She was also said to have converted to Christianity during this time. Beck divorced Watts in 1990, saying she regretted everything she had ever done with him. In 1993, she began a romance with Robert John Fardon, a convicted rapist. Beck unsuccessfully applied for parole three times, and in 2007, it was reported that she had legally changed her name to Fay Cramb. In May 2008, she was placed in an

induced coma An induced comaalso known as a medically induced coma (MIC), barbiturate-induced coma, or drug-induced comais a temporary coma (a deep state of unconsciousness) brought on by a controlled dose of an anesthetic drug, often a barbiturate such as ...

Townsville Hospital Townsville University Hospital (TUH), formerly The Townsville Hospital (TTH), is a public tertiary care hospital on Angus Smirth Drive, Douglas, Townsville, Queensland, Australia. It is the largest facility within the Townsville Hospital and He ...

following heart surgery.Let Noosa child killer die, says MP
, '' Sunshine Coast Daily'', 8 May 2008 Police hoped to obtain a

deathbed confession A deathbed confession is an admittance or confession when someone is nearing death, or on their "death bed". This confession may help alleviate any guilt, regrets, secrets, or sins the dying person may have had in their life. These confessions c ...

regarding three other unsolved

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

-area murders of young women, but Beck died on 27 May 2008 without regaining consciousness.

Media

An episode of the documentary series ''

Crime Investigation Australia ''Crime Investigation Australia'' is an Australian true-crime series that first premiered on pay TV Foxtel's Crime & Investigation Network in August 2005. The series was also rebroadcast on Free to air Nine Network, and made its debut there on ...

'' was devoted to the case.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kingi, Sian 1980s in Queensland 1987 murders in Australia 1990s missing person cases 1995 crimes in Australia Female murder victims Formerly missing people Kidnapped Australian children Kidnapped New Zealand people Kidnapping in Australia Missing person cases in Australia Murdered Australian children Murdered New Zealand children Murder in Queensland Rape in Australia Incidents of violence against girls