Twenty-five years ago a little girl called Sheree Beasley was abducted while riding her pink bike in Rosebud. She was murdered and dumped in a drain. This is a story dedicated to keeping her memory alive. On 29 June, 1991, six-year-old Sheree Beasley left home on her pink bicycle, wearing her pink helmet, to ride to the local milkbar to buy some things for her mum. On her way back, she saw a friend from school and was chatting to him when a strange man pulled up in a small blue car and demanded she get in. She defiantly refused, but he got out and dragged her inside. The abduction left the whole of Victoria living in fear, and led to a massive police hunt. Taskforce Zenith was set up and Crime Command’s Inspector Andrew Gustke, a detective senior constable at the time, joined about a month after Sheree’s abduction. “After reviewing the case at that stage, we were of the view it was very unlikely Sheree was still alive,” Insp Gustke said. “I had a very young daughter at the time and we were all so dedicated to catching the person who had done this. It was every parent’s worst fear.” Almost three months later, on 24 September, Sheree’s tiny body was found inside a storm water drain. The number one suspect was father of two Robert Arthur Selby Lowe. Insp Gustke was the first investigator to talk to Lowe over the phone and was immediately suspicious. “We had to chase up thousands and thousands of information reports in regards to this case,” he said. “When I first spoke to Lowe, something just wasn’t right. With everyone else, when I asked where they were on that day, they couldn’t remember and would have to go back and consult diaries or people.
“You can have a coincidence, but more than one or two, no such thing,” Insp Gustke said. Lowe had a history of sexual misconduct, including flashing at children and masturbating in public. He was being treated by psychotherapist Margaret Hobbs. Ms Hobbs became convinced Lowe had killed Sheree and was so revolted with him, she agreed to break her patient/client confidentiality and work with the police. Police soon had enough evidence to charge Lowe. "The way he spoke about a six-year-old little girl was just disgusting, she was nothing to him," Insp Gustke said. Lowe was arrested on 29 March, 1993 and remanded in custody. “This was a classic circumstantial case when we first locked him up,” Insp Gustke said. “But then came along Peter Reid.” Peter Reid was a prisoner at Pentridge at the time, with a long criminal history, which included killing a police officer. Reid shared a cell with Lowe and was disgusted with what Lowe was telling him. He became a police informer and later testified against Lowe. Reid captured a confession from Lowe on tape and managed to get the child-killer to draw maps and sketches about the crime. “Reid wasn’t the best witness we could have hoped for, with his long criminal history, but he stuck to his story. He did it purely because he was so outraged someone could kill a little girl,” Insp Gustke said. Lowe was found guilty of kidnapping and murder.
“Not Lowe, he answered everything straight up, he said he was at home that day and that he did not have a property in the area.
Hearing the judge say ‘’life means life” and knowing Lowe will never be released was one of Insp Gustke’s proudest moments.
“We needed to corroborate and verify his answers and found out that all of this was not true, he just lied all the time.”
“We were so proud to solve the murder of an innocent little girl and be part of a team who helped lock up a bloke for life” he said.
Lowe had told members of his church he was going to Rosebud on 29 June to fix some tiles at his holiday unit in the area. He also drove a small blue car, which had been linked to Sheree’s disappearance.
“It is one of the most satisfying moments of my career.”
Victoria Police Academy educator Wayne Miller was a police officer for 13 years, before becoming a journalist. He was working as the chief police reporter for the Herald Sun when the Sheree Beasley case occurred. After winning a Walkley Award for his coverage on the case, he decided to write a book. “This was a case that everyone’s nightmares were made of. The boogie man that you had told your kids to beware of was alive and kicking,” Mr Miller said. His book, titled The Murder of Sheree, follows the case from the fateful day Sheree disappeared to Lowe’s life sentence. Released online for the 25th anniversary of Sheree’s murder, the book tells the story from a number of perspectives, including Lowe’s unsuspecting wife Lorraine, Sheree’s family members, the police involved and the court case. “I wanted to showcase the brilliant work the Victoria Police officers did on what was a really tough case, but at the same time demonstrate the horrendous effect it had on all the families involved, as well as the community,” Mr Miller said. “At that stage, everyone in Victoria knew who Sheree was. People will always remember that pink bicycle and helmet. “This book was written so she is never forgotten. She was a lovely little girl, doing nothing wrong when she was used as a plaything by this evil psychopath.” The Murder of Sheree is available online at www.amazon.com for download to Kindle, iPad or Android.
Image All for Sheree 01 Mr Miller and Insp Gustke caught up to reflect on the case 25 years later. Editorial: Janae Houghton Photography: John Pallot POLICE LIFE | SUMMER 2017
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