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-Where are Louise and Charmian?

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Where are Louise and Charmian?

AN OPEN LETTER TO GEORGE SUTHERLAND

18 March 2008

Dear George,

You and I are very close. So close in fact that I should be calling you Dad because I honestly thought you would become my stepfather. It’s no secret that Mum said you were the greatest love of her life. She waited for the wedding to happen but it never did. She went missing.

So have you ever wondered what happened to Louise and Charmian? I have not had a single word from you in 28 years, so naturally I want to know why. Is it really so difficult to face me? The inquest may be over - yes Louise and Charmian are officially dead - but I am still here and my questions have not been answered.

The connection between you and I actually goes right back to 1968 when Mum was pregnant with yours truly and worked in the very same office as you. A baby in the womb hears the outside world long before it’s born, so your voice was one of the first voices I would have become familiar with. I even have the cards that you gave Mum when I was born. Wow, that’s nearly half a century ago.

I find it so strange then that I have not heard a peep from you since Mum and Charmian went missing. In fact the silence is deafening.

As I never heard from you after the disappearance I had a list of questions for you when the inquest started in 2006. There was so much I wanted to know. I was originally under the impression you were a great guy because Mum was madly in love with you. I assumed you would have been happy to answer my questions at the inquest. Unfortunately I was very naïve. I was in for a real shock when you refused to take the witness stand. It just didn’t seem fair. After all, I took the witness stand and yes, I answered the questions from your lawyer. You were sitting close enough to the box to surely notice how incredibly distressing it was to defend myself and the memory of my mother.

Forgive me for expressing my opinion on this – and remember it is just an opinion – but I think that refusal to take the witness stand on the basis of self-incrimination is cowardly. Yep, it’s definitely for crybabies even though I know there’s a lot of expert criminals and defence lawyers out there who’d care to disagree.

Of course I would love to believe that you are in no way connected with the disappearance and death of Mum and Charmian, but before I can come to that conclusion, I really need to address a few nagging doubts in my mind.

You see George, I’m confused as to why you didn’t call the police or at least come down to the flat to help sort out the situation when you knew that Louise and Charmian went missing. You’d spent the night together with Mum around Easter that same year. So I’m a bit puzzled about your response to the police when they contacted you. You told them that you didn’t know where Louise would have gone to, because she didn’t indicate that she was planning to go anywhere then. Then in 2001 you told police that Mum was going to take a trip on the Ghan so you gave her $20. Can you understand why I’m a bit confused?

John, Rosalie and I remember you staying at Mum’s flat over the years, so of course you must remember us. Did you think about us when Louise and Charmian went missing? Do you have any idea of what we went through when we realized that our mother and sister had vanished and were presumed dead? Surely it would have been obvious that we were distressed, confused, worried, upset, fearful, agonized, horrified, in tatters, etc, etc. Did you think that we wouldn’t care because we were just kids? Can you possibly imagine just for one moment what we are still going through to this day? Can you comprehend our endless thoughts of where some murdering scumbag hid the bodies?

George, there was no phone call from you, no letter, no card, no visit, no nothing.

I need you to know that cleaning out Mum’s flat remains one of the most horrible memories I have in my life. Naturally I’m incredibly curious to know why you – as Mum’s boyfriend - never showed up, even if it was only to collect the furniture and the fridge you gave my mum and the stuffed toys you gave to Rosalie and Charmian.

Then there’s the issue about the television. You bought this TV for Mum. So how did it just mysteriously vanish if there were no signs of forced entry into the flat? If you didn’t take it, then who did? How on earth did this person get in to the flat? Why would they only want to rob Mum of her TV? The whole thing is kind of creepy. As a matter of fact I don’t think even Sherlock Holmes could figure this one out.

The Holden ute is the next thing I’d really like to clear up. How did you pick up Charmian’s cot from Connie’s place? Remember how huge that cot was? Funny thing is I recall you saying somewhere that you didn’t drive a ute. So if Garry Ewert swore under oath that you bought a ute from his father, who’s telling the truth?

George, what I’m asking of you isn’t really a matter for the lawyers or the courts - I believe that answering these questions is just a matter of human decency on your behalf. Remember it was the cops who named you as a suspect, not me.

So here’s a few more;

Why didn’t you contact me, John or Rosalie when you received money from Mum’s will?
Why did you want the original oil painting of Mum after she went missing?
Why did you keep referring to Mum as ‘the lady’ when police interviewed you in 1991?
Why did you deny responsibility for fathering Charmian after she and Mum went missing?

Seriously I’d run out of paper if I wrote down everything I want to know, but in closing, George I really, really need to know this – do you think that the person who murdered Louise and Charmian is a gutless monster?

I eagerly await your response.

PO Box 6164 Karingal LPO VIC 3199 Ph 1300 651 508

www.louiseandcharmian.com