By 1news.co.nz and is republished with permission
A man has been charged over the gruesome cold-case murder of a father that had stumped police for more than two decades.
Jason Palmer’s body was found in a river at Menangle south of Sydney on February 29, 2004, three weeks after he was reported missing.
The 34-year-old’s body was weighed down with rocks in the murky depths of the Nepean River, but an initial investigation did not identify a suspect.
A 2007 coronial inquest found Palmer was stabbed to death in the western Sydney suburb of Lakemba.
Authorities restarted an investigation in 2022 that led to the arrest of 52-year-old Queensland man Gofal Baziad in southwest Sydney on Monday, before he was charged with murder.
Detective Superintendent Daniel Doherty, who runs the NSW Police homicide team, said only the persistence and focus of detectives allowed them to track down the alleged killer.
“It’s been 20 years since Palmer, who was originally from the UK, is alleged to have been murdered … he was a husband and father, and police had always remained hopeful of an arrest,” he said.
“This arrest once again demonstrates that investigators will not rest until there’s a resolution for unsolved matters, and to provide answers to families.”
Baziad faced the Campbelltown Local Court on Tuesday, did not apply for bail and will remain in custody.
It is alleged he was known to Palmer.
Detectives think there are members of the public that know something about the case and are urging them to make contact.
