Cold case breakthrough after $1 million reward: 81-year-old man charged over baffling murder mystery that saw Denise Govendir found dead in posh Sydney suburb 25 years ago
- Breakthrough in cold case: man arrested
- Denise Govendir Presumably Murdered in 1998
The husband of a woman found dead in Sydney’s eastern suburbs 25 years ago has been charged with murder.
Aaron Govendir, 81, was arrested at 10.15am on Thursday in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, after his wife Denise Govendir, 53, was allegedly bludgeoned to death in Dover Heights in March 1998.
Emergency services responded to reports of a home invasion and found Mrs Govendir’s body in a bedroom of the couple’s home at around 2am on Tuesday 10 March 1998.
Police were informed that the residents, Mrs Govendir and then 55-year-old Aaron Govendir, had been attacked by an unknown man who entered their home under the pretence of being a police officer.
It was initially alleged that the unidentified man had punched Govendir, rendering him unconscious, and then tied his thumbs and toes with cable ties.
He was accused of seriously assaulting Ms Govendir before fleeing in a 1997 Ford Laser sedan. The car was found 11 days later 1.7km from the Rose Bay home.
Govendir claims he called the police when he regained consciousness.
An inquest between 2005 and 2008 found that Ms Govendir had died from a deliberate blunt force trauma to the head by an unknown person or persons.
However, this finding was followed by the declaration that Govendir was the main person involved in the case.
The coroner in 2008 cited “significant circumstantial evidence” implicating Govendir, but said there was “insufficient evidence” to charge him.
The lead detective on the case, Mark Murdoch, concluded his contribution to the investigation with the following words: ‘At the time of writing, Aaron Govendir still lives in the home where his wife of 30 years died a brutal death and still drives the motor vehicle in which his wife’s killer is believed to have escaped.’
In late 2023, a $1 million reward was offered to help police solve the mysterious cold case.
Govendir was charged with murder and refused bail to appear in Penrith District Court on Thursday.
Police will accuse him in court of fabricating the story about the home invasion to cover up her murder.
More coming soon.
A man has been arrested 25 years after the alleged murder of a woman in Sydney’s eastern suburbs
