True Crime Collection

Bega Schoolgirl Murders

On 8th October 1997, Leslie and Lindsay drove to Sydney and stayed with Leslie's brother for several days. While in Campbelltown in Sydney's south west, they spent 6 hours cleaning their vehicle at a car wash, as going as far as removing the vehicle's seats and carpets to clean them thoroughly. The pair then returned to Canberra to destroy further evidence before returning to Bega on an unsuccessful search for the discarded portable television which Leslie believed would lead police to them. The television was earlier removed by a local council worker. 

On 25th October 1997, police located a car earlier stolen by Lindsay in Canberra. Inside the vehicle, police discovered maps of the Bega area and items belonging to Lindsay. Members of the Australian Federal Police arrested Lindsay on 27th October on car theft charges and remanded him in custody. Police interviewed Leslie the following day. Both men denied any knowledge of the girls' abduction and murder, and denied discarding a television set by the roadside. However, Leslie admitted travelling with 1 that he had dropped at a St. Vincent De Paul store.

On 12th November, Lindsay made a full confession to police and agreed to guide them to the crime scene at Fiddler's Green Creek, where the remains of the girls' bodies were discovered. Leslie who was at this time also remanded in custody for breaching bail conditions, was awaiting trial at Goulburn Correctional Centre. He was again interviewed by police and informed of Lindsay's confession. Leslie again denied any involvement in the murders, implicated Lindsay as the lone killer, and insisted he was in a drug induced stupor for most of the time the girls were in the car, stating:

"We picked up the girls and went to the beach. I shot up heroin behind the shed. While the girls were drinking I was trying to OD. We drove around with the girls. I was asleep most of the time. Lindsay later told me he had dropped both girls off at home. I remember waking up and seeing the girl. We were parked in the bush. I asked Lindsay where we were and he said Victoria on the main road somewhere. I went off my head. I told him to go home, get the f**k out of here. Then I saw him walking out of the bush. He had blood all over him. Told me he cut his finger."

Police later charged Leslie and Lindsay with multiple counts of abduction, rape and murder. 

Leslie Alfred Camilleri, born 31st May 1969, was born to a family of 6 children in Liverpool, New South Wales. He did not meet his natural father until he was 13 years old. A psychiatric reported prepared in 1993 spoke of Leslie's deprived childhood, and "a pattern of theft and vandalism which have been his reaction to social ostracism, leading to frustration, which because of poor impulse control has ended in explosive outbursts of destructive behaviour".

Leslie was considered "uncontrollable" as a child and spent a large part of his childhood in juvenile detention. He escaped the institution and, between the ages of 10 to 12, lived as a street kid in King's Cross, Sydney. Leslie was eventually taken before the children's court by police and ordered to return to the institution, where he remained until he was 15. 

4 days prior to the abduction of Rosamari Gandarias in Canberra and 3 weeks prior to the Bega murders, Leslie appeared in the District Court of New South Wales on trial for charges relating to sexual offences against his de facto daughters. After 2 days the trial was aborted and Leslie was released from custody on bail. Leslie had 146 prior convictions for offences such as dishonesty, theft and wilful damaged. At the time of the murders, he lived in Yass. Leslie had known Lindsay for a period of 2 to 3 years and would often associate with him to steal cars. 

In 2012, Leslie appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates Court via video link from HM Prison Barwon to be charged with murdering 13 year old schoolgirl Prudence "Prue" Bird, who disappeared from her Glenroy home in February 1992. Leslie had made admissions in a police interview, but there was a dispute over the alleged motive and how the murder was effected. On 5th December 2013, Leslie was sentenced to an extra 28 years' imprisonment for the murder of Prudence, 

Lindsay Hoani Beckett, born 27th March 1974, was born in New Zealand and lived in the Bay of Plenty town of Opotiki before moving to Australia. At the time of the murders, Lindsay lived in Yass and had come to associate with Leslie, 5 years his senior, in criminal pursuits. It would be Lindsay who would eventually break and confess to police about the Bega murders, leading them to the bodies of the victims. 

It was claimed Leslie exerted a strong influence over Lindsay. In sentencing Lindsay to life imprisonment, Justice Vincent described him as having "quite a low IQ" and as someone "who had fallen under the influence of an older individual of much stronger personality". In 2010, Lindsay was moved to another jail after love letters from a former security guard were discovered in his cell. Lindsay was 23 at the time of the murders. He will be 59 when eligible for parole in 2033. 

The trial of Leslie began on 15th February 1999 and ran until 10th April. A total of 70 witnesses were called. Prosecution evidence included a shirt belonging to Lauren containing semen matching Leslie's DNA profile. The shirt was discovered at the rubbish dump in Old Wallagoot Road where the pair had first taken the girls. Police recovered evidence from almost every location the pair had taken the girls and assaulted them. Lindsay was called to give evidence against his co-accused and spent 5 days in the witness box. Leslie continued his claims that he was in a stupor when the girls were with them in the car, and that he barely remembered them, hoping to lay the entire blame for the murders on his associate Lindsay. 

Leslie was found guilty by the Supreme Court jury and on 27th April 1999 was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murders, never to be released. In sentencing Leslie to life imprisonment, never to be released, the judge remarked

Using the control which you clearly had over your weaker willed but equally evil companion, you instructed him to perform acts that, in a somewhat perverse way, it could be said that you probably did not possess the courage to perform yourself. ... it is terrible to contemplate the prospect that, as a consequence of the order which in my view justice and a proper appreciation of sentencing principles would require in your case, you may never be released from prison. However, I consider that my duty is clear. Through your own actions, you have forfeited your right ever to walk among us again.

Leslie was 28 at the time of his crimes and 29 when sentenced. He appeared before the Supreme Court in 2001 to appeal his sentence; the appeal was unsuccessful. He later appealed to the High Court in May 2002, and again his appeal was dismissed. Leslie has received numerous death threats from other prisoners and remains in protective custody. 

On 26th June 1998, Lindsay Hoani Beckett, who confessed to the murders, appeared in the Supreme Court of Victoria where he was arraigned and pleaded guilty to the murders of Lauren Barry and Nichole Collins. On 20th August 1998, Lindsay was sentenced to life imprisonment with a non-parole period of 35 years. At the time of Lindsay's sentencing, his non-parole period was the longest ever given to a Victorian prisoner. After sentencing, the mother of 1 of the schoolgirls yelled to Lindsay, "I hope you rot in hell" as he was led from the courtroom to begin his sentence.