Suspect returns 27 years after alleged murder in unknown case – Australian Associated Press

A 72-year-old man returned from the highway under police guard after allegedly evading an arrest warrant for 18 months in connection with the death of his ex-partner almost 30 years ago

Keith Lees was taken to the Brisbane Watch House in the back of a police vehicle on Thursday and appeared in court on Friday accused of murdering his former partner, whose body was found at the foot of a cliff in 1997.

Lees was flown from New South Wales to Queensland with detectives after a Sydney court agreed to his extradition on Thursday.

He was arrested on January 2 for the alleged murder of 25-year-old Meaghan Louise Rose almost three decades earlier.

Lees wore jeans and covered his face with a black polo shirt as he was wheeled into the guardhouse, handcuffed and sitting between two detectives in suits and sunglasses.

He appeared bald and with a white beard, unlike previously published photos in which he was clean-shaven and with hair falling out.

Lees faced identity fraud and assault charges in New South Wales after allegedly biting a police officer, but those charges were dropped to allow extradition.

The court was told a flight had been arranged to take Lees directly to Queensland, where he is due to appear in the Brisbane Magistrates’ Court on Friday.

Ms Rose’s body was discovered at the foot of Point Cartwright Cliffs on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.

She moved from Victoria to Queensland with Mr Lees, who was more than 20 years her senior.

The death was initially ruled a suicide, but investigators reopened the case in 2009 and a $500,000 reward for information was announced in June 2023.

Meanwhile, Queensland detectives traveled to Victoria and spoke to Lees before his car was found abandoned the following day, prompting an extensive land and air search.

He allegedly gave a false name to other officers in Port Fairy before being captured on CCTV buying new clothes in Geelong and was last seen at Shepparton railway station.

In charges dropped by prosecutors on Thursday, New South Wales State Police alleged that Lees had been evading arrest warrants for about 18 months using a false identity.

He was accused of using false documents, including a driving license, a pensioner discount card, a bank card and a bank account.

Court documents show Lees allegedly received government welfare benefits and subsidized housing under an alias.

After an arrest warrant was issued on his behalf, Lees’ relatives publicly appealed to him to stop running away and turn himself in.

Months after his disappearance, Lees’ adult child, Wren Dawnsong, expressed hope that Ms Rose’s family would find closure.

“I break my heart for them every day. Justice must be done,” they said.

Ms Rose’s older sister, Christine Richards, urged anyone helping the Lees to “think about who you are dealing with”.

“Help us bring justice to Meaghan after so long, help us let her rest in peace,” she said.