Pearce Family Murder’s: Part II: The Murders

Pearce Family Murder’s: Part II: The Murders

 On Saturday the 5th of January 1991, Stuart Pearce drove from his home at Jackson street Parafield Gardens to his job at the Wingfield BP petrol station.
 His usual routine was to wake up at about 10pm, have a shower and a meal, then drive his Datsun 240K for about 15 minutes to Wingfield to start his shift at midnight.
 An hour before his waking up, at 9pm, Meredith Pearce had spoken to her sister on the phone and made no indication that anything was wrong, or that she was under threat.

 

Datsun car found abandoned
at Kilkenny Shopping Centre
 believed to belong to murder suspect
missing person Stuart Pearce Jan 1991.

The next morning, on Sunday the 6th of January 1991, Metropolitan Fire Service was called to the Jackson Street house of the Pearce family to find it ablaze. The fire had been reported at 7:17am. Stuart Pearce’s nightshift ended at 6:50am.
Pearce’s distinctive white 240K Datsun coupe was found dumped at a Kilkenny shopping centre. His wife, Meredith’s blood was found in the boot of the car and on a door trim. Police believe that her blood was most likely transferred to the car from Pearce.

 Meredith Pearce was found in her bedroom tied to a chair, she had a towel stuffed in her mouth, and was strangled with an electrical cord. The media reported that Adam and Travis had also been tied to chairs and had been asphyxiated by having plastic bags cover their heads. 2-year-old Kerry was reported to have been smothered to death. Autopsies revealed the family had died before the fire had been lit.

 A Police search of the property during their investigation revealed that Stuart Pearce’s .303 rifle was missing. It also uncovered a bunker, which was being used to conceal a drug crop of 25 marijuana plants.

 Police speculated that Pearce murdered his family before going to work. During their investigations, it was revealed that gas bottles had been set around the house on the night prior to the fire, but these failed to explode. Police suspect that Pearce returned home after his night shift and used other accelerants around the house to set the fire, before fleeing to dump his car.

Stuart Pearce remains the most likely suspect in the murder of his family. Over the years, the only survivor, Matthew, who lost his entire family in one night, has been interviewed by police. He denies having any knowledge of his father’s whereabouts.

 Matthew told The Advertiser newspaper, in 2002 that he believed his father was innocent, and that he thought the murderer had been trying to get information from his mother.
 Matthew, in 2004 was charged and sentenced to gaol for criminal trespass after being found in the ceiling of a toy shop, where he said he had been hiding for four hours, as he believed the murderers of his family would come after him next.

Police are still searching for Stuart Pearce.

Computer generated likeness of what Stuart Pearce may look like now.

A reward of up to $1 million dollars has been offered for information leading to the apprehension and/or conviction of the person, or people, responsible for the suspected murders.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or report online at https://crimestopperssa.com.au/ - Callers can remain anonymous.

Researched and written by Allen Tiller © 2018.

The Haunts of Adelaide: https://www.facebook.com/TheHauntsOfAdelaide/

References:

ABC News (2014) SA most wanted Stuart Pearce: Computer generated images released, retrieved from https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-09-05/computer-generated-images-of-sas-most-wanted/5722366 

Crime Stoppers South Australia. (2018). PEARCE FAMILY. Retrieved from https://crimestopperssa.com.au/case/pearce-family/

Hunt, N. (2015, February 28). The cold case files – unsolved SA murders reopened. The Advertiser. Retrieved from http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/the-cold-case-files-unsolved-sa-murders-reopened/news-story/05d586cc6f5314bd232554213940e0d9

Hunt, N. (2016, October 1). Police release new details, photos in 1991 Pearce family killings. The Advertiser. Retrieved from http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/police-release-new-details-photos-in-1991-pearce-family-killings/news-story/8718ddfe90cc563037bdcce8bb769d62

SBS News (2016, 2 October), Renewed search for SA murder fugitive, Retrieved from; https://www.sbs.com.au/news/renewed-search-for-sa-murder-fugitive

Seidel, N, (2013), Family killers strike most often in summer holidays, UK study shows News Corp Australia Network, retrieved from https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/law-order/family-killers-strike-most-often-in-summer-holidays-uk-study-shows/news-story/4f5d3c4309f417d95c47ba74ab219477

Pearce Family Murder’s: Part II: The Murders

Pearce Family Murder’s: Part II: The Murders

 On Saturday the 5th of January 1991, Stuart Pearce drove from his home at Jackson street Parafield Gardens to his job at the Wingfield BP petrol station.
 His usual routine was to wake up at about 10pm, have a shower and a meal, then drive his Datsun 240K for about 15 minutes to Wingfield to start his shift at midnight.
 An hour before his waking up, at 9pm, Meredith Pearce had spoken to her sister on the phone and made no indication that anything was wrong, or that she was under threat.

 

Datsun car found abandoned
at Kilkenny Shopping Centre
 believed to belong to murder suspect
missing person Stuart Pearce Jan 1991.

The next morning, on Sunday the 6th of January 1991, Metropolitan Fire Service was called to the Jackson Street house of the Pearce family to find it ablaze. The fire had been reported at 7:17am. Stuart Pearce’s nightshift ended at 6:50am.
Pearce’s distinctive white 240K Datsun coupe was found dumped at a Kilkenny shopping centre. His wife, Meredith’s blood was found in the boot of the car and on a door trim. Police believe that her blood was most likely transferred to the car from Pearce.

 Meredith Pearce was found in her bedroom tied to a chair, she had a towel stuffed in her mouth, and was strangled with an electrical cord. The media reported that Adam and Travis had also been tied to chairs and had been asphyxiated by having plastic bags cover their heads. 2-year-old Kerry was reported to have been smothered to death. Autopsies revealed the family had died before the fire had been lit.

 A Police search of the property during their investigation revealed that Stuart Pearce’s .303 rifle was missing. It also uncovered a bunker, which was being used to conceal a drug crop of 25 marijuana plants.

 Police speculated that Pearce murdered his family before going to work. During their investigations, it was revealed that gas bottles had been set around the house on the night prior to the fire, but these failed to explode. Police suspect that Pearce returned home after his night shift and used other accelerants around the house to set the fire, before fleeing to dump his car.

Stuart Pearce remains the most likely suspect in the murder of his family. Over the years, the only survivor, Matthew, who lost his entire family in one night, has been interviewed by police. He denies having any knowledge of his father’s whereabouts.

 Matthew told The Advertiser newspaper, in 2002 that he believed his father was innocent, and that he thought the murderer had been trying to get information from his mother.
 Matthew, in 2004 was charged and sentenced to gaol for criminal trespass after being found in the ceiling of a toy shop, where he said he had been hiding for four hours, as he believed the murderers of his family would come after him next.

Police are still searching for Stuart Pearce.

Computer generated likeness of what Stuart Pearce may look like now.

A reward of up to $1 million dollars has been offered for information leading to the apprehension and/or conviction of the person, or people, responsible for the suspected murders.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or report online at https://crimestopperssa.com.au/ - Callers can remain anonymous.

Researched and written by Allen Tiller © 2018.

The Haunts of Adelaide: https://www.facebook.com/TheHauntsOfAdelaide/

References:

ABC News (2014) SA most wanted Stuart Pearce: Computer generated images released, retrieved from https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-09-05/computer-generated-images-of-sas-most-wanted/5722366 

Crime Stoppers South Australia. (2018). PEARCE FAMILY. Retrieved from https://crimestopperssa.com.au/case/pearce-family/

Hunt, N. (2015, February 28). The cold case files – unsolved SA murders reopened. The Advertiser. Retrieved from http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/the-cold-case-files-unsolved-sa-murders-reopened/news-story/05d586cc6f5314bd232554213940e0d9

Hunt, N. (2016, October 1). Police release new details, photos in 1991 Pearce family killings. The Advertiser. Retrieved from http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/police-release-new-details-photos-in-1991-pearce-family-killings/news-story/8718ddfe90cc563037bdcce8bb769d62

SBS News (2016, 2 October), Renewed search for SA murder fugitive, Retrieved from; https://www.sbs.com.au/news/renewed-search-for-sa-murder-fugitive

Seidel, N, (2013), Family killers strike most often in summer holidays, UK study shows News Corp Australia Network, retrieved from https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/law-order/family-killers-strike-most-often-in-summer-holidays-uk-study-shows/news-story/4f5d3c4309f417d95c47ba74ab219477

Pearce Family Murder’s: Part I: The Hunt for Stuart Pearce.

Pearce Family Murder’s: Part I: The Hunt for Stuart Pearce.

Saturday the 5th of January 1990 was the last time Meredith Pearce talked to her sister on the phone, the next morning she would be dead.

On Sunday morning the 6th of January 1991, the Metropolitan fire service was called to a home on Jackson Street, Parafield Gardens. The home was well ablaze, and after being extinguished, inside was found the body of Meredith Pearce (31) and three of her four children, Adam (11), Travis (9) and Kerry (2), missing from the house fire were Meredith’s husband, Stuart, and another son, Matthew (8).
Matthew, it was later found, had spent the night before sleeping over at a friend’s house. Stuart Pearce, however, could not, and still to this day, be found and remains the prime suspect in the murder of the family.

The Pearce family - circa 1990

Since the murders took place, numerous sightings of Stuart Pearce were reported across the world. Police investigated each one, with all being false identifications, and the suspects involved being able to prove who they really are.
A man fitting Pearce’s description, wearing a beige coloured uniform with the BP logo on it was seen in a Port Augusta shop on the day of the murders being reported.
Other unconfirmed sightings took place at Ceduna and at Madura in Western Australia.
A month after the murders, another unconfirmed sighting of Pearce took place at Portland, Victoria.
In late 1991, Pearce was sighted in Mount Gambier. Police thought he may have been sheltered by friends in the area, but Pearce alluded police capture.

Pearce was reportedly sighted in June 1996, at a Knox shopping centre in Melbourne, but this sighting remains inconclusive with no images of the person offered to police.

Detective Sergeant Sharpe said of the hunt for Stuart Pearce in a 2016 interview: “It would be very difficult for someone to live off the grid for this length of time – we have his fingerprints plus a DNA profile and he’s the subject of an Interpol red notice, but he hasn’t come to our attention.

Pearce is 177cm’s tall and has blue eyes. At the time of the murders, he had two distinctive tattoos. One tattoo was a Maltese Cross with a red and green rose over it on his lower left leg, and on his upper right arm, he had a tattoo of a naked woman with a rose on her back.


Stuart Pearce remains the prime suspect in the murders.

The Pearce family home at Parafield Gardens 

A reward of up to $1 million dollars has been offered for information leading to the apprehension and/or conviction of the person, or people, responsible for the suspected murders.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or report online at https://crimestopperssa.com.au/ - Callers can remain anonymous.


Next Week: Pearce Family Murder’s: Part II: The Murders


Researched and written by Allen Tiller © 2018.
(References published in the final post.)

The Haunts of Adelaide: https://www.facebook.com/TheHauntsOfAdelaide/