The NSW Government and NSW Police Force have announced a $1 million reward for information relating to the murder of Susan Kay and Joanne Teterin.
Shortly before midday on Wednesday 17 May 2000, police forced their way into a home on Doran Street in Carrington, where they found the bodies of 32-year-old Susan Kay and 37-year-old Joanne Teterin.
It was established the women were last known to be alive on Thursday 11 May 2000 before they were allegedly bludgeoned to death and discovered a week later.
At the time, detectives attached to Homicide and Serious Crime Agencies assisted Newcastle Police with the investigation; however, no arrests or charges laid over the murders.
Following a 2003 coronial inquest, the matter was referred to the Homicide Squad’s Unsolved Homicide Unit for review and assessment.
During this time, detectives also announced a $100,000 reward for information into their deaths.
In 2025, the review was finalised and unearthed fresh forensic opportunities that have since become the focus of police inquiries.
As inquiries continue, police will today announce a reward for information into any person or persons responsible for the murder of Susan Kay and Joanne Teterin, has increased to $1 million.
Minister for Police and Counter-terrorism Yasmin Catley said the increased reward reflects the ongoing determination to secure answers for the families of the two women, who have endured years of uncertainty and grief.
Our police do not walk away from cases like this. Detectives have spent years chasing every lead, revisiting every detail and refusing to let these women become forgotten victims and today’s reward is a clear message that this investigation is far from over.”
Someone out there knows something. It might be a conversation they overheard, something they saw years ago, or a detail they never thought mattered – but it could be the missing piece police need.”
These families have lived with unimaginable grief and unanswered questions for far too long. If you have information, no matter how small, come forward now and help police finally deliver the answers they deserve.”
Homicide Squad Commander, Detective Superintendent Joe Doueihi said he has confidence that someone in the community has information that can help.
It has now been 26 years since Susan Kay and Joanne Teterin were found deceased. These women were loved, they were valued, and they were taken from their families in the most violent way,” Det Supt Doueihi said.
Over that period, detectives have continued to review material, re-test exhibits and pursue new lines of inquiry – avenues that have only become possible with the passage of time.
We’re now hoping that same passage of time may encourage someone to come forward with information.
We are appealing to the community to help us give their families the answers, the accountability and the closure they deserve.”
Susan’s daughter Samantha Kay said her family has carried the unbearable pain of losing her mum for 26 years.
My mother was brutally taken from us on Mother’s Day, 2000. I was only nine years old when I was told the person I loved most in the world was never coming home. In an instant, my childhood was shattered. Every milestone, every birthday, every hard moment in life has been lived with the ache of her absence,” Samantha said.
While we have spent decades grieving, searching for answers and trying to rebuild what was broken, the person responsible has remained free. Somewhere, someone knows what happened to Mum.”
After all these years, we are simply asking for the truth – so my mum can finally have justice, and our family can finally have peace.’
Susan’s sister Desiree expressed her hope that this reward will motivate someone to speak.
Susan is so much more than a news headline – she is a mother, a daughter, a sister, an aunt, and she has grandsons and great nieces and nephews she never got to meet. She remains very much loved, often spoken about, and very much missed,” Desiree said.
Anyone who knows, or even suspects something, to come forward and help us have a resolution to this aspect of our grief at last.”
We also hope that today’s announcement makes the person responsible realise that this has not gone away, that it will never go away, and that there will never be a time they can relax.”
Anyone with information about the murders of Susan Kay and Joanne Teterin is urged to contact Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000 or https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au. Information is managed on a confidential basis. The public is reminded not to report information via NSW Police social media pages.
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