THE NSW Government and NSW Police Force will today announce a $1 million reward for information relating to the suspicious death of Paul Murray in Lightning Ridge in 1995.
Paul Murray, then aged 40, owned an opal mining field about eight kilometres north-west of Lightning Ridge and lived in a camp at the site.
He was last seen alive on March 19, 1995 by a local, who picked up Mr Murray, and dropped him off on the outskirts of town.
He was reported missing to police one week later, and following an extensive search, his body was found naked and decomposing in scrub by two graziers, about two kilometres from his campsite on April 22, 1995.
A post-mortem examination found no signs of trauma or obvious cause of death, and further inquiries by officers attached to Central North Police District and a coronial inquest in 1996, all failed to determine the manner or cause of Mr Murray’s death.
Following a review in 2012, the matter was referred to detectives from State Crime Command’s Unsolved Homicide Unit, who established Strike Force Huddleston to investigate further.
During this time, Homicide Squad detectives announced a $100,000 and subsequent $500,000 reward for information into his disappearance.
As part of ongoing inquiries, police will today announce the reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of any person or persons responsible for Mr Murray’s death has increased to $1 million.
