Debbie Marie ASHBY

                Debbie Ashby - Age 16.                                                                                                Computer Generated Image - Age 18  

 

Reward of $100,000 to solve disappearance of Debbie Marie Ashby

Debbie Marie Ashby 18 yrs old	Debbie Marie Ashby 25 yrs old	Debbie Marie Ashby 30 yrs old

A $100,000 reward is offered for information leading to an arrest and conviction for the persons responsible for the death of Debbie Marie Ashby.

Ms Ashby was last seen leaving her home on 9 October 1987 at Leumeah in Sydney's West.

Debbie, who was born on 7 October 1971, was 16 at the time of her disappearance and has not been heard from since.  

A coronial inquest determined that Ms Ashby died on, or after, 11 October 1987.

The inquest also recommended that:

• A reward be offered for information that may lead to an arrest and conviction
• That the death of Debbie Ashby be referred to the Unsolved Homicide Unit.

The Police working on this case have exhausted every avenue of investigation and can only move forward if provided with some information.

Police have produced computer generated images of Ms Ashby at the ages of 18, 25 and 30 in the hope that it may trigger someone to come forward.

Click here for more information on Debbie Marie Ashby on the NSW Police Force Missing Persons Enquiry System.

---

Do you have information that can help police with this case?

Any information you have about this is worth giving to police, no matter how small or insignificant it may seem.

You can provide information to police via any of the methods below:

• Call Crime Stoppers any time on 1800 333 000
• Report information to Crime Stoppers any time via this site's secure online form
• Visit or call your local Police Station

Any information provided will be treated in the strictest confidence.

Your help may give police the clue they need to close this case and provide some comfort for the families of victims.

How to claim your reward

1. Contact Crime Stoppers or your local Police Station.
2. Identify yourself and indicate you have information about a crime and that you wish to claim a reward.
3. You will then be put in contact with a police officer involved in the investigation of that case.

Girl missing for 20 years dead: coroner
Leonie Lamont - SMH
February 26, 2007

A coroner's inquest into the disappearance of a teenage girl 20 years ago has recommended that a reward be offered for information about her probable death.

Deputy State Coroner Carl Milovanovich is holding inquests into dozens of "cold case" missing persons. He found, on the balance of probabilities, that Debbie Ashby, 16, who left her family home in Leumeah in October 1987, was probably dead.

He told the family that it was "totally unacceptable" for him as a coroner to be holding an inquest 20 years after the disappearance.

He said under plans to deal with missing persons, any people still missing within six to 12 months should be brought to the coroner's attention.

"There are 9000 people each year in NSW who go missing, and about 40 are never found. I'm not worried about the 8960. I am worried about the 40 because often they are homicides never detected," he said.

He said Debbie disappeared at the same time as a number of other young women had also gone missing.

In making a recommendation for the reward, and sending a file to the homicide squad for review, he said: "It is so unusual for a 16-year-old to disappear, one has to look at it as suspicious; 16-year-olds just don't disappear off the face of the earth, something has happened to her."

Debbie's family wept in court as Mr Milovanovich delivered his formal finding that the girl was dead.

Long search ends with tragic finding
Leonie Lamont - SMH
February 27, 2007

SITTING opposite an inmate at Mulawa jail, Mary Ashby looked at the young woman who "amazingly" looked like her daughter, Debbie, missing since 1987.

But it was not her. "She seems to look like so many other young ladies. I have met several," Mrs Ashby said of the sightings reported to police over the years. "I have come to the conclusion … a long time ago that she is not alive."

Yesterday's inquest at the State Coroner's Court, Westmead, into the disappearance of the 16-year-old gave "no conclusion, no closure", her family said.

The Deputy State Coroner Carl Milovanovich is holding inquests into numerous "cold case" missing persons. He found, on the balance of probabilities, that Debbie, who left her family home in Leumeah in October 1987, was probably dead. He recommended that a reward be offered and homicide squad review the file.

He told the family it was totally unacceptable for him as a coroner to be holding an inquest 20 years later. It was planned that missing persons files be referred to the coroner within six to 12 months of a disappearance.

Mr Milovanovich said Debbie vanished at the same time as several other young women.

"It is so unusual for a 16-year-old to disappear. One has to look at it as suspicious. Sixteen-year-olds just don't disappear off the face of the Earth. Something has happened to her."

The inquest heard she had been going through a rebellious stage. The last her family heard from her was a phone call a few days after she left home, saying she was all right. In 1990 a prostitute contacted the family saying she had seen her in Kings Cross. But they could not find her.

The family wept as Mr Milovanovich delivered his formal finding that she was dead.

Debbie Marie Ashby computer image revealed

• By Kara Lawrence
• The Daily Telegraph
• December 07, 2007 12:00AM

But police fear she may not have had the chance to grow older, and fell prey to a murderer after leaving her Sydney home as a teenager.

Now, a $100,000 reward is being offered for information which leads to the arrest of anyone responsible for her death.

After an extensive reinvestigation by Campbelltown police, the case will be handed to the Unsolved Homicide Unit for review.

Police Minister David Campbell yesterday said foul play was suspected because Ms Ashby had not been seen or heard from since she left her Leumeah home in 1987.

"Debbie was a beautiful young lady who has been robbed of the prime years of her life, and her family has suffered for more than 20 years with her disappearance," he said.

"Debbie Ashby's family deserves answers and those responsible must be brought to justice."

Debbie was 16 years old when she left her family home on October 11, 1987.

A rebellious teen, she had experienced threats at school and had wanted to move schools before leaving school for good.

In February this year, 20 years after her disappearance, Deputy State Coroner Carl Milovanovich said the long-term disappearance of a 16-year-old girl was extremely unusual.

"One has to look at it as suspicious - 16-year-olds just don't disappear off the face of the Earth," he said.

"Something has happened to her."

Mr Milovanovich ruled that Ms Ashby had died on, or after, the date of her disappearance - but was unable to say how she died.

Debbie's mother Mary, stepfather Tony, and sisters Hayley and Mechelle were at Westmead Coroner's Court when the finding was handed down.

Mrs Ashby said she believed her daughter's disappearance was related to threats she had received at school.

Ms Ashby is one of several teen and pre-teen girls who disappeared from NSW in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Others include Helen Karipidis, 10, abducted from Marrickville in December 1988, and Bianca Nelson, 14, last seen running away from her Regents Park home in 1991.

Police, in their efforts to solve the case, have released these computer-generated images of Ms Ashby. They are impression of how she may have looked at the ages of 18, 25, and 30.

Mr Campbell said it was hoped they would help solve a case that has so far run out of leads.

Anyone with any information is urged to contact their local police station or call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.