Quanne DIEC
Quanne DIEC
| Case Type: Missing | DOB: 1986 - 12 years old when missing |
| Missing Date: 27/07/1998 | Sex: Female |
| Height: 5'1" (155 cm) | |
| Missing City: SYDNEY | Weight: Unknown |
| Missing State : | Hair Color: Black |
| Missing Country: Australia | Eye Color: Brown |
| Case Number: AUCBnmpu0007 | |
| Circumstances: 12 year old Quanne Diec was last seen by her father at 7.00am on 27 July 1998. Quanne left her Granville, Sydney home to attend school. She intended to catch a train from Clyde to Strathfield. Quanne did not arrive at school and has not been seen since this time. There are grave concerns for her welfare. | |
Office of the Minister for Police
SYDNEY, 3 February 1999.
MISSING CHILD – SUSPECTED ABDUCTION
TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS ($200,000) REWARD
ON the 27 July 1998, Quanne DIEC, aged 12 years, left her home at Seventh Street, Granville to walk to the Clyde Railway Station to travel to the Strathfield Girls High School.
Miss DIEC did not arrive at school and there have been no confi rmed sightings of her since leaving home on the 27 July 1998. Grave fears are held for the child’s safety. Notice is hereby given that a reward of up to two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000) will be paid by the Government of New South Wales for information leading to the location of Quanne DIEC or the arrest and conviction of any person or persons who may have been responsible for the commission of any serious indictable offence relating to her disappearance.
The reward offer of $100,000 made on the 13 August 1998 is hereby withdrawn and replaced by this offer. The allocation of this reward will be at the sole discretion of the Commissioner of Police.
The urgent assistance and co-operation of the public is especially sought in the matter. Any information, which will be treated as confi dential, may be given at any time of the day or night at any Police Station or by telephone -
Police Headquarters telephone (02) 9281 0000, or
Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000
PAUL WHELAN, LL.B, M.P.,
Minister for Police
|
The man accused of killing schoolgirl Quanne Diec was put in witness protection and spiralled into mental illness after witnessing the aftermath of a triple-murder a year before he allegedly snatched the schoolgirl, Fairfax Media has learnt.
Quanne, 12, was plucked off a Granville street on July 27, 1998, just minutes after she left home to catch the train to Strathfield Girls High School.
After almost two decades, Vinzent Tarantino, 49, attended Surry Hills police station to be interviewed by detectives on Sunday.
Mr Tarantino, who has been a suspect for 18 years, was subsequently charged with enticing Quanne off Factory Street in Granville, when he was 31 and living around the corner in his family home on Second Street.
He detained her with the intention of holding her for ransom but then murdered her by causing "substantial injury," police allege.
Police have returned to Mr Tarantino's childhood home in Second Street, Granville, for a second day on Tuesday to search for Quanne's remains.
It is just 700 metres from the Diec home, where Quanne's parents Ann and Sam have remained since 1998 in case their daughter walked back into the lives.
"If Quanne did return and we're not here, then she won't know where we have gone," Mr Diec said in 2003.
It's unknown what prompted Mr Tarantino to suddenly speak to police after 18 years. However he had allegedly been walking around Surry Hills with a 35-centimetre kitchen knife on Sunday in an episode that has mimicked other apparent breakdowns he has had in the past.
Until Sunday, Mr Tarantino appeared to live a normal life with his de facto partner, CBD clothing store manager Michelle, in her apartment in Sydney's inner west.
Yet, Fairfax Media can reveal that he allegedly went to great lengths to hide a chequered past.
He changed his name from Victor David Gerada to a mash-up of Pulp Fiction's creator, Quentin Tarantino, and the film's violent protagonist, Vincent Vega.
In 2006, he had a violent altercation with his then-partner when she found out that he had not disclosed the truth about his earlier life, according to official documents from the time.
His "earlier life" included a shocking incident in 1997, the year before he allegedly killed Quanne, in which he witnessed the aftermath of a triple bikie murder.
He was working as security guard at the Blackmarket Cafe nightclub in Chippendale when three Bandidos bikies were killed in a bloody shoot-out in the basement.
He was one of the first to see the three bodies and described to authorities the "appalling scene" that confronted him.
After giving evidence against the bikie gang, he tried to commit suicide and left the family home to go into a witness protection program, court documents show.
He moved around Sydney constantly to avoid people knowing who he was and spiralled into mental illness that became psychotic at times.
He had violent confrontations with police on several occasions, including throwing a Molotov cocktail at officers and spraying another with petrol, when they tried to prevent him from self harm.
However, Mr Tarantino's upbringing as a child in Granville had been relatively normal.
He was a sports-mad teenager in a family of three children and did well at school. He gave up a carpenter's apprenticeship to work as a Kings Cross security guard.
A neighbour in Second Street, Peter Youssef, told AAP on Monday that the Gerada family had lived in the Granville home since the 1960s and Vincent would sometimes come back to visit his father, Godwin.
In bizarre comments made to a magistrate in Central Local Court on Monday, he said his brother and partner had been murdered in retaliation "for what I have done".
His brother, Allan, and partner, Michelle, are both alive and well.
- Illawarra Mercury
The man accused of murdering missing schoolgirl Quanne Diec has led detectives through bushland in Bulli Tops in the search for her remains.
Vinzent Tarantino, 49, was charged by police on Sunday, almost two decades after Quanne, 12, was plucked off a Granville street.
He is accused of enticing her off the street just metres from her home, detaining her with the intention of holding her for ransom and then murdering her on July 27, 1998.
For much of the day on Wednesday, Mr Tarantino, dressed in prison greens and handcuffs, walked through bushland in Bulli Tops with police officers.
Rosehill police commander, Superintendent Scott Whyte, said nothing was found on Wednesday but Mr Tarantino had showed officers several locations in the bushland area off Appin Road that may be relevant to the search.
However, he said it would be "very difficult" to find Quanne's remains.
It's understood Mr Tarantino's memory is very patchy and the bushland area has changed over time.
"[The bushland] is extremely dense and obviously, in 18 years, you can imagine there's been significant environmental factors that have impacted on growth ... that's going to make it a very difficult task," he told reporters at the scene on Wednesday afternoon.
He said the search concluded on Wednesday and police will use "high-level images" taken of the site and other information given by Mr Tarantino to assess the best course of action.
"It's our number one priority to bring Quanne home to her parents," he said.
Quanne left her home on Seventh Street, Granville, about 7.30am on July 27, 1998, to go to Strathfield Girls High School.
She was intending to catch a train from Clyde to Strathfield but was never seen again.
Police believe she was enticed into a van on Factory Street, Granville, about 400 metres away from both the Diecs' home and the home of Mr Tarantino.
A stunning breakthrough in the case came on Sunday when Mr Tarantino attended Surry Hills police station to be interviewed by detectives. He was subsequently charged.
Mr Tarantino, who changed his name from Victor David Gerada, has been a suspect in Quanne's disappearance for 18 years.
Fairfax Media reported on Tuesday that it's unknown what prompted Mr Tarantino suddenly to speak to police after 18 years.
However, he had allegedly been walking around Surry Hills with a 35-centimetre kitchen knife on Sunday in an episode that has mimicked other apparent mental breakdowns he has had in the past.
Police have spent the past three days searching the Geradas' home in Granville for Quanne's remains.
A mattress and other items were taken away for examination and parts of the back yard have been dug up.
3.20pm: Police address the media regarding search of Bulli bushland for remains of Quanne Diec.
2.20pm: A heavy fog has fallen on the search area, reducing visibility to
less than 30 metres.
Earlier: The man accused of murdering missing schoolgirl Quanne Diec is leading detectives through bushland at Bulli in the search for her remains.
Search dogs have arrived at the search site which is covering an area about 1km
north of the Southern Gateway Centre, in bushland on the western side of Appin
Road.
Vinzent Tarantino, 49, was charged by police on Sunday, almost two decades after Quanne, 12, was plucked off a Granville street.
The search is covering an area about 1km north of the Southern Gateway Centre, in bushland on the western side of Appin Road.
He is accused of enticing her off the street just metres from her home, detaining her with the intention of holding her ransom and then murdering her on July 27, 1998.
Aerial footage from Channel Seven shows Mr Tarantino, in prison greens and handcuffs, walking through bushland in Bulli Tops, near Wollongong, on Wednesday afternoon with police officers.
A police spokesman refused to comment other than to say: "A police operation is
currently underway in bushland in Bulli Tops. No further information is
available."
Quanne left her home on Seventh Street, Granville, about 7.30am on July 27, 1998, to go to Strathfield Girls High School.
She was intending to catch a train from Clyde to Strathfield but was never seen again.
Police believe she was enticed into a van on Factory Street, Granville, about 400 metres away from both the Diecs' home and the home of Mr Tarantino.
A stunning breakthrough in the case came on Sunday when Mr Tarantino attended Surry Hills police station to be interviewed by detectives. He was subsequently charged.
Mr Tarantino, who changed his name from Victor David Gerada, has been a suspect in Quanne's disappearance for 18 years.
Fairfax Media reported on Tuesday that it's unknown what prompted Mr Tarantino suddenly to speak to police after 18 years.
However, he had allegedly been walking around Surry Hills with a 35-centimetre kitchen knife on Sunday in an episode that has mimicked other apparent mental breakdowns he has had in the past.
Police have spent the past three days searching the Geradas' home in Granville for Quanne's remains.
Police will search an area of bushland at Cataract in the ongoing quest to find the body of 12-year-old schoolgirl Quanne Diec, allegedly murdered almost two decades ago.
The three-day search of dense bushland off Appin Road starts on Monday, following an earlier investigation in Bulli Tops in 2016 which failed to locate her body.
A 49-year-old man was charged with her murder in November 2016.
Officers from Rosehill Local Area Command and the Forensic Services Group will conduct the search into the possible location of Quanne's body.
The student went missing on July 27, 1998 after leaving her Granville home to
catch the train to Strathfield Girls' High School.
Police combed an address in Granville in the search for Quanne's remains in 2016 before continuing their search at Bulli Tops, east of Cataract.
By Jamie McKinnell - ABC
Quanne Diec's family say they are "shattered" after a jury found former nightclub bouncer Vinzent Tarantino not guilty of her murder, despite the fact he confessed to police.
Mr Tarantino faced a Supreme Court trial over the 12-year-old's alleged murder after she was last seen walking from her home in Granville to a railway station in July 1998.
The trial heard 18 years later, Mr Tarantino walked into a Sydney police station and confessed to the murder.
He also gave a detailed interview.
But the 52-year-old pleaded not guilty and his defence team argued he made the false confession because he feared for his safety and thought bikies were after him.
It took the jury almost six days to return a verdict of not guilty.
Hours after the verdict, Quanne's cousin Christine Woo said the family was still trying to process the decision.
"The past 21 years have deeply affected us," she told a press conference Granville Police Station.
"No one should have to go through the pain we have endured.
"The worst part is, Quanne's body has never been found, we haven't been able to lay her to rest or give her the dignity she deserves.
"Someone out there knows where she is and to that person, you have shattered our family."
Quanne's mother Ann Ngo and father Sam Diec stood quietly behind Ms Woo.
Outside court, Mr Tarantino said the media had an obligation to seek the truth.
"I haven't always seen that the last three years," he said.
"Maybe you should always look into the story a bit more."
Asked whether he felt vindicated, Mr Tarantino replied: "Not yet, but I will be."
He declined to elaborate.
Quanne's father told the court he left for work early on the morning she vanished and saw a white van driving slowly down their no-through road.
He said the driver stared at him strangely, and had high cheekbones and sunken eyes.
Mr Diec reported the matter to police but the court heard there was no record of his statement.
During the trial, Mr Tarantino agreed he was driving a white van in Granville the morning Quanne disappeared.
The court heard Mr Tarantino allegedly told a girlfriend he had done something "really bad" during a "botched ransom" and the girl was not meant to die.
Jurors were told an ex-girlfriend, Laila Failey, will claim to have been present in a van allegedly used to dispose of the student's body.
But Mr Tarantino's barrister Belinda Rigg, SC, told the court Ms Failey had "jumped to conclusions" about what she saw.
Ms Rigg said the witness spoke to police shortly after the two broke up and was motivated by spite and a desire to "get back at" Mr Tarantino.
The police officer who first heard Mr Tarantino's confession, Constable Joshua Barnes, was on duty at Surry Hills police station in November 2016 when Mr Tarantino walked in to make the declaration.
Constable Barnes recalled Mr Tarantino said he needed to speak to someone and hand himself in for a homicide, adding it had been "building up" and was "all too much".
A young girl who vanished on her way to school in Sydney’s west more than two decades ago was probably killed in a homicide shortly after her disappearance, an inquest has been told.
Quanne Diec, 12, was last seen on the morning of July 27, 1998, when her mother watched her walk away from their Granville home towards Clyde train station. She never arrived at the station.
Vinzent Tarantino, 53, was charged with Quanne’s murder in 2016 after he walked into a police station and claimed he abducted her, strangled her and dumped her body in Sydney’s south. He was found not guilty in 2019 following a trial in the NSW Supreme Court.
Mr Tarantino’s barrister successfully argued in the trial that her client made a false confession because he feared for his life and believed he was being pursued by bikies after he witnessed the aftermath of a triple bikie murder at the Blackmarket Cafe.
Giving evidence in the trial, Mr Tarantino said he was not involved “in any way” in the abduction or murder of Quanne, and it was never his intention to mislead the police.
On Wednesday, at an inquest in the NSW Coroners Court, advocate assisting the coroner Howard Mullen said the loss of a child was heartbreaking, and he sent his condolences to Quanne’s family for their “devastating” loss.
Senior Constable Mullen said the inquest would determine if Quanne was deceased, and if so, the manner and circumstances of her death and when it occurred.
He said there had been a “lengthy and comprehensive investigation”, including speaking to a woman who saw a young girl get into a white van on the morning Quanne disappeared.
“Police believe this was the last known sighting of Quanne Diec,” Senior Constable Mullen said.
He said Mr Tarantino “should be considered a person of significant interest” because he told multiple people that he killed Quanne, including saying to a girlfriend in 2011, “I killed a girl, it was a botched ransom gone wrong … I drove her out to the bush, everybody wants to know where the plot is.”
Senior Constable Mullen said a separate girlfriend told police Mr Tarantino admitted to killing Quanne by strangling her.
This woman said she drove with Mr Tarantino to Sydney’s south in a van and he got out of the vehicle with a wheelie bin, which had a bad smell, then returned about an hour later.
Mr Tarantino told the murder trial that there was not a body in the wheelie bin, labelling the idea “farcical”. He said the bin contained three guns and a Tupperware container full of cocaine, which he buried in bushland.
Senior Constable Mullen said Quanne’s body had never been recovered and proof of life checks had not found any matches to her.
He said the inquest should make findings that Quanne was deceased and died shortly after she went missing in 1998, with the manner of death being homicide.
Senior Constable Mullen said the coroner would have to give an open finding on the place and cause of Quanne’s death because her body was yet to be discovered.
Deputy State Coroner Derek Lee will deliver his findings on April 19.
A NSW coroner has found missing girl Quanne Diec died by homicide, after she disappeared on her way to school in Sydney’s west more than two decades ago.
The 12-year-old was last seen walking from her home in Granville to a railway station in July 1998.
In 2019, former nightclub bouncer Vinzent Tarantino was found not guilty of her murder, despite the fact he confessed to police.
An inquest into her death commenced last week and Deputy State Coroner Derek Lee found although the evidence did not allow for a finding for the place or precise cause for her death, she died by homicide on or after July 27, 1998.
Mr Lee has recommended the case be referred to the unsolved homicide team in the state crime command.
Detective Inspector Andrew Mackay confirmed Mr Tarantino remained a person of interest in the case.
“The disappearance and suspected murder of Quanne Diec remains an open case with the NSW police,” he said.
“We’re committed to the Diec family and we’re seeking to provide them the answers they so dearly need.
“The matter is an open investigation and there’s a number of lines of inquiry and (Vinzent Tarantino) is a person of interest.”
The Diec family did not attend the closure of the inquest.
“It is a very challenging time, they’re beautiful people, today wasn’t for them,” Detective Inspector Mackay said.
“The findings were expected, they’re very detailed and I acknowledge and thank the coroner for their good work.
“As a matter of course the investigation will proceed to the unsolved homicide team at the state crime command.”
Mr Tarantino confessed to Quanne's alleged murder at a Sydney police station in 2016.
But at trial, he pleaded not guilty and his defence team argued he made the false confession because he feared for his safety and thought bikies were after him.
The court heard Mr Tarantino allegedly told a girlfriend he had done something "really bad" during a "botched ransom" and the girl was not meant to die.
It took the jury almost six days to return a verdict of not guilty.
The inquest findings reference "alleged admissions" made by Mr Tarantino, by calling his two brothers while he attended Sydney Police Centre.
"When I was out of it on drugs I did a horrible thing," he said.
"I have to go in and open up ... I'm going to be charged with murder ... I killed a f***ing kid."
In his police interview, Mr Tarantino made admissions to strangling and killing the 12-year-old at the back of his father's house as part of a 'stupid ransom attempt' that went wrong.
In his findings, Mr Lee extended his "most sincere and respectful condolences" to Quanne's family.
"The unbearable anguish, uncertainty and loss that a family experience after a loved one is reported missing is indescribable," he said.
"This is particularly so when that loss is felt by a parent in relation to a child.
"It is hoped that one day some further information will be provided to Quanne's family to hopefully allow them to find some measure of solace from such a tragic and devastating event."