Secret compartment sparks murder case hope

The discovery of a rifle butt, a hacksaw blade and a condom hidden under a motel bed in northern NSW has sparked a fresh inquiry into a 21-year-old murder case.

Penny Hill, a Narrabri nanny, was found battered and unconscious in a paddock near Coolah, southwest of Tamworth, in July 1991.

The 20-year-old never recovered consciousness and died two weeks later at Newcastle’s John Hunter Hospital.

The murder baffled police but the discovery of the secret compartment under a bed at Coolah’s Black Stump Motel – where Ms Hill had stayed for about a week before her death – has renewed hope of finding her killer.

The discovery on February 26 this year sparked a second inquest into her death, which opened at Tamworth Coroners Court on Monday.

Sergeant Jason Darcy told the court that the motel’s owners found the secret compartment during renovations in February.

It contained a hacksaw blade, a business card for a United Kingdom insurance company, a toilet roll, the butt of a rifle, a package of condoms dating back to the time of Ms Hill’s death, and a used condom.

It is unclear if the items are related to the murder, the court heard.

Counsel assisting, Warwick Hunt, told the inquest a number of witnesses had been asked to provide a DNA sample following the discovery.

In a statement read to the court by Mr Hunt, Ms Hill’s mother, Jeanette, made an emotional plea for help to crack the case.

“Unless you have lost a child, you have no idea how I feel and how hard the last 21 years have been, not knowing what happened to Penny,” she wrote.

“If anyone out there has information, please come forward and help us solve this crime.

“No matter where I go or what I do, she is always with me in my heart.”

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