Murder of Allen Redston

Allen Geoffrey Redston
The identification photo provided by police
Born(1960-08-24)24 August 1960[1]
Bendigo, Victoria, Australia
Disappeared27 September 1966
Curtin, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
StatusDead
Died28 September 1966(1966-09-28) (aged 6)
Curtin, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
Cause of deathAsphyxiation[2]
Resting placeWoden Cemetery
35°20′38″S 149°05′35″E / 35.344°S 149.093°E / -35.344; 149.093
NationalityAustralian
Parents
  • Brian Geoffrey Redston[3] (father)
  • Violet Redston[3] (mother)

Allen Geoffrey Redston was an Australian schoolboy who was kidnapped and murdered on 28 September 1966, having disappeared the previous day.[4] Redston's assailant was never caught and his murder remains an infamous cold case in Canberra.

Disappearance

On 27 September 1966, Allen Redston was sent by his mother to buy ice cream for himself and his brother from the local shops in the Canberra suburb of Curtin. However, Redston sent his brother away and headed to his friend's house, planning to spend the day at the Curtin Tip.[2] After waiting for a short period of time, Redston left the area and was not seen again until his body was discovered the next day.

Redston's body was discovered by police among the reeds in a creek bed in Curtin. He had been bound, strangled, wrapped in carpet and then moved to the location.[2]

Suspects

A manhunt began and quickly turned up the descriptions of two suspects: "a blond-haired youth, aged 13–15", and a young man.[5] Both men were seen with Redston earlier that day and both were seen leaving the tip where Redston is believed to have been murdered. Two boys also came forward to report incidents earlier that year in which two men with the same description had bound and attempted to murder them in a similar way. The first boy was tied up and thrown in a lake, however he managed to free himself and swim to safety.[6] The second was also bound but escaped with help from his friends.[5] Neither incident had been reported to police until that point.

No one was ever charged with the crime. However, it was suspected that Allen Redston may have been a victim of serial killer Derek Percy. Percy claimed to have been vacationing in Canberra at that time but never admitted to the killing. He died in 2013.[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Allen Geoffrey Redston". Find a Grave. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  2. ^ a b c "Allen Redston". Australian Capital Territory Policing. 4 May 2016. Archived from the original on 1 January 2020. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  3. ^ a b "Brian Geoffrey Redston". Find a Grave. Archived from the original on 23 November 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  4. ^ reporters, Fairfax (24 July 2013). "Suspect in 1966 murder of Canberra boy dies of cancer". The Canberra Times. Archived from the original on 5 December 2019. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  5. ^ a b "THE REDSTON DEATH MYSTERY". Canberra Times (ACT: 1926–1995). 14 October 1966. p. 8. Archived from the original on 15 February 2023. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  6. ^ "Alan Geoffrey Redstone: I Want To Remember The Abused, Abandoned And Murdered Children Story & Experience". 30 September 2015. Archived from the original on 30 September 2015. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  7. ^ Silvester, John (22 April 2007). "One man, so many faces of evil". The Age. Archived from the original on 29 September 2019. Retrieved 18 July 2019.