Two people charged over burning bodies in drums

January 30, 2006

A man and a woman have been charged with the murders of two people whose bodies were found burning in oil drums in the Tomerong State Forest, about 210 kilometers south of Sydney on Sunday.

The bodies were found by New South Wales Rural Fire Service officers who were called to extinguish a small bushfire. The firefighters notified the local Nowra police who established several crime scenes in the area. The crime scenes are believed to include an area surrounding a burnt out vehicle believed to belong to the victims, a house where the murders are thought to have occurred, and areas in the State Forest.

27-year-old Stacey Lea-Caton voluntarily attended Nowra Police Station and told officers he had witnessed a man and woman being tied up in a house in Nowra and he feared they were about to be murdered by another man and woman.

Police then attended a property in Calymea Street, Nowra, where 36-year-old Kim Leanne Snibson agreed to accompany them to the station for questioning.

Lea-Caton and Snibson have both been charged with two counts of murder and faced Nowra Local Court today.

Magistrate Doug Dick issued a suppression order on the identities of the victims, but refused Snibson’s request for a suppression order on her identity to protect her children who attend a local school, saying the court processes must be transparent.

Lea-Caton appeared briefly in the court dock but Snibson refused and remained in the cells.

They did not apply for bail and both were remanded into custody to appear in court on April 10.