DANIEL MORCOMBE
DANIEL MORCOMBE
19 December 1989 – 7 December 2003
Daniel Morcombe lived in Queensland, Australia with his family. Aged 13 he was kidnapped, assaulted and murdered by a convicted child offender, Brett Peter Cowan.
The Australian justice system had let Brett onto the streets knowing he was a danger to the public. Brett had a history of assaulting children. Five years previously he had kidnapped a boy from a caravan park that they were both staying in. He took him to a deserted junk car, assaulted him and then left the child there believing he had killed him. The child woke up and walked to a nearby service station for help. Brett spent two years in prison for this crime. The judge released him because Brett showed ‘remorse’ and ‘found God’ after becoming a Christian. The authorities didn’t keep an eye on Brett after he was released. Brett then met a young woman named Tracey who he had raped, as a Christian, she forgave him, married him and they had a son.
In 2003, Daniel was waiting at a bus stop, to go to the shops to get a haircut and buy Christmas gifts for his family. The bus had broken down and the replacement bus didn’t stop to pick him up. Unfortunately, Brett had noticed Daniel, approached him and offered him a lift to the shopping centre.
Brett was a suspect due to his history and being close to that location when Daniel disappeared. Brett admitted to the police that he travelled the road where Daniel was so he could buy marijuana from a drug dealer. The police released him from lack of evidence. Brett changed his name to Shaddo Hunter, and his wife lied to police to give her husband an alibi. An undercover police officer ‘Joe’ became friends with Brett in 2011, Brett came to trust him and admitted his involvement in Daniel’s disappearance. He led his new friends to the site of where he left Daniel’s lifeless body. DNA testing took place and Brett was arrested. Brett showed no remorse and was charged with murder.
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