Deborah Susan Balken Gillian Janine Jamieson
Deborah Susan Balken Gillian Janine Jamieson

A $100,000 reward is on offer for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the deaths of Deborah Balken and Gillian Jamieson in 1980.

Serial killer Ivan Milat was listed as one of four persons of interest in the case.

The 20-year-old friends have not been seen since leaving Parramatta's Tollgate Hotel, some time after 7pm on 12 July, 1980.

No trace of either woman has been found despite exhaustive police inquiries, leading the Deputy State Coroner to make a finding that they were both dead.

About 9.15pm on the night both women were last seen, Deborah contacted a friend stating that she and Gillian had travelled to Wollongong.

During the conversation Deborah said they were with a former workmate of Gillian who she described as being "the gardener fellow."

That was the last time the two women were heard from.

An exhaustive investigation and media campaign was carried out by NSW Police Homicide Squad at the time, but little information was forthcoming.

The women's disappearance was reinvestigated and reported to the Deputy State coroner in May 2006.

He found that both women died on or after 12 July, 1980, but was unable to comment on the place of death or the manner and cause of death from the evidence available.

However the coroner named four persons of interest, including the Backpacker killer Ivan Milat, but there was insufficient evidence to allow an arrest to be made.

Detectives investigating this case have conducted extensive enquiries but have now exhausted all leads.

It is hoped this reward may persuade somebody with knowledge of the two women's deaths to come forward and provide police with information relating to the location of the women's bodies and leading to an arrest and conviction.

Click here for more information on Deborah Susan Balken on the NSW Police Force Missing Persons Enquiry System.

Click here for more information on Gillian Janine Jamieson on the NSW Police Force Missing Persons Enquiry System.


Do you have information that can help police with this case?

Any information you have about this is worth giving to police, no matter how small or insignificant it may seem.

You can provide information to police via any of the methods below:

Any information provided will be treated in the strictest confidence.

Your help may give police the clue they need to close this case and provide some comfort for the families of victims.

How to claim your reward

  1. Contact Crime Stoppers or your local Police Station.
  2. Identify yourself and indicate you have information about a crime and that you wish to claim a reward.
  3. You will then be put in contact with a police officer involved in the investigation of that case.