Jessica Richardson has devoted her life to getting justice for her 15-year-old sister Rebecca – and now she is on the precipice of having some of her questions answered.
Rebecca disappeared from Gin Gin, Queensland, on November 28, 1998. Her body has not been found and no one has been charged with her murder.
However, some four years after Rebecca was killed, a man – Jodie Martin Stephen Van Der Vegt – pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact of her murder and was sentenced to eight years in jail.
On May 5 of this year, an inquest into Rebecca’s disappearance will be held in Gladstone. Jessica, who lives in Melbourne, will be at the inquest everyday and she needs our support to make this happen.
Jessica has children of her own and is studying nursing. Attending the inquest is vital for her.
“It’s a step forward in getting justice for Rebecca, but it comes with a weight of trauma I have carried for decades,” she told a media outlet recently.
Rebecca and Jessica were exceptionally close. The teenager was planning to visit family in England when the killer ended her life. Jessica was only 14 years old and the impact of losing her sister has never waned.
“Some of my most treasured memories are the simplest ones, just being together,” Jessica said.
“On the hardest days those are the moments I hold on to, but they also serve as a powerful reminder of everything we’ve lost and everything she’s missed out on.”
Jessica urged anyone with information about Rebecca to come forward.
“No piece of information is too small. You could be the reason we finally get answers. You could be the reason we bring Rebecca home. We have waited long enough, we need to bring her home,” she said.
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