Police are urging anyone with information on the murders of Mary Lou Orton, Kim Wa Li and, pictured, Geoffrey Engers, whose cases are currently under review by the Victorian Homicide Squad, to contact CrimeStoppers. By Kelly Yates
POLICE have re-opened the cold case murder investigation of an Endeavour Hills man who was shot to death 19 years ago.
Detectives now have reason to believe the unsolved 1989 murder of 42-year-old teacher Geoffrey Engers could be linked to another murder that took place two and a half years later, after a common thread was found between the two.
Mr Engers was shot several times while in the driveway of his Endeavour Hills home on 15 December 1989.
He was rushed to Dandenong Hospital but died the following morning.
The bodies of Mary Lou Orton and Kim Wa Li were found stabbed to death at a Chinese massage centre in Alexandra Parade, Fitzroy, on 14 March 1992.
Detective Inspector Paul O’Halloran from the Homicide Squad said investigators were pursuing advances in DNA technology to help piece together the unsolved murders.
He said it wasn’t uncommon for police to re-open serious homicide cases.
“We have established a common thread between these two seemingly unrelated incidents and are currently endeavouring to obtain sufficient evidence to charge those responsible,” he said.
“We’ve been reviewing these cases now for over six months and we’re confident the murders are definitely linked.”
He said locating witnesses was one of the many challenges detectives faced when re-investigating murders.
“Obviously, contacting these people is a challenge as many of them have left previous addresses and, in some cases, left the country.”
Police are appealing for anyone who has made a statement to police in relation to the murders or has information that could assist the investigations to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
