MORE than 30 years after the death of Whittlesea woman Melinda Freeman, her husband has been charged over the long-running cold case.
Craig Freeman, 63, was arrested at his Greensborough home last week and interviewed by detectives from Victoria Police’s Homicide Squad before being charged with his wife’s murder.
He appeared via video link in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court last Wednesday, where the court heard he was suffering recent health issues and required medical attention. Freeman was remanded in custody and is due to reappear in court in March.
Melinda Freeman, who was 26 at the time of her death, was found dead inside her Yea Road home in Whittlesea at about 11.30pm on October 4, 1991.
The coroner’s inquest at the time delivered open findings in that it did not determine a perpetrator or fully resolve manner or cause beyond assault.
Police said at the time of the alleged assault, Freeman had left the family home for the evening. When he returned, he reportedly found the front door open and discovered his wife’s body lying at the top of the staircase. Detectives said Ms Freeman had been assaulted and that the home appeared to have been ransacked.
For more than three decades, police and Ms Freeman’s family have made repeated public appeals for information. In February 2022, Victoria Police announced a $1 million reward for details leading to a conviction over her death.
The breakthrough follows years of renewed investigative efforts, including anonymous information received in 2018 that helped detectives narrow down several persons of interest.
The arrest marks a significant development in a case that has long haunted the Whittlesea community and the Freeman family.
Police continue to urge anyone with further information to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.