Andrea Snowdon

**Andrea Marlene Snowdon** (July 24, 1971 – May 19, 2000) was a receptionist murdered in Brisbane, Australia on May 19, 2000. Her murder has been unsolved for over a decade and currently has a $250,000 reward for information leading to a conviction.

## Events

### Life

Andrea Marlene Snowdon was born on July 24, 1971 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. She was one of four children.

### Murder and discovery

Andrea was last seen alive on Friday May 19, 2000 when she left her place of employment—an unlicensed brothel called 'the Shack' where she worked as a receptionist—at 1369 New Cleveland Road, Capalaba (now Gumdale) to drive to Greenslopes. Her vehicle, a red 1999 Hyundai Excel Sedan (registration number 448-EWY), was located the same night approximately 400 m (430 yd) away on London Road, Gumdale.

Nine days later on the May 28, at about 3:30 PM, the body of a female person was located in bushland off Rickertt Road, Ransome in an area known as 'Ransome Road Park'. The body was identified from dental records as that of Andrea Snowdon. An x-ray revealed that she had been shot three times with a .22 calibre firearm.

### Another murder

*Main article: Bambi*

Five months later on December 28, a 38-year-old woman identified to the public as Bambi, was murdered at 'the Shack' with a .22 calibre firearm. She was shot three times. Her daughter was abducted from the scene and assaulted in bushland in Birkdale.

### Police misconduct, Lee Henderson and Operation Have

Two years later in 2002, Lee Henderson, a prisoner of Wolston Correctional Centre serving time for two counts of murder, was registered as an informant by Queensland Police. He was removed from custody nine times without aiding an investigation "in any legitimate sense." Most of the removals were to assist in armed robbery cases but in November 2002, Lee was removed from custody twice to assist in the investigation of Andrea's murder.

Operation Have was commenced in May 2000 to investigate Andrea's death. One of the officers involved in the operation, then of the Cleveland CIB (Criminal Investigation Branch), believed Lee may have been able to help them investigate a particular suspect at the time. In the police misconduct report, it's made clear that Lee was never a suspect in Andrea's murder because he was in prison at the time.

Lee was removed from custody on November 14 and 27. On the 27th he was taken to Brett's Wharf, Hamilton and after a change in arrangements, to the Belmont Tavern, Belmont. An entry in Operation Have's running sheet for the day recorded details of an exchange between Lee, a suspect, and the suspect's legal representative. It is apparent from the record that no "contemporaneous recording" existed of the conversation.

According to the legal practitioner present on the 27th, Lee had informed the suspect that a criminal figure had put out "a contract" on the suspect's life. Lee presented himself as being able to prevent the hit, but only if the suspect assisted him in finding a particular individual. Lee then produced what appeared to be an official document from the Department of Corrective Services concerning the nominated individual. The document was later found to be a real document that Lee shouldn't have had access to.

After a short time the legal practitioner stepped in and advised his client that the conversation with Lee should cease immediately. Lee then called a taxi and left the tavern.

Lee wrote a letter to a close relative of either Andrea or Bambi (left vague in the report) dated 4 December 2002. He listed individuals who were then on the police list of suspects for the murders. He also offered to organise a "hit" on the individuals for "$20,000 plus expenses".

It appears that in 2003, Lee fell out of favour with the police he'd been informing. He later became an informant for the Australian Federal Police.

### $250,000 reward and aftermath

Andrea's murder remains unsolved. There's currently a $250,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of the person or persons responsible.

Andrea is currently survived by both her parents and three siblings.

## News

*For news articles on Andrea Snowdon, see here.*

## External links

* Dangerous liaisons: a report arising from a CMC investigation into allegations of police misconduct • Queensland Parliament
* SNOWDON, Andrea Marlene • Queensland Police Service
* Snowdon family tree • Ancestry (paywall)

## Sources

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Snowdon family tree • Ancestry (paywall)
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Dangerous liaisons: a report arising from a CMC investigation into allegations of police misconduct • Queensland Parliament
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 SNOWDON, Andrea Marlene • Queensland Police Service
4. ↑ A female person known as BAMBI – Murder • Queensland Police Service