Robert ATKINS
Robert ATKINS
22/7/21 SA Police
SA Police
Anyone with knowledge of events leading up to this murder is asked to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 to talk to Major Crime detectives tonight (Friday 23 July) between 5pm and 9pm.
SA Police believe a murdered Adelaide man was held against his will and assaulted by more than one person for up to a week before his death.
Robert Atkins, 29, was reported missing by his mother in January but police say he was murdered in November.
Overnight, they searched a house in Mander Road, Christie Downs, where he lived for a short time before his death, seizing sections of a floor for forensic testing.
Detective Inspector Brad Featherby said Mr Atkins' "street-level drug dealing" was likely connected with his death, which was declared a major crime yesterday.
"We believe that Robert's death is a result of his involvement in the drug scene in the southern suburbs," he said.
"What we are aware of is Robert was held against his will and assaulted for four to seven days prior to his death."
He said Mr Atkins had not used his bank account or his phone since November 12, 2020.
His mother reported him missing on January 2, 2021, after not being able to contact him since November.
The detective said murders involving someone being held against their will usually involved more than one person, so there would be people who knew the circumstances around Mr Atkins' death who could come forward.
"We're fully aware that people have knowledge to the background in relation to Robert's disappearance and subsequent murder," Inspector Featherby said.
"We're seeking anyone with that knowledge to come forward and speak to us about Robert's death.
"We're also aware that Robert may have had debts as a result of his drug activity in the southern suburbs and we're asking for anyone with knowledge of that come to forward to investigators."
He would not be drawn on whether the people living at the Mander Road house were suspects.
Aside from the flooring, police seized other items from the house but would not say what they were.
Mr Atkins' body has not been found.
South Australian Police believe a man who was held against his will and violently assaulted for up to a week in a southern suburbs home was murdered at Port Pirie.
Robert Atkins, 29, was reported missing by his mother in January when she became concerned that she had not seen her son for two months.
Police believe Mr Atkins' death was connected to his involvement in the southern suburbs drug scene.
They have previously said they suspect he was held against his will and assaulted for up to seven days at a house on Mander Road at Christie Downs in November.
On Friday, Detective Inspector Brett Featherby said police have now discovered that Mr Atkins was moved to a second property at Seaford before being driven to Port Pirie where he was murdered.
"We know he was violently assaulted and held against his will," he said.
"He has then been moved at some stage to the premises at Seaford.
"And we now know that between the 15th and the 16th of November he's travelled through Booborowie through to Port Pirie where he was murdered on that date — the 16th."
Police believe Mr Atkins' body was disposed of in or around Port Pirie, and are currently narrowing down search areas to find his remains.
Detective Featherby said the murder was "not related to bikies at all".
Police have released images of two vehicles they believe are connected to the murder.
A black 2010 Jeep Cherokee with the registration S556AJE was photographed returning to Adelaide at Willaston South at 8:51pm on November 16.
"We know that vehicle was stolen from a Millswood premises in late August or early September last year, and it was later seized by police on 3rd December at Mawson Lakes," Detective Featherby said.
A silver 2008 Nissan Pathfinder with the registration BB744S was seized on July 15 at Booborowie.
"Both of those vehicles have been subjected to forensic testing. The results are promising and we believe those results will further advance this investigation."
Detective Featherby said they are looking for more than one suspect.
"There were a number of persons involved in both his unlawful detention and subsequent murder at Port Pirie," he said.
"We have received 20 calls to Crime Stoppers that have helped to advance the investigation and piece together Robert's final moments."
Police are seeking information from anyone who saw the vehicles on November 15 or 16 in Booborowie, Port Pirie or elsewhere in the mid-north region.
They are also calling for anyone who noticed suspicious activity in Mander Road at Christie Downs or in Halyard Crescent at Seaford in early to mid-November to call Crime Stoppers.
The body of an Adelaide man who police believe was assaulted and murdered in a drug-related attack is likely near the town of Orroroo, investigators say.
The mother of Robert Atkins, 29, said she had not seen her son for two months when she reported him missing in January.
Police have previously said they suspect he was held captive and assaulted for up to a week at a house at Christie Downs, in Adelaide's southern suburbs, in November.
In early August, police said he had likely been moved to another property at Seaford before being driven to Port Pirie, where he was murdered.
"The investigation into the murder of Robert Atkins is progressing very well," a police spokeswoman said in a statement.
Orroroo is a community of about 600 people north of Jamestown in South Australia's mid-north.
The spokeswoman said while officers could not go into detail about the investigation for operational reasons, they were working to reduce the likely search area.
Police have alleged Mr Atkins' murder was related to the drug scene in Adelaide's southern suburbs.
Earlier this year, officers released images of two vehicles they believe were connected with the murder.
A black 2010 Jeep Cherokee with the registration S556AJE was photographed returning to Adelaide on November 16.
A silver 2008 Nissan Pathfinder with the registration BB744S was seized on July 15 at Booborowie.
By mid-August, there had been 36 calls to Crime Stoppers about the case, which police said included some helpful information.
At the time, they said there would be a search for Mr Atkins' remains in the near future.
Robert on this occasion, they are happy to have now discounted a large area and gained more valuable information during the extensive
search.
his welfare after she had not heard from him since November 2020.
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location and recovery of the victims remains).
SA Police have searched double the area they did yesterday to find the body of a man they believe was murdered over a drug debt and are "happy" about a lead that has come from publicity around the case.
Officers are searching an area between Peterborough and Orroroo, in the state's Mid North, to find the body of Robert Atkins, who they believe was killed in November 2020.
Police have previously said they believe Mr Atkins's death was connected to his involvement in the drug scene in Adelaide's southern suburbs.
One of the state's largest task forces was set up in December to investigate his death, along with other unsolved suspected murders in SA in which police believe the victims were targeted over petty drug debts.
Police searched between four and six square kilometres of bush and farmland today, which Major Crime officer in charge Detective Superintendent Des Bray said was twice as much as combed over yesterday, the first day of the search.
No new evidence connected to the case was found but Superintendent Bray said police were still "optimistic" about finding Mr Atkins's body.
"The team is pretty upbeat that we're in with a good chance of finding Robert," he said.
"It was always going to be a long search and so things are playing out how we expected."
Police searched the area on foot and motorbike, focusing on areas along roads and creeks.
Australian Federal Police also joined the search with drones and ground-penetrating radar.
Superintendent Bray said the suspected killer — a drug dealer — was "lazy".
Police also released CCTV images of Mr Atkins showing what he was wearing on the day of his death and the day before, while committing offences in Adelaide with the suspect.
They show he was wearing a fluoro yellow and blue vest and grey, black, teal and white Nike sneakers, which police say could have been discarded in the area.
"We believe Robert was wearing those clothes at the time of his death and that those clothes and shoes will be located somewhere in this area," Superintendent Bray said.
"He was wearing a high-vis vest and we've been able to get good images of the shoes he was wearing.
"We think, given he was away overnight, it's highly probable that he would have had the vest with him and again that might be located in this area."
Police are offering a $200,000 reward for information that leads to the conviction of Mr Atkins's killer, as well as the same amount for information leading to his body.
The rewards, coupled with the search ramping up media coverage of the case, had led to a lead being called into police, Superintendent Bray said.
However, he would not elaborate on what it was, except to say he was "happy".
"I can say something positive has happened but I can't tell you what it is," he said.
Police are meeting tonight to consider which areas should be examined when their search resumes tomorrow.