Cynthia GREENWOOD-SMITH
Cynthia GREENWOOD-SMITH
From the wife of a retired Japanese crime boss to the cousin of a pop singer, these notorious Queensland killers have one secret in common.
Ross Greenwood-Smith murdered his wife Cynthia in October 2001 following reports ongoing renovations on their Gold Coast hinterland home had put strain on the former brick layer and legal secretary’s marriage.
Mrs Greenwood-Smith was last seen at the couple’s sprawling Wongawallan Drive home on October 1 and was later reported missing by a close friend.
Queensland Police Acting Inspector Mark Procter previously said he was a young officer when he attended the couple’s home.
“The husband didn’t seem concerned at all and didn’t want to talk to us,” he previously recalled.
“He said she had gone on a trip. But we had a job to do and the house was turned into a crime scene while we looked for clues and evidence.
“Along the way we spoke to a contractor who had just finished work on the pool — the floor of it had been raised by almost 2ft. We honestly thought we were going to find a body under there.
“(A special ground-penetrating radar) showed a large mass under the pool and we dug it up, preparing for the worst but it was all of her belongings. Clothes, jewellery, perfume — things her husband said she had taken with her — it was very strange.”
After the discovery, police honed in on Mr Greenwood-Smith, who refused to be formally interviewed and disappeared himself.
His body was found about two weeks after he fled, deep in remote bushland near the northern NSW town of Nimbin.
His wrists and throat had been slashed with the death treated as non-suspicious.
An inquest eventually ruled Mrs Greenwood-Smith was likely murdered by her husband but her remains have never been found.
Acting Inspector Procter previously said the case remained open but it was unlikely an arrest would ever be made.