Rebecca RICHARDSON
Rebecca RICHARDSON
By Suzanne Klotz
BRISBANE, Dec 5 2012 AAP -
A man who buried a teenager's body and then told police she wasstill alive will spend longer in jail after a Queensland Court of Appeal decision today.
Jodie Martin Stephen Van Der Vegt, 30, of Gin Gin, north of Bundaberg, pleaded guiltyin the Supreme Court in September this year to being an accessory after the fact in themurder of Rebecca Jane Richardson, on November 28, 1998.
Van Der Vegt refused to co-operate with police, but his wife said he had told her hewas present when his friend, Ms Richardson, aged 15, was killed by another man.
He has never disclosed the killer's identity.
Van Der Vegt buried the girl's body at a rubbish dump and then repeatedly lied to police,pretending she was still alive.
The Attorney-General appealed Van Der Vegt's sentence of eight years' jail with anearly recommendation for parole after two years and eight months.
Chief Justice Paul de Jersey today ruled Van Der Vegt was not entitled to the earlyparole recommendation which was given on the basis the whereabouts of the body had beenrevealed.
Justice de Jersey said because the information had come from Van Der Vegt's wife, heshould get no credit for it, as it had nothing to do with him.
"(Van Der Vegt was) persistent and callous in his refusal to disclose the whereaboutsof the body and properly reveal the murderer," Justice de Jersey said in handing downthe decision today.
"It is repugnant to think that the plea should lead to any moderation of penalty."
The Chief Justice said although the eight-year sentence was low, it was within range.
EIGHTEEN years have passed since the death of her friend, but time has done little to dull the heartache for Bec Marks.
EIGHTEEN years have passed since the death of her friend, but time has done little to dull the heartache for Bec Marks.
Rebecca Richardson was last seen at the Gin Gin Santa Fair in 1998.
The 15-year-old's father had recently died, leaving her and her younger sister in the care of friends, including a man who would later be jailed for his role in her death.
Rebecca had been due to fly to England the following day to be with family, but friends, including Bec, became worried when she failed to show up to a party.
"When she went missing, me and a group of friends went to the police to say she was missing, it wasn't like her. She was meant to come to a party after the Santa Fair and never showed up. And she never claimed her ticket (to London)," Bec said.
"At the time she went missing she was staying with friends and she was going there to get the key to her father's house to go and get a few belongings from her house ... she never made it."
Rebecca's body has never been found. No one has ever been charged with her murder.
Jodie Martin Stephen Van Der Vegt pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact and was sentenced to eight years' imprisonment on September 23, 2002.
The sentencing judge recommended that he be considered for post-prison community-based release after two years and eight months.
The attorney-general at the time, Paul De Jersey, appealed the early release on the grounds it was manifestly inadequate.
The Chief Justice granted the appeal, with parole to be considered after serving four years.
During court proceedings, Van Der Vegt admitted to helping dispose of Rebecca's body.
During court proceedings, Van Der Vegt admitted to helping dispose of Rebecca's body.
He was also found to have given false information to the deceased's friends and of lying to police for more than two-and-a-half years, including suggesting Rebecca was still alive.
Van Der Vegt's wife initially protected him but later turned him in, telling police he told her he had witnessed the murder and helped bury the body at a local dump.
Ms Marks still thinks of her friend often and says she supports the LNP's policy to deny parole to convicted killers who fail to disclose the location of the body.
"As friends of hers you just don't think something like that can happen in your town, to your friend. It still breaks my heart, even though it was so long ago and I often get quite teary when I think about it," she said.
"It's not right that he (the killer) should get away with not letting her have a farewell."
As school friends, the two were often referred to as B1 and B2, spending weekends and holidays together. When Rebecca went missing, however, the two weren't speaking - something Ms Marks regrets to this day.
"It was quite heartbreaking when it happened because I wasn't talking to her and never got to talk to her again," she said.
Ms Marks said she felt for Rebecca's mother and sister.
"I can't imagine the heartbreak she goes through thinking about where her daughter is, the last moments of her life. It's horrible," she said.
"He (Van Der Vegt) told them that he put her here, put her there ... he was playing a game. I said to my friend before we stopped talking, be careful. Something about him irked me. I didn't like him."
Rebecca was much loved in the Gin Gin township and her murder hit residents hard.
"Everybody knew her and it sort of shook the whole community for quite some time," Ms Marks said.
"She was the life of the party, she was everyone's friend. She was a beautiful person. She worked, she loved her life, she was just the best friend you could have. And he (the killer) held no regard for her life because he took it.
"I still picture what she went through in her last moments. She would have been so terrified and she would have known it was the end and there was nothing she could do about it. She was very naive, she didn't think bad things could happen."
A man who helped dispose of a murdered Queensland teenager’s body has been jailed on a drug supply charge.
A MAN who helped dispose of a murdered Queensland teenager’s body has been jailed on a drug supply charge.
Jodie Martin Stephen Van Der Vegt was jailed for eight years in 2002 for being an accessory to the murder of 15-year-old Rebecca Richardson in 1998.
On Tuesday, he received another prison term for drug offences committed in the Rockhampton region.
The 47-year-old pleaded guilty in Brisbane District Court to one count of supplying dangerous drugs and one count of possessing tainted property.
Crown prosecutor Sarah Dennis told the court Van Der Vegt was stung in a police operation targeting the supply of methylamphetamine between Mount Morgan and Rockhampton in 2017.
Text messages between Van Der Vegt and another man revealed an unsuccessful negotiation to supply the drug for $1250.
“There was a willingness by the defendant to deliver the drugs and he indicated an unwillingness to negotiate on the price,” Ms Dennis said.
Police located $5150 in cash when they searched Van Der Vegt’s property in February 2018.
Defence lawyer Rob Glenday tendered a psychologist’s report detailing Van Der Vegt’s reliance on illicit drugs to self-medicate his chronic back pain and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Judge Julie Dick sentenced him to nine months’ jail but ordered his immediate parole.
In 2002, Van Der Vegt was convicted for burying the body of Rebecca Richardson, who was last seen at the Gin Gin Santa Fair in 1998.
Her body has never been found and her killer has never been identified.
As teddies and flowers fill the street, Gin Gin locals have spoken about the terrible toll on their town where Pheobe was tragically not the first missing teen girl to meet a devastating end.
Just like Pheobe, she was booked on a flight she would never catch.
The 15-year-old’s father had recently died, leaving her and her younger sister in the care of friends, including a man who would later be jailed for his role in her death.
Rebecca was to fly to England the day after she went missing to be with family, but friends became worried when she failed to show up to a party.
A marathon search followed but she never came home.
Jodie Martin Stephen Van Der Vegt pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact and was sentenced to eight years’ in jail on September 23, 2002 – the year before Gin Gin was awarded the Friendliest title.
The sentencing judge recommended that he be considered for post-prison community-based release after two years and eight months.
The Attorney-General at the time, Paul De Jersey, appealed the early release on the grounds it was manifestly inadequate.
The Chief Justice granted the appeal, with parole to be considered after serving four years.
Rebecca’s body, long rumoured to have been dumped at the rubbish tip, has never been found.
No one has ever been charged with her murder.