General News
28 January, 2026
Hunt continues for Katie’s killer
“YOU know who you are” – this was the chilling message Lily Parmenter gave as she pleaded with the suspects in her mother’s unsolved murder case to cooperate with authorities.
The case of Kathleen ‘Katie’ O’Shea’s disappearance in Atherton 20 years ago was reignited last Tuesday by police with information released reaffirming a $500,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the killer, first offered in March of 2024.
It also included a personal video from Ms O’Shea’s daughter saying that enough was enough.
“I would also like to convey a personal message to the two persons of interest in this case,” Ms Parmenter said.
“…You know who you are. Our mum is missing and we are exhausted and broken from not knowing. Your silence is a betrayal, and it’s tearing our family apart.
“If you know anything at all, you need to stop and cooperate with the police. We deserve answers, she deserves better, and you know what the right thing to do is.”
An article written by ABC News at the time the large reward was first announced said police had confirmed Ms O’Shea’s son, Alan O’Shea, and convicted murderer Francis Wark were persons of interest in the mother-of-five’s disappearance.
Detective Senior Sergeant Brett Devine from the Tablelands Criminal Investigation Branch said investigations continued into Ms O’Shea’s disappearance, and authorities believed someone was responsible for her death.
“For the past 20 years, Christmas reminds the O’Shea family that their mother will not be there to celebrate with them,” senior sergeant Devine said.
“They do not know why she is not there, or how she came to be missing – these are the questions they live with every day.
“Someone in the community knows why Kathleen O’Shea is missing or has information which may assist police to investigate her disappearance, and the Queensland Government has granted a substantial reward for this information.”
Ms Parmenter said it had been two decades of heartbreak and wondering about what happened on that dreadful day.
“Katie was kind, loving and full of life. She deserved so much more than what happened to her,” she said.
“She was taken from us far too soon. And not knowing the full truth has left a hole in our hearts that could never really heal.
“I miss my mum every single day. Her laugh, her smile, her love, her tin whistle, her cooking. All the things that made her who she was.
“If you know anything at all about what happened to Katie in Atherton, come forward. Even the smallest piece of information could finally bring us closer to the truth and justice she deserves.
“Twenty years is a long time to live with no answers. But I will never stop hoping, never stop fighting, and I will never stop remembering her.”
The $500,000 Queensland Government reward is for information that leads to the apprehension and conviction of the person or persons responsible for this murder. The Government reward further offers an opportunity for indemnity against prosecution for any accomplice, not being the person who actually committed the murder, who first gives such information.
The disappearance of Katie O’Shea
Katie O’Shea was last seen on 29 December 2005 in Atherton, aged 44. She was up from Melbourne (where she lived) visiting her son in Ravenshoe for the birth of her first grandchild – a birth that she would sadly miss.
It wasn’t until two weeks later, on 13 January 2006, that she was reported missing.
Initial investigations found that at about 10.30am on the day she was last seen, Ms O’Shea had told a friend she was going to walk into the Ravenshoe town centre, and her son Alan would pick her up.
He had picked her up and driven her to Atherton around midday. She had told Alan that she was going to go play pool at the Atherton Hotel and then visit a friend in Mareeba.
Her last known whereabouts was at a bottle shop at the Atherton Hotel, where she left in the company of two men.
A coronial inquest held in 2014 found that Ms O’Shea likely died soon after 29 December 2005 in the Tablelands area.
“The cause of her death cannot be determined, but it is most likely that an unknown person or persons with whom she came into contact, either at the Atherton Hotel or soon after she left there, caused her death and disposed of her body,” the inquest stated.
