Three men identified as 'persons of interest' in cold case murder of two ... - Herald Sun

Susan Vlismas , 64 , the older sister of murdered nurse Wendy Evans , who disappeared in Toowoomba with friend Lorraine Wilson in 1974 .PIC: Lyndon Mechielsen Source: News Limited

THREE men identified by police as "persons of interest" in the brutal cold case murder of Sydney nurses Wendy Evans, 18, and Lorraine Wilson, 20, will give evidence when an inquest opens in April.

They are the only surviving suspects of a police investigation that has spanned almost four decades since the womens' disappearance in 1974 and the gruesome discovery of their bodies dumped in bushland at Murphys Creek, near Toowoomba, two years later.

Wendy Evans's older sister Susan Vlismas, 64, has waited a lifetime for the opportunity to learn what happened when the two friends left her home in Camp Hill to hitchhike to Goondiwindi on October 6, 1974; never to be seen again.

"I just hope these people who are still alive can tell the story," she said.

"They were innocent girls, just starting out in life.

"I just want to get to the truth of it all because they didn't deserve any of this."

A pre-inquest conference in Brisbane yesterday identified persons of interest Desmond Roy Hilton, Allan Neil Laurie and Terrance James O'Neill would be called to give evidence when it opened before State Coroner Michael Barnes in Toowoomba on April 8 next year.

Counsel assisting the Coroner Craig Chowdhury also identified now deceased Allan John Laurie; Wayne Hilton; Donald Laurie; and Larry Charles as persons of interest in the case.

An inquest in 1985 ruled the women met with "foul play" after their bodies were found in bushland on June 26, 1976 with skull fractures and marks consistent with being bound with the cord of a venetian blind.

The Last known photo of Lorraine Wilson and Wendy Evans.

Mr Chowdhury said a significant amount of material had since become available to police investigating the murders, including a number of witness statements taken between 1988 and 2005; the most recent in October this year.

He said 28 witnesses would be called, including one who recalled seeing two women crying out for help as they were "manhandled" into a green-coloured EJ Holden.

Mr Chowdhury said much of the new evidence had never been previously reported to police.

Another witness would share a conversation she had with a stranger who gave a detailed account of the girls' deaths at a Toowoomba pub in 1989, he told the court.

Another witness would recall seeing a man cleaning blood from a car on a suburban Toowoomba street when he was just 10 years old.

A retired police officer involved in the original investigation would also give evidence, Mr Chowdhury said.

He said the court had a duty to investigate the deaths on behalf of "the two murdered girls, their families and the public of Queensland".

"It's a tragedy a lot of material that has come out wasn't available to the original investigation at the time," he said.

A $250,000 reward remains in place for information on the killings. Call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.