Grieving woman’s powerful message to her mum’s killer – as a major update in the double murder cold case is announced

A young woman who was just nine when her mum died a brutal death has penned an open letter as a major investigation into the unsolved double murder is reopened.

Next Saturday will mark 25 years since Susan Kay, 32, and her friend Joanne Teterin, 37 were bludgeoned to death as they slept at a suburban home in the Newcastle suburb of Carrington.

No arrests or charges have ever been laid despite police interviewing numerous people who visited Ms Teterin’s home in the day leading up to the pair’s deaths.

Samantha Kay, then, 9 instantly knew that something was wrong when her mum didn’t answer her phone call on Mother’s Day 2000.

Susan and her friend had already been dead for three days and it would be another several days before police found their bodies inside Ms Teterin’s Doran Street home.

As NSW Police establishes a strike force to re-examine the cold case, Samantha, now 34 has written a letter directly addressing her mum’s killer.

She will never forget her father telling the little girl that she would never see her beloved mum again as Samantha detailed how her uncontrollable grief soon turned to anger.

‘My world shattered immediately. I could not believe or accept that my mum was gone. I woke up the next morning, convinced it was just a bad dream,’ she wrote, the Newcastle News reported.

Samantha Kay (pictured as a baby) is still seeking answers 25 years after her mum Susan (right) was bludgeoned to death

Joanne Teterin (pictured) was found dead alongside her friend Susan Kay inside her Newcastle home in May 2000

‘When I realised it was not, I broke all over again. This occurred on a daily basis for as long as I can remember. 

‘As I got older, I learned of the horrific circumstances of my mum’s death. How could someone do this to her? Why would someone cut her life so short?

More than two decades after a coronial inquest referred the case to the unsolved homicide team for review and assessment, Strike Force Raphoe II has been established to re-examine the case.

It’s hoped that new technology will shed new light and finally provide some answers for the victims’ families.

Detectives will review all original investigative material and pursue new lines of inquiry and potential forensic developments.

‘It was a brutal crime which has remained unsolved for 25 years,’ Homicide Squad Commander Detective Superintendent Joe Doueihi said.

‘Homicide detectives are committed to seeking justice for the families of Susan and Joanne.

A strike force has been established to re-examined the unsolved murders of Susan Kay (pictured) and Joanne Teterin

‘We remain focused on finding the person or persons responsible and renew our appeal for anyone who may have held on to information – no matter how seemingly insignificant – to reach out to police.

‘The families of Susan and Joanne deserve much-needed answers and justice.’

Anyone with information about the deaths of Susan Kay and Joanne Teterin is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.