KEY POINTS:
Australian police are offering a A$100,000 ($119,189) reward in a bid to solve the horrific sex murder of New Zealander Paul Winston Byrne.
Mr Byrne, 32, was last seen alive on September 19, 1996, as he left the Rossarden Club in northern Tasmania about 9pm.
Police believe he
was subjected to horrific sex acts before being bashed to death.
His body has never been found.
Commander Phil Wilkinson told the Hobart Mercury newspaper new evidence had come forward over the past two months.
"We believe there are members of the community who are in a position to assist and advance this investigation," he said.
The case was investigated in a National Crime Authority and Launceston CIB joint inquiry known as Operation Northcote in 1999-2000.
A member of that operation, Detective Sergeant Mark Lopes, will command a five-man taskforce in the new probe.
"We believe the A$100,000 reward or even the passage of time may make it more likely that people feel more comfortable in coming forward, perhaps to give information on associates they may no longer be involved with," Mr Wilkinson said.
"We feel this is a good time to refocus our efforts."
Mr Byrne had been drinking at the Rossarden Club with locals Michael Marlow and Michael Gibson.
His body has never been found despite a number of searches of disused mine shafts in the Rossarden area.
"We have drained areas and have conducted some pretty intensive searches," Mr Wilkinson said.
Mr Byrne, a New Zealander nicknamed Pucky, has a sister, Lissa, who lives in New South Wales. His 87-year-old father died recently in New Zealand.
"He was in Rossarden less than 12 months before he went missing," Mr Lopes said.
He said that after leaving the club the three men had gone to a house in Schell St, Rossarden, where they continued to drink.
"Everyone left there (the club) very happy," Mr Lopes said.
It is understood Mr Byrne was romantically involved with the female partner of an associate of his drinking partners.
Police believe that after he was subjected to the sexual attacks, Mr Byrne was bashed to death in the Schell St house. It is understood two men then went to a neighbour's to get help to load Mr Byrne's body into a car.
On September 28 a friend, Stephanie Allen of Mangana, went to Mr Byrne's house and found his dog locked inside thirsty and hungry.
The house in which Mr Byrne was drinking was deliberately burnt to the ground within a month of his death.
"The fire significantly impeded our opportunities to search for evidence," Mr Wilkinson said.
Nevertheless forensic scientists obtained substantial evidence before the fire.
Mr Byrne's house in Lee St, some 300m away, was also burnt down within 18 months.
Soon after Mr Byrne's disappearance, local man Graham Blair told a newspaper Mr Byrne was well liked.
In 2003, Justice Ewan Crawford referred to Rossarden's criminal past, saying it was a town in which "a number of professional and well-organised thieves reside".
It is the second major reward announced in Tasmania in the past two months.
"These things can yield information quite some time after people's circumstances change," said Mr Wilkinson .
Asked if that was the case with the Thorn murder, Mr Wilkinson said: "We are hopeful that still may happen."
- NZPA
