The family of slain toddler Cheryl Grimmer is working on a plaque to be installed in the little girl’s memory, police working the case say.
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The plaque will be positioned at Fairy Meadow Beach, near where three-year-old Cheryl disappeared the afternoon of January 12, 1970, never to be seen since.
Forty-seven years on, with police last week charging a 63-year-old Melbourne man with Cheryl’s murder, thoughts of those closest to the case had turned to tribute, said Wollongong Detective Sergeant Damian Loone.
“Eventually what we’d like to do is have a small plaque at the beach,” he said.
“I think the family will come up with some [words] dedicated to the little girl.
“It would be a nice memory for them.”
Detective Sergeant Loone, Detective Sergeant Craig Barrass and Detective Frank Santivale began re-examining the case last year as part of Strike Force Wessel, flanking Cheryl’s brothers in December as part of a public appeal for fresh information.
The Grimmer brothers – Stephen, Paul and Ricki - were boys when Cheryl vanished from crowded Fairy Meadow Beach.
They endured seeing their father, then their mother, die without knowing what became of Cheryl.
On Wednesday, investigators traveled to Frankston in Melbourne to make their arrest.
Police have since indicated that, due to redevelopment, it is unlikely Cheryl’s remains will ever be found.
The alleged killer, who cannot be named for legal reasons, last week faced Frankston Magistrates Court, charged with murder and detain for advantage.
Police successfully sought the man’s extradition to New South Wales.
He did not appear before Wollongong Local Court as expected on Friday, choosing to remain in the cells while his matter was mentioned.
Defence lawyer Laura Fennell asked that the man receive urgent psychiatric attention whilst in custody.
Magistrate Michael Stoddart ordered that he be referred to Justice Health and adjourned the matter to May 24 for police to serve their brief of evidence.