- Jessica Gaudie, 16, went to a babysitting job in 1999 and was never seen again.
- Derek Bellington Sam was convicted of her murder in 2001, but to this day, he maintains his innocence and her body remains missing.
- Today, Jessica’s sister, Tammy Jenson, is still searching for the truth behind her sister’s murder.
I love you, Tammy. See you back at home,’ my little sister Jessica, then 16, said as she waved goodbye.
‘I love you too!’ I replied.
It was August 28, 1999 and, aged 17, I was dropping off Jess, who was in Year 10, at school in Nambour, Qld, before making my way to Brisbane to meet my stepdad, Brett. Jess was going to join us the following day for a christening, with our mum Pauline, then 52, and big sister Kelly, 26.
As we parted ways, I caught a glimpse of Jess’ bright red curly hair swaying in the wind, a smile etched across her sweetly freckled face.
A year younger than me, Jess was my best friend and constant companion. We shared a room and spent every night giggling, swapping stories about our day and our dreams for
the future.
‘I can’t wait to introduce Chris to Mum,’ Jess said about her new boyfriend. She’d speak to him for hours on the phone.
READ MORE: My stepdad murdered my little sisters
Incredibly close, Jess and I had the same friends and attended the same youth group, but as sisters we were polar opposites.
Jess was a high-achiever and loved participating in drama, singing and academic competitions at school. Her dream job was to work with children with disabilities.
On the other hand, I was fairly rebellious. Where Jess would go to sleep dreaming of school, I’d be thinking of ways to escape it.
Bubbly and outgoing, Jess also prided herself on helping others. So when our neighbour Mia, who lived a couple of doors down from us, had asked us both to babysit her three children that Saturday night, Jess happily agreed. But due to having other commitments, I declined.
A week earlier, Mia had invited Jess around to meet the kids, who took to her immediately. She was also introduced to Mia’s ex-husband and the father of the kids, Derek, who had moved out.
They’d recently split but were both attending a 40th birthday party for Derek’s colleague. Unsure of what time she’d return, Mia suggested Jess stay the night to avoid her walking home in the dark.
Jess was due home by 7am so she could leave for the christening. But when she failed to return, my mum began to panic.
She sent Kelly to go and pick Jess up, in case she’d slept in.
READ MORE: How I solved my best friend’s murder
When Kelly arrived at Mia’s place, Jess’ shoes were out the front and her babysitting money was on the bench, but our sister was nowhere to be found.
When I learned that Jess had disappeared, fear swelled in my belly. I just knew I wasn’t going to see her again.
Jess would never just not come home, I thought.
She loved Mum too much to put her through the torment.
Mum phoned police, who went to speak with Mia.
She explained that arriving home late the night before, the house was quiet, so she’d gone straight to bed, assuming everyone was fast asleep.
But her eldest child, then six, recounted how, around 2am, she woke to find Jess missing from the mattress on her bedroom floor.
Peeking out the window, the little girl said she spotted her dad speaking with Jess at the rear of the house.
He’d left the party angry after seeing Mia chatting with another man.
‘I kept on waiting for Jessica to come back and she didn’t,’ she told officers.
READ MORE: Mum’s fight: I’ll solve my girl’s murder
Derek was brought in for questioning, where he admitted to having taken Jess for a drive. He claimed he dropped her off at an intersection near the party, which was around three kilometres from our home, so Mia would be forced to return home to the kids.
But Jess never made it to the party and she was never seen again.
Police searched Derek’s home and noticed his clothes from the night before were washed and in the dryer. There were two drops of blood found in the boot of his car, which was otherwise spotless, but forensic testing was inconclusive. Derek claimed injured wildlife had been in the four-wheel drive. A strand of hair was also found on his jeans, but DNA testing didn’t yield any results.
In the following weeks, Derek’s manager, who worked with him at a youth centre, told police Derek had mentioned Jess sustaining a head injury, but that he was confused about the events of that night.
In September, a month after she’d vanished, Derek Bellington Sam was charged with our sister Jessica Gaudie’s murder, which he denied.
Without her body, Mum refused to hold a funeral.
So that November, we held a memorial service to honour Jess’ life. The choir from our youth group sang, and we released purple and blue balloons, her favourite colours.
In August 2001, Derek Bellington Sam appeared in Brisbane Supreme Court, where he was found guilty of the murder of my little sister and sentenced to 15 years in prison.
It was confronting to be in the same room as my sister’s killer.
I was relieved Jess’ murderer was behind bars, but we desperately hoped he’d tell us what he’d done with her body so we could lay her to rest.
As the years passed, our hope began to fade.
In time, Jess’ friends landed their first jobs, got married and started their own families. It was a stark reminder of all the things my little sister would never have the chance to do.
Now, 26 years on, our family is still no closer to locating Jess’ remains.
Thankfully, Derek Sam remains behind bars under Queensland’s ‘no body, no parole’ law.
My brave big sister Kelly, now 52, even confronted him in prison, asking him desperately to reveal where he’d buried our sister. But he continued to deny everything…
Earlier this year, convicted killer Rodney Michael Cherry, who is serving life in prison for the murder of his wife and stepdaughter in 1997, appealed to the High Court to have the ‘no body, no parole’ laws overruled.
While his wife Annette’s body was found soon after her death, her daughter Kira’s remains have never been located. I was disgusted by his audacity and feared that if he was successful, other killers such as Derek Sam could be released too, without ever giving our family answers. Thankfully, in April this year, Cherry’s bid was denied.
While there’s not a day that goes by where I don’t grieve my little sister, I try to live a life I know she’d be proud of.
This August, I appeared on the podcast Guilt, hosted by investigative journalist Ryan Wolf, about Jessica’s murder, in hope it would encourage anyone with information to come forward.
The podcast also follows the stories of missing women Celena Bridge, 28, and Sabrina Ann Glassop, 46, who disappeared around the Kenilworth area not far from Nambour, between 1998 and 1999, just like Jess.
A coronial inquest in 2002 found both women had met with foul play, resulting in their deaths. Each one had come into contact with Derek Sam, but coroner Paul Johnstone found there was not enough evidence to commit Sam or anyone else to stand trial for the murders.
I won’t stop fighting until we find Jess’ remains so we can lay her to rest.
And I urge anyone who has any information to please come forward so my family can finally have peace.
