Detectives investigating the brutal murder of Melissa Hunt almost 27 years ago have searched a Hunter home after new information came to light that a domestic incident may have taken place there around the time she was last seen alive.
The Newcastle Herald understands a former resident of the house at Waratah is an ex-boyfriend of the young mother - a man who was identified as one of two key suspects during a 1997 inquest into Ms Hunt's violent death.
According to media reporting from the late 1990s, the inquest heard evidence that the man had allegedly told a friend he had killed Ms Hunt.
Detectives from the State Crime Command's Unsolved Homicide Squad were at the Lambton Road home on Tuesday morning, with investigators combing the property for new forensic evidence.
Police divers also searched the water at the disused Stockrington Colliery site at West Wallsend where Ms Hunt's badly beaten body was found.
Passers-by discovered the 22-year-old floating near the weir wall in Burrenjim Dam on Anzac Day, 1994. She was believed to have been dead for three to six days.
Ms Hunt died of catastrophic head injuries - including 11 fractures to her skull - before she was thrown into the water.
Sandstone rocks were put into her clothes to weigh her down.
The young woman, a mother of two who struggled with drugs and spent time working as a prostitute, had recently married.
Her adoptive brother Peter Hallett said on Tuesday there was "some sense of peace" in knowing that a thorough investigation was taking place.
"We are convinced there is still more to learn, more people to come forward, more secrets to be told," Mr Hallett said.
"Or perhaps, like some I've spoken to, there are details you never realised could be helpful."
According to a Newcastle Herald report on the inquest from October, 1997, the Coroner's Court heard that the former boyfriend had been in a relationship with Ms Hunt for several years and was jealous she had married another man.
No-one has been charged in the almost three decades since her murder. The Coroner referred the matter to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, which sent it to the NSW Police Unsolved Homicide Unit.
The investigation was formally reviewed in 2019. Strike Force Circulo has been re-investigating the case.
A $1 million reward was announced by police and the state government last December for information leading to the capture and conviction of Ms Hunt's killer.
Tuesday's searches came as a result of new information detectives received since the reward was put up.
Investigators are expected to remain working in the Hunter Region for much of the week.
Homicide squad commander Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty told reporters in Newcastle that investigators hoped to be able to progress the case after a "full and thorough forensic examination" of the Lambton Road premises.
"Information was received that possibly a domestic incident may have happened at this address," he said.
"This may be one of the last places that Melissa may have been seen alive, so it's really significant information ... it's important we do a full forensic review and examination.
"It's been a long time since 1994, however [the Lambton Road home] has never been subject to a full forensic review or forensic examination."
Detective Superintendent Doherty said police were also making inquiries in South Australia, Queensland and Victoria and were "keeping an open mind" with regard to persons of interest.
He described Ms Hunt's injuries as "horrific and severe" and said a lot of planning would have been required to get her to the dam and into the water.
"There's someone out there who knows something," Detective Superintendent Doherty said.
"There's someone out there who committed this crime holding a dark secret and we'd like to expose that secret."
- Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000.
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