My name is Rebecca Stadhams, and Evelyn Greenup was my first child.
She was my little girl.
Evelyn was only four years old when she was taken from us in 1990. Her murder has remained unsolved, and for more than three decades, our family has lived with the pain of not knowing who was responsible and why this happened to our little girl.
But before Evelyn became known as an unsolved murder victim, she was a little girl who was deeply loved.
She was my first child, and I remember her as a quiet and gentle soul. Evelyn hardly spoke. Instead, she had her own little way of letting us know what she wanted. She would tug on our clothes and point to what she wanted.
She loved going for walks, and we would often hide our shoes because as soon as Evelyn saw them, she thought we were going too.
It’s such a simple memory, but it’s one I will always treasure.
Those are the little things I remember about my daughter. The ordinary moments that meant nothing at the time but mean everything to me now.
Evelyn was always close to the people she loved. She was always with her brother Aaron, and she adored her little brother Aidian. If she wasn’t with me or her father, she was with family.
She was never just a name in a police file.
She was my daughter.
She was an older sister to her siblings.
She was a much-loved little girl who brought her own quiet and gentle presence into our family.
She was only four years old. She had her whole life ahead of her.
Instead, our family has spent 36 years living with her loss and waiting for answers.
There is no getting over the loss of a child. Time does not make you forget. The years may pass, but Evelyn is still my first baby. She is still my little girl, and she will always be part of our family.
There is a $1million reward offered by NSW Police, I am asking anyone who knows something about what happened to Evelyn to please come forward.
Maybe you have carried this information for years. Maybe you were afraid to speak. Maybe you think what you know is too small or doesn’t matter.
But it might matter.
It might be the piece of information that finally helps us find the truth about what happened to Evelyn.
After all these years, I am asking you to think about my little girl.
Think about a four-year-old child who loved going for walks and would get excited just seeing our shoes.
Think about her brothers, Aaron and Aidian.
Think about the family who loved her and who have had to live every day since without her.
Someone knows something.
Please, if you know anything about what happened to Evelyn, come forward.
You may be holding the answer that our family has been waiting more than three decades to hear.
I cannot bring Evelyn back.
But I still hope that one day we will know the truth.
I still hope that the person responsible for taking my little girl’s life will be held accountable.
And I will never stop remembering who Evelyn was.
She was my first child.
She was quiet and gentle.
She loved walking.
She loved her brothers.
She loved her family.
She was only four years old.
My little girl deserved to grow up.
She deserved a life.
She deserves justice.
By Rebecca STADHAMS and family
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