Hope for closure in 23-year-old Yandoit murder case

Updated November 2 2012 - 10:18am, first published July 15 2008 - 2:49am

A FAMILY'S fight to bring closure to a 23-year-old Yandoit murder is has taken a step forward.Dual Australian-British national Stephen Hutton, 53, could be extradited from the UK to Australia within weeks over the murder of 34-year-old Sandra Therese White.The body of the mother-of-one was found after a suspicious caravan fire in Yandoit, near Daylesford, on August 12, 1985.Tim White, who was 13 at the time of his mothers death, said he wanted closure for his family and himself after decades of misery."We are heading towards closure and that's good," Mr White said.A 1986 inquest was unable to determine the cause of Ms Whites' death but Mr White had the case reopened three years ago."I reopened it on Mum's 20th anniversary," he said."My Aunty Diane and I visited Mum's grave."On the way home I thought to myself that's it, I want to do something about this.Mr White said it took two-and-a-half years for Australian authorities to get permission to interview Mr Hutton in England.News Limited has reported that during the proceedings for extradition, it was alleged that after crashing his car in England in 1990, Mr Hutton told doctors he had a vision, in which he possibly smothered a woman to death with a pillow as he lay next to her.He allegedly revealed he saw himself carrying the womans body to a caravan in a neighbouring property, laying it out, setting fire to the van and watching it burn.On Friday, the Westminister Magistrates Court heard that such was the seriousness of the alleged confession, medical oaths were broken and police were called, the source said.Mr Hutton refused to answer questions then, but 15 years later he allegedly confessed to police, a claim he now denies.Mr Hutton's extradition court order is waiting to be formally signed by the Secretary of State and he can appeal.

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