MARIA SMITH
NSW Police Rewards Website
Maria was found to have been raped, bound and strangled by her own tights in her apartment that she shared with her new husband in Randwick. Maria and Stephen had only been married for 8 weeks when he found her body on the evening of April 22nd. There was no clear indication of how the murderer gained access to the apartment with no signs of forced entry, no knock heard by neighbours and the balcony door had been locked.
Police are now looking into a male who was seen to make strong advances towards Maria at a party hosted at their house while Stephen was away for university. Police are also interested in a mustard-coloured Ford Capri that was seen outside Maria’s unit on the morning of her murder. Maria’s murder was initially linked to the murder of Lynette White, but they are now being looked at separately.
Reward​
There is currently a $1 million reward for information that leads to a conviction in the murder of 20-year-old Maria Smith in April 1974.
$1M REWARD IN BRIDE MURDER CASE: HUSBAND BREAKS SILENCE AFTER 44 YEARS
Despite the passage of 44 years, the emotion is at times too much for Stephen Smith.
He agreed to give his first interview about the murder of his bride of eight weeks, Maria, in 1974 after the reward for information about the case was increased to $1 million.
