By Sarah McPhee
Murdered NSW mother-of-three Sharon Edwards died as a result of “at least one episode of interpersonal violence”, a coroner has found but, without her killer revealing the location of her body, the precise cause and place of her death remain a mystery.
Edwards’ estranged husband John Wallace Edwards was found guilty by a NSW Supreme Court jury in 2019 of murdering the 55-year-old in Grafton in 2015. He has never revealed the location of her remains.
John Wallace Edwards killed his estranged wife Sharon Edwards in 2015.Credit: Facebook
An inquest into her disappearance and suspected death, which was suspended amid criminal proceedings, was held at the NSW Coroners Court at Lidcombe last week.
“Sharon’s death is a terrible loss,” coronial advocate Karissa Mackay said. “The fact her remains have never been found can only be described as leaving a hole that remains with her family and friends and never leaves.”
Mackay noted Edwards was considered a “shining light” and a “devoted mum and grandmother, a generous friend and daughter [and] a passionate teacher who loved life”.
She said John Edwards had “purported to be a distressed husband” after his wife’s disappearance, reporting her as a missing person and fronting cameras flanked by their three adult sons.
John and Sharon Edwards and their three sons.Credit: Facebook
The inquest heard Sharon had moved on with a man named Billy Mills. On the night she vanished, John drove around trying to find her and then parked his ute in her garage and waited inside the home, where she arrived with Mills.
“Realising John must be in the house, they decided it best to return Billy to his accommodation, and she [Sharon] would then return to her home,” Mackay said. “As she dropped Billy off, they shared a kiss and said goodbye. She drove back to her address in Grafton and was never seen again.”
Mackay said Sharon was “not the type of person to go missing”, and she had made plans for the future.
“Precisely what occurred following Sharon’s rearrival at her home cannot be determined,” she said.
However, “pings” from Sharon and John’s phones in the early hours of March 15, 2015, were traced to the same phone towers, moving north of Grafton, near the town of Lawrence.
“This evidence strongly suggests that John killed Sharon shortly after her return to the premises,” Mackay said, adding that whether Sharon was hit, punched, strangled or “all three” could not be proven beyond reasonable doubt. During this confrontation, John sustained a fractured hand.
“At around 4am, John somehow put Sharon into his ute and drove in a direction generally west of Lawrence,” Mackay said.
“This area has many places a body could be disposed of such that it would be unlikely to ever be found. The area includes swamps, dams and rugged bushland. And although NSW Police would later conduct comprehensive searching of this area, Sharon’s body was not found.”
Sharon Edwards was murdered by her estranged husband. Her body has never been found.
The inquest heard John gave “several inconsistent versions” to his family and authorities including that he had not seen Sharon at all, there was a verbal argument, and there had been a minor physical scuffle.
Mackay submitted that the coroner, on balance, could find Sharon died from blunt force trauma or make an open finding, and her death had been at her home on Riverdale Court in Grafton.
Deputy State Coroner Derek Lee found Sharon Edwards died on or about March 14, 2015, by homicide, as a result of “at least one episode of interpersonal violence”.
“However, the available evidence does not allow for any finding to be made as to the place of Ms Edwards’ death,” he said, adding that it was not known whether she died in Grafton, Lawrence or elsewhere.
“The available evidence, and the absence of any post-mortem examination, also does not allow for any finding to be made as to the precise cause of Ms Edwards’ death.”
Lee, who expressed his condolences and sympathies, said the brevity of the inquest in no way reflected the value the court placed on Sharon’s life and “what her loss means” to her loved ones.
“It is heartbreaking to know that Ms Edwards was taken so suddenly and unexpectedly from those closest to her and that some uncertainty still surrounds Ms Edwards’ death,” he said.
“However, there is little doubt that the positive impression that Ms Edwards has left with so many family members, loved ones, friends and persons she encountered during her life will remain as a lasting and cherished memory.”
John Edwards is serving a maximum 24 years, with a non-parole period of 18 years. It is the same sentence as wife killers Chris Dawson and John Bowie received last year.
However, like Dawson and Bowie, Edwards is now subject to the state’s “no body, no parole” legislation. Under the law, introduced in October 2022, the State Parole Authority is required to refuse parole to homicide offenders who do not co-operate to locate their victims’ bodies or remains.
Edwards, a former teacher, will be eligible for parole in June 2035. His maximum term expires in June 2041.
After the sentencing in 2019, one of the couple’s sons, Joshua Edwards, told reporters the judge had given his father the opportunity to reveal where his mother’s body was.
“I hope he will, but I don’t believe he will,” he said.
Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732).
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