‘All husbands are a suspect’: Man denies murdering wife in 1973 cold case

When Colleen Adams vanished from her South Australia home in 1973 she was initially thought to have left of her own accord, however police have now launched a fresh investigation into the cold case, allegedly telling her husband he is now a main suspect in her presumed murder.

South Australia Police launched a fresh search for Adams’ remains at the couple’s former home in Maitland earlier this week and spent two days “examining the property inside and out”, using ground penetrating radar and specialist camera equipment, as well as digging up concrete slabs from the back garden.

Detective Superintendent Des Bray confirmed that Major Crime police have “spoken with a suspect”, and said: “After an anomaly was discovered we dug out a concrete slab under a garden shed and we are also closely examining a patch in the garden, however at this time we have not located any evidence linked with Mrs Adams’ disappearance.”

Now the missing woman’s husband, Geoff Adams, has spoken publicly to Nine News Adelaide to deny having any involvement with his wife’s disappearance or alleged murder. When asked whether he killed his wife by reporters, he told the news outlet: “No, I didn’t.” When asked if he had been told he was a suspect, he added: “All husbands are a suspect, yeah.”

The 24-year-old mother-of-two vanished on November 22, 1973, with her husband Geoff telling police that he woke to find his wife fully-dressed, holding two packed suitcases, claiming she told him she never wanted to see him, or their two young daughters, aged three and 18-months at the time, again.

Adams also said he then watched his wife climb into a car with a middle-aged woman, whom he did not recognise, before driving off. However Colleen was not reported missing for 27 days, when her concerned mother Vera Milbank lodged a missing persons report with police.

Police initially attended the address in 1974, however Colleen was considered a missing person for another five years, until the case was declared a Major Crime in 1979, as no contact or financial activity had been made by the apparently doting mother since she was said to have left.

Read more: Forensic search begins at Lynette Dawson’s home 36 years after disappearance.

The husband of a woman who vanished more than four decades ago has been told by police that he's a suspect in the presumed murder. @benavery9 #9News pic.twitter.com/f7cj9YfisN

— 9News Adelaide (@9NewsAdel) September 18, 2018

Detective Superintendent Bray confirmed that police do not believe Adams is alive and stressed that the force would not “give up” on the case. 

“We don’t give up on unsolved cases such as this,” he said. “Her daughters and family deserve some answers and I would urge anyone with information that may be of value to police to come forward and speak with us.”

Despite the police’s belief that Adams is deceased, her husband believes she is still alive. He added to 9News: “I just hope that she’s well and enjoying life yeah.”

A $200,000 reward is also being offered to anyone who provides information which leads to the recovery of Mrs Adam’s remains, or the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for her suspected murder.

Do you remember this case?