ALMOST 21 years on, Lee Rimmer is still haunted every single day by the murder of her “baby sister” Jane.
Ms Rimmer, who has been living in WA’s South-West, said life had been anything but normal for her family since her sister was found dead in Wellard in August 1996.
Her body was discovered 55 days after she was reported missing after visiting The Continental Hotel in Claremont in June.
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READ NOWHaving grown up in what she described as a “normal household” in Shenton Park, Ms Rimmer said the death of her sister was “devastating” and had taken its toll on her family.
She now splits her time between the country and the northeastern suburbs of Perth to see friends and visit her mum Jenny.
“It’s 21 years this year, and it has impacted us a lot,” she said.
“I suppose we’ve all dealt with it in our own ways and when it happened we were all quite a close knit family.
“Over the years, we’ve moved to different places and in some ways gone our separate ways.
“It impacts your life every single day and it’s always there.”
At the time of her sister’s disappearance, Ms Rimmer was 29 and working in a women’s refuge in Mt Lawley.
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“At the time, it was surreal and to be honest the first few weeks were a complete blur,” she said.
“We used to have our traditional Sunday roast every week and when she didn’t turn up we just assumed she had stayed at her friend’s house.
“When she didn’t turn up at work the next day we thought ‘well hang on, that’s not right’.
“The police came around and obviously it went from there.
“It’s just unbelievable.”
The experience motivated her to walk in the Reclaim the Night march in 1997 to raise awareness about safety on the streets.
“(Everything) about ‘that night’ was normal,” she said.
“It was all normal.
“You felt like the suburb was safe, you felt protected.”
Four years after Jane’s death Ms Rimmer moved away from Perth and is living a quiet life with a daughter of her own.
“I moved away on purpose at first,” she said.
“My daughter has never lived in the city and she’s never had to deal with technology.
“We don’t talk about it (Jane’s death) at all in front of the children.
“As a sister, I’ve been in pits of despair but you go through all the emotions.
“Luckily I have so many family and friends around me all the time who are brilliant.
“I focus on the positive things now; I am in the best space I’ve been in the past 20 years.”
A 48-year-old Kewdale man will appear in court on Wednesday charged with the murders of Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon.
January 27 marks the 21st anniversary of the disappearance of Sarah Spiers.