Brisbane retired teacher Leslie Trotter may have been killed for recycling Toowong unit bins
How the habitual recycling habit of millions of Australians may have led to the possible murder of a retired teacher when police found blood near her complex’s rubbish bins: ‘People were unhappy’
- Blood found near garbage cans that women often rummaged through
- Searching bins to sort recycling ‘upset’ some residents
- Police confirm death, cannot rule out recycling habit as cause
A retired teacher’s disappearance has taken a turn for the worse after blood was found near bins she regularly rummaged through to sort out recyclables.
Queensland Police believe Leslie Trotter, 78, died sometime between midnight on March 27 and 12am the next day after finding blood near her dumpsters in the western Brisbane suburb of Toowong last Friday.
Ms. Trotter regularly searched the bins to find things to recycle, a practice that made some in her neighborhood “very unhappy,” police said.
Police said Ms Trotter’s leaving rubbish on the ground and in the driveway as she rummaged through bins to find and sort recyclables had caused “some anxiety in some people” on her street.
Detectives were unable to rule out whether this habit was the cause of her death or reveal how they know she died but believe they are getting closer to where her body may be.
Lesley Trotter, 78, believed to be dead but Queensland police could not confirm how they know she died
Detective Andrew Massingham confirmed that there had been “some complaints made regarding” her recycling habit.
‘It is known that as residents [in her neighbourhood] put their bins out and there was recycling in the general bin then she would want to rectify that,” he said at a press conference.
“Some people were dissatisfied with that process.
“We have not ruled out that this activity is somehow related to her death.
“I think part of the concern was … transferring the recyclables to the bins, sometimes people’s rubbish ends up on the road or outside the general bin.”
Ms. Trotter, who loved walking and going to the gym, told her family she was excited about starting a new chapter in her life by moving into a retirement home in the near future.
Det Supt Massingham confirmed that blood was found in the bin, but could not confirm whether or not it was relevant to the case.
“Some forensic samples have been taken from the unit complex and also some other unit complexes in the street,” Detective Massingham said.
“We don’t know at this stage what its relevance is, whether it’s related to her disappearance or not.”
The samples are currently undergoing forensics to determine if they are relevant to Mr. Trotter’s disappearance.
Police currently have two crime scenes in the complex, one within its unit and one just outside where the bins were stored.
He then called on anyone with dashcam footage or relevant information to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
The missing person case was launched on March 28 after Ms Trotter’s brother arrived at her apartment to find it unlocked and her phone and wallet left behind.