Family of Keith Lees react to his shock arrest almost 30 years after his former partner Meaghan Louise Rose was found dead at the bottom of a cliff

EXCLUSIVE

A relative of Keith Lees says he is ‘stunned and relieved’ by his shock arrest over the alleged murder of his ex-partner almost 30 years ago.

Lees, 72, was arrested in Sydney on Thursday on a warrant for the alleged murder of Queensland woman Meaghan Louise Rose, 25, in July 1997.

Lee’s arrest comes a year and a half after he was questioned by homicide detectives during an investigation into the unsolved death 27 years ago.

One of his adult children, Wren Dawnsong, who was living with Lees when Ms Rose was allegedly murdered, told Daily Mail Australia his arrest was a “huge relief”.

“I am stunned and relieved that he has finally been found and I am very grateful to the public who came forward with the right information at the right time,” they said.

“It was really stressful.”

Wren wasn’t surprised when he heard his father had ended up in Sydney.

Meaghan’s former partner Keith Lees, 72, was arrested at a home in Dural in Sydney’s northwest on Thursday after Queensland Police obtained an arrest warrant in July 2023.

“He literally could have been anywhere in the country. My only real surprise is that he was on the run for a year and a half. I didn’t think he had it in him!’ they said.

“But he’s a tough son of a bitch and I’m just glad he was found.”

Wren has spoken out in the past about Lees’ disappearance, telling reporters that he needed to “man up” and turn himself in in 2023.

They believe an episode of the Australian True Crime Podcast released last week prompted a member of the public to share new information with police.

The podcast featured interviews with both Wren and Ms. Rose’s sister, Christine.

“It’s breathtaking to have a result almost immediately,” Wren said.

Wren was only eleven years old and living with Lees when Mrs. Rose died.

Her body was found in July 1997 at the foot of a Point Cartwright cliff near Mooloolaba in southern Queensland.

Meaghan Louise Rose, 25, was found at the foot of a Point Cartwright cliff near Mooloolaba in southern Queensland in July 1997.

In July 2023, police issued an arrest warrant for Lees and continued to search for him. He was seen on CCTV around Victoria in the following days

The death was initially deemed non-suspicious and no inquest was held.

But the case was reopened in 2009 following revelations that Lees had taken out a life insurance policy in Ms Rose’s name before her death.

Homicide detectives visited a home in Victoria in June 2023 to speak to Lees, then aged 70, about their investigation.

A day later he disappeared and his car was found abandoned in Portland.

In July 2023, police issued an arrest warrant for Lees and continued to search for him. He was seen on CCTV around Victoria in the following days.

Authorities said at the time that Lees may have been seeking temporary work in the farming and fruit picking industries. The public was warned not to approach him.

Police took him to Hornsby Police Station on Thursday where he was charged with the outstanding arrest warrant.

NSW Police have also laid new charges against him as they allege he tried to bite an officer while in custody.

Mr Lees is pictured boarding a bus in an image shared by Queensland Police

Lees was charged with assaulting a police officer in the execution of his duty without grievous bodily harm, dealing with identifying information to commit an indictable offence, and possessing identifying information to commit an indictable offence.

He was refused bail and was due to appear in Parramatta Local Court on Friday.

Lees previously served 18 years in prison for the 2001 murder of Barry Waters, whose decapitated body he dumped in bushland in Reefton, Victoria.

He had been a friend of Mr. Waters and began a romantic affair with the man’s wife.