Brett Peter Cowan
| Brett Peter Cowan | |
|---|---|
| Born |
18 September 1969 Bunbury, Western Australia |
| Criminal charge | Murder Improperly interfering with a corpse Indecently dealing with a child under the age of 16 |
| Criminal penalty | Life imprisonment non-parole until August 2031 |
Brett Peter Cowan (born 18 September 1969) is an Australian murderer and sex offender who was convicted of the murder of Daniel Morcombe, who disappeared from the Sunshine Coast on 7 December 2003. His abduction led to an eight-year investigation involving various suspects, until an undercover police sting in August 2011 revealed Cowan as the perpetrator. He was charged with the murder that same month and Morcombe's remains were discovered days later on 17 August. Cowan was sentenced to life imprisonment, (being eligible for parole in 2031) on 13 March 2014 in a trial that attracted worldwide attention. Cowan had two previous convictions of child sex offences, the earliest dating back to 1987.
The investigation into Morcombe's disappearance became Queensland's highest profile crime case in history.
Cowan was born in Bunbury, Western Australia, to Marlene, a homemaker and RSL worker, and Peter Cowan, who was a Vietnam veteran. He was the third of four boys. The Cowans led a strict household and gave their children a Catholic upbringing. In the early 1970s, the family relocated to Brisbane, Queensland, eventually settling in the suburb of Everton Park. The Cowans were, by many accounts, a "good family". Cowan's father was often absent due to his Army responsibilities.
Cowan and his brothers attended Mt Maria College, an independent Catholic high school in Mitchelton then known as Marcellin College. Cowan's year nine English teacher claimed Cowan was somewhat of a "bully" who taunted other students, would proudly parade around his erections and was "despised by his peers". Conversely, other students at his school reflected on him as being an "ordinary guy". Cowan himself proved difficult for his mother: he was a "handful" as a child and progressed into a difficult teenager, occasionally stealing from her. Cowan himself was also bullied in school and had struggled to come to terms with his bisexuality.
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