Sydney Model Death: Sister’s Plea & Police Criticism

The sister of a model who disappeared in 1994 continues to seek answers regarding the initial police investigation, expressing anger over perceived failures and biases in the case.

Revelle Balmain Disappearance: Family Seeks Truth

Revelle Balmain, 22, was last seen after a client dropped her off at a Sydney hotel one Saturday night in 1994. She missed a subsequent booking three hours later and has not been heard from since.

Police later found Balmain’s makeup bag, keys, and a shoe scattered on the road.

On Wednesday, Suellen Simpson, Balmain’s sister, told an inquest she believes her sister was murdered on November 5, 1994, and remains desperate for information.

“Thirty-one years later, I still don’t know why or where she is,” Simpson said.

Simpson criticized the initial police response, alleging investigators dismissed Balmain’s disappearance as a runaway case due to her profession as a sex worker.

She stated that a police officer told a co-worker of Balmain’s in 1994 that the two women “deserved whatever they got.”

“Revelle didn’t deserve to be murdered and she deserved a more thorough investigation,” Simpson said. She added that her family endured the dual pain of losing a loved one and facing indifference from authorities.

“Each conversation [with my mother], we always turned to the same conclusion – a pointless crime, poorly handled,” Simpson stated. Balmain’s parents died without learning what happened to their daughter.

Simpson expressed her sole desire is to uncover the truth about her sister’s fate. “Losing Revelle devastated me – she was my sister, very much loved and held a very special place in our family.”

Coroner Joan Baptie thanked Simpson for her “decades of courage” and “vigorous, diligent and unwavering determination to find the truth.”

The Infatuated Driver

The inquest also focused on Zoran Stanojevic, who was married to the head of the escort agency, Select Companions, and occasionally drove escorts for the business.

A former escort colleague testified that Stanojevic was infatuated with Balmain. However, Jane King, head of Select Companions, stated she was unaware of any time her husband spent with Balmain beyond driving her to bookings.

King recalled an unusual comment from Stanojevic, who rarely discussed the escorts he transported. “He said ‘we get on really well and she really loves fashion’ – he was really into fashion,” King said. “It was really weird he was talking about how well they got on.”

“It didn’t alarm me but it was really odd.”

Stanojevic and a Select Companions receptionist were scheduled to testify on Wednesday, but the inquest concluded a day early. The coroner will release her findings at a later date.