A WA coroner says the circumstances surrounding Richard Milgin’s disappearance and death almost 30 years ago are “destined to remain a mystery”.

August 29, 2023

The disappearance and death of an Indigenous man involved in a forbidden relationship is likely to remain a mystery after a coroner failed to unearth fresh evidence.

Richard Milgin, 24, and his girlfriend Julie Buck, 23, went missing in Western Australia’s Kimberley region almost three decades ago amid community tension over their “wrong skin group” union.

Ms Buck’s remains were found about a year later near where the couple was last seen in late 1993, but Mr Milgin has not been heard of since and his whereabouts remain unknown, despite multiple police investigations and several arrests over his murder.

An inquest in August found Mr Milgin died soon after leaving his home in an Aboriginal community, but no body has ever been found and Coroner Michael Jenkin was unable to determine the cause of his death.

“There have been a number of suggestions about what might have happened to Mr Milgin after he left Looma, including the persistent assertion that he may have died after being subjected to traditional punishment,” he said in his findings.

“However, on the basis of the currently available evidence, other than finding that Mr Milgin died sometime in early 1994, I have been unable to determine the cause of his death.

“In the absence of fresh evidence which may shed light on what happened … the circumstances surrounding his disappearance and death appear destined to remain a mystery.”

Magistrate Jenkin said it was an “unsatisfactory state of affairs” and he could not imagine the grief and sadness Mr Milgin’s family and loved ones had experienced since his disappearance.

“If there is anyone who knows anything about what happened to Mr Milgin … then for the sake of his family, I strongly urge them to come forward and speak with police,” he said.

Under traditional lore and cultural practices at the time, Mr Milgin and Ms Buck’s relationship was forbidden because of their skin colour, and she had also been promised to a 70-year-old community elder.

But a cold-case homicide investigation found no compelling evidence to suggest criminality in relation to Mr Milgin’s death or that he had fallen victim to traditional punishment.

Two men accused of involvement in his alleged unlawful killing gave evidence at the inquest and both denied any involvement in his disappearance or knowledge about what had happened to him after he left Looma.

No criminal charges have ever been laid despite several people being questioned by detectives, and there have been no transactions on any bank account in Mr Milgin’s name.

He has also had no contact with Centrelink and has not left Australia.