A MAN has pleaded guilty to the double murder of a young mother and daughter whose bodies were found 1,200km apart in Australia a decade ago.
Daniel James Holdom, 43, admitted to murdering 20-year-old Karlie Pearce-Stevenson and two-year-old Khandalyce Pearce in December 2008 when he appeared at New South Wales' Supreme Court this week.
Ms Pearce-Stevenson's remains were discovered in 2010 in Belanglo State Forest in New South Wales, but were not identified for five years until after the discovery of Khandalyce’s body in 2015.
The child's remains were found by a passerby in a suitcase next to Karoonda Highway, west of Wynarka, in South Australia - some 750 miles away.
#BREAKING: Daniel James Holdom has plead guilty to the murder of a mother and her 2-year-old daughter in the NSW Belanglo state forest. #9News pic.twitter.com/SAisCUwkKa
— Nine News Australia (@9NewsAUS) July 31, 2018
The discovery eventually led to detectives identifying the mother and child through DNA.
Police alleged Holdom, who had a short relationship with Ms Pearce-Stevenson, killed the mother and photographed her body in the forest "as a trophy of sorts" before murdering her daughter several days later in the Wagga Wagga area of NSW.
At the time, Holdom told friends he was driving the toddler to her grandmother's home in South Australia.
However, prosecutors allege he then bought duct tape and a dishcloth before checking into a motel with Khandalyce and suffocating her to death.
He then placed her body in a suitcase and dumped it on the side of the SA highway.
Holdom was also accused of using Ms Pearce-Stevenson’s credit card for years after her death, during which time numerous benefit payments continued and $71,770 was debited from her account.
The court also heard how Holdom sent messages from Ms Pearce-Stevenson’s phone to her mother in order to give police the impression she had moved away with her daughter.
He will be sentenced in late September.
See More: Australia, Court, Crime, Daniel James Holdom, Murder, Suitcase
