‘I Became A Real-Life CSI To Solve My Mum's Murder!'

When her mum vanished, hairdresser Lily decided to solve the case herself

- Jon Parrish

When Lily Parmenter puts down her scissors for the day, she journeys inside the minds of depraved killers, looking for answers about her mum Katie O’Shea’s disappearance 13 years ago.

Lily, 32, decided to study criminology so she could find out what happened to Katie, who vanished in late 2005 during a trip to Atherton in Far North Queensland to be at her son Alan’s side for the birth of her first grandchild.

A NEED TO KNOW

“She’s missing, presumed murdered,” says the Melbourne hairdresser.

“I’ve accepted she’s not coming home alive. But I need to know what happened to my mum. A degree in criminology will give me the skills to investigate her case and, hopefully, solve it.”

With henna-coloured hair adorned with flowers and bright blue eye shadow, Lily’s mum stood out in a crowd.

“Mum was eccentric and alternative,” Lily smiles fondly.

“She was absent-minded too, lost every mobile phone she owned and wouldn’t use EFTPOS because she always forgot her number.”

But when it came to her five children, the then-44- year-old single mum was completely focused.

“She was an amazing mother,” Lily recalls. “I don’t know how she did it, but she managed to make every one of us feel special.”