Ray and Jennie Kehlet: Brother speaks of his ‘anguish and torment’ on 10 year anniversary of their deaths

For Dave Kehlet, March 19 is Ray Day. It is the one day of year he feels his mind gets some reprieve from the constant torture of the unanswered questions. Will the monster who so brutally killed his brother Ray and his wife Jennie ever be brought to justice? And will his sister-in-law Jennie ever be found? “It’s a constant source of anguish and torment,” Mr Kehlet told The West Australian this week. “So on the anniversary, it feels somewhat like the opposite. “You get to sit back and reflect . . . we try not to think about it on the actual day other than recognise it. “All year is difficult, because we’re trying to do things to ensure that we get justice.” This week marks a decade since Ray and Jennie Kehlet set off from their Beverley farm with their dog Ella on a prospecting trip to Sandstone on March 19, 2015. They never returned. Ray’s body was found a few weeks later on April 8, at the bottom of a 100-year-old mine shaft. Jennie is still missing. What happened to them is one of WA’s most baffling mysteries. “There’s no way we would have believed we’d be at 10 years and have no answers,” Mr Kehlet said. “I think on the ninth anniversary last year, based on discussions with people inside special crime, I actually posted (online) that I’d bet my life there won’t be a 10th. Yet here we are. “Frustrating is not the word. I don’t know what the word is. It’s just a constant source of torture.” Mr Kehlet describes the past decade as like being on a “badly built rollercoaster”. First, there was the news Ray and Jennie were missing. It was their beloved dog, Ella, who was found wandering alone in Sandstone that prompted the search which, at the time, was the most expensive land and air search in WA history. That same year, the friend they had been prospecting with when they vanished, Graham Milne, was taken into custody and interviewed by police. He was released without charge the next day. “So you wait for the next pivotal moment,” Mr Kehlet said. That came in 2018, when detective Stephen Cleal was given the case. Det-Sgt Cleal later told Channel 7 documentary Murder in the Goldfields that he believed some of Mr Milne’s claims did not stack up. “I had the intention to charge him, which was referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions, but was not accepted,” Det-Sgt Cleal said. “So under the circumstances there is no plan to charge Graham Milne. There could be possibly down the track, but not at this point.” Then there was the coronial inquest in 2020, which ended in bombshell findings confirming Ray had been murdered at the bottom of the mineshaft. And that the perpetrator possibly moved his body to the side to hide it. “We thought ‘right, it’s going back to the DPP and surely this time it will be all wrapped up and someone will be arrested’. But again, a negative decision,” Mr Kehlet said. Two years ago came another milestone. An army veteran, who is known only as Rick, ventured down into the hole where Ray was found and retrieved a piece of clothing that could not be ruled out as belonging to Ray. The discovery prompted police to announce there would be a fresh search of the 12-metre deep mineshaft in 2023. Police said they discovered a “number of items of interest” after descending down the hole. But they have never revealed what they found or if it was relevant to the investigation. “We thought right, surely they’ve got enough now,” Mr Kehlet said. “Two years seems unbelievable that it would take that long. “After that examination, you try to come up with a logical timeframe of what’s ahead. We’ve been given rough timeframes but none of those have come true.” WA Police refused to say this week if forensic testing of the items of interest had been completed. “Not knowing what happened to a loved one is confronting and challenging for the families and friends of long-term missing persons, and WA Police remains committed to finding answers for those families and communities,” a spokesman said. “The investigation into the disappearance of Ray and Jennie Kehlet remains with cold case investigations at major crime division.” Mr Kehlet said he would never give up. And he believes it’s only a matter of time before another arrest is made. “I’ll guarantee they (the police) have enough (evidence) now. But it’s just getting them to push the button. Then you have to finish one battle, the next will be the DPP,” he said. And he also refuses to give up hoping Jennie’s body will be found. “We have some very, very good people who continually search for her,” he said. “So I’ll never give up hope. It’s pointless to give up hope. That’s too much of a defeat to think that she’ll never be found.” Mr Kehlet admits he didn’t have a close relationship with Ray when he died. It’s something he regrets now. “But I’m sure we could have and probably would have given time,” he said. “Ray was the big brother. Ray was seven years older than I was. So a lot of my childhood was shaped by Ray. “And as you grow older you sort of forget that, and then something like this happens it makes you remember and recall how lucky you are to have had that. “So I’ll do anything to make sure he gets the justice he deserves and hopefully bring him and Jennie back together. “I’m sure they’re together spiritually, if you believe that sort of thing. “But there’s obviously a need for us to find her for her family. And for peace for everyone involved.” A $2 million combined reward is on offer for information that could help solve the case. Anyone with information should call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.