Revelle Balmain disappeared 30 years ago. Now, new clues may lead to her killer.

In 1994, Revelle Balmain was a successful model and dancer. 

She also worked as an escort in secret, hoping to raise money to support her dancing.

So when the 22-year-old vanished, seemingly without a trace, suspicion fell onto the last person whom she had been with – a client.

Without enough evidence to bring forward any charges at the time, Revelle's case eventually lost traction, and sat, gathering dust for almost 30 years.

However, developments following a 60 Minutes investigation back in September 2023 have led to the NSW Coroner opening a second inquest into her disappearance. 

On Monday, her case was back in the Coroner's Court, a quarter of a century after the initial inquest.

NSW Deputy State Coroner Joan Baptie set down a second inquest to begin on April 29, per ABC News. The previous inquest in 1999 found Revelle died at the hands of someone unknown and her case was referred to the unsolved homicide unit.

Despite no arrests, the report believed they had uncovered new clues.

Jane King ran a Sydney escort agency with her then-husband Zoran Stanojevic and was Revelle's boss in 1994. 

She told 60 Minutes that just days after Revelle went missing, the aspiring model's first magazine cover had come out.

"There's a huge billboard there at the top of William Street [in Sydney] and she was on a number of the bus shelters as well," Jane recalled.

"I just had goosebumps all over. It was terrible. It was like she was everywhere and she was nowhere."

In the days following Revelle's disappearance, police found pieces of evidence in Kingsford including one of the shoes she had been wearing, her house keys, makeup bag and diary.

Revelle's older sister, Suellen Simpson, and the rest of her heartbroken family have had to live with the grief of not knowing what happened to the young woman.

"When I had heard that residents of Kingsford had handed her items in, then it became real to me and that's when I just went into shock," Suellen told 60 Minutes on Sunday night. "It just gave us knowledge that there was something terribly wrong, terribly wrong."

Revelle Balmain. Image: NSW Police Media.

At the time, all suspicion was placed firmly on Gavin Samer, the client Revelle had been with before her disappearance and the last person known to have seen her alive. 

Revelle's possessions were found close to his home, but her boss Jane King did not believe Gavin was ever "involved in the disappearance".

"I just thought he was just way too obvious," she told 60 Minutes. "And I have had evidence put to me that does take Samer out of the picture to some degree. Evidence that the initial police never found."

She continued, "... his whereabouts were verified. And they weren't verified by the first batch of police that investigated."

In 1999, the coroner found that Mr Samer "certainly had the opportunity to kill Ms Balmain", but "no plausible motive" ever emerged. 

Mr Samer has never been charged, and there is no suggestion police still consider him a suspect.

In recent years, more information has been revealed to investigators that have turned the case of Revelle's disappearance in a completely new direction – so much so that Detective Chief Inspector Stuart Bell put it to the coroner earlier this week, arguing it may be able to solve the case.

As he explained, it all comes down to finding out if, "Revelle was to meet any other person on the night – that being a client, associate or friend on the night she disappeared... That's the key."

Detective Bell spent three years combing through archived information, re-interviewing witnesses and using new technology to find additional clues and build a case.

"I'm hopeful that the inquest and the testing of the evidence will give a clearer picture of what happened to Revelle on the 5th of November, 1994," he told 60 Minutes.

The focus has now turned to Jane's ex-husband Zoran, who allegedly changed his story many times following the young model's disappearance.

He has never been arrested or charged over the 22-year-old's suspected murder, but police believe he warrants further investigation.

At the time, Zoran was the co-owner of the escort agency, Select Companions, and its principal driver, delivering escorts to and from their appointments.

However, according to 60 Minutes, there were inconsistencies in his story.

Ten days after Revelle was reported missing, Zoran claimed he wasn’t working the night she disappeared. He said he was at home with a heavily pregnant Jane – something Jane claims isn't true.

Four years later, he took back his original claim, saying he was out driving "another escort to and from jobs".

"I don't want to believe that Zoran had something to do with it," Jane said. "[But] I don't think he stacks up well."

Listen: Journalist Caroline Overington unpacks the mystery of Revelle's disappearance.

In December 2021, police arrested Zoran for shoplifting and possession of stolen goods. He already had a conviction for cultivating a commercial quantity of cannabis. His charges were unrelated to Revelle's suspected murder. 

However, it was the renewed police investigation into her death that uncovered his most recent crimes. He served eight months in jail and is now out on parole.

Zoran also assaulted Jane in 2003, for which he underwent domestic violence and anger management courses.

While investigators fight to uncover the truth, Revelle's sister Suellen is just as desperate to find out what really happened that night. She's even gone as far as to physically search for her sister's missing body herself.

"I have a need to see the person who murdered Revelle charged with her murder and put in jail for the rest of their life," she told 60 Minutes. 

"Because when murder is involved, you don't know who or where or why and you're forever asking those questions and you're walking around in some sort of daze, wondering where she is, why did someone kill her?"

Sadly, Revelle's parents died without ever knowing what happened to their daughter. Baptie, the NSW Deputy State Coroner has set down a second inquest to begin on April 29. 

This article was originally published on September 18, 2023 and has since been updated with new information.

Read more: Revelle Balmain vanished in 1994. Now, police have a photo of a man they wish to speak to.

Feature Image: NSW POLICE MEDIA.