The mother-of-two, now the subject of a homicide investigation, is being remembered as “a beautiful lady, inside and out”.
The mother-of-two, now the subject of a homicide investigation, is being remembered as “a beautiful lady, inside and out”.
- Updated
- National
- Queensland
- Crime
By Cloe Read
Updated March 12, 2025 — 12.29pmfirst published at 8.00am
Detectives are working to determine if a mother-of-two whose body was found in the Brisbane River by a rower had been killed in a random attack or by someone known to her.
Crystal Beale, 49, was last seen in West End on the night of February 21, before her body was found in the water the next morning near the Brisbane Corso in Yeronga.
In the hours before her died, Beale was with her former partner, police said. Her body was discovered with “no obvious injuries”, leading officers to initially rule her death as non-suspicious.
Police have released CCTV footage showing Beale on the last night she was seen alive, wearing a long, white dress, and with a brown leather satchel.
“At the time of her discovery, there weren’t any obvious injuries, which is why it was originally reported as non-suspicious,” Detective Acting Inspector Rod Watts said.
“Since postmortem … we do now believe the death is suspicious.”
Beale’s daughter and son were struggling with the update from police that their mother might have been killed by someone, Watts said.
“Her death in these circumstances is horrific.”
Watts said the Sunshine Coast woman had been visiting her family, who live in West End.
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She had been with her family and friends for dinner a few hours earlier in Sunnybank, before she was dropped off in Ryan Street in West End.
“She was visiting family, and we believe where she’s left, she left a man known to her, and that’s where she’s gone missing, and that’s what we’re trying to piece together, her movements after that,” Watts said.
‘It’s probably out of the blue. She’s a mother, she’s going about her business having dinner with her family.’
Detective Acting Inspector Rod Watts
Watts said the man was a former partner. Police have not charged him, and no one has been taken into custody.
Asked by reporters if anything in Beale’s past could give insight into what might have happened, Watts replied: “It’s probably out of the blue”.
“She’s a mother, she’s going about her business having dinner with her family, dropped off in an area around West End … and we’re still trying to piece together what’s happened since then.
“Is it a random attack? We actually don’t know.”
Police could not confirm if she was dead before she was in the water.
Watts said based on tidal assessments, Beale may have been in the river for about six hours, but police were yet to confirm details.
He said there was no suggestion a weapon was used but he would not elaborate on her injuries.
Beale is being remembered as a much loved mother and friend.
A friend, who asked not to be named, said she could not believe she was gone.
“Crystal and I met as school mums, and she was a beautiful lady inside and out,” she said.
“I can’t believe she’s gone.”
Another friend said he last spoke to Beale in November, and described the police update as very sad.
“She was a caring person, she had an amazing, big smile. She was very kind to people,” he said.
The footage of Beale’s last night alive shows her walking behind two men and pausing to put on one of her shoes as she leaves the Sunnybank Hotel.
“We believe Crystal was near the Brisbane River at Orleigh Park, West End and on Ryan Street, West End, late on Friday, February 21,” Watts said.
Police were investigating several lines of inquiry, and had been collecting CCTV in the West End area from the night before her body was found.
Police urged anyone who might have been in the Orleigh Park area between 9.30pm that night and 1am the following morning, or who might have seen Beale, or any suspicious behaviour, to come forward.
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