Juanita Nielsen

Juanita Nielsen
Juanita Nielsen in the early 1970s
Born
Juanita Joan Smith

(1937-04-22)22 April 1937
New Lambton, New South Wales, Australia
Disappeared4 July 1975 (aged 38)
Kings Cross, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
NationalityAustralian
Occupations
  • Newspaper founder
  • publisher
  • conservation activist
  • heiress
  • saleswoman
  • model
FamilyMark Foy (great-grandfather)[1]

Juanita Joan Nielsen (née Smith; 22 April 1937 – disappeared 4 July 1975) was an Australian newspaper founder and owner, publisher, journalist, model, urban conservationist, and heiress. She disappeared after attending a meeting at the Carousel nightclub (also called Les Girls) in Kings Cross on 4 July 1975. Her body has never been found.

Nielsen opposed urban development on Victoria Street, Kings Cross, Sydney, initiated by property developer Frank Theeman of Victoria Point Pty Ltd.[2] It is generally believed that she was killed because of her conservationism, and there have been strong suspicions of involvement of organised crime and police corruption. In the early 1980s, two men associated with Kings Cross crime boss Abe Saffron were jailed for conspiracy to kidnap Nielsen based on incidents leading up to her disappearance. A coronial inquest in November 1983 determined that Nielsen had been murdered but did not identify the place, cause, or perpetrators.

The unsolved mystery has continued to be a concern for the Australian community and has inspired several films.

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  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference FWTbio was invoked but never defined (see the help page).