[1][2] Margaret Christine Tapp (3 June 1949 – 7 August 1984), a 35-year-old nurse who was studying law, and her nine-year-old daughter, Seana[a] Lee Tapp (6 March 1975 - 7 August 1984) lived in Ferntree Gully, Victoria, Australia.
As there were no signs of forced entry, and the victims were attacked in their beds, the perpetrator(s) were probably known to them and aware of the broken lock on the back door.
Other leads included a Dunlop Volley footprint and a red utility vehicle seen parked nearby which was never traced.
[6] Several suspects were later eliminated via DNA analysis, although complications in 2008 pertaining to the contamination of samples retrieved from the murder scene have cast doubts upon the earlier elimination of some suspects from the police inquiry.
[6] In 2017, an A$1 million reward was offered for information that could lead to a conviction.