Annette Steward murder: Darren John Chalmers pleads guilty to Geelong cold case killing

A Perth gardener has admitted strangling a Victorian mother inside her home more than 30 years ago.

Darren John Chalmers, 56, on Thursday appeared briefly before the Victorian Supreme Court, where he admitted to the 1992 murder of Annette Steward.

“Guilty,” he softly replied when asked how he would like to plead.

Ms Steward, a mother of two, was found naked by a friend in her home on Hope St, Geelong West, on March 18, 1992.

By way of his plea, Chalmers admitted that he killed Ms Steward two days earlier on March 16.

He was extradited to Victoria in March this year after he was charged by homicide squad detectives over the cold case.

The court was told his last address in Western Australia was in the suburb of Medina, and his last job was as a gardener.

The circumstances surrounding Ms Steward’s death had remained a mystery for more than 30 years, and in 2015, Victoria Police offered a $1m reward.

In 2020, Chalmers was arrested and interviewed by Victorian detectives about the case as WA Police conducted an unrelated investigation.

He was remanded into custody and will return to court for a pre-sentence hearing in November.

The court was told some members of Ms Steward’s family now lived interstate and would be travelling to Victoria for the hearing.