A young woman found naked and bound at a Melbourne creek more than 40 years ago was killed by her stepfather, a coroner has ruled.
Barbara Dawson was last seen alive on October 29, 1980. The 20-year-old's body was discovered partially submerged in a shallow ford at Kororoit Creek in the western suburb of Altona North three days later.
She was naked with her throat cut and plastic bags around her head and her feet. A 1981 inquest could not determine who killed her.
In 2003, her stepfather Peter Dawson was arrested. Neither he nor anyone else was charged, and he died in Queensland in 2008 at the age of 65.