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[Music] our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents if you feel at
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anytime you need support please contact your local crisis center for suggested phone numbers for confidential support
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please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website the seaside city of warm Gong is located
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82 kilometers until ilaria region on the east coast of Australia with a population of close to 300,000 people
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it's the third largest city in the state of New South Wales behind Sydney and Newcastle archaeological evidence
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suggests that Indigenous Australians inhabited Wollongong and its rich surrounding regions as far back as
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40,000 years with the immense growth of Sydney during the early 1800s new townships were established to expand the
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population and grow industry a harbour was built in Wollongong creating a fishing industry and the Port Kembla
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still works followed soon after cementing Wollongong is a hub of steel and other heavy industries bricks
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fertilisers machinery and coal money the opportunities for working immigrants seemed endless and soon Wollongong is
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population grew by 1966 almost 60% of the workers were immigrants coming from around 70 countries the mix of cultures
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bought a liveliness to the city which blended with the relaxed atmosphere of leisurely beachside living at sea level
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surf beaches stretch endlessly both north and south with twisting rocky coves and crystal-clear waters behind
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the city Dilawar arrangers also known as the Illawarra escarpment fold over and over
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dramatically along the entire coastline huge cliffs and plateaus eroded over 30 million years the covered in dense they
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grant scrub and rainforest creating a green mountain range hugging the city with its natural beauty in the cultural
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diversity and opportunity Wollongong was an appealing place to live [Music] 56 year-old Wilhelmina Krueger was
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dropped off to work shortly after 2:00 a.m. on January 29th 1966 it was an early start but she had grown accustomed
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to her six-day awake 2:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. cleaning job each night she'd unwind in front of the
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television before going to bed around 8:30 p.m. Wilhemina would wake up 5 hours later to
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get ready for work and in recent times her partner Stanley had been getting up with her Stanley had been driving
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Wilhemina to work from their home in Greenville in inner-city suburb of Wollongong Wilhemina worked at the
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Piccadilly Centre a small indoor shopping arcade on the corner of Crown Street and Gladstone Avenue the western
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edge of Wollongong city centre the Piccadilly Centre is spread out over far floors and is still similar in layout
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today as it was in 1966 the very top level features the Piccadilly Motel a budget motel and has a reputation of
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attracting some unruly visitors the motel is only accessible by entering the centre via the western entrance on
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Gladstone Avenue and driving up the external ramp there is no access to the motel internally underneath the motel
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the two floors dedicated to retail the shopping arcade in the 60s had featured a variety of department stores offices
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and specialty shops that serviced the surrounding community the top level of the shopping arcade features pedestrian
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access only through the front entrance on Crown Street the bottom level of the shopping arcade is accessible from the
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Gladstone Avenue entrance and of course both floors are accessible internally via stairs and escalators the bottom
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level of the shopping arcade also features a car parking area in the two floors underneath the basement and
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sub-basement levels are dedicated entirely to car parking vehicles enter the Piccadilly Center via
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the Gladstone Avenue entrance and can either park on the Gladstone Avenue level or drive down the ramps to the
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basement and sub-basement levels alternatively you can drive up the rim to make your way to the motel so on that
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morning January 29th 1966 Stan Lee drove Wilhemina into the Piccadilly Centre via
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the Gladstone Avenue entrance they arrived around 2:20 a.m. the centre was completely dark there was will the
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meanest job to turn the lights on the ceiling lights on the Gladstone Avenue parking level only dimly lit small areas
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of the large empty space but that was better than the basement in sub-basement levels that had no lighting at all the
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building supervisor refused to install lights down on those levels as they believed hoodlums would damage them
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that morning Wilhemina was especially anxious in the preceding weeks she had developed the funny feeling that someone
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was watching her it's the reason why Stanley was driving her to work and only two days earlier she had trouble with
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the lights when she arrived at work in the early hours of the morning on January 27th the lights didn't turn on
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at all uneasy about working alone in the dark Wilhemina complained to the building
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supervisor and request that they be repaired he's shorter that he'd get around to it however the next morning
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January 28th the light's still won't working will the main a complaint again but this time threatened that if the
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lights weren't fixed immediately she wouldn't be attending work the following day it was her third year working as a
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cleaner in the Piccadilly Centre in Willow Manor had established herself as a valued and highly respected hard
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worker she wasn't a petty complainer there was clear the Birkin lots were making her uncomfortable so the building
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supervisor caught an electrician in to fix them the cause of the problem was found in
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the wooden fuse box in the parking area on the glutes then Avenue level the lights had fused there was an easy fix
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not a big problem at all and it could have been caused by a multitude of issues but one of the screws in the lock
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has but the fuse box thought was hanging out which made it look like someone had
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accessed it without a key the electrician replaced the damaged fuse and the lights were back working again
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he tightened the loose screw back into place and reported his findings to the building supervisor the supervisor
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nodded his assumptions were confirmed hoodlums were entering the Piccadilly centre at night and destroying his
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property he told the electrician that only three weeks earlier he had found two of the three screws in the hospital
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fuse box missing completely the electrician attended to fix the lights after Wilhemina had finished her shift
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so she wasn't sure if they were back working again when she arrived to start a shift on the morning of the 29th
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stanley parked the car and got out to walk alongside Wilhemina to the small fuse box on a nearby concrete pillar
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Wilhemina unlocked the fuse box with a set of a case in stanley flicked several switches inside when the light slowly
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flickered on in the parking area both Willow Manor and Stanley were relieved Wilhemina went to the second fuse box at
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the far end of the building that turned on the main lights in the shopping arcade
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on some mornings Stanley stayed to help Wilhemina clean to keep a company and to
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help her get through the overwhelming amount of duties she needed to complete in her shift she had a large area to
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tend to not just the two levels of the shopping arcade but also several shop interiors and the motel foyer on the
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very top level there was so much work to do that she rarely completed everything
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by the end of her shift but that morning Stanley opted to go back home to bed as
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they had to go to work himself that day he and Wilhemina exchanged a goodbye wave as he slowly drove out of the
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center by 5:30 a.m. the Sun had not yet risen over Wollongong the outer city streets were dark empty and quiet when
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Thomas Fitzgibbon arrived at the Piccadilly Centre from his home in dab dough a south western suburb of
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Wollongong Thomas was a butcher and was working inside the Piccadilly Centre that morning Judah start work at 6:00
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a.m. Thomas pulled into railway Square a short roadway adjacent to Wollongong train station directly behind the
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Piccadilly Centre he parked his car and began the short walk to work he made his
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way up a footpath on the eastern side for the Piccadilly Centre that ran between the center and the train line
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this took him to Crown Street where he bought a newspaper and then entered the shopping arcade area through the front
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entrance on Crown Street it came as no surprise that the centre was deserted when Thomas entered but what was
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surprising was that the air inside felt unusually heavy and hot he investigated and found an electric immersion heater
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submerged in a drum of water at the rear of the building the heater had caused the water to boil filling the arcade
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with steam he knew the drum and heater were items used by the cleaner and that there was little water remaining so it
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looked like it had been left for some time Thomas didn't touch the drum or Heder
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and instead headed to the butcher shop when he attempted to open the door it was locked
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the owner hadn't arrived yet while standing around waiting Thomas realized he'd left his butchering
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knives back in his car so he had to go back and get them excluding the very top level where the motel was each level of
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the peak ability center was accessible by an escalator and staircase located at the back end of the building the
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escalators only accessed the shopping arcade levels but the staircase continued all the way down to the
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basement in sub-basement parking levels when Thomas reached the escalator those are mop and bucket in the way and
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a ring of keys on the ground the items appeared or been left lying around haphazardly by the cleaner who probably
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didn't expect many people to be walking around at that time of morning Thomas bypassed the escalator and took the
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stairs instead he attempted to open a service door but it was jammed probably locked so he decided to continue down to
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the very bottom sub-basement level where he would be able to walk straight out to
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his car his attention was drawn to a men's wristwatch near the top of the stairs
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someone must have lost it he assumed he left it and continued down the stairs where he stepped over a bunch duct
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cleaners apron as he descended down to the sub-basement level Thorne was now breaking and a faint morning light was
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seeping through he's always adjusted to the dark shadowy space below he tensed when he saw the
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outline of a person lying on the ground at the foot of the stairs he rushed back
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up the stairs to find a telephone unable to find one he sprinted out onto the street and approached the taxi who had
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just dropped the passenger off at the Piccadilly Center Thomas Yoda the driver to radio for an ambulance as there had
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been an accident it was approximately 5:45 a.m. Thomas rushed back down to the sub-basement level to render assistance
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as he approached the foot of the stair we're the person way he physically recoiled there was blood everywhere
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[Music] investigators knew the moment they arrived on the scene that this was one
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of if not the most brutal murders in the history of New South Wales one and a half pages of notes were required to
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detail the horrific injuries inflicted on the female victim who was identified as 56 year old Peggy Billy sent her
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employee Wilhemina Krueger will the mina was found on her back partially covered by a
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dress and petticoat both of which were badly torn and blood-stained she was naked from the chest then her eyes were
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bruised black her nose jaw and five of her ribs were broken she had suffered multiple stab wounds all over her face
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head neck and the body her heart had been ruptured her skin was bruised bitten and torn breasts disfigured
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disembowelment had occurred and accord was secured tied around her neck [Music] the trial of objects leading from the
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crime scene up into the shopping arcade gave a detailed account what happened the drum of water and submerge data
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along with the mop and bucket at the top of the escalators showed the Wilhemina was in the process of mopping when she
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was attacked as she dunked the mop into the bucket her killer snuck up behind her and wrapped a cord around her neck
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Wilhelmina put up a fight she struggled with her attacker as she was dragged down the escalator several cuts and
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scrapes on her body were attributed to the rigid edges of the escalator steps on the escalator she lost her case the
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top set of her false teeth and a shoe at the stairs leading down to the parking levels the struggle intensified
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Wilhemina wore a men's wristwatch and it unclipped from her wrists her apron was
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ripped off on the stairs and the vicious mutilation began on the sub-basement parking level the killing appeared
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premeditated Wilhelmina's attacker showed he was familiar with the layout of the Piccadilly Centre intentionally
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dragging her down to the dark sub-basement level where they wouldn't be seen additionally the killer was
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aware Wilhemina would be working there alone the killer may have watched her for some time familiarizing himself with
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her routine and determining the ideal time to strike it was well known Wilhemina worked meticulously and
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methodically to a predictable set routine that rarely changed she completed her duties in the same order
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at around the same time each morning so it was known that Wilhelmina began cleaning the post office around 4:40
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a.m. however the post office hadn't yet been cleaned which meant the time of her
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murder was likely prior to 4:40 a.m. several unknown fingerprints were discovered at the crime scene along with
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a large bloody footprint the size of an average Manchu the same footprint was found at the top of the stairs leading
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down to the basement and sub-basement parking levels Wilhemina didn't smoke but 30 centimeters away from her body
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with two cigarette butts the front of her dress also had seven circular holes caused by the tip of a burning cigarette
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the murder weapon was believed to be a 15 centimeter long three centimeter wide double-edged knife that wasn't found at
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the scene a police officer conducting an initial search of the Piccadilly Centre
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noticed the bunch of ripped out hair on the steps of the escalator there were about 30 years in the bunch that were
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blond in color and around one to one and a half inches long the hairs had little
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white particles on the ends giving the appearance that they had been pulled out by the roots
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this hair sample didn't match Wilhelmina's her natural hair was grain so she had been dying at a reddish-brown
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color the officer who discovered the hairs didn't touch or disturb them however investigators weren't alerted
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until around an hour later and when they went to collect them the hair was no longer there presumably blown away by a
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draft [Music] similar pieces of hair was stuck to Wilhelmina's right thumb and her left
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index finger these pieces did not have roots attached the light coloring of the hair sample was thought to be as a
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result of bleaching the stray hairs on Wilhelmina's fingertips visually matched a bunch of torn hair seen on the
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escalator but as those hairs weren't recovered and match could never be confirmed a one centimeter wound on the
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left side of Wilhelmina's face was believed or been caused by a ring on her killer's finger an autopsy revealed that
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Wilhelmina's cause of death was strangulation it was believed that she had died five minutes into the violent
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attack the stab wounds a mutilation inflicted all over her body occurred after death every available police
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officer in wongkom assisted with the initial investigation into Wilhemina Krueger's murder those on leave had it
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canceled and had to return to work the investigation showed that after being dropped off at the Piccadilly Centre by
00:19:51
her partner Stanley around 2:20 a.m. Wilhemina had gotten straight to work she worked out of a caretakers office on
00:19:58
the bottom level of the shopping arcade where all the cleaning equipment was stored there were several witnesses who
00:20:06
confirmed seeing Wilhemina working in the arcade that morning a police officer happened to be driving his patrol car
00:20:13
down klutz than avenue at 3:20 a.m. he saw the lights in the parking area and the Gladstone Avenue level were off in
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thinking that was unusual the constable pulled into the center to investigate in
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the darkened space he saw the outline of a female carrying something the constable slowly drove up the ramp to
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the motel he patrolled the motel carpark and then drove back down the ramp when he saw the woman again it's believed the
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woman he saw was Wilhelmina carrying her mop and bucket it was 3:40 a.m. when the officer drove
00:20:50
away separately a car carrying a male driver his wife and four of their friends drove a stolen Crown Street area
00:21:00
3:30 a.m. that morning as they passed the Piccadilly Centre the driver spotted Wilhemina mopping the entrance of the
00:21:07
shopping arcade he commented to the others in the car imagine having to be up cleaning at this hour the group drove
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further down Crown Street until emerged into Keira Street the group had travelled all the way from the southern
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state of Victoria so decided they should find somewhere to stop and rest they spotted a man sitting in the driver's
00:21:29
seat of a utility vehicle parked on the side of Keira Street they asked him if there was somewhere nearby they could
00:21:35
get a bed for the night the man directed them back up Crown Street to the Piccadilly motel as they
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drove up the ramp to the motel lobby they spotted Wilhemina again it was around 3:50 8:00 a.m. she was alone and
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carrying a mop and bucket towards the escalators the group booked into the motel and later they heard quote a
00:22:01
tremendous noise like a vehicle driven fast and turning at the same time the Piccadilly Santa's not Watchmen I
00:22:10
actually spoke to Wilhelmina at around 4:00 a.m. the two bumped into each other in the shopping arcade he said g'day to
00:22:18
Wilhelmina who he called Amy and gave her a copy of the morning newspaper during their brief exchange
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Wilhelmina emptied her bucket into the gutter at the front Crown Street entrance of the arcade the two then went
00:22:31
their separate ways and the night watchman didn't see or hear Wilhelmina for the remainder of the morning these
00:22:40
statements greatly narrowed down the time of the murder that occurred sometime after this final interaction
00:22:45
with the night watchman at 4:00 a.m. in the prior to her scheduled post office clean at 4:40 a.m.
00:22:52
the building supervisor was interviewed by police he outlined the issues had been having with the tampered fuse box
00:22:59
and gave details of the electrician who had been called to fix the lights only the day before Wilhelmina's partner
00:23:07
stanley confirmed the lights were working again when he dropped Wilhemina off the morning of her murder
00:23:13
however the lights were off when police investigated the crime scene and the patrolling police officer reported they
00:23:20
were off when he conducted his patrol at 3:20 a.m. that morning investigators checked the fuse box and
00:23:28
saw a screw was sticking out the hasp inside the fuse box two of the fuses are blown meaning the lights had gone out on
00:23:36
Wilhelmina during her shift highly unusual considering they'd only been fixed the day before markings on the
00:23:45
fuse box and the loose screws confirmed it are being tampered with again it was starting to look like those are far more
00:23:51
sinister explanation than hoodlums if it was will the mean is killer who accessed
00:23:57
the fuse box and turned off the lights at least three weeks of planning and stalking had gone into the murder as
00:24:03
that's when signs of tampering first appeared shortly after arriving at the crime scene investigators were hit with
00:24:12
the bizarre distraction a reporter for the local newspaper the Illawarra mercury received a phone call
00:24:20
the caller warned there was a bomb in the Piccadilly Centre and it better be cleared by 1:00 p.m. as that's when it
00:24:27
would be detonated the reporter tried stalling the caller to keep him on the line however he quickly hung up the bomb
00:24:35
threat interrupted the investigation but it turned out it was just a hoax there was no bomb in the Piccadilly Center the
00:24:44
phone call ended before it could be traced and the caller was never identified the savage nature of Wilhelmina's murder
00:24:55
shook the local community police appealed to her friends and family for information regarding any concerns you
00:25:02
may have had leading up to her death such as confrontations or fights or threats you may have received however
00:25:09
Wilhemina was described as someone who kept good company a pleasant person who was well-liked there was no suggestion
00:25:16
that she was in any danger a friend of Wilhemina told the Illawarra mercredi quote she was very easy to get
00:25:24
on with mrs. Kruger was very strong physically and was a woman who would not be frightened by anybody she was healthy
00:25:32
happy and energetic in the days leading up to her murder her partner Stanley and
00:25:38
her children could not think of anyone who would want to harm her but she did express Thor worker in one of the
00:25:45
Piccadilly shops the day before her murder as she had a feeling someone was watching her clean she had expressed the
00:25:52
same thing to Stanley but little more was known about it she never explained in any further detail there was no
00:26:00
description of the person and no further information to go on police were open-minded to the possibility that
00:26:09
Wilhelmina knew her killer and her personal history was looked into she was born in 1909 in Broken Hill an isolated
00:26:18
morning town in Far West outback New South Wales she grew up in Broken Hill and eventually married Albert Krueger
00:26:25
whom she had a daughter and two sons with in 1950 whilst her husband Albert was in
00:26:31
hospital Wilhemina met a man by the name of Cyril Wakefield she separated from her husband to pursue a relationship
00:26:39
with Cyril however the two were only together for a short period of time before Cyril ended their relationship
00:26:45
and left Wilhemina police were unable to track him down for questioning in 1951 now but Kruger purchased the block of
00:26:55
land in Greenville Wollongong he was still living in Broken Hill but he allowed his ex-wife Wilhelmina to
00:27:02
live there with their three children at the time it was an empty block of land so they lived in a tent a house was
00:27:10
eventually built and Wilhemina and the children moved in to eventually married and moved out leaving only one of her
00:27:17
adult sons living at home in 1965 Wilhemina aged 56 started a relationship with stanley Dawson Stanley was 18 years
00:27:29
her junior at 38 years old the noticeable age gap didn't bothered the couple though it was obvious the two
00:27:36
cared deeply for each other and wanted to be together Bill Amina's personal history failed to yield a likely suspect
00:27:47
so police appealed to anyone who is in the vicinity of the Piccadilly centre on the morning of the murder to come
00:27:53
forward they were hoping someone may have seen something any piece of information was considered vital no
00:28:00
matter how insignificant it may have seemed one detective told the Illawarra mercury quote this is one of the most
00:28:08
vicious attacks made of a woman in the criminal history of this state we feel without the assistance of the general
00:28:14
public this crime could go unsolved police received hundreds of phone calls and conducted dozens of interviews in
00:28:24
the first few days of the investigation alone taxi drivers railway workers night
00:28:29
watchman council workers and staff from Wollongong Hospital only a short walk away from the Piccadilly Centre were all
00:28:36
questioned the taxi driver who Thomas Fitzgibbon approached to radio an ambulance the morning of the 29th told
00:28:44
police he was parked at the taxi rank opposite the tarsals Hotel on Crown Street at 4:00 a.m. today Sol's hotel is
00:28:51
called dicey Reilly's hotel today the hotel is located close to and in view of the Piccadilly centre front entrance
00:28:59
just a few buildings east on Crown Street while parked at the taxi rank the taxi driver noticed a big man about six
00:29:07
feet tall acting suspiciously the unknown man walked slowly up Crown Street towards the Piccadilly cinema he
00:29:15
stopped at the ironworkers Club which was next door to the tassles hotel before abruptly crossing to the other
00:29:21
side of the road the taxi driver drove away after the man crossed the street and he didn't return to the area until
00:29:28
nearly two hours later when Thomas Fitzgibbon emerge from the Piccadilly centre requesting an influence police
00:29:35
got to work trying to identify the man seen by the taxi driver but they soon realized he wasn't the only person they
00:29:41
needed to identify as more witnesses came forward it became apparent there were a variety of people spotted acting
00:29:49
suspiciously around the Piccadilly centre on the morning of the murder a husband and wife were taking an
00:29:56
early-morning walk that took them past the Piccadilly Center about 4:45 a.m. in that morning they noticed the lights
00:30:03
were off in the entrance to the arcade looked 30 and unclaimed they spotted a slim young male wearing blue jeans with
00:30:12
a studded belt ahead of them he looked to be in his 20s and was walking in a hurry and looking from side to side he
00:30:20
ran off down a walkway next to tarsals hotel another witness who lived opposite the Piccadilly Center woke at 4:30 a.m.
00:30:28
and went outside to water the plants on her front veranda as she tended to her plants her attention was drawn to two
00:30:35
young men loitering at the front of the Center requests from police for each of these persons seen in the vicinity of
00:30:43
the crime scene become forward went unanswered [Music] dozens of witness statements were
00:30:54
collected suspicious persons vehicles and behaviors were noted and as more details came to life several separate
00:31:03
witness stories were woven together by a single thread the first major clue in the case a witness who lived nearby
00:31:11
stood at the front gate of his property waiting for the morning newspaper to be delivered
00:31:16
there was 455 a.m. when he saw a young lean unshaven man with hair hanging down over his forehead driving a utility
00:31:25
vehicle like a frenzied animal near the crime scene the witness told the Illawarra Mercury newspaper quote I was
00:31:33
shocked at the look on his face he had a horrible appearance I never saw that shot before and I never want to see him
00:31:40
again the sound of a screeching car was corroborated by both the group from Victoria who was staying at the
00:31:47
Piccadilly motel and another witness in the area who stated quote I heard a noise
00:31:54
but the screech of tires coming from the shopping center this witness claimed to
00:32:00
have heard the sound not long after he saw the lights of the Piccadilly Centre go out the witness who was waiting for
00:32:08
the newspaper who actually saw the car driving erratically described it as a Holden or Chevrolet utility that had a
00:32:14
canopy over the rear tray made of plywood the canopy didn't have windows but was
00:32:21
open at the back the vehicle went plywood canopy were like colored either white or cream the entire vehicle
00:32:28
appeared hand-painted the paint job was untidy and was flaking and peeling the vehicle was old and had rusted and the
00:32:37
bonnet didn't sit straight it was a very distinctive looking car the same utility
00:32:45
was seen by another witness parked in Gladstone Avenue around 5:00 a.m. 50 meters from the western entrance to the
00:32:51
Piccadilly so no descriptions of the same vehicle popped up in separate witness statements and it instantly
00:32:58
became a major clue for investigators however they couldn't track the vehicle down despite being distinctive it seemed
00:33:07
to have vanished the details of the wide or cream-colored utility featured heavily in the news at the request of
00:33:13
police hoping someone would recognize it Dione became the most important person of interest in the investigation about
00:33:23
one week later after numerous appeals police finally received an intriguing call about the vehicle
00:33:30
[Music] on the other end of the line was a man named Gary mum whoa and he said he had
00:33:38
information police agreed to meet Gary in fairy meadow a five minute drive north from the Piccadilly Centre
00:33:45
Gary told them he was 21 years old and lived locally giving his address as a house on Gladstone Avenue gary explained
00:33:54
to police that he had been sitting in his parked car with his girlfriend in the parking lot of railway Square
00:33:59
directly behind the Piccadilly Centre between 2:30 a.m. and 3:00 a.m. the morning of the murder during that time
00:34:07
he watched the utility vehicle drive into railway square and circle the end of the road three times before driving
00:34:13
back out onto Gladstone Avenue it did a u-turn on Gladstone Avenue and a parked opposite the Piccadilly cinema a man got
00:34:21
out of the utility and walked out of Gary saw it Gary described the utility as a rusty
00:34:29
cream-colored vehicle with a plywood canopy over the rear tray investigators now seriously considered the possibility
00:34:36
that the vehicle was driven by the killer with Gary Malmo statement police could
00:34:41
place the utility at the scene of the crime before and after the murder however when investigators attempted to
00:34:49
contact Gary mum whoa to follow up on his statement and questioned him for more details they couldn't get a hold of
00:34:55
him it turned out the address on Collette's than Avenue that he gave had nothing to
00:35:00
do with him the people who lived there had never heard of him the electoral roll revealed no one in the area with
00:35:07
the surname um whoa in fact no other names even resembled mum whoa a check of files in various government registers
00:35:15
revealed that the name Gary Mann whoa didn't exist anywhere in the entire country the name and address were fake
00:35:23
the witness whoever he really was had vanished explanations for this were varied
00:35:34
maybe he feared reprisal from the killer and didn't want to be identified maybe he didn't want to get involved in the
00:35:40
investigation any further he may have felt he did all he could total he knew and that was going to be the end of his
00:35:47
participation maybe he didn't want to go through a lengthy court process involving the retelling of his story
00:35:54
over and over he could have also been a hanger-on type who had read about the utility in the
00:35:59
paper and simply wanted to insert himself into the investigation the description of the vehicle had been
00:36:05
broadcast all over the media by that time and then there was the dark possibility that this Garry man whoa was
00:36:13
Wilhelmina's killer and he was taunting police was this turning into a cat-and-mouse game for his own enjoyment
00:36:24
police tried to shake off the interaction with a man who called himself garrymon Wu and continued to try
00:36:30
and track down the distinct utility however the owner never came forward nor were there any further sightings of it
00:36:39
police continued their appeals for help they wanted information from anyone who may have seen any vehicle bearing
00:36:45
bloodstains anyone who used someone absent from home or work the night of the 28th or the early morning of the
00:36:51
29th or anyone who gave list the hitchhikers out of Wollongong after the time of the murder police was certain
00:36:59
that the killer's clothing would contain bloodstains and appeal to anyone who may
00:37:03
have seen someone washing or disposing of blood-stained clothing to come board tips continued to roll in in response to
00:37:11
these appeals for help and police received information about a man spotted acting suspiciously at North woman gold
00:37:17
bait shortly after the murder police and council workers arrived at the beach under the presumption it may have been
00:37:23
where the killer disposed of their blood-stained clothing an excavator aided the search digging a 100-meter
00:37:30
strip of sand up to a meter and a half deep but nothing was found in immediate fear of the killer would strike again
00:37:40
seeped throughout wound gong police began warning local women the following warning was printed in the Illawarra
00:37:48
mercury quote the shocking brutality of this killing could have been exercised only by someone with an unhinged mind
00:37:56
the killer is an absolute madman a monster but you would be able to pass by the killer in the street without
00:38:03
noticing he's no slobbering idiot who stands out in a crowd therefore the police are anxious that
00:38:10
women should run no risks at Norton due to the nature of her injuries tests were
00:38:17
unable to confirm if Wilhemina had been sexually assaulted but given her injuries the attack appeared to be
00:38:24
sexually motivated one police officer warned quote everyone should realize there is a sex maniac at large and the
00:38:33
same thing could happen again although I dread the thought [Music] at midnight on February 16th 1966
00:38:52
18 days after Wilhelmina Krueger's murder 27 year-old an Italian caller sat at a table surrounded by friends in the
00:39:00
popular night spot the taxi Club located in the high-energy suburb of darlinghurst Sydney the taxi Club was
00:39:09
known as the 24-hour hangout for taxi drivers and in the early hours the dimly lit party place attracted a diverse
00:39:16
variety of revelers seeking a good tone it was also known as a local pick up place for sex workers Anna stood out
00:39:24
amongst the crowd her outfit including a cherry red colored jumper and cardigan with a blue green and white colored
00:39:31
skirt dark brown stockings and a pair of white shoes was colorful and eye-catching pinned to her jumper was an
00:39:39
oval brooch with a single red stone a white sapphire ring and gold wristwatch sparkled on her arm she was a bright and
00:39:47
memorable beacon within the dark noisy Club yelling over the thumping music and I
00:39:55
told her friends she had to go outside to meet someone her friends assumed she was going
00:40:00
outside to meet a customer Anna had worked as a retail shop assistant and waitress by day but earned extra income
00:40:07
at night as a sex worker soliciting since she was 12 years old and I had a strong understanding of the risks
00:40:14
involved in the work she only accepted quick jobs purchased off the street that she completed in the back seats of cars
00:40:20
or down to familiar alleyways she never took clients back to her flat in the beachside suburb of Bondi
00:40:27
she didn't want them to know where she lived or where they could find her an affair world her France and walked
00:40:34
outside the taxi club alone almost 100 kilometres south the Wollongong community was still reeling over the
00:40:42
unsolved brutal murder of Wilhelmina Krueger only weeks earlier but the sense of danger hadn't reached a Darlinghurst
00:40:51
ten days later on February 26th Roy streeting drove through the suburb of Lucas Heights 40 kilometers southwest of
00:41:00
darlinghurst it was approaching 5:30 p.m. when Roy noticed one of his tires was causing him problems so he pulled
00:41:07
over to the site of old Illawarra Road to investigate old Illawarra Road was a relatively straight stretch of road that
00:41:14
cut through the top end of an industrial work site featuring the Atomic Energy Commission Research Station surrounded
00:41:21
by dense shrubbery the road was mostly used by local workers of the industrial sites and typically bypassed by the
00:41:27
average traveller as Roy began the process of changing his tire he spotted something colorful tangled amongst the
00:41:35
long grass upon closer inspection he realized that was a human body the female victim was partially clothed
00:41:44
in a distinctive cherry red colored jumper and a blue green and white colored skirt a gold wristwatch and
00:41:51
white sapphire ring was still on her body she had been strangled stabbed and mutilated she was 27 year old an Adele
00:42:00
in color [Music] the cause of death was determined to be strangulation with the mutilation
00:42:08
occurring after death the murder weapon was a knife but it wasn't located at the
00:42:13
scene similarities between the murder of Wilhelmina Kruger were made immediately
00:42:19
the gruesome mutilations on Anna's body was similar to those found on Wilhelmina
00:42:24
police considered the possibility that the same killer was responsible for both murders and investigators from the
00:42:30
Wilhelmina Krueger task force were called in to assist in the Anna Dillon color investigation Lucas hearts where
00:42:38
Anna's body was found is only about a 40-minute drive north from Hong Kong and lies almost in between Wollongong and
00:42:44
Darlinghurst the killer could have picked up an ax from darlinghurst and dumped their body at Lucas hearts
00:42:51
when he's buy back to Warren gong Anna was well known to police originally from Perth in Western
00:42:59
Australia she had a long list of arrests stemming back to her childhood mostly charges for vagrancy and soliciting and
00:43:07
are avoided authorities by using a variety of aliases including Anna darling in Hamilton Sherry darling
00:43:15
cherry Willis and Sonya Lynch filled amongst many others Anna had been married twice previously and had a son
00:43:22
who was three years old at the time her son whom she hadn't seen in a long while
00:43:27
lived with her ex-husband and his personal life was so widely scattered throughout Australia and so disjointed
00:43:34
from the deception of aliases and false identities though it was difficult for investigators to piece together her
00:43:40
history prior to her murder associates and clients in the sex industry who knew Anna were not very forthcoming with
00:43:48
information the only confirmed fact was that Anna was last seen a lot of her friends as she left the taxi club in
00:43:55
Darlinghurst ten days before her body was found no one recalled seeing her e outside the club leading investigators
00:44:03
to believe she may have met her killer immediately after walking outside possibly stepping into the killer's
00:44:08
vehicle the remainder of Anna's belongings she had with her that night including her cardigan brooch shoes
00:44:17
stockings and handbag with two Diaries inside were missing the most disturbing discovery made at the crime scene were
00:44:26
10 metres of drag marks on the ground leading out from a thicket of bushes to where and his body was found a crime
00:44:33
scene examination revealed that the killer had originally dumped on his body in the bushes but the bushes prevented
00:44:40
her from being found in the killer grew impatient so he returned to the scene three to four days later and dragged on
00:44:48
his body out of the concealment of the bushes to the open spot on the side of the road the killer wanted owner to be
00:44:55
found psychiatrists consulted by police explained that this action was common with killers who found a pleasure in the
00:45:04
infamy of their acts there were unusual acts performed after both murders that if done by the same killer proved he was
00:45:13
a gruesome showman who derived pleasure taunting police there was the bomb hoax at the Piccadilly Centre the suspicious
00:45:21
statements of the unknown witness who called himself Gary Monroe and near the intentional interference of Anna's body
00:45:28
to ensure it would be discovered if the same killer was a work he wasn't burdened with a sense of remorse or
00:45:35
guilt and police knew he would likely strike again however they weren't sure if it was the same killer and just like
00:45:45
the murder of Wilhelmina Kruger and his murder featured no worthwhile leads suspects or motives police were
00:45:57
initially hesitant to publicly draw direct parallels between the two murders however behind the scenes the two
00:46:04
investigations worked in tandem shopkeepers cafe owners and hotel and motel managers in Wollongong were
00:46:11
questioned about Anna there were rumors she may have spent time in Wollongong at
00:46:15
some stage but with all her different aliases it was hard to pin down exactly where she had been in whom she had
00:46:21
interacted with over 1700 people were interviewed in relation to both murders and a $10,000 reward was offered for
00:46:30
information leading to an arrest despite the offer no information was shared to help identify the killer
00:46:37
whoever it was it seemed as though he lived two separate lives one life as an unassuming member of the community who
00:46:45
didn't draw much attention to himself and the second life a frenzied psychopathic killer who wanted his
00:46:51
violent acts to be front-page news police worked feverishly in fear another attack was imminent home last full
00:47:02
months after the murder of an Italian car on the night of June 11th 1966 20 year old Carolyn orphan said goodbye to
00:47:10
her parents and left her family home in Greenville Carolyn was known as a quiet and reserved respectable woman that
00:47:19
night she'd agreed to go out dancing with friends to let her hair down Carolyn and her friends wound up at the
00:47:26
ironworkers Club on Crown Street Wollongong just based of the Piccadilly Center Carolyn crossed paths with the chief
00:47:34
wool and friendly alan basset a 20 year old man from Yunnan Dara a suburb in southwest Wollongong thus it worked as a
00:47:42
manufacturer and a similar of metal components for tools and machinery he had the natural rugged charm of an
00:47:49
everyday working man and both he and Carolyn hit it off instantly the two enjoyed a dizzying late night of
00:47:55
drinking and dancing together it was nearing midnight when the CID offered Carolyn a lift home graciously she got
00:48:05
into the passenger seat of his light-colored sedan Bassett assured Carolyn it was no trouble he said there
00:48:12
were a lot of dangerous people out at the time and it was not safe for her to be wandering the streets alone Bassett
00:48:20
made the draft north towards Carolyn's home in Greenville when he reached her place he pulled over just down the
00:48:26
street at some point Bassett took a pair of nylon stockings and used them to tie
00:48:33
Carolyn's hands behind her back he then drove her to me on easily bypass road about five kilometres away
00:48:40
a long windy road surrounded by thick bush the most common Road driven on by people traveling to and from Sydney
00:48:49
Basset strip Carolyn and brutally raped her during the attack besa grabbed another
00:48:56
pair of stockings and a belt and tightened famiry and Carolyn's throat a hitchhiker walking alone on my own
00:49:04
easily bypass road walk by Basset scar around 3:30 a.m. however he didn't see anything suspect as the windows were too
00:49:13
fogging - singing - at the time after raping Carolyn Bassett strangled her until she fell unconscious he then
00:49:22
pulled her from his car and dragged her battered and bruised body out onto the ground Bassett picked up a large
00:49:28
sandstone rock from the side of the road stood over Carolyn lifted the rock high
00:49:33
above his head and with violent intensity brought it back down when Carolyn didn't return home after
00:49:44
her night out on the town her parents instinctively felt something was wrong and immediately contacted the
00:49:50
police the police searched for Carolyn had already begun when at 6:45 a.m. a couple driving along Mia usually
00:49:58
bypass road on their way home from Sydney spotted what they believed was a truss makers dummy when they pulled over
00:50:05
to investigate they realized there was the body of a young woman it was the third fallen murder of a
00:50:13
woman that year all within close proximity of each other people immediately started to wonder if all
00:50:20
three murders were linked it didn't seem obviously so the murders of Wilhemina and Anna were very similar however the
00:50:29
murder of Carolyn orphan had several significant differences although Carolyn was strangled like the others her cause
00:50:36
of death was a fractured skull caused by a large rock that had shattered into two
00:50:41
pieces upon impact her murder didn't involve the use of a North nor was her body mutilated and the most profound
00:50:49
difference was the fact that a suspect was identified very quickly for Carolyn's murder
00:50:56
Alan Bassett had been seen by multiple witnesses leaving the ironworkers Club with Carolyn the night of the murder
00:51:02
the day after the murder the cement with friends in dab dough to watch a local game of rugby league his friends noted
00:51:10
the Bassett didn't appear at all interested in the game he was just staring and lost in thought this same
00:51:16
group of friends we're at the ironworkers Club their night before when Besser met Carolyn later
00:51:22
Bassett's friends saw a photograph of Carolyn in the local news alongside a story detailing her murder they
00:51:30
recognized her as the woman Bassett had gone home with from the ironworkers Club
00:51:35
from there the overwhelming evidence piled up against Bassett and he couldn't reasonably deny his involvement
00:51:43
he's friends as well as Carolyn's friends singled in the art as the last person seen with her his car was seen in
00:51:50
her straight and again on the road where her body was discovered he was arrested
00:51:56
and interviewed at first Bassett denied any involvement but upon being shown the
00:52:02
nylon stockings used to tie Carolyn's hands behind her back he paused and said what did do it that his murder trial the
00:52:15
SATCOM lee told the jury quote it's very hard for me to try and explain things I
00:52:20
didn't realize what I was doing at the time of the crime something must have come over me and I can't really describe
00:52:27
things until further tests have been done on me I certainly did not intend to kill any girl or any person or any such
00:52:34
like I'd ask for a plea of manslaughter as I don't think it's outright murder I just ask for your help in my case the
00:52:45
jury deliberated for only 16 minutes before finding basak guilty of murder the presiding judge commented on Bassets
00:52:52
reckless indifference to human life and he was sentenced to life in prison however following the trial thus it was
00:53:01
assessed by medical professionals who diagnosed him with schizophrenia he was relocated to a psychiatric
00:53:07
hospital to serve his time in a unit for the criminally insane despite his own father pleading not to release his son
00:53:14
back into the community Alan Bassett only served 29 years of his life sentence and he was released in
00:53:21
1995 Bassitt was an opportunistic violent rapist and murderer who had preyed on a
00:53:30
vulnerable woman at naught and for that reason he was considered a person of interest in the murders of an Adele and
00:53:36
koa and Wilhelmina Kruger similarities were drawn between all three murders during which the victims were battered
00:53:43
and strangled and left partially naked in places where they would be easily discovered Wilhelmina suffered from
00:53:50
internal injuries similar to Carolyn consistent with being knocked down on or knead with great force all women
00:53:57
suffered distinct injuries to their sexual organs and breasts some investigators felt there were
00:54:03
similarities to another murder case as well one year earlier in early January 1965 the bodies of two 15-year old
00:54:18
friends Mary Ann Schmidt and Christine sharukh were discovered partially buried in the deserted windswept sand hills of
00:54:25
Wonder Beach Cronulla in the south of Sydney the two girls had gone missing whilst visiting the beach with Mary
00:54:31
Ann's younger siblings Mary Ann and Christine's bodies were found the next day partially buried in the sand
00:54:38
both had suffered from multiple violent stab wounds caused by a knife amongst other injuries their murders came to be
00:54:46
known as the Wanda Beach murders and remain one of the most infamous unsolved Australian murder cases we covered the
00:54:53
case in detail in case file episode number one based on his history Alan Bassett was considered by at least
00:55:02
one detective to be a prime suspect in the Wanda beach murders Bassett strongly denied any involvement and he even
00:55:09
offered to give a DNA sample to prove his innocence it's unknown if your has ever taken up on his offer a
00:55:18
blond-haired young men described as a surfer was seen around wonder beach at the time of the girls murders he has
00:55:25
never been identified and thus became a prime suspect in the killings Bassitt has naturally dark hair he
00:55:33
continues to strongly deny involvement in any crimes other than the murder of Carolyn orphan the Australian Institute
00:55:41
of Criminology stated the following quote police suspect that there are links between the Wanda Beach murders
00:55:48
and the murders of Wilhelmina Kruger and an Adele in Khoa indeed there appears to
00:55:53
be striking similarities between all three murders in each case the body was dragged along the ground with no real
00:55:59
attempts made to conceal the bodies sexual molestation after the slayings was involved in all cases and the
00:56:05
victims were murdered near or in Sydney the question still remains whether the murders were committed by the same
00:56:14
killer or were coincidentally committed around the same time in a similar manner
00:56:18
on multiple killers retired detective Keith Paul who was in charge of the Wanda Beach murders investigation was
00:56:25
interviewed by Alan Whitaker for his book wonder the untold story of the Wonder Beach murders Kate Paul warned
00:56:32
quote it's easy to pull out some points of comparison and say it could have been
00:56:37
the Wonder Beach killer but the dissimilar points warn you to back off and not be in such a hurry to make
00:56:43
assumptions detective Paul is firm in his belief that alan basset had nothing to do with
00:56:49
any of the other murders the search for the killer or killers has stretched in a
00:56:55
state and globally a dossier on the murders were sent to Scotland Yard detectives in London on the belief there
00:57:02
may have been a connection with an unidentified serial killer operating in London in 1964-65 nicknamed Jack the
00:57:09
stripper the link was weak the detectives refused to rule out any possibility chuck the stripper targeted
00:57:17
sex workers specifically strangling them and leaving them in public but his killings did not involve mutilation
00:57:25
to this day will Jimeno Krueger's crime-scene carries clues that might still be answered by members of the
00:57:31
public the rusty white or cream-colored utility with the plywood cover has never
00:57:37
been identified the large six-foot torment seen acting suspiciously by the taxi driver near the ironworkers Club
00:57:44
was never identified nor was the man in blue jeans and a studded belt seen running down a walkway next the
00:57:51
pterosaurs hotel more than fifty years later the depraved brutal and unsolved murders of Wilhemina Kruger an Italian
00:58:00
car Maryann Schmidt and Christine sharukh still horrified the community and stumped police their deaths leave
00:58:08
many unanswered questions of a killer or killers who may still be out there [Music]
00:58:30
you [Music]