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On the 12th of January, 1965, Marianne Schmidt
and Christine Sharrock, both aged 15, were found
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murdered on a desolate, isolated stretch of beach
just north of Cronulla, south of Sydney. The case
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would come to be known as the Wanda Beach murders.
One mention of the word "Wanda" is enough to send
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chills down the spine of those who remember
the case that dominated the television reports,
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radio airwaves and print media of the day. The
killings sparked one of the biggest manhunts
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Australia has ever seen. The police file on the
case is over 10,000 pages long and over 14,000
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people have been interviewed. Police efforts to
solve the case have been described as exhaustive
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and leads have been followed up all around
Australia. Despite the best efforts of police,
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no charges have ever been laid and the case
remains unsolved to this day. The Wanda case
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contains many more questions than answers. What
drew Marianne and Christine to the Wanda sandhills
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that day? Had they prearranged to meet someone?
Or were they just in the wrong place at the wrong
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time? Speculation and many different theories
have surrounded the case since day one. Only
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one thing is clear: a vicious and ruthless
killer has never been brought to justice.
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The Schmidt family migrated to Australia from
Germany in 1958. Along with Marianne there were
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her parents, Helmut and Elisabeth, older brother
Helmut Junior, younger brothers Hans, Peter and
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Wolfgang and a younger sister Trixie. Another
brother, Norbert, was born whilst the family was
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in Australia. Upon their arrival, they stayed
in various migrant camps and then they finally
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settled in their family home in Brush Road, West
Ryde, in the northwest of Sydney. The Schmidts
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moved next door to Christine Sharrock, who was
living in Brush Road with her grandparents,
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Jim and Jeanette Haigh. Christine's father
had recently passed away and her mother had
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remarried and so Christine elected to live with
her grandparents. Christina and Marianne formed
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an instant bond. They were always in each other's
company, they were inseparable. Christine's uncle
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described of their friendship "They did not go out
much and their main interest was centered around
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their homes. They were always in each other's
company and neither went out with boys' . Both
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girls were described as quiet, well-behaved,
they were good in school, they attended church
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regularly with their parents, they weren't known
to hang around any unsavory characters. They're
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even described as being somewhat shy. In 1964,
Helmut Senior passed away. One can only imagine
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how much tighter the bond between Christine and
Marianne would have become, both losing fathers
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they were close to at such a young age. Like any
other teenage girls they had a love of the beach,
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they had an interest in music, special mention for
Elvis, and of course the keen natural interest in
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boys their own age. The only Beach Marianne and
Christine ever visited was Cronulla. Whilst the
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journey to Cronulla Beach took around two hours
each way, it was the only Sydney beach that was
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accessible by train at the time. The girls
had attended Cronulla beach just recently on
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New Year's day that year in 1965, only days before
their murder. Whilst they were at Cronulla Beach,
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they went for a walk north to the Wanda sandhills.
The next day, Marianne visited the beach again
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with her brothers and sisters. Christine didn't
make that trip and on this second trip, Marianne
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left their family for a little while and when she
returned she'd mentioned that she went for a walk
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to Wanda. She didn't say why. In early January
1965, Elisabeth Schmidt, Marianne's mother was
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admitted to hospital to undergo an operation. She
left her eldest children, Helmut Jr and Marianne,
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in charge of the household while she was in
hospital recovering. On the 9th of January,
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Christine and Marianne visited Elisabeth in
hospital. Marianne asked if her and Christine
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could take her younger brothers and sisters to
Cronulla beach the following day. Elisabeth gave
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them permission to do so. As it turned out the
weather that next day on the 10th of January was
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terrible and so Marianne and Christine postponed
their beach trip until the following day,
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Monday the 11th of January. Now in the morning
of the 11th whilst getting ready for the beach,
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Christine mentioned to her grandmother Jeanette
that it would be fun to walk along the sandhills
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again. Jeannette, aware of how far away the
Wanda sandhills actually were from the main
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part of Cronulla beach, some two kilometres,
replied "Don't go today love, you've got the four
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little ones with you, it's too far". Christine
tried to argue the point but was again told
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by her grandmother "Don't go to the sandhills".
So what are the Wanda sandhills and what were the
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girls seemingly fascination with them? The
sandhills, otherwise known as Green Hills,
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run behind Wanda beach and continue north up to
Kurnell. Wanda is an aborioginal name meaning
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"sandhills by the sea beach". Wanda beach is
part of a longer stretch of beach coastline
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that starts with Cronulla beach includes North
Cronulla beach, Elouera beach and then Wanda
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beach. The distance from the main Cronulla beach
to the Wanda sandhills is about two kilometers,
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and then the sandhills themselves run a lot
longer past that. The area in and around Wanda
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surf club and the main beach area itself were
clean and pristine but the Wanda sandhills were
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a very different, isolated story. In 1965, Wanda
sandhills were described as Sydney's filthiest and
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loneliest stretch of beach. Littered with smashed
bottles, old shoes, rusted cans, broken toys any
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other amount of discarded junk and rubbish that
you can think of. This isolation meant the Wanda
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sandhills were a perfect spot for people to meet
up who didn't necessarily want to be seen. In 1965
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it was a far, far more conservative time than
what we experience today. I mean, incredibly,
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homosexuality was actually a criminal offense and
it wouldn't be made legal for another 18 years.
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Certain parts of those sandhills were a popular
location for men to meet up and engage in casual
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sex. The area was also known to attract nude
sunbathers, other couples engaging in public sex,
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public masturbators, nudists, general perverted
types who liked to spy on people engaging in
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sexual activity, who liked to spy on women, who
liked to harass women and proposition them for
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sex, things like that. Cars could be parked
behind the sandhills and there were a number
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of trails that provided access to and from the
sandhills without having to walk along the main
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beach areas. Many local residents of the time were
well aware of what was going on in the sandhills
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and they refused to even let their children
anywhere near there. It doesn't sound like the
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ideal place for two well-behaved, generally quiet
type fifteen-year-old girls to go but remember
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Christina and Marianne weren't from the local
area, not even really close, it was a two-hour
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journey each way. Although local residents were
well aware of what was going on there, it doesn't
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mean Marianne and Christine were aware. It was
1965 after all, information wasn't as readily
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available and it didn't travel nearly as fast
as what it does today. There's absolutely no
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information to suggest that Marianne and Christine
were aware of what went on in those sandhills at
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all. So on the morning of the 11th of January,
Christine and Marianne packed for their day at
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the beach. Christine packed a thermos of cordial,
but she took no food.She instead took a one pound
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note and said that she would buy lunch. Marianne
made sandwiches and packed some fruit. This
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information would become crucial later on. When
they were all set around 8:30 a.m. Christine,
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Marianne, Marianne's younger brothers Peter,
Wolfgang and Norbert, and her younger sister
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Trixie, made the walk to West Ryde train station.
Peter was aged ten, Wolfgang seven, Norbert five,
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and her sister Trixie was nine. Her brothers
Helmut Jr and Hans selected to stay at home and
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complete some household chores. They caught
the train from West Ryde to Redfern, and at
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Redfern they would have to change trains to go to
Cronulla. It was on this first part of the journey
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between West Ryde and Redfern that a 15 year
old male, only described as being tall, struck
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up a conversation with Marianne and Christine.
It's unknown what they talked about but when
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they arrived at Redfern station and had to change
trains, the boy who struck up that conversation
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remained on the train, he didn't follow them. They
didn't talk to anyone else on their journey. They
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finally arrived at Cronulla Beach around 11 a.m.
and when they arrived they were met by the news
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that Cronulla beach was closed due to dangerous
seas and strong winds. If only they had turned
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around and gone home, but they didnt. They headed
to the Southern end of Cronulla beach, hanging
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out around the rocks, and Wolfgang kept pestering
Marianne that he wanted to go for a swim. Finally,
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she gave in and took him to a shallow, more
secluded spot for a quick dip. They then rejoined
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the others and they ate lunch at the rocks. At
some time while they were at the rocks, Wolfgang
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saw Marianne and Christine talking to a boy. He
was described as being 16 years old, medium build,
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long, fair hair. And he was hunting for crabs at
the time with a homemade spear. Wolfgang couldn't
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hear what they were talking about. Shortly after
they ate lunch, Marianne suggested going for a
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walk up to the sandhills at Wanda. The others
agreed, so they left their belongings at the
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rocks and all walked north, beginning their two
kilometre journey to the sandhills. But as they
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got to Wanda Beach, the walk had become too much
for the younger children. The wind was howling,
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it was whipping up the sand, stinging their legs.
So Wolfgang found a spot that was sheltered from
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the wind. Marianne and Christine told the younger
kids to stay put and they would go back south to
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grab their belongings from the rocks so they could
organize to start heading home. They mentioned
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they;d be about 20 minutes. But clearly Marianne
and Christine had no intention of going home just
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yet. Instead of walking south to where their gear
was, they continued north to the sandhills. Peter
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yelled out "You're going the wrong way!", the
girls just looked back and laughed and kept
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walking into the sandhills. That's the last time
Norbert, Peter and Trixie ever saw Christine and
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Marianne alive. After about 10 minutes, Peter sent
Wolfgang to look for the girls. Wolfgang walked to
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the sandhills and it's here that he sees Marianne
and Christine talking to a boy. He describes this
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boy as being a big boy, aged sixteen, long, fair
hair and white cream on his nose. Carrying a blue
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towel, wearing light grey trousers. He didn't
have a shirt on and he was quite suntanned.
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So basically he described him as a "surfy"
looking type boy. Wolfgang says that the surfy
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boy looked angry and he was asking the girls
their names. He decided against following them
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any further and the girls disappeared with the
male into the sandhills. About 10 minutes later,
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Wolfgang saw the surfy teen walking back out of
the sandhills. He was alone, there was no sign of
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the girls. He now had the blue towel tied around
his neck. Wolfgang actually asked the surfy "Where
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are the girls?" but he didn't answer and he just
walked straight past him. And did Peter, Trixie
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or Norbert every report seeing this surfy teen?
Wolfgang's story of this encounter is the subject
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of much debate. It actually changed a few times
and sort of evolved over several interviews. He
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kept adding vital pieces of information as time
went on. Now, there could be many reasons why this
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happened, but it was a source of frustration
for detectives at the time, and as such,
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Wolfgang's version had been treated with a little
bit of skepticism. We can only speculate why the
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girls walked into the sandhills that day.
They were obviously determined to go there,
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Christine had mentioned that to her grandmother
that morning and her grandmother told her not
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to go. It was a two kilometre walk with young
children in howling wind, poor weather conditions,
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it makes that two kilometers that much more
longer. And not only that the actual sandhills
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themselves stretched for kilometers further past
that point. This convinced many people that they
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had planned to meet someone at the sandhills
that day, certainly that was the initial police
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theory that they went with in the early stages
of the investigation. One factor though is that
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Christin and Marianne had originally planned to go
to the beach the day before, if you remember they
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canceled due to poor weather and their plans had
changed. They were now there on Monday. If they
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were planning to meet someone pre-arranged, it
wasn't as easy to reschedule back then as it is
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today with mobile phones and social media, so
if they were in fact planning to meet someone
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in those sandhills that day, it's far more
likely that they met that someone that day,
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Monday the 11th of January. After Wolfgang lost
sight of Christine and Marianne, a witness,
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Dennis Dostine, described seeing the girls hurry
through the sandhills. Dennis is actually the
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last known person to see the girls alive. He
says Christine and Marianne were walking fast,
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they appeared to be in a hurry. They were
about eight hundred metres away from where
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their bodies were found at the time. One of the
girls was constantly looking over her shoulder
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as if someone was following them. Dennis had
a bit of a look but he couldn't see anyone,
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didn't seem suspicious so he didn't think too
much more of it. While Marianne and Christine
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were gone, Wolfgang, Norbert, Peter and Trixie
continued to wait. After a while Peter, Trixie,
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Wolfgang had another look around for the girls,
they couldn't find them, there was no trace of
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them. At no stage did Wolfgang make mention with
the surfy teen. After a few hours of waiting,
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they became aware time was slipping away. The last
train out of Cronulla was at 6 p.m. and they had
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to get there, so they made the journey back down
to the southern end of Cronulla beach they found
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their belongings where they had left them on the
rocks, they were untouched. They made the last
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train out of Cronulla in the right home at about
8 p.m. Helmut Jr. and Christine's grandparents
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were made aware of Christine and Marianne's
disappearance and the police were called.
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No major alarm bells went off for the police
who attended to take the missing persons'
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report. They arrived just before midnight. Two
fifteen-year-old girls, the best of friends,
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they were out for a day at the beach, they walked
off under no duress or threat, they were happy,
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they were laughing. The usual questions would have
been asked. Have they done this before? Is there
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anywhere you think they might be? Could they be
at a friend's place? Do they have boyfriends? Of
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some concern though for police was that it was out
of character for them. They had happy home lives,
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they were well behaved, they had never run off
before so they're not the types just to sort of
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go missing without letting anyone know where they
were, and especially to leave four young children
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at the beach alone. The report was broadcast to
all police stations in the Sydney area. Of course
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the police around Cronulla and the surrounding
patrols would have been paying much more attention
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than the other. And just imagine how different it
was back then in 1965. There's no mobile phones
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to track, no social media accounts to check, no
instant media releases that could go viral and
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keep the public on the lookout, there was none
of that. But even if all that modern technology
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was in existence, it would have been too late.
Christine and Marianne were already dead. About
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2:30 p.m. on the 12th of January 1965, Peter Smith
aged 17 was walking through the sandhills with his
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two young young nephews. He saw what he initially
thought was a store mannequin lying in the sand,
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he went in and had a closer look and it was
there that the grim reality of what he had
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found became clear. Filled with shock, horror,
panic Peter ran to Wanda Surf Club. It's about
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1,500 meters away to the south. He notified the
caretaker Barry that he'd found the dead body
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of a young girl and he asked to use a phone so he
could call police. Police arrived, they met Peter
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at Wanda Surf Club and then he led them up to the
burial site. On closer inspection of the scene it
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was noticed by a police officer that there were
three feet sticking out from the sand, not two,
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and the already horrific discovery became that
much more horrific when it was discovered that
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there were two bodies, not one. Now, they weren't
really buried as such, it was just sort of covered
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with sand and not that deep - the wind overnight
had blown the sand off. Local Cronulla detectives
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soon notified the Criminal Investigation Branch
and more specialist detectives made their way to
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Wanda, including the initial officer in charge of
the case Detective Inspector Haines. The director
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of forensic medicine Dr. Lang and his assistant
Dr. Brighton also attended. They thoroughly
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examined the crime scene and portable lighting had
to be brought in so they could continue their work
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into the night. It didn't take long for police to
link the gruesome discovery to the missing person
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report of Christine and Marianne, and not long
after this a positive identification was made.
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The crime scene itself was two sandhills back
from where they started on the beachside, 150
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meters from the water's edge and about 1500 meters
north of Wanda surfclub. Despite not being at the
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beach that day, Hans Schmidt visited the scene
later on and he had this to say about it. "The
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place that girls were killed was very isolated
even though it was only two dunes back from the
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beach. It was so quiet I couldn't even hear the
waves crashing. You could scream your head off and
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no one would hear a thing, no one could have heard
the girls screaming for help." Blood and signs of
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a struggle were located 32 meters away from where
the bodies lay and there was a drag mark going all
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the way from this side back to where Christine and
Marianne were. An examination of the scene led the
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detective inspector Haynes to say this "It looks
as though the Schmidt girl was knocked down and
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then stabbed. Christine was killed about 20 yards
away and her body was then dragged back to where
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the Schmidt girl lay". It's believed Christine
witnessed Marianne being attacked and then ran
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off only to be caught a short distance away. At
intervals of about every three meters along the
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drag marks, there were much heavier concentrations
of blood. These heavier concentrations were
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consistent with the person who was dragging the
body stopping for a rest. Christine was slim,
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described as a petite girl, so the implication
here was clear, whoever was dragging her may not
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have been that physically strong. Detectives also
located car tracks about 30 meters west from where
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Christine was attacked, showing the killer could
have fled the scene in a vehicle, although it's
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not known if these tracks were related. The killer
could have also easily escaped over the back of
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the sandhills towards Captain Cook Drive where
he could have disappeared without ever being back
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on the main beach area. The post-mortem of the
girls was conducted by the director of forensic
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medicine Dr. Lang at the city morgue. Both
Christine and Marianne were savagely attacked,
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it was one of the most horrific crimes, if not
the most horrific crime Australia had ever seen.
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The attack was so savage that the full details
were never released to the public. Christine's
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official cause of death was hemorrhage as a
result of penetrating wounds to the chest,
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associated with the fracture of the skull and
injury to the brain. Marianne's official cause
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of death was from hemorrhage as a result of a
cut throat and penetrating wounds to the chest.
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There were also clear signs both girls had been
sexually assaulted. Christine's pants had been
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removed and Marianne's swimming costume had
been cut and rolled up, exposing the lower
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half of her bod. A semen sample was also found.
The time of death was estimated to be between 2
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p.m. and midnight on Monday the 11th of January.
The exact time was difficult to pinpoint exactly
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as they've been covered by hot sand. It was
discovered that Christine had undigested cabbage
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and celery in her stomach which she would have
had to have eaten within one hour of her death.
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This immediately stood out as the girls that
only taken sandwiches and fruit to the beach,
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and cabbage and celery weren't on the sandwiches.
As well as this, it was revealed that Christine
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had a blood alcohol reading of 0.015 which would
have been enough to have had a midi of beer
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or a nip of spirits just prior to her death.
Although it also could have been the result of
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her consuming several drinks in the hours leading
up to her death, it was impossible to know which.
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Christine was not known to ever drink and her
family stated that she never touched alcohol.
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Her mother said that she couldn't even stand the
smell of it. They were horrified. Loud alarm bells
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were going off here. The food found in Christine's
stomach was different to what they had brought
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to the beach and they certainly didn't take any
alcohol with them. The food in Christine's stomach
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was consumed within one hour of her death, meaning
it's likely that Christine shared food and alcohol
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with the killer. As a result of the post-mortem,
police were of the belief that they were looking
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for a fishing knife. They were also looking
for a heavy, blunt instrument that was used
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to inflict the injuries on Christine, such as a
rock, a lump of wood or a piece of metal pipe.
00:22:09
Wolfgang, Peter, Trixie and Norbert were
questioned extensively. On the 13th of January,
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they were taken back to the sandhills by police
to retrace their steps and to try and get them to
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recall as much information as they possibly could.
It's here that detectives first learned that
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Wolfgang saw the surfy teen talking to Christine
and Marianne just before they disappeared into the
00:22:29
sandhills. Now remember Wolfgang kept changing
his story as the weeks went on and kept adding
00:22:33
in vital clues. Well, he later revealed that the
surfy teen he had seen with Christine and Marianne
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was in actual fact the same boy hunting for crabs
he had seen them talking to earlier in the day at
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the rocks, so the southern end of the beach. About
a month later in another interview he added that
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the surfy teen had a knife in a pouch around his
waist when he walked off with the girls and when
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he walked back out of the sandhills alone that
knife was missing. Why his story changed numerous
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times is anyone's guess, but it's not at all
surprising that his memory was a bit muddled up.
00:23:04
Remember his father had just died, his mother had
just had a serious operation and was in hospital,
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his sister had just been brutally murdered and
he was right there. The amount of stress, trauma,
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fear, grief, guilt, any other number of emotions
that you could think of, that seven-year-old
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Wolfgang would have been experiencing is something
that most people wouldn't even be able to begin
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to imagine. He was most likely in severe shock.
There's no such thing as grief counseling back
00:23:32
then, it was a much different time, people were
just expected to suck it up and get on with it,
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so is it any wonder that his memory was a bit
muddled up? But the surfy teen information from
00:23:43
Wolfgang was the first breakthrough for detectives
and the hunt for the teen surfy suspect began.
00:23:48
Every media report, whether on TV, radio or in
print, was dominated with reports of the teen
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surfy suspect seen with the girls just prior to
their death. Now the problem with that description
00:24:00
is that it matched just about every teenager in
the Cronulla area and not only the Cronulla area,
00:24:05
a lot of areas. So it didn't narrow down the
search any more than saying police we're looking
00:24:10
for a teenager would have. Police were quick to
try and make point that they didn't necessarily
00:24:16
believe the teen surfy suspect was the killer,
the fear being that people who are at the beach
00:24:21
that day who might have saw something that didn't
fit with the teen surfy scenario wouldn't come
00:24:26
forward. It didn't take long for police to be
swamped with calls and information about the
00:24:32
teen surfy. They received hundreds of calls a
day. It was even revealed that a teen matching
00:24:37
that description was kicked off Wanda beach only
a few days before the killings for harassing young
00:24:42
girls. The media ran wild and Police Commissioner
Norman Allen made a public appeal for that surfy
00:24:48
teen to come forward. The hunt for the surfy teen
was in full swing leading to the media reporting
00:24:56
that four suspects had been detained and were
being questioned, one as far away as Queensland.
00:25:00
The truth was that they were never really suspects
at all and the teenagers had just been arrested on
00:25:05
other minor charges. The fact that they may have
looked like surfies was enough for the media to
00:25:10
label them suspects. It was basically the media
was just trying to get one up on each other for
00:25:16
the latest scoop, the breaking story. A mammoth
search of the crime scene and surrounding Wanda
00:25:22
sandhills area commenced. Police were sent
from all over Sydney to help and even police
00:25:26
trainees were sent in to help. The search wasn't
easy. Remember the sandhills were described as
00:25:32
Sydney's filthiest Beach, littered with all
sorts of discarded rubbish.This hampered the
00:25:37
search for clues greatly. Several items were
located including shoes and even some knives,
00:25:42
but they were quickly ruled out as having anything
to do with the murders. By Thursday police had
00:25:49
secured a front-end loader from Sutherland Shire
Council so they could dig up the sand which they
00:25:53
then put through a makeshift sieve. Army experts
with metal and mine detectors were even sent in to
00:25:58
help search. Police ended up digging 500 tonnes
of sand and found very little to assist their
00:26:05
investigation. The only piece of physical evidence
that was ever located was a broken piece of knife
00:26:12
blade. It was about one inch long and had a clear
cutting edge. It was thought to be from a kitchen
00:26:17
knife. The piece of knife tested positive for
blood however there was an insufficient amount to
00:26:22
conduct any further testing at the time. Dr. Lang
would later testify at the inquest that the stab
00:26:28
wounds would have been difficult to inflict
with this particular piece of broken blade,
00:26:32
although he did say that some cut marks on
Christine could have been made with a knife
00:26:36
that had a portion of blade missing. It was
unclear if this piece of blade was in fact part
00:26:42
of the murder weapon which had been broken off,
such was the savage nature of the attacks, or
00:26:46
if it was completely unrelated. It was 1965, DNA
forensic evidence wasn't a known thing until 1986,
00:26:53
twenty-one years after the Wanda Beach murders. On
the 15th of January, Elisabeth Schmidt broke her
00:27:00
silence. She was still in hospital recovering
from her operation, doctors had let her leave
00:27:06
for a short time to comfort her children when
the news broke of Marianne's death however she
00:27:10
was now back. She said "My daughter and the other
young girl have gone into eternal life. They have
00:27:18
met their maker and have therefore entered a
new phase of existence. The person responsible,
00:27:23
the murderer, has his life ahead of him. How he
faces this life is something I can not answer,
00:27:30
but his life would appear to be, spiritually
speaking, poorer than anything else. He would
00:27:36
always be hunted and haunted. The man responsible
should meet his punishment and I think my husband
00:27:41
would have felt the same way. He should be
made responsible for his action." At this
00:27:49
time Commissioner Allen renewed his appeal
for the surfy teen to come forward. In a
00:27:53
press conference he said, "I renew my appeal
to the youth described by Wolfgang Schmidt
00:27:58
to come forward. He should not be influenced by
published statements, he could very well clear the
00:28:02
air for us in our investigations". The published
statements referred to of course being the media
00:28:07
reports saying that surfy teen was the killer.
The appeals from Commissioner Allen continued
00:28:13
and just the next day he made yet another one. "I
renew my appeal to this youth to come forward and
00:28:18
tell us what happened last Monday. Because he
was seen coming away alone from the scene, it
00:28:23
does not necessarily follow that he's the killer".
He stressed the police are of the belief that he
00:28:28
was quite possibly an innocent bystander at the
wrong place at the wrong time and it would not
00:28:32
take long for police to clear him of suspicion, if
he would just come in and talk to them. The police
00:28:37
really wanted to catch up with the surfy teen.
By this stage, police had commenced interviewing
00:28:43
people who were at the beach on Monday the 11th
of January. Over 20 people who were there had
00:28:48
been interviewed. More than 40 detectives had been
assigned full-time for the case, in what was one
00:28:53
of the biggest manhunts Australia had ever seen.
Reports were continuing to come in from people
00:28:58
all over the state and even all over the country
of people matching the description of surfy teen
00:29:03
that they were suspicious of or suspected had
involvement. Police received thousands upon
00:29:09
thousands of calls and they struggled to keep
up with the sheer volume of information that
00:29:14
was coming in. Many feel that a vital tip off or
a vital piece of information may have been lost
00:29:19
amongst the thousands of calls that were received.
Both Christine and Marianne had kept diaries and
00:29:26
through those diaries police learned that on their
visit to the beach on New Year's Day, just a few
00:29:32
days before their death, they met two boys who
they'd shared kisses with. On the 16th of January,
00:29:38
police made a public appeal for those two boys to
come forward and they did. They were only known as
00:29:43
Ted and Jim. They were interviewed by police
and confirmed that they had met Marianne and
00:29:48
Christine at the beach on New Year's day, however
they had made no plans to meet again. Their alibis
00:29:53
checked out and they were quickly ruled out
of the investigation. On the 18th of January,
00:29:59
the media ran wild that a teenager who had
a pair of blood stained trousers was being
00:30:03
held by police. A pair of blood stained trousers
were found on Coogee beach and they were later
00:30:08
identified as being the teenager who was being
held. Wolfgang was hurried to Randwick police
00:30:14
station where a line-up was conducted but
Wolfgang could not identify him as the surfy
00:30:18
teen. And it turned out that this teenager who
was being held had a simple explanation for the
00:30:22
blood on his trousers, and it was discovered he
wasn't at Wanda beach on the day of the murders.
00:30:27
He was quickly released. Detectives were being
flooded with not only tip-offs about surfy teen,
00:30:32
but they were also being flooded with information
about several other suspicious males who were seen
00:30:37
at the beach on the day of the killings and
the day leading up to them. A sketch artist
00:30:41
was brought in to try and assist putting some
names to the descriptions. It was on the 18th
00:30:47
of January that police made their first appeal to
the public for the boy hunting crabs that day to
00:30:52
come forward. Now, the description they released
of the boy hunting crabs is pretty much identical
00:30:56
to surfy teen and remember Wolfgang would go on
to say that they were one in the same person.
00:31:01
On the 20th of January, separate funeral services
were held for Marianne and Christine. The service
00:31:09
for Marianne was held in the West Chapel of the
Metropolitan funeral home at Burwood and she was
00:31:14
then cremated at Rookwood Crematorium. The service
for Christine was held at St Michael's Catholic
00:31:19
Church Meadowbank and she was then buried at
Liverpool Cemetery near her father. Both services
00:31:25
attracted hundreds of mourners. Detectives and
police photographers also attended both services.
00:31:30
They were working on the theory that the girls
knew their killer and had arranged to meet him at
00:31:34
the sandhills and they hoped that surfy teen
may have been at the funerals. Just about every
00:31:39
male in attendance was photographed for later
reference. At the service of Marianne Schmidt,
00:31:45
two teenage sisters were separated and interviewed
separately by detectives. The father of these two
00:31:51
sisters had just alerted police that they may have
valuable information concerning the background of
00:31:56
Marianne and Christine and they hadn't realized
the value of the information until now. Of course,
00:32:01
detectives were on high alert and they swiftly
interviewed the girls but unfortunately no light
00:32:06
was thrown on the investigation. By this stage
police had started to sort through some of the
00:32:11
sheer volume of information that was coming
through and there were two people who they
00:32:16
were particularly interested in talking to early
on. These people were seen by Denis Dostine, who,
00:32:22
if you remember, was the last known person to
have seen that girl's alive. Along with seeing
00:32:27
the girls walk through the hills that day, he also
saw a number of other people. Two of particular
00:32:32
interest to police were a tall, pale, 19 year-old
male and an older male described to be between 40
00:32:40
and 50 years old with a stocky build and tanned,
leathery skin. Despite their best efforts, police
00:32:45
were never able to identify these two males and
they never came forward. Another witness, Francis
00:32:52
Williams, 57 years old, was at the beach that day.
He came forward and he described seeing Christine,
00:32:58
Marianne and the younger children at about 1:00
p.m. walking together north along the beach
00:33:02
towards Wanda. They were about 100 meters north of
Wanda surf club at the time. Francis thought that
00:33:10
they look to be in a hurry walking quite quickly.
Along with the children, Francis also described
00:33:16
seeing a number of other people in and around
Wanda that day. He saw a male who was sunbathing
00:33:22
in the sandhills and as Francis approached him he
got up, shook sand off him and walked away towards
00:33:26
Wanda surf club. He saw two young boys playing
on the beach, two people fishing on the beach,
00:33:31
a man who was sunbaking with what was described
as "a piece of corrugated iron" over his head. The
00:33:38
media ran wild and he became a suspect at the time
too. It was assumed "Oh, he's obviously perverted,
00:33:44
using the corrugated iron to hide himself, spying
on girls or whatever", but remember it was a
00:33:49
windy day. Poor weather. He might have just been
blocking the sand out of his eyes that was being
00:33:55
blown in from the wind, but he was of interest
to police. There was also a woman who had become
00:34:00
bogged behind the sandhills and she was assisted
by Francis and another unknown male who drove
00:34:05
off in it utility. So not only were they getting
reports of suspicious people sighted around Wanda
00:34:12
that day, but they were getting reports about a
lot of other people who were at the beach that
00:34:15
day who were not necessarily suspicious, but they
were there, they may have seen something and these
00:34:21
people weren't coming forward, they weren't
making themselves known. It was frustrating
00:34:25
police. So they actually released details of these
eight people that Francis saw to the media and
00:34:31
the woman who became bogged in the sand actually
came forward but she wasn't able to assist in the
00:34:37
investigation. Unfortunately they never identified
any of the seven other people. So many people were
00:34:46
at the beach that day who never came forward.
Remember what Wanda sandhills was renowned for
00:34:53
at this time, but there's no suggestion that
all those people were involved in that sort of
00:34:58
behavior. I mean, there was two people fishing,
there was two kids playing. It's unknown why so
00:35:03
many people never came forward. Whether they
were too scared to come forward or they didn't
00:35:09
want to get involved, they thought they didn't see
anything so it was a waste of time, but you never
00:35:15
know. Something that they saw that they may have
thought was insignificant may have been vital.
00:35:21
On the 22nd of January an interesting article
was published in The Sydney Morning Herald.
00:35:28
The article was only very small, buried back
on page 10, by now other news had started to
00:35:35
sort of filter through to the front pages,
such as the health of Winston Churchill and
00:35:39
the Rolling Stones visit to Australia, but it
was here buried amongst other articles a small
00:35:44
headline read "Wanda victims claim lapses".
The article details that Marianne Schmidt was
00:35:50
struck by a car on the corner of Victoria Road
and Brush Road at Ryde on the 7th of May 1964.
00:35:55
She suffered a fractured skull and spent nine
days in hospital. As a result of that accident,
00:36:01
the family had submitted a compensation claim
seeking £20,000. Australia was still using the
00:36:09
pound currency at the time. The relative sum of
money of £20,000 back then in today's money would
00:36:14
be somewhere around half a million dollars. Quite
a significant sum of money. The claim was due to
00:36:21
be heard later that year in 1965, however as a
result of her death the claim lapsed and it would
00:36:27
not proceed any further. Police were starting to
become frustrated by the inability to identify
00:36:33
the surfy teen and their inability to identify
a number of other people at the beach that day
00:36:37
and their lack of cooperation in coming forward to
assist the investigation. On the 22nd of January,
00:36:43
Commissioner Norman Allen made yet another appeal
to the public. He said, "I have on more than one
00:36:48
occasion asked the public to assist in every
way within their power with information which
00:36:52
might help detectives engaged on the case. I
now make a further and equally sincere appeal.
00:36:57
I do this because I am satisfied that there must
be some persons in the community who would have
00:37:02
some information that they have not brought to
the notice of police. It is not unreasonable to
00:37:06
assume that someone somewhere in our community has
seen or heard something which would be of great
00:37:10
assistance in this matter. For example, since this
crime a person may not have been seen in places he
00:37:15
used to frequent or there may have been a change
in pattern of his normal activity and behavior.
00:37:20
It is possible that to someone's knowledge, he has
said or done something which would give rise to a
00:37:25
reasonable suspicion that he might have been in
some way associated with the crime. That is the
00:37:30
type of vital information we would like to get".
On the 23rd of January, a sketch was published
00:37:36
in the papers of the Wanda beach and sandhills
area showing the crime scene and the different
00:37:41
locations where each of the seven people were
thought to be that was sighted by Francis Williams
00:37:45
who still hadn't come forward. That is, the woman
who had was bogged in the sand, she actually came
00:37:51
forward, the people fishing, the boys playing in
the sand, etc, the male with the corrugated iron.
00:37:57
This did generate a response from the public and
it resulted in a number of other people coming
00:38:03
forward who were there that day that didn't
realize just how close to the crime scene they
00:38:06
actually were, however it didn't help in tracking
down any of the seven people that Francis Williams
00:38:13
sighted. About this time, a psychiatrist released
a report revealing their thoughts on the killer.
00:38:19
They believed that he lived in the local area
and had intimate knowledge of the sandhills and
00:38:25
could even be one of the perverts who frequented
the Wanda sandhills. Now this information being
00:38:29
released to the media obviously wouldn't have
encouraged any of the people that were there, who
00:38:33
may have been engaging in that type of behavior,
to come forward. I mean they would have thought
00:38:37
that they were gonna be held responsible for the
crime. The psychiatrist went on to describe the
00:38:43
killer as most likely being a loner who had spent
on Wanda sandhills spying on nude sunbathers and
00:38:48
people having sex. They felt that the killer
committed the crimes on impulse rather than it
00:38:54
being planned out and that he may have acted
out on previous urges he'd been experiencing,
00:38:58
when he saw Marianne and Christine walking alone
through the sandhills. The investigation continued
00:39:05
but there was still no big breaks. It was hampered
by the lack of physical evidence at the scene,
00:39:10
the lack of witnesses, the inability to identify
the people that were seen at the beach and the
00:39:15
unwillingness of those people to come forward.
To try and combat this, on the 29th of January,
00:39:21
the New South Wales Premier Mr. Jack Renshaw
announced a £10,000 reward for any information
00:39:26
leading to the arrest and conviction for the
person responsible for the murders. The currency
00:39:32
changed to dollars soon after this reward
was announced and so the reward was changed
00:39:36
to $20,000. The relative sum of money today would
be about $250,000, so it was a significant reward.
00:39:43
It was hoped that it would encourage people who
were at the beach that day who either couldn't
00:39:48
be bothered or came from the groups of people
who didn't want to be known by police to come
00:39:52
forward. That reward is still in existence today
but, incredibly, it has never been increased,
00:39:59
it still stands at $20,000 so it might
be time for that figure to come up. Two girls who were riding horses on the beach
that day came forward and they reported yet
00:40:11
another suspicious male. They said that about 400
metres away from the murder scene, they saw a male
00:40:18
walking around in the nude through the sandhills.
One of the girls yelled out to him "What are you
00:40:23
doing?" but he didn't answer, he just ignored them
and kept walking.He was carrying the clothes in
00:40:27
his hand. So yet another person was added to the
list of suspicious people at the beach that day
00:40:32
and like the others he was never identified
either. He obviously never came forward. On
00:40:38
the 1st of February, police thought they had
what was their first major breakthrough in the
00:40:42
case discovering an important piece of evidence,
or so they thought at the time. By this stage,
00:40:48
police had been placed permanently in the Wanda
sandhills keeping watch. It was hoped that some of
00:40:53
the people that had been seen at the beach on the
day of the murders that hadn't yet come forward
00:40:57
would be sighted or even hoped that the surfy teen
would show up again. Now, of course, they weren't
00:41:03
in uniform, they were dressed as sunbathers, so
they were undercover if you will. Now a police
00:41:09
officer on sandhill watch located a blue towel
washed up on shore. Of course the surfy teen
00:41:15
described by Wolfgang was carrying a blue towel,
so the towel was immediately sent for scientific
00:41:20
testing, and it was hoped that this towel was the
one belonged to surfy teen, described by Wolfgang,
00:41:24
but all it was was another frustrating dead-end. A
thirteen-year-old boy came forward when news broke
00:41:31
of the towel in the media he identified it as one
that had lost at the beach only a few days before.
00:41:36
The large reward that was put up by the New
South Wales government was leading to all types
00:41:42
of people calling in. The investigation started to
become very frustrated by false leads, dead ends,
00:41:49
hoax calls, false confessions, wives ringing up
about their husbands, all sorts of things and
00:41:55
by now anyone who resembled a surfy teen had a
phone call made to police about them. And while
00:42:02
no doubt most of the calls being made to police
were well intentioned, the truth of the matter is,
00:42:08
it was hindering the investigation. Every lead,
every call that came in had to be chased down,
00:42:14
followed up and that's where it's thought that
vital information that was actually important
00:42:20
to the case could be lost amongst the pile
of useless information that was coming in.
00:42:25
In April on the 19th, two 15 year-old girls were
attacked near Caringbah train station - it's only
00:42:33
a short distance away from Cronulla. The girls
were walking together near the train station
00:42:38
when a 15 year-old male grabbed one of them. The
girls immediately screamed and frightened the
00:42:42
attacker off. The description was very similar
to that of the surfy teen provided by Wolfgang.
00:42:47
So that certainly pushed the already frightened
community further to the edge but the fact that
00:42:55
the community was so much on edge, I mean, this
could have been totally unrelated to the Wanda
00:42:59
case. It could have been any random teenager
just approaching two girls to say hello or
00:43:03
whatever and grabbed the one of them and they've
screamed and everyone's run off. He didn't produce
00:43:08
a knife or anything like that. The full details
of the attack were never released so it's unclear
00:43:12
exactly what happened, but no one was injured
certainly. By April, police had waded through
00:43:19
the sheer volume of information that had come in
and it led to the release of six sketches who they
00:43:25
considered suspects and that they really wanted
to speak to. This included men making sexual
00:43:32
advances and comments towards women, the naked
man seen walking through the sandhills, another
00:43:37
men exposing himself to women a few months after
the murders on the beach and of course the boy
00:43:42
who had just attacked the two girls at Caringbah.
Wolfgang was unable to help police with the sketch
00:43:47
of the surfy teen as he was just too agreeable.
Everything the sketch artist said, he would go
00:43:52
along with, so it was impossible to make a sketch.
But of particular interest to police out of the
00:43:58
six men were two men who they thought would most
be valuable to the investigation, that they really
00:44:03
wanted to identify. The first came to be known
as "the fat man". So he was described as a medium
00:44:10
to plump build, between 25 and 35 years old,
about 5 feet 11 inches tall, slightly foreign in
00:44:17
appearance. He was described as carrying an orange
and white towel, wearing grey trousers and a white
00:44:22
shirt. He was carrying a radio and a newspaper
at the time. What he did, he approached several
00:44:29
women on the beach on the day of the murders and
on the days leading up to the murders. He had
00:44:34
pornographic magazines with him and he was making
inappropriate comments to women asking if they
00:44:40
wanted to have a look through the magazine, asking
them how the sex was in Sydney. He mentioned that
00:44:45
he was from South Australia, so police were
very, very keen to catch up with him but he,
00:44:51
along with so many others, was never identified
and he never came forward. Another man who was
00:44:58
of particular interest to police was described
as being 18 to 20 years old with a slim build,
00:45:02
light brown hair and he was wearing a long sleeve
shirt tucked into a pair of fawn (coloured) shorts
00:45:07
and he had missing teeth. He was also making
inappropriate propositions to women, asking to
00:45:12
have sex with women, offering them money, things
like that, but again he was never identified
00:45:17
either. So it's starting to get ridiculous now the
amount of people that police wanted to speak to,
00:45:24
who they deemed to be suspicious, who were at
the beach on the day the murders, that were never
00:45:28
identified and who never came forward. You'd think
that they would come forward given what happened,
00:45:34
the brutal nature of the crimes but no. They're
out there somewhere, who knows if they're still
00:45:40
alive, but if they are nows the time. On the 29th
of May, a group of youths came forward saying that
00:45:48
they'd found a pair of flippers and a homemade
crab spear about one kilometer away from where
00:45:55
the girls were located. Now they found these only
a few days after the murder, so it's not clear why
00:46:01
they waited until the 29th of May to come forward
and hand it in. I couldn't find that anywhere,
00:46:06
but regardless they made themselves known to
police and the flippers and the spear were
00:46:11
handed in. Wolfgang was reinterviewed but he
was unable to identify the spear, he couldn't
00:46:16
remember if it was the same one that the boy who
was crabbing on the rocks that spoke to Marianne
00:46:21
and Christine was using. It was a promising
lead but it didn't end up going anywhere.
00:46:26
The investigation really started to stall and
by the beginning of 1966 the amount of full-time
00:46:35
detectives on the case had dropped from 40 down
to 8. It was still being worked hard but they were
00:46:41
just frustrated by the lack of ability to identify
a number of people at the beach, the amount of
00:46:47
useless information that was still coming in, that
they were wasting their time, basically. Police
00:46:53
were still assigned to the Wanda sandhills to
watch for anything suspicious, but all that ended
00:46:58
up in achieving was they arrested a number of
people for sexual related offenses but it got them
00:47:03
no closer to identifying the killer. On the 29th
of January 1966, another brutal murder shocked
00:47:11
the nation. 57 year-old Wilhelmina Kruger was
found murdered at the Piccadilly shopping Arcade
00:47:16
in Wollongong where she worked as a cleaner.
Wollongong is in close proximity to Wanda,
00:47:22
it's less than an hour's drive away. The murder
was very horrific and it did bear similarities to
00:47:28
the Wanda case - that of a frenzied knife attack.
There were no suspects, no witnesses, there was a
00:47:34
lack of physical evidence, no attempt was made to
hide a body. It led many to believe the murder of
00:47:40
Wilhelmina Kruger was committed by the person
responsible for Wanda and just weeks later on
00:47:46
the 26th of February the body of Anna Dowling-Koa
was found on Old Illawarra Road, Menai, southwest
00:47:51
of Sydney. Again, in close proximity to both Wanda
and Wollongong. She too had been the victim of a
00:47:58
brutal, frenzied knife attack, almost identical
to the attack committed on Wilhelmina Kruger.
00:48:04
Anna was working as an escort at the time and
she was last seen on the 16th of February 1966,
00:48:10
leaving a club in Kings Cross. She mentioned to
a few friends in the club that she was going to
00:48:15
meet a client and she was never seen alive
again. There was no witnesses, no suspects,
00:48:20
a lack of physical evidence, no attempt made to
hide the body. In actual fact, the killer returned
00:48:25
to where Anna was dumped and dragged her body out
from behind the bushes, closer to the road, so
00:48:30
she would be found. Police are almost certain the
murders of Anna Dowling-Koa and Wilhelmina Kruger
00:48:37
were committed by the same person. It's never been
proven that the Wanda case is linked to both those
00:48:42
murders but many suspect that they are. Just like
the Wanda case, the murders of Wilhelmina Kruger
00:48:48
and Anna Dowling-Koa remain unsolved. On the 20th
of April 1966, a coroner's inquest into the Wanda
00:48:55
case was held. The inquest was presided over by
city coroner Mr. Looms. The amount of detectives
00:49:00
working the case full-time was now down to about
6. The investigation log totaled over 5,000 pages
00:49:06
and over 7,000 people had been interviewed. A
large amount of witnesses gave evidence at the
00:49:11
inquest including the all-important Schmidt
children. The inquest lasted three days,
00:49:15
concluding on the 22nd of April. Coroner Mr.
Looms was of the belief that "there must be
00:49:21
somebody who could shed light on the murders".
He went on to say police had already conducted
00:49:25
an exhaustive investigation, "although we still
hope that it could be intensified if that was at
00:49:29
all possible". There was no doubt what happened
in his mind, saying "The cause of death is very
00:49:36
evident. A vicious, brutal murder". After
the inquest, police stated that they would
00:49:41
be revisiting every page of the police file in
hopes of uncovering a vital piece of information
00:49:45
that may have been previously overlooked.
Unfortunately they didn't uncover anything.
00:49:50
Police still held the belief that somebody
out there knew something about the case and
00:49:55
that person was withholding information, either
because they're protecting someone who was close
00:49:59
to them or they were in fear of that person they
we're protecting. Or they were too embarrassed or
00:50:04
scared to come forward for whatever reason it
was that they were at the sandhills that day.
00:50:11
The six sketches the police had released prior
were made into full-size, lifelike dummies which
00:50:17
were displayed at the Sydney Easter show in 1967.
It was hoped that the large crowds that poured
00:50:22
through the Easter Show every year would be able
to put names to the faces but no one could. On the
00:50:28
17th of March '67, another woman was attacked
at Wanda beach. 28 year old Brenda Gowan was
00:50:34
sunbathing on the beach with her three children
when she was attacked by an unknown male person.
00:50:38
A witness, Trevor Betts, rushed to her aide and
the attacker fled. He was seen leaving in what
00:50:43
was described as an "old, white vehicle". Both
the descriptions of Brenda and Trevor fit the
00:50:48
description of one of the six sketches that
had just been turned into life-sized dummies
00:50:51
at the Easter Show. Many were convinced that the
Wanda Beach killer had just struck again. Despite
00:50:57
an extensive investigation and search for the
attacker, he was never identified. Over the years
00:51:05
there's been three names that have been thrown up
in the media as suspects for the Wanda beach case.
00:51:11
There's no real evidence that's ever been released
linking any of them to the crime it's all sort of
00:51:20
circumstantial and maybe and what-ifs. The first
is Alan Bassett. On Monday the 13th of June '66,
00:51:29
Alan Raymond Bassett from Unanderra, just south of
Wollongong, was charged for the brutal murder of
00:51:34
Carolyn May Orphin. They met each other at a dance
on Friday night the 10th of June and Carolyn and
00:51:42
Alan left together. Later that night, Alan tied
Carolyn up, raped her and killed her and dumped
00:51:49
her on the side of the road. He was arrested a
few days later and later convicted of murder.
00:51:53
He's thought to be a prime suspect for not only
the Wanda case but the murders of Wilhelmina
00:52:00
Kruger and Anna Dowling-Koa. One detective became
that obsessed with Alan as being the killer, that
00:52:10
he even visited him when he was retired trying
to get him to confess. Alan Bassett was born in
00:52:17
England on the 3rd of May 1945. By all reports he
seemed like a quiet and shy normal sort of guy.
00:52:24
He later told police in the courts, when he was
being tried for the murder of Carolyn May Orphin,
00:52:30
that he had no idea what came over him and
he didn't mean to kill her. This despite the
00:52:35
fact that she was tied up, strangled and hit over
the head with a large rock. He asked to be found
00:52:40
guilty of manslaughter, that was obviously
rejected and he was found guilty of murder.
00:52:46
He was given life in prison. Now this murder, no
knife was used, so that is the glaring difference
00:52:56
between the Wanda beach murders and the murders
of Mrs. Kruger and Ms. Dowling-Koa. However,
00:53:03
it was still a very savage and vicious attack.
The savageness of that attack and the fact that
00:53:09
Alan was from Wollongong, only down the road from
the Piccadilly Centre and a short drive to Menai
00:53:15
and Wanda, meant that he was obviously gonna
be looked at as a suspect. Investigations by
00:53:22
police revealed that they thought Alan Bassett was
actually in Cronulla around the time of the Wanda
00:53:27
Beach murders. The detective who became obsessed
with Alan being responsible was Detective Cec
00:53:34
Johnson. He became so obsessed with the theory
that many thought that it was an unhealthy
00:53:41
obsession. It was even eventually recommended that
he resign from the force. After his conviction,
00:53:47
Alan Bassett was diagnosed as a schizophrenic
and he ended up serving his time in a psychiatric
00:53:51
hospital up near Newcastle. So in his retirement,
Detective Johnson paid regular visits to Alan and
00:54:01
was just basically trying to get him to confess,
trying to talk to him about the unsolved murders,
00:54:06
he was convinced that he had his man. During this
time, Alan presented detective Johnson with a
00:54:15
gift. It was, it's been described as a painting
of a bush scene. Detective Johnson at the time
00:54:21
thought it was quite ugly and he didn't think
too much of it and put it away for a few years,
00:54:25
but after a while he pulled it out and decided
to get it framed and put it up. It was at this
00:54:32
time he looked at the painting a little
bit more closely and whether or not it was
00:54:37
actually there or he was that obsessed he just
wanted it to be there and started to see things,
00:54:42
he became convinced that it was a confession to
the four unsolved murders. He said the painting
00:54:50
depicted a clue that only the murderer would
know, however what this clue is no one knows,
00:54:56
it was never made public. Detective Johnson he
went to the press with his theory and it got
00:55:02
widespread media coverage, he even started
to write a book about it but unfortunately
00:55:06
he was killed in an accident just before
the book was due to be released and it was
00:55:09
never released. He convinced a well-known
crime reporter at the time, Bill Jenkings,
00:55:15
that Alan was his man as well. Some in the police
force agreed with him, a lot didn't, they thought
00:55:23
he was sort of seeing things and his unhealthy
obsession had just spiraled out of control.
00:55:30
One person of significant importance that was
convinced by Detective Johnson's theory is
00:55:39
Alan Bassett's father. He actually went on
public record to say that he believed Alan
00:55:43
was responsible for the Wanda Beach murders and
that he should never be released. Despite those
00:55:49
pleas from his father, in 1995 Alan Bassett was
released from custody and placed back into the
00:55:54
community after serving 29 years in custody. He
denied any involvement in any crime other than
00:56:02
that of the murder of Carolyn Orphin for which he
was convicted. In the year 2000, speculation still
00:56:08
circled around Alan's involvement and he made a
public offer to provide a DNA sample to clear him
00:56:13
from the crime. It's unknown if police ever took
him up on that or if the advances in technology
00:56:18
will one day be able to clear or convict Alan of
the crime. There's another name that's thrown up
00:56:26
as a prime suspect for the Wanda Beach murders and
that's Christopher Wilder. And in 1984 his death
00:56:34
in the United States sparked the interests of the
New South Wales place and actually caused them to
00:56:38
reexamine the Wanda case to study any links that
he may have had with Wanda. And the reason for
00:56:44
that is because he was a serial killer. He was
also known as the "Beauty Queen Killer" - he'd
00:56:49
just killed eight women and suspected of killing
more. Through the U.S he was on the top ten FBI
00:56:55
most wanted when he was killed in a confrontation
with police. And the reason New South Wales police
00:57:01
were looking at him and any links to Wanda is
because he was born in Sydney and that's where
00:57:05
he was living at the time of Wanda. So he was born
in 1945 and he had his first major run-in with the
00:57:12
law as a 17-year old when he was charged for the
gang rape of a woman at a Sydney Beach. He pled
00:57:17
down to a lesser charge and got off with probation
and electric shock therapy. In 1968 he married and
00:57:24
that lasted all of a week before his wife left
him claiming sexual and physical abuse. In 1969,
00:57:30
he lured a young 19 year-old nursing student into
his car at Manly Beach and convinced her to pose
00:57:36
nude for a few photos. When that was done he tried
to force her to have sex with him and when she
00:57:42
refused he threatened a blackmail her boss with
the photos. She managed to get away and called
00:57:47
police but she refused to testify against him.
Later that year he moved to the United States, his
00:57:52
father was from the US and that's how he was able
to move over there. He moved to Florida and it
00:57:58
didn't take long for him to find some significant
wealth over there due to booming construction and
00:58:02
real estate industries. In 1971, he had his first
run-in with the law over there - caught trying
00:58:09
to entice women to pose for nude photographs as
he'd done before. The next year he was actually
00:58:15
arrested for trying to force a 16 year-old girl
to have sex with him but he was acquitted of
00:58:19
that charge. A few years after that, posing as a
photographer, Wilder lured a schoolgirl out of a
00:58:26
shopping mall and he drugged her and raped her. He
somehow managed to plea bargain that one down and
00:58:31
again was given probation and therapy. In 1982,
he came back to Australia to visit his parents
00:58:39
and on that visit he abducted two 15 year-old
girls, tied them up and forced them to pose for
00:58:45
nude photographs. He was arrested the next day and
his parents managed to post a large amount of bail
00:58:52
for him, I think it was somewhere around $300,000.
Incredibly he was allowed to leave Australia until
00:58:59
his trial so he could go back to the US for work.
Not long after that in 1984, while still awaiting
00:59:06
trial back in Australia for the abduction charge,
he commenced his murderous rampage across nine
00:59:11
different states of America, kidnapping a dozen
women. Some were lucky enough to get away but he
00:59:17
murdered eight and he's actually suspected in more
than that. His M.O. was to pose as a photographer,
00:59:24
comment about how beautiful a girl was and entice
her out with him, convincing her that he'd be
00:59:30
able to get her into modeling, so it seems pretty
obvious to many why Christopher Wilder is a prime
00:59:37
suspect for Wanda. He was 19 at the time, living
in Sydney and he turned out to be a serial killer.
00:59:42
The one problem being his timeline of crimes
doesn't seem to match up with Wanda. He started
00:59:49
off with a string of sexual offences and trying
to get girls to pose nude before he committed his
00:59:54
first known murder in 1984. 19 years after the
Wanda case, but that is if his first murder was
01:00:02
actually in 1984. Wilder is suspected of being
involved in the abduction and suspected murder
01:00:08
of several women both in the United States and
Australia, well before '84. Some remain convinced
01:00:14
that Wilder is the man for Wanda. Although he
was slightly older than the surfy teen Wolfgang
01:00:20
described, his age is still in the ballpark and
the actual physical description itself would have
01:00:24
matched Wilder at the time. When he was killed
it was in a confrontation with police. He just
01:00:30
had a physical struggle with one officer who was
wounded and then Wilder was shot not long after
01:00:35
that. It's unknown if he was shot as a result of a
struggle or if he turned the gun on himself. Which
01:00:41
most people suspect is what happened. New South
Wales police requested a blood sample after his
01:00:47
death and advances in technology may yet prove if
he was or wasn't involved, but at the moment it's
01:00:53
very much circumstantial with no real evidence at
all. Now if you do some reading on the Wanda case
01:01:00
there is one name that appears in bright flashing
lights as being the prime suspect. He's also been
01:01:06
described as Australia's Hannibal Lecter, which
tells you probably all you need to know about
01:01:09
him. He's considered by many to be not only
the prime suspect in the Wanda case but also a
01:01:15
number of other unsolved child murders and child
disappearances from the late 60s. That includes
01:01:20
the disappearance of the three Beaumont children
from Adelaide on the 26th of January '66, the
01:01:26
murder of Allen Redston on the 27th of September
'66 in Canberra, the murder of Simon Brooke on
01:01:32
the 18th of May '68 in Glebe, Sydney, and the
disappearance of Linda Stilwell on the 10th
01:01:37
of August '68 from St. Kilda in Victoria. He's
never been charged for any of these crimes but
01:01:44
he certainly has been questioned about them. He's
never made any admissions but at the same time he
01:01:49
hasn't exactly denied involvement either. So who
is Derek Percy? He was born in Strathfield, Sydney
01:01:56
on the 15th of September 1948. In 1956 he and his
family moved down to Victoria where they stayed in
01:02:03
a few different places, and in '61 they moved to
Mount Beauty in the northeast of Victoria. Derek
01:02:09
was as always known as a little bit different,
a bit of a loner, a little hard to get to know.
01:02:16
In 1964 in the Mount Beauty area, women's
underwear started to disappear off clotheslines
01:02:21
and even from inside some houses. The whispers
around town were that Derek was responsible but it
01:02:27
was never proven. That is until later on that year
in the summer of '64, when two of his schoolmates
01:02:34
made their way down to a popular local swimming
hole. Along the way, they saw something that was
01:02:39
so twisted that no one believed their story -
everyone thought they were just making it up.
01:02:44
That is until a few years later. What they saw
was Derek walking around in a woman's petticoat.
01:02:52
Derek didn't see them and they didn't call out,
instead they decided to hide and try and work out
01:02:58
what the hell he was doing. What they saw next was
Derek pull out a knife and he started stabbing a
01:03:04
pair of women's underpants that he had with him.
Once he was done there, he defecated in the river
01:03:08
and then walked off. The kids of course questioned
Derek about it but he denied it and the other kids
01:03:14
and other people in the town didn't really believe
the story. They knew Derek was a bit different but
01:03:19
that behavior seemed a bit quite a stretch. It
was around this time that Derek started keeping
01:03:26
journals outlining sexual references towards
children, so it's at this time that the beginnings
01:03:33
of an extremely dark twisted path started
for Derek. In 1966, they moved to Khancoban,
01:03:41
New South Wales, just north of the Victorian
border. Derek indecently assaulted two young
01:03:47
girls while living here. They were two sisters
and they live next door to the Percy family - the
01:03:52
youngest was 6. Derek lured them into a caravan
and got them to take their pants off. Percy was
01:03:58
actually caught out and for some reason the
police weren't notified, instead the girl's
01:04:03
father left it to Derek's father to discipline
him. Derek's diary entries continued to get darker
01:04:10
and increasingly violent. One diary entry made
specific mention of a plan to kidnap two girls
01:04:15
and take them to a secluded place. He joined
the Navy on the 25th of November 1967 and it
01:04:21
was while he was in the Navy he was arrested for
the horrific murder of 12 year old Yvonne Tuohy.
01:04:27
Yvonne and her friend Shane, who was aged 11,
decided to go for a walk and during this walk they
01:04:33
got separated. Derek pounced on Yvonne, he pulled
out a knife and held her by knifepoint. Shane made
01:04:40
his way back and discovered what was going on.
He produced the tomahawk that he was carrying to
01:04:46
chop firewood and he managed to escape, and it was
his description of Derek and Derek's vehicle that
01:04:52
he'd seen him drive off in that was crucial and
allowed police to arrest Derek only a few hours
01:04:59
after the abduction. He was arrested at nearby
Flinders Naval Depot where he was based at the
01:05:04
time, listening to a radio reporter of Yvonne's
disappearance, trying to wash her blood out of his
01:05:09
clothes. Unfortunately, when they caught up with
Derek, Yvonne was already dead. The search of his
01:05:15
belongings revealed sickening journal entries and
drawings depicting the rape, torture and murder
01:05:20
of children. He even had an entry detailing his
desire to kidnap a young boy and girl just as he
01:05:26
had done or tried to do with Shane a few hours
before. The murder was one of the worst that
01:05:32
detectives had seen, if not the worst and the
facts are too horrible to go about in detail,
01:05:37
but in short, Yvonne was strangled, mutilated and
sexually assaulted. Derek stood trial on the 2nd
01:05:44
of April 1970 at the Melbourne Supreme Court.
After a six day trial he was found not guilty
01:05:49
by reason of insanity, but he was ordered to
be kept in custody at the governor's leisure
01:05:54
which means indefinitely. And fortunately, that's
where he remained until he died in 2013. Despite
01:06:03
being suspected of many other crimes, the murder
of Yvonne Tuohy is the crime, the only crime,
01:06:07
that he was ever charged with. During his
incarceration, many more drawings, diary entries
01:06:13
were found outlining his sick fantasies. One
rape, torture and murder journal was so organized
01:06:18
that he even had an index for it. Names weren't
even invented yet for the type of sickness and
01:06:23
depravity that was Derek Percy. He has since been
described as a sadistic pedophile with a morbid
01:06:29
and sexual attraction for fecal matter, with
killing being the ultimate sexual act for him.
01:06:34
Sounds like a good suspect for the Wanda beach
murders, but to sum it up quickly I think it's
01:06:40
likely Derek Percy was responsible for some of
the crimes he's suspected of, but not involved in
01:06:45
others. The main question for today is though, was
Derek Percy involved in the Wanda beach murders?
01:06:51
There's no clear-cut answer, answers maybe.
There's no clear evidence linking him to Wanda,
01:06:57
it's all very much circumstantial, and some of
those circumstances that people rely on are the
01:07:02
fact that the Percy family had a keen interest
in sailing. In actual fact in January 1965,
01:07:08
at the time of Wanda, the National Moth Class
regatta was being held at Botany Bay Yacht Club,
01:07:13
which is not too far away from Wanda at all,
and this is the very class of sailing that
01:07:19
the Percy's were interested in. It's suspected,
but it's never been able to be proven, that the
01:07:24
Percy family were in Sydney for that regatta. Now
Derek would have been 16 at the time and on top
01:07:31
of that if they were in Sydney they likely would
have been staying at Derek's grandmother's place
01:07:35
in Denistone, which is the neighboring suburb
to West Ryde, meaning to get to the beach on
01:07:41
train he would have been travelling the exact
same train line as Marianne and Christine.
01:07:48
Now remember Marianne and Christine were
approached by a teenage male on the train between
01:07:52
Ryde and Redfern and many suspect that that was
Derek, although there's not much to go on, other
01:07:59
than that it was a teenage boy and that he was
probably on the same train line if he was maybe in
01:08:05
Sydney, maybe staying at his grandmother's house.
You see it's, there's nothing concrete. Also Derek
01:08:13
doesn't match the surfy teen description that
Wolfgang provided but some claim that he was
01:08:19
a dead ringer for one of the six sketches that
was released later on by police and turned into
01:08:24
life-sized dummies. It was also revealed that
years later, when several of Derek's journals
01:08:29
were found, he had a newspaper article about the
Wanda Beach murders with obscene comments written
01:08:33
on it. Now that's been taken way out of context.
The article was actually a Playboy article titled
01:08:41
"The Wicked Wanda" and it had nothing to do
with the Wanda beach murders. So there's no
01:08:47
direct evidence linking Percy to the crime,
some believe he's guilty, some believe he isn't
01:08:52
but if he was involved, he took his secret to the
grave. Detectives who visited him on his deathbed
01:08:58
several times, I think, trying to question him
about not only Wanda but the other murders,
01:09:02
but he gave nothing away. Maybe advancements in
DNA technology will be able to prove if Percy is
01:09:09
in fact the Wanda beach killer. In 2012, there was
a major breakthrough in the investigation and that
01:09:17
was due to DNA technology. Police retested the
clothing worn by Christine and Marianne and they
01:09:23
were in luck. They found a small spot of blood
and that blood belongs to a male. Unfortunately,
01:09:30
the profile is too weak that they can't test any
further but it's hoped that with further advances
01:09:36
in technology, that one day, and some say that
could be within five years, that it is hoped a
01:09:42
full DNA profile will be obtained from that blood
spot and the Wanda case will finally be solved.
01:09:49
As for the semen sample they found back at the
time of the murders, the problem was it was 1965
01:09:56
and no one had heard of DNA testing. It wasn't
heard of for many years after. Police wouldn't
01:10:02
have been able to imagine what was possible with
today's technology and unfortunately this may have
01:10:07
led to less than ideal evidence handling, because
at some point over the last 51 years, that semen
01:10:14
sample has been lost. It's unknown what the status
of the broken piece of knife blade was that they
01:10:20
found back at the crime scene. They couldn't test
it any further back then but with advances in DNA
01:10:25
technology, maybe they can today but like the
semen sample, that may have been lost too. So
01:10:34
was Alan Bassett, Chris Wilder or Derek Percy
responsible for the Wanda beach murders or is
01:10:39
someone else responsible? Maybe his name has
already been given to police and it's buried
01:10:43
somewhere amongst those thousands upon thousands
of pages upon pages of, that is the police file.
01:10:49
Maybe a vital piece of evidence or information was
lost in the thousands of phone calls that police
01:10:56
received. Maybe it's someone completely unknown
who's managed to avoid detection all these years,
01:11:03
maybe it was two people. Is there someone still
out there who was up on the beach that day in the
01:11:10
sandhills who saw something, who's too scared
to come forward? Even today police think that
01:11:17
there is. Certainly there's been a number
of people described who were at the beach
01:11:21
that day who were never identified and who never
came forward. It was a different time back then,
01:11:26
homosexuality was still illegal, it was actually
considered to be a psychiatric disorder back then,
01:11:32
so society clearly held a very dim view of it.
Just as a dim view would have been hold of the
01:11:39
nudists and, you know, some of the other
unscrupulous characters that might have
01:11:44
been in the sandhills that day, but times
have changed and we can only hope that if
01:11:48
someone did see or hear something that they are
still alive and they may still yet come forward,
01:11:53
although there's probably a very dim hope at this
point in time. Those people, what they saw heard,
01:12:02
they might even think that it was insignificant
and wouldn't help in the investigation so there's
01:12:06
no use coming forward and risking exposure, but
it could be the vital piece of missing information
01:12:12
that's needed to solve the case and bring closure
to the families of Christine and Marianne. The
01:12:18
case is still as frightening today as it would
have been back then and affected a great deal of
01:12:22
people, obviously the families, that goes without
saying, but even the detectives, the police
01:12:26
that were close to the investigation, it really
affected a lot of them. Now a lot of people close
01:12:32
to the case have passed on and they're no longer
with us but the case still remains unsolved, and
01:12:39
let's just hope that it's solved one day. Whether
it be a DNA breakthrough or some vital piece of
01:12:47
information that comes forward or something. Until
then, may Marianne and Christine rest in peace.