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[Music] Frankston is a Bayside Council of Melbourne as well as a suburb itself with around 135,000 people residing
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there it's it's 40 kilometers or 25 miles southeast from the centre of Melbourne and includes a varied mix of
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affluent areas as well as inexpensive and council housing it has a mixed reputation with Frankston north renowned
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for drugs a crime under the South more wealthy and scenic with sweeping views of Port Phillip Bay and huge houses
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nestled in the hills you have heard about Frankston before on this podcast case 23 the Frankston serial killer but
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before paul Denya there was another serial killer hunting in Frankston [Music] Allisyn rook was a 60 year old widow who
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lived with her pet budgie in a redbrick flat on Hanna Street Frankston North on Friday the 30th of May 1980 Alison was
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experiencing car trouble with her ek Holden she ditched the car and decided to catch a bus along the Frankston
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Denton Ong road instead Alison had to go grocery shopping and visit the real estate agent to pay a bill about 11:00
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a.m. she was seen by neighbors leaving her flat walking towards the bus stop on Frankston Dandenong Road Alison never
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placed her grocery order and didn't make it to the real estate agent the bus driver working the route that they
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couldn't recall picking Alison up Allison's daughter Elaine white made numerous calls to her mother throughout
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that afternoon and evening they had plans to go to a hotel that night to watch Elaine's husband playing a country
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in western bed when Elaine failed to get in touch with her mother she feared she
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may have collapsed alone in her flat Elaine called her brother Keith and together they went to check on their
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mother Keith climbed through a window only to find the place completely undisturbed an
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empty bottle of beer Elaine had drunk with her mum the day before was even still in the sink police were called and
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after an investigation believed it likely that Alison was abducted while waiting for a bus despite being a major
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busy road there were no witnesses no one saw Alison being dragged into a car or speaking with the suspicious person no
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one saw any suspicious vehicles it's as if she disappeared on Saturday the 5th of July 1985 weeks
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later a man walking his dogs found Alison's body partially hidden by scrub on McClelland Drive in Frankston
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McClelland drive runs off Sky Road which is where Paul Daniel would attack 17 year old Natalie Russell 13 years later
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Alison was found to naked her body decomposed the discovery of Alison's body didn't help police further their
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investigation they struggled to find leads there was no forensic evidence left at the crime scene and to note
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witnesses their frustration was evident in this interview given to the aged newspaper by head of the frankestein
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Criminal Investigation Branch inspector Marie Burgess only days after Alison's body was found I am disgusted we have
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not received more help everybody just keeps on going about doing their own thing not caring that they could be next
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this is the worst crime I've seen in this town in the four years I've been here the killer has struck once and we
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need help to catch him before he strikes again Alison had another son Ivan Rukh who was a police officer in South
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Australia he said when I heard the news that she was missing I had the feeling that I wouldn't be seeing her again no
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one knows what it's like until they experience it you read about a murder in the paper and ten minutes later you
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forget it I feel anger and I wonder that anyone could be so sick a post mortem failed to identify a cause of death due
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to the state of decomposition Alison had two sets of keys to her flat neither set
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has been filmed the victorian government announced a $50,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of
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the killer or killers of Alison rook but no arrests were made Julie Sommers was a 55 year old widow
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who lived only one kilometer away from Alison rooks flat although they didn't know each other Julie lived on Norfolk
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reson Frankston North joy suffered from arthritis and had previously had a stroke every Friday she went shopping
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with her friend William Cora but on Friday the 9th of October 1980 William had a few medical appointments
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booked so he couldn't go joy didn't like shopping alone but she decided to catch
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a bus from Frankston Dandenong Road into Frankston to buy some meat on her own anyway
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she needed a side of Lynn she insisted on personally picking out her cuts of meat from her preferred butcher
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Woodward's on well Street she was seen by neighbors outside her home at 1:00 p.m. heading to
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the bus stop which was only 100 metres away at the intersection of chili street and Frankston Denton on Road joy was
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seen at the bus stop at 1:20 p.m. and it was never seen again the bus driver couldn't recall picking
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her up and she never placed her order at the butchers it had been almost a year and a half since Alison was killed like
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Alison police believed that Joey was abducted from the bus stop on Frankston Dandenong Road her friend William Cotter
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was convinced that joy would not have accepted a lift from a stranger yet just like in Alison's case no one saw a
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struggle or anything suspicious along the busy road that day it was six weeks later Sunday the 22nd of November 1981
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about 11:00 a.m. a man collecting firewood found a joyce naked body hidden in thick scrub in bushland near the
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intersection of sky road and McClelland drive Frankston north only about three kilometers away from where Alison rooks
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body was located like Alison's body joy was covered but not buried a post-mortem
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also failed to find a cause of death in Joy's case due to decomposition police determined that Alison and Joy's murders
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were linked there were more than just a few similarities the two murders were almost identical
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two special hotlines were set up at Frankston police station with inspector Walsh warning that they believed the
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Frankston killer would strike again the early working theory was that joy and Alison had probably accepted lifts from
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the killer after mistaking him for someone they knew or trusted they were then killed and their bodies
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dumped the same day they even considered that the killer may have been in disguise Chief Inspector Burgess said
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they weren't the type of women who were jumped into a car with just anyone it would have to be someone they felt
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confident to get into a car with it is quite feasible that the killer could be someone dressed up as a woman a priest
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or anything like that he continued that he believed her killer was clever not the kind to drop his wallet at the scene
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or leave any evidence behind he concluded that the killer probably lived in the area in DeNooyer
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well Burgess appealed to the public particularly middle aged and elderly women who had been offered a lift at a
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bus stop to contact one of the special hotlines at Frankston police station Burgess was convinced they were women
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out there who had refused to lifts and then probably didn't think any more of it afterward this appeal did generate a
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lead for police which we will get into later but first a quote from inspector les Walsh from the Victorian Police
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Homicide Squad Tainan is obviously something we don't just push out of our minds and forget
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about but at this stage we're still treating Tainan as a different investigation so what was the tornami
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investigation in 1980 the same year Alison was murdered in Frankston Bertha Miller was 75 years old and living with
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her brother-in-law William Ross on Cardenas Street Glen Iris Glen ARS is an affluent suburb in Melbourne ceasd
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situated in what is now known as the Golden Triangle about 45 kilometres north of Frankston Bertha had lived
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there for more than 25 years Bertha was an active and alert woman in good health
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with a large group of friends she was heavily involved in her local church bertha had worked with the Spring Street
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mission in the Central Melbourne suburb Parran for over 40 years she was the longest-serving member
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having joined in 1932 she also worked at the Sunday School and was the church treasurer the church priest described
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her as a humble woman who spent her life helping others although not a wealthy woman she sent money to many other
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Christian missions at 10:15 a.m. on Sunday the 10th of August 1980 Bertha called out to her brother-in-law William
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who is in the shower she told him she was off the church should be home late and not to wait for her to have lunch in
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order to get to the church Bertha caught the [ __ ] from High Street Glen Iris her
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good friend Jesse more live Danny Boy in Burke Road for the previous 10 years Bertha and Jesse caught the same trend
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to church every Sunday the 10:47 a.m. along High Street Bertha boarded at the terminus and Jesse joined
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her shortly after at the Burke Road stop when Jesse got on the train that day Bertha was nowhere to be found Jesse
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thought that maybe Bertha had gotten an earlier trim so she could deal with the church business Bertha was last seen by
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a shopkeeper making the 400-meter walk to the tram stop police were called and conducted an investigation
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this one was close to home birth and Miller was the auntie of the then Victorian Police Commissioner Mick
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Miller but there were no witnesses no signs of a struggle no leads at all no one had seen anything suspicious Bertha
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had disappeared without a trace Catherine headland was 14 years old she had moved to Australia from England with
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her family in 1966 when she was just one they emigrated during the error of the 10-pound pomp scheme when British and
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Australian governments work together to help populate Australia the outer eastern suburbs of Melbourne
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were heavily populated with English immigrants during the time she lived with her mother and older brother in
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Allen Street barrack this outer southeastern suburb was at the time a rural area only just starting to kick
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off with housing developments and subdivision berrak is a little further southeast of
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Glen Iris and northeast of Frankston Katharine was popular at school she loved competing with her horse prince in
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local equestrian competitions there was her horse that led her to receive an ultimatum from her mother hazel either
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get a job to help with that upkeep or we sell the horse Katharine chose the job hazel worked at
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the Cole supermarket in the local fountaingate shopping centre she got Katharine a job there working
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part-time on weekends and Thursday the 28th of August 1980 during the school holidays was to be Catherine's first mid
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week shift it was two and a half weeks after Bertha had gone missing in Glen Iris hazel headland Catherine's mum left
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home that day at 8:30 a.m. leaving Catherine's 70 cents for the bus fare Catherine didn't start work until
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12 midday but she left home at 9:30 a.m. to visit her boyfriend John McManus John
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lived on High Street berrak about a one-mile walk John had a number of other friends visiting and
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they watched the TV and listen to records Catherine told her friends she wasn't particularly keen on going to
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work unless she wanted to quit altogether because it was stifling her social life at 11:10 a.m. Catherine left
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John's house and walked to the bus stop at the corner of Manuka Road and High Street where she planned to catch the
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11:20 a.m. bus to work Catherine never made it to work she was never seen again police were called and immediately
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launched an investigation many people came forward with alleged sightings of Kathryn later that afternoon this
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confused the initial investigation a bus driver was adamant that he picked up a girl matching Catherine's description
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and a blonde girl about the same age at the PIO street bus stop which is about eight hundred meters away from the
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Manuka Road stop others claimed to have seen Kathryn about 2:30 p.m. that afternoon in Mary Warren about eight
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kilometers away from Catherine's bus stop speaking with the blond girl a photo fit was even released of this
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blonde girl alleged to have been seen with Kathryn but she was never identified if it was true that Kathryn
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did go to nary Warren instead of work with an unknown friend it's possible she may have decided to hitchhike home
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hitchhiking was very common at the time and another bus driver came forward saying he was positive he had seen
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Kathryn hitchhiking in the past police determined that these sightings of Kathryn were unreliable and that there
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was no evidence Kathryn got onto the bus in Murray sergeant was 18 years old a happy-go-lucky girl with a large group
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of friends she lived with family friends on Railway Road in another outer eastern
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suburb called Cranbourne Cranbourne a fairly rural area is almost right in the center between Frankston and barek in a
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northeasterly direction Ann Marie was unemployed and struggling to find a career on the 6th of October 1980 just
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over a month after Kathryn had gone missing Emery visited her mother on Cranbourne Drive when she left she said
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she was headed to the nearby suburb of Denton on to the Commonwealth employment service or CAS to collect an
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unemployment check it was located about 15 kilometers west of where Kathryn Hedlund disappeared in
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barek Emery told her mother that she would be returning later in the day to collect some clothing
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Emory made it to the CES office she lodged the form there but after she left the office she was never seen again
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in Marie's father Fred Sargent said she commonly got around by hitchhiking judor
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having a lack of money he said she could have had money from home for a bus but she said she would
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rather walk because she loved walking on the day she went missing I knew that she
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had to hitchhike into dentinal because she never had money to get the bus my belief is that she was picked up and
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killed while hitchhiking it was revealed that Emory had an operation a few years
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earlier to remove fluid from her brain a plastic tube was inserted into the back
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of her skull during the operation any not to her head could have been fatal police again came up empty no witnesses
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no reports of a struggle or of anything suspicious no leads Emory just vanished Nirmal Stevenson was 34 years old she
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was born in Thailand she married Victorian dairy farmer Wayne Stevenson in Thailand in 1978 before
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moving to Australia in August 1979 leaving her two children in the care of her parents she struggled to settle in
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Australia and had immediate doubts about her decision to move here Wayne and Nirmal lived on a farm in Dean's Marsh a
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hundred and thirty four kilometers southwest of Melbourne on the 28th of November 1980 they visited Melbourne
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with another couple to see a concert they stayed overnight with friends near Hartwell station in Camberwell Hartwell
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stations is between Glen Iris and Camberwell only about three and a half kilometers from where Bertha Miller
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disappeared on her way to church ten weeks earlier the next day the 29th of November they all visited another friend
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in Park Street Brunswick about 18 kilometres or 11 miles away in the inner north of Melbourne and about 45
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kilometres northwest of where Mary Sargent disappeared in Cranbourne when they got their urine will refused
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to get out of the car and go up into the flat she was upset about the visit as she had gone to the market earlier that
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day to buy ingredients for a tire mill she planned to cook for everyone but instead they went out drinking Lane
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Stevenson and at the other couple went into the flat where they drunk wine and coffee Wayne came down at least three
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times to check on euro more the second time he found her walking down the street from the direction of a 7-eleven
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the third time he found her talking tire to a man in a car the man had a European
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accent after this third check Wayne sat with his wife in their car until it was nearly dawn then he walked upstairs and
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fell asleep near amore remained in the car still refusing to enter the flat shortly after 6:00 a.m.
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Wayne Stevenson walked back downstairs to see his wife but she wasn't there the car was still there but Nirmal was
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missing police were called but got nowhere no witnesses no evidence no signs of a struggle no leads at all they
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weren't convinced this was even a missing-persons case given the argument the Stevenson's had had the case quickly
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went cold none of the cases were linked at this stage that wouldn't happen until
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one week after nirmal's disappearance the 6th of December 1980 around 40 kilometers or 24 miles east of barrack
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and Cranbourne local garage owner Graham brenchley and of two friends Tom Ruby and delenn Craven had spent the morning
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slaughtering nine lamps in the shed on branchlets property in the town of Garfield they needed somewhere to dump
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the awful trail and went to the cool room to store the carcasses while brenchley and Looby jumped in a car and
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headed to an area of scrub at Tainan north Tainan north is a small rural town located 75 kilometres 447 miles
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southeast of melbourne and it has a population of only about 400 people and is mainly farm in bushland brenchley
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knew the foxes and wild dogs in Tainan north would take care of the awful for him
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two kilometers north of the princess highway at Tainan north along brew road there is a dead-end dirt track that
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leads up to an abandoned same quarry now filled with water the track is rarely used to the left of the dirt road there
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were numerous wallaby tracks leading in different directions a quiet isolated area thick with flies and infested by
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snakes the chances of running into another person were remote it was the ideal spot it was about 2:30 p.m.
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brenchley chose a wallaby track and started walking looking to dump what was left of the limb as he was walking he
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looked to his right and was stumped he called out to his mate boobie Christ there's a body over here brenchley went
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in for a closer look and called out a second time no there are two of them Branch Lee had found the bodies of
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Bertha Miller in the Emory Sargent hidden in dense low scrub like Allison rub enjoy summers the bodies weren't
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buried but the dense undergrowth in which they'll found provided sufficient concealment the crime scenes of Allison
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and joy were about 50 kilometres west of the Thai non-north crime scene both bodies were badly decomposed they were
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laying face-up head to feet beside each other at the base of a large tree each had one arm across the chest and to the
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other beside their body Ann Marie Sargent was naked the Bertha Miller was still heavily
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clothed police were called and a crime scene was established a thorough search of the area the following morning on
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Sunday the 7th of December located a third body at 10:00 a.m. only about 15 meters away it was
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Catherine had built a member of the forensic science laboratory found her she was also badly decomposed and had
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been left naked the media immediately printed headlines drawing comparisons to the infamous Truro motors in South
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Australia seven women were killed between December 76 and February 77 five of the victims were dumped in bush
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paddocks at ruh-roh just off a main highway when asked about the similarities the head of the
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Victorian Homicide Squad Chief Inspector Paul Daley honest they're saying this is just a local
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problem he continued it seems this is the dumping ground for some sort of cure we are not overlooking the possibility
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that there are others there he said the search and rescue squad would closely comb over the ten hectare
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24 acre area for clues and four more bodies post-mortems were conducted on Monday the 8th of December Emory Sargent
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was able to be identified by the plastic tube inserted in her skull during her brain operation it took a few days to
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identify Bertha Miller and Catherine headland Bertha was identified by the dress she was wearing and a hair match
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to a brush found in her home catherine was identified by our leather anklet earrings and dental records police were
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surprised to learn of the age gap between the victims Chief Inspector Paul deli honest said police initially
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thought it likely that all the victims would be young we were looking at a possible sexual motive but we will have
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to look again at the situation the sexual motive wasn't completely discarded but they didn't fit any known
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pattern given the substantial age gap of the victims due to the bad state of decomposition no
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cause of death was able to be determined for any of the victims police confirmed
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they were checking for similarities between the three Tainan victims and of the murder of Alison rook in Frankston
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Joyce summers the second Frankston victim hadn't been attacked at this point in time each victim was either
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waiting for public transport or was hitchhiking each victim was close to home and disappeared from public areas
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shortly after being seen by witnesses yet there were no witnesses to any suspicious activity no tips had been
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called him a special operations room was set up at Russell Street police headquarters in
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central Melbourne over 25 police were involved in the search and initial investigation an early Avenue of
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Investigation was to set up a roadblock near the Glen Iris home of Bertha Miller
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the roadblock occurred on Sunday the 14th of December on High Street Glen Iris although it had been four months
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since the day she disappeared police hoped someone would come forward with information
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maybe someone remembered something and they did police learned that Bertha may have accepted rides from strangers in
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the past despite her brother-in-law saying she wouldn't Detective Inspector Richie from
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the Homicide Squad said it appears she was the sort of person who would accept a lift from people she did not know we
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have spoken to a number of people who have given her lifts at various times in the past after successfully learning
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misinformation from the roadblocks set up for Bertha police set up a roadblock the next day on Thomas Street Denton on
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seeking information about Hemery sergeant it was there indenting on that emery was last seen collecting her
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unemployment check following the information that had been received about the possible sighting of Katherine
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headland in Merritt Warren on the afternoon of her disappearance a dummy wearing the same clothes as
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Kathryn was displayed in the area on Friday the 19th of December after the early steps of the investigation had
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taken place police issued a press release stating that a driver of a white taxi may be able to assist with their
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inquiries witnesses had come forward and said that a white taxi possibly a Holden
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Kingswood was spotted near where the bodies were found on three occasions they correspond did with the time of the
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killings Paul de Leeuw owner said no connection had been made between the three victims so they believed that the
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taxi could have been used as a ploy to pick them up after making extensive inquiries with taxi companies police
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were told that some drivers offered free lifts to women and this was known to happen in the tunnel north area but they
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weren't able to identify the taxi they were looking for or the driver on Thursday the 3rd of february 1983 two
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years into two months after the original discovery at time a teacher and former AFL footballer
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Barry Davis found the body of Niram or Stephenson Barry was driving along the Princess Highway in Tainan North when a
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tire went flat on a trailer he was towing they pulled over opposite a truck stop while his mate went to try and
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borrow a jack Barry decided to stretch his legs quote I decided to take a walk up the bush track
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I walked up this track for approximately 50 metres from the road and came to a dead end
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I then turned around to walk back and to notice the bone on the ground at the time Barry was a senior lecturer in
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anatomy and physiology and immediately recognised that as a human thigh bone the track he is referring to is the same
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one off brew road that led to the old sand quarry where Bertha Catherine and Emery were filmed police were notified
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attended the scene and after a search they located the body of newer and more Stevenson like the others she wasn't
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buried but concealed by thick undergrowth she was found a naked on the opposite side of the track to the other victims
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closer to the highway about two kilometres away from the first crime scene Detective Chief Superintendent
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Phil Bennett said we have every reason to believe the fourth body is connected to the other three they were too close
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not to be connected like the other victims an autopsy failed to identify a cause of
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death numel was identified by dental records after two and a half years of investigation and more than 1,000
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interviews they had found the fourth body at tunnel they had answered the question lingering over whether Nirmal
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Stephenson had met with foul play so the timeline is Allison rook was the first to go missing on the 30th of May 1980
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she was found five weeks later at Frankston birth the Miller was the next to disappear on the 10th of August 1980
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then Catherine headland on the 18th of August 1980 they named Mary sergeant on the 6th of August 1980
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numel Stephenson on the 30th of November 1980 proximity was near amore was by far the
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furthest distance to the other women when she disappeared but the night before she went missing
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she'd stayed the night in the next suburb from where Bertha Miller had disappeared from the bodies of Bertha
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Katherine and Ann Marie were found at Tainan north on the 6th of December 1980 joy Summers went missing on the 9th of
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October 1981 and was found at Frankston six weeks later near more Stevenson was the last to be found on the 3rd of
00:27:55
February 1983 at Tainan North police were treating the tunnel north investigation separate to the Frankston
00:28:03
investigation but were open to the idea that they could be linked in fact the opinions were divided amongst the
00:28:09
investigators as to whether or not they were hunting one or two killers some even suggested it could be three a
00:28:16
[Music] cranial inquest into the four tunnel North murders was held at Hawthorne
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coroner's court in Melbourne before coroner Anthony Ellis Ellis released his findings on Wednesday the 12th of June
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1985 by now the investigation had been ongoing for four and a half years 2,000 interviews had been conducted which had
00:28:37
taken detectives as far as North Queensland there were 11,000 400 pages of notes statements and other documents
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some suspects had been identified but there was insufficient evidence for any arrests
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coroner Ellis said that the person or persons responsible for the murders appeared to have no criteria in the
00:28:57
selection of victims there were great disparities in the ages and social backgrounds of the four women but there
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were similarities that linked them all all disappeared on large roads while using public transport or hitchhiking
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all four were either unemployed or worked only part-time and therefore at free time during the day after all of
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the evidence was heard before the coroner's court coroner Anthony Ellis was unable to determine how when or
00:29:25
where the women died it was an open finding quote there does not appear to be any particular pattern to the date or
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times that the women disappeared there is no doubt that fair play must be suspected I must return and
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inverted a $50,000 reward was in place for information leading to an arrest for each victim at both Tainan north and
00:29:48
Frankston the reward is still in place today and has never been increased this case didn't attract the media coverage
00:29:57
that other cases have compared it to two other Victorian cases the Frankston serial killer pulled Enya which was
00:30:04
still a decade away or mr. cruel which was also a few years away from breaking into the media coverage of torn on north
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and Frankston was far lower in comparison despite this the police had still conducted an extremely large scale
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and intense investigation one of the largest in Victoria's history up to that point they believed sexual assault was a
00:30:25
motivation for the killings but couldn't prove it they also believed the victims
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were asphyxiated or stabbed but again they couldn't prove it the investigation continued however with no fresh leads
00:30:36
and not enough evidence to make any arrests it was eventually scaled back the Tainan north and Frankston cases
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were still mentioned together but still weren't conclusively linked eventually the cases were placed in the cold-case
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file but new life was breathed back into the investigation and it was reopened after Christmas card was sent to
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Catherine headlands family in December 1988 inside the card was a handwritten note at read I hope in writing to you I
00:31:08
do not cause you or your family any stress I can comprehend the pain the agony you have endured to lose a loved
00:31:15
one Catherine not knowing when or if the perpetrator singular or plural will ever
00:31:21
be caught well the New Year may be a good one for you things may unfold the name of the perpetrator whose deeds make
00:31:29
true look like kids stuff I'll keep in touch sometime in the new year signed anonymous friend
00:31:38
this Christmas card was followed five months later biotype to letter sent to the Victorian police commissioner at the
00:31:44
time killed Claire it was received by him on Tuesday the 30th of May 1989 at red is the Tainan fall gathering dust
00:31:54
have you ran into a dead end need help with a multitude of questions but very few answers did you know you
00:32:03
were dealing with mass murder in a scale never seen in this country only the top
00:32:08
American serial killers surpassed this cold-blooded killer did you know name is blacked out by
00:32:15
police was another victim and others across three states did you find the brooch that Miller was wearing on the
00:32:22
day of the murder or the pair of sterling silver Bluebird earrings belonging to Catherine that's the end of
00:32:29
the letter police had found Catherine's earrings but not Bertha Miller's brooch Chief Inspector Coll of the Homicide
00:32:37
Squad said he believed the writer had intimate knowledge of the murders he hoped it was from someone who knew the
00:32:42
murderer and would come forward with more information quote after so many years of nothing
00:32:48
we have suddenly got someone communicating with relatives and the chief commissioner this letter was
00:32:54
posted only two weeks after a nationwide TV special aired on Jack the Ripper which had made mention of the taunting
00:33:00
letters sent to Scotland Yard police though in short memory sergeant sister said he's still out there and he's
00:33:08
playing games with us now until he's caught I don't think anybody involved in the whole thing can rest we continually
00:33:15
think about it it's there with us every day every time we go to the cemetery it's there police got to work trying to
00:33:23
identify the writer they weren't sure if it was the killer someone who knew the killer or if it was just a hoax but
00:33:30
publicly sergeant Fraser who is now head of the investigation said this we believe it to be genuine because the
00:33:37
letter mentions items of jewelry belonging to the victims and it appears he has an intimate knowledge of the
00:33:43
murders forensic psychologist mr. Tim Watson Monroe who was also involved in the mr.
00:33:48
cruel case said the author of the letter and the Christmas card fit the criteria
00:33:53
of a psychopath quote he's obviously articulate and above average intelligence it is possible he's flagging a warning
00:34:00
that he may strike again McMiller the former Victorian police commissioner and a nephew of Bertha Miller was
00:34:07
interviewed about the new developments he said the Victorian police have a top reputation of being able to solve
00:34:14
serious crimes long after their occurrence as leader of the force it was with considerable disappointment that we
00:34:20
were not able to solve the murders at the time he said he was confident the case would be solved after the letters
00:34:29
were released to the public police were bombarded with new information detectives who worked the
00:34:34
case originally were recalled from their current duties to get back to work on the Toyon case the chief investigator
00:34:41
Detective Sergeant bill Fraser who had worked the investigation originally was recalled from his duties at the time and
00:34:47
put back on the case as were other detectives around the state the new information they received from the
00:34:53
public took weeks to sift through some information was new to police and had to be examined thoroughly it led to many
00:35:01
more people being interviewed and even some cars being forensic ly tested media reports at the time still only mainly
00:35:08
referred to the four tunnel North murders the Franklin murders were barely mentioned maybe a line or two in the
00:35:14
occasional article briefly mentioning the fact police were considering the possibility they were linked but that's
00:35:20
it another interesting point about the media reporting at a time after the letters were made public the media
00:35:27
started calling the killings mass murders the Tainan mass murders speculation was rife that an interstate
00:35:34
mass murderer was on the loose so the letter writer had an effect the letter didn't just have the attention of
00:35:41
Victorian detectives but detectives from all around the country who sought further information from Victorian
00:35:46
detectives about its contents and potential links to other unsolved murders New South Wales police publicly
00:35:53
confirmed they were monitoring the progress of the newly reopened atonal investigation and were making several
00:35:58
inquiries in relation to missing persons cases Queensland police also confirmed they were reviewing note files to see if
00:36:06
there were any cases with similarities to the tonal murders it was at this time that another theory presented itself the
00:36:14
Tainan killer was a serial killer who had been operating along the highways of Australia's East Coast since 1972 it was
00:36:21
reported 13 women had been murdered along eastern seaboard highways between 1972 and 1983 into their cases remained
00:36:29
unsolved which would explain why Queensland the New South Wales Police were monitoring developments closely on
00:36:36
the 5th of June 1999 police revealed they had identified the letter writer and he was not the person responsible
00:36:43
for the murders the man's name was not disclosed due to fears for his life but he had given information to police he
00:36:52
was a prisoner at Penn treason in Melbourne three typewriters were seized from the prison's J Division and
00:36:58
forensic tests showed one of the typewriters had been used to type the letter sent to the commissioner the
00:37:05
writer told police he sent the letter because he had feelings of sympathy towards the families of the murdered
00:37:10
women the name that was blacked out in a letter was Edwina Boyle who had last been seen in her home in Denton on in
00:37:17
October 1983 police launched a large-scale search to find her at the time of her disappearance but they came
00:37:24
up empty her body wasn't located until 2006 and her husband was charged and convicted of her murder so the case was
00:37:32
unrelated to the Tainan Frankston link's however it was commonly linked to them over the years
00:37:39
despite the investigation kick-starting and at the renewed public interest no arrests were made and that the case went
00:37:46
cold again until 1999 in 1999 Victorian police established a new task force to investigate the killings codenamed
00:37:57
Lyndhurst former police commissioner McMiller nephew of bertha miller lobbied for the
00:38:03
case to be reinvestigated his pleas were heard and the new task force containing
00:38:08
seven police was formed it was hoped that advancements in DNA technology could provide the breakthrough they were
00:38:15
looking for their job was to check the boxes of old exhibits reveal the notes from the original investigators review
00:38:22
witness statements and every other piece of information they could find in the file speaking to witnesses would prove
00:38:28
to be a problem though many when they are dead and of those that were still alive struggled to remember back all
00:38:34
those years ago exhibits were sent to the forensic science center to establish if there were any DNA traces that could
00:38:40
be analyzed if DNA traces were found police plan to ask several suspects for comparison samples despite the fact no
00:38:49
arrests had ever been made police had a few people in mind task force Lyndhurst would be concentrating on the torn on
00:38:56
north murders but would look at other murders if evidence was uncovered confirming they were linked so again the
00:39:03
Frankston killings were briefly referenced but not officially linked different generations of detectives had
00:39:09
by now worked the case some were convinced tonal north and Frankston were linked others entertained to the idea
00:39:16
that two serial killers were operating at the same time others believed that could be three killers even two expert
00:39:25
analysts who examined all available evidence came to two different conclusions two specialist analyst
00:39:31
reports were conducted by the bureau of criminal intelligence one in 1985 and another in 1990 the two reports were
00:39:40
completed by different analysts the 1985 report noted that the Frankston murders
00:39:46
of alison Rilke and Joyce summers end of the tour non-north murders of Bertha Miller katherine headland and anne-marie
00:39:51
sergeant have obvious similarities all were last seen between 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. all were abducted east of
00:40:00
Melbourne Alison and joy were both abducted around lunchtime on a Friday all waiting for a bus on Frankston
00:40:06
dentinal Road all five victims were taken in a 17 month period between 1980 and to 1981
00:40:14
four of them lived in a triangle going from Frankston to Cranbourne to barrack there were differences in urine more
00:40:21
Stephenson's case she was presumably abducted while sitting in a car outside a flat not waiting for public transport
00:40:28
although it's possible she may have walked from the car and sought public transport or started hitchhiking
00:40:34
she was also abducted in the early hours of the morning and it was outside the area of where the other victims were
00:40:40
taken Brunswick is a fairly central northern suburb of Melbourne whereas the other victims were taken well east or
00:40:47
south east of Melbourne yet despite these differences the killer was active when she was abducted and her body was
00:40:53
found at Tainan North in the close vicinity of the other victims her remains were also found in a similar
00:40:59
state to the other victims it couldn't be a copycat because Bertha Katherine Demery were found one week
00:41:07
after Nirmal was taken the differences suggest that neuromas case didn't fit yet at the same time it was almost too
00:41:14
much of a coincidence not to be connected the 1985 analyst report states there is nothing to suggest that the
00:41:22
offender or offenders selected their victims because of specific characteristics common to the women it
00:41:28
appears that each of them was selected at random who they were was not the criteria for their selection but where
00:41:35
they were the report suggests that the killer was an opportunist unemployed on leave or a shift worker and possibly
00:41:43
lived in the Dandenong Frankston or Eastern Bay areas in relation to the fact that 75 year old Bertha Miller was
00:41:51
the only victim found to clothes the report concluded it may be that the offender or offenders balked when they
00:41:58
realized her age or fear and stress caused by her situation I have brought on a heart attack the report concluded
00:42:06
the victims weren't killed at the scene they were killed elsewhere as there were
00:42:09
no signs of a struggle none of the bodies were buried all were covered by local vegetation and scrub some were
00:42:17
better hidden than others the branch is used to cover Miller had been sawn off whereas the branches used to cover the
00:42:24
other bodies had been broken away or picked from the ground despite the similarities in the cases the 1985
00:42:31
analyst felt one person killed bertha miller katherine headland and n marie sergeant a second person killed urine
00:42:38
while stevenson and a third person killed Alison rook and Joyce summers three different killers the analyst
00:42:46
offered the following explanation the person or persons who placed the first three victims at the brew roadside near
00:42:53
the same quarry at Tainan North were more particular in selecting a site at which to dispose of the bodies an
00:42:59
isolated site offer little used Road considerable distance from the nearest main road was selected he was prepared
00:43:06
to take the victim a considerable distance from where he picked them up before disposing of the body this could
00:43:12
indicate that the offender responsible for the deaths of the three women at Tainan North had given
00:43:17
some thought as to how and where he might dispose of the body and suggests that he may have planned to commit a
00:43:23
particular offense if and when the opportunity arose the analyst went on to state that this was an important
00:43:29
difference to the other cases Nirmal Stevenson and the two Frankston women Joyce summers and Alison rook were all
00:43:36
located much closer to a main road or highway suggesting to the analyst they were placed at the first available
00:43:42
suitable location found by the offender their bodies were not positioned with as
00:43:47
much care as the first three Tainan victims this alone led the analysts to conclude there was more than one killer
00:43:55
the analysts who completed the 1990 report five years later reached an entirely different conclusion the 1990
00:44:03
report said that on the balance of probabilities the same person killed Alison Brooke Joyce summers Bertha
00:44:09
Miller Katherine headland and n Murray Sargent the analyst wasn't sure about Niram or Stevenson being
00:44:15
killed by the same person because of the differences mentioned earlier so who were the suspects police identified over
00:44:22
the years there are three main ones one of those is considered the red hot suspect but we will go over all three
00:44:30
the first is referred to as Miller's suspect former Victorian police commissioner McMiller nephew of Bertha
00:44:38
Miller couldn't tolerate loose ends and it was a stickler for protocol and procedure he was not one to stick his
00:44:45
nose into an investigation despite his auntie being a victim he knew it was a job for the detectives on
00:44:50
the case and he left it with them he was a former well-respected homicide detective himself and a lecturer at the
00:44:57
detective training school so he no doubt would have been tempted to get involved
00:45:01
giving his personal attachment to the case but he was determined not to he ignored his personal interest and was
00:45:08
insulted by any suggestion he would influence the investigation he stuck to his word until he retired
00:45:14
from the police force in 1987 but in his retirement he did become more vocal he was very vocal in lobbying for the case
00:45:22
to be reexamined which had led to the formation of task force Flynn to us in 1999 he has thrown up the name of a
00:45:30
suspect who cannot publicly be named Miller's belief is that a crucial alibi given by this suspect may be false
00:45:37
although the alibi was accepted by investigators at the time the alibi was that the suspect was working when
00:45:45
Catherine headland and anne-marie Sargent were taken so he couldn't be responsible a handwritten time sheet and
00:45:51
a punched time clock are backed up his alibi but Miller was not convinced by this seemingly airtight alibi the
00:45:59
initial theory was that the victims were selected at random while waiting for public transport all while hitchhiking
00:46:05
but Miller believes Catherine Emery Andy's aunt Bertha may have all been carefully selected by a man they all
00:46:12
knew the reason Miller liked this suspect so much is because the suspect knew Catherine Hedlund his circle of
00:46:20
friends also had contact with Emery sergeant and he also had indirect contacts to Bertha Miller McMiller
00:46:27
believes he suspect wrongly believed Bertha was wealthy and that Catherine and Emory's attacks were sexually
00:46:33
motivated Miller's suspect was in his 20s at the time of the murders and two lived inside
00:46:39
the so-called killers triangle going from Frankston to Cranbourne to barrack Miller became concerned by work
00:46:46
practices at the factory where the suspect worked Miller believed it was possible the torn
00:46:51
sheets could have been falsified and the suspect could have left work after clocking on and been gone for hours
00:46:57
unnoticed workers at the factory had to punch a card into a time clock but of course there's no way of proving who
00:47:03
actually punched the card a handwritten worksheet showed when workers were on leave or sick by supervision at the
00:47:10
factory was poor in Patong sheets and clock ons were not checked daily against staff who were actually present it was
00:47:17
common for workers to slip out for a few hours unnoticed by supervisors and very
00:47:22
occasionally it was possible to get a fellow worker to punch your car and you could get away with not showing
00:47:26
up at all Miller's suspect didn't have a reputation as a good worker he often called in sick and only remained in the
00:47:34
job for about 7 months the 1985 analysis determined Miller suspect was unlikely to be involved but
00:47:42
that was based on his airtight alibi which Miller believes is not hair type any more the next suspect relates to the
00:47:51
Christmas card sent to Catherine's family and the letter sent to the commissioner
00:47:55
the letter ADA was identified as a prisoner at entry to prison he was a serial rapist who had served years of
00:48:03
time with notorious criminal Raymond Edmonds also known as mr. stinky Edmonds murdered two teenagers in 1966 but was
00:48:12
not arrested until 1985 police believe he was responsible for at least 32 rapes and the numerous unsolved murders
00:48:20
committed up until the time of his arrest he was later convicted for five rapes but never convicted for any other
00:48:26
murders he is currently serving life with no minimum turn the letter writer told police that Edmonds had confessed
00:48:34
to him about a large number of unsolved murders and bragged that his youngest victim was nine it was because of this
00:48:41
that the letter I denominated Edmonds as the tournant murderer these allegations
00:48:46
were checked out by police Edmonds repeatedly denies involvement in any other crimes other than those he has
00:48:53
been convicted for he refuses to speak to police or cooperate in any cold case investigations Edmonds would have been
00:49:01
familiar with the areas as he lived and worked on farms nearby but he was found to have moved to New South Wales in 1980
00:49:08
just before the murder started meaning he would have had to have made repeated trips to Victoria to commit the crimes
00:49:14
something investigators thought unlikely after looking at all the evidence the letter writer told the Sunday aged
00:49:20
newspaper that Edmonds had revealed details about the crimes that were never released publicly presumably he's
00:49:27
referring to the jewelry he mentioned in the letter a quote from the letter writer I have
00:49:32
done some terrible things and I've taken responsibility for them Edmonds was a very bad machine one of those tournant
00:49:39
girls was only 14 I have to speak up here's left bodies everywhere he lived he shows no remorse and he'll never
00:49:47
change Edmonds once said if I told them everything I've done they'd neck me the enormity of his
00:49:54
crimes is terrible society should know what happened that brings us to the prime suspect due to a 1985 Court
00:50:04
suppression order we can't mention his name either although reporter John Sylvester does
00:50:09
refer to him as mr. Smith in one of his feature articles on the case so we will go with that mr. Smith was and may still
00:50:17
be a member of a fundamentalist church that believed the mainstream Christian religions were no longer operating
00:50:23
according to the true teachings of the Bible in 1980 he lived in a street between both Joey and Allison the three
00:50:31
of them lived within a 1500 meter radius both bodies were found along the same vicinity of sky and McClelland roads
00:50:38
just around the corner where mr. Smith lived a modest suburban brick house was located in a pocket of the neighborhood
00:50:45
which made it impossible to get to the main road without passing within 100 meters of Joy's house having lived there
00:50:52
for at least eight years it would be likely that you would know many faces from your neighborhood he had previously
00:50:58
worked at the Frankston driving off sky road sty road was the road where Joy's body was found in just around the corner
00:51:05
from where Allison's body was found if you draw a square each corner would represent Joy's house Allison's house
00:51:12
the location of Joey's body and finally the location of Allison's body if you place a dot in the center of the
00:51:19
square you'll find at the house where mr. Smith lived with his wife and family in 1980
00:51:25
mr. Smith drove a black Corolla panel van the media releases police maid had worked several women had come forward
00:51:33
reporting that the driver of a black panel van had offered them lifts one woman was waiting for a bus another was
00:51:39
outside her home a third was a student walking home school after an exam and all of these
00:51:46
reported approaches happen to be on a Friday mr. Smith was first interviewed by police
00:51:52
two weeks after joy summers went missing at the end of 1981 he was by then working at the cinema in colon Street in
00:51:59
the Central City area of Melbourne although it's unclear how long he had been working in Collins Street it had
00:52:06
been less than a year since normal had disappeared from a northern suburb of Melbourne just four kilometers away from
00:52:12
the cinema police told him now we are investigating the disappearance of Joyce summers and had received information
00:52:18
about a man driving events similar to is offering people lifts on Frankston Dandenong Road to their surprise he said
00:52:26
I often stop and offer people lifts along there sometimes at the bus stops sometimes when they are walking along
00:52:33
the street he said he offered lifts the both males and females but mainly elderly females if they would get in
00:52:39
with him why the police asked just to be friendly and have someone to talk to some women have to wait at the bus stop
00:52:47
for a long time and I'll help them by giving them a ride you never know what will happen next all the schools have
00:52:53
got drugs in them near and the young kids are causing trouble Alison and Joey both disappeared between 11:30 a.m. and
00:53:01
1:30 p.m. the days they disappeared mr. Smith was working afternoon shift his shift started at 4:00 p.m.
00:53:08
and finished at 2:00 a.m. 12 hours after this first police interview mr. Smith rang the Frankston Criminal
00:53:15
Investigation Branch and spoke to Detective John Keeley he told the detective here now remembered the
00:53:21
following specific information about the day joy Summers disappeared he said about 12 o'clock that day I went
00:53:29
to the bank with my wife to get some money we would have drove down the Frankston Dandenong Road but I didn't
00:53:35
see anything suspicious or else I would have remembered mr. Smith story was later backed up by his wife but the bank
00:53:43
manager didn't remember this he told the police and later testified at the cranial inquest that no money was
00:53:50
withdrawn or deposited into mr. Smith's account that and there was no record of him visiting
00:53:55
the bank that day bank records showed that those are withdrawal made from his account the day before at a branch 20
00:54:02
kilometers away from Frankston weeks after joy summers body was discovered police paid mr. Smith another visit he
00:54:10
was asked if he was aware that Joyce summers had been murdered and her body found he was also asked if he was aware
00:54:15
about the earlier murder of Alison rook mr. Smith report no I don't read the papers or watch TV
00:54:24
mr. Smith also denied knowing the location of sky Road where the bodies were located he said I don't know where
00:54:31
it is I've never been there he forgot to mention that he worked at the cinema as
00:54:37
a projectionist on that very street he had also lived in the neighborhood for over nine years by that time police had
00:54:44
now caught him out in another life mr. Smith was taken to where the bodies were found the area had been leveled and the
00:54:53
scrub cleared during the search for clues but mr. Smith was seen to carefully avoid the precise areas where
00:54:58
the bodies were found a police source said he became nervous and sweated a lot he walked around the sites as asked but
00:55:06
at no time did he walk in the immediate vicinity of where the bodies had been lying extensive areas are in the sights
00:55:13
have been cleared of bush and scrub by the police crime scene searchers and the investigators stated that without some
00:55:18
prior knowledge it would not have been possible to tell exactly where the two bodies had been lying
00:55:24
during this visit he told police he had no idea two local women had been murdered police had only just told him
00:55:31
about the murders and when they pointed this out to him he said I I just forgot I guess he was questioned further about
00:55:40
offering people lifts he said I would estimate the number of offers generally over the last 18 months to be fifty or
00:55:47
even more most people do not accept that lifts for me and I would say that my success rate is about two or three
00:55:54
percent over the last 18 months about six females have accepted lifts for me an extraordinary statement when you
00:56:01
consider there were six victims another coincidence mr. Smith had lived in Frankston for many years but only
00:56:09
started offering lifts around the same time Alison root disappeared Alison being the first of the six victims to go
00:56:17
missing in a police interview on the 3rd of December 1981 he said I am NOT a sex
00:56:24
maniac I never play around and I resent the implication that I ever would he had
00:56:29
been charged with soliciting a sex worker two years earlier whilst he was married when reminded of that he said
00:56:35
look yes but it is not how it is sir all I felt is a cuddle I was lonely investigations revealed he was a regular
00:56:46
at local sex shops and filled out advertisements in magazines stating he only wanted to watch
00:56:52
he was into pornography and visited sex workers when questioned directly if he had
00:56:57
offered a lift to joy summers mr. Smith said sir I may have I honestly may have but if I did I didn't kill her I
00:57:06
wouldn't do anything like kill anyone after this interview mr. Smith sought legal advice he visited Frankston police
00:57:15
station the next day with his wife and his lawyer and said he would no longer cooperate with police but only shortly
00:57:21
after that on what was the first anniversary of the first three Tainan North victims being found the 6th of
00:57:27
December 1981 mr. Smith walked into Frankston police station of his own accord he wasn't asked to go there by
00:57:34
police mr. Smith said this to Senior Constable Michael white you know I was brought in
00:57:41
about two murders in Frankston well why haven't I been asked about five murders instead of two white asked which others
00:57:50
are you talking about mr. Smith said the ones at tonal remember Niram or Stevenson was missing at this stage but
00:57:59
her body had not yet been found so there were only five known victims after hearing this comment police did another
00:58:06
check into mr. Smith's background which revealed he previously resided in Garfield which adjoins Tainan north and
00:58:13
was the town where the two men came from who found the bodies while disposing of
00:58:17
the Liam offal he also used to work at the tunnel hotel his black van was seen parked outside a friend's house in
00:58:24
Garfield numerous times during the period Bertha Miller Katherine Hedlund and Murray Sargent and nermal Stevenson
00:58:30
disappeared not only that mr. Smith previously worked as a truck driver his regular route took him along brew road
00:58:39
then onto the dirt track that led to the quarry where he picked up loads of sand
00:58:43
the very track where the victims were found two years later despite this that 1st 1985 analysis report said the
00:58:53
following about mr. Smith's the lack of physical evidence and eyewitness accounts linking him to either of the
00:58:59
Frankston victims means that it's unlikely he will ever be charged with any offense or eliminated as a suspect
00:59:05
the only conclusion I can draw is that the person or persons responsible for the deaths of Alison ruk and Joyce
00:59:12
summers at Frankston is not the same person responsible for the deaths of Bertha Miller Katherine headland and n
00:59:18
Murray Sargent and it is most likely that a third person or persons were responsible for the death of Neera more
00:59:24
Stevenson three killers it was a highly controversial finding and 1 that divided
00:59:31
police working the case some thought if possible which meant that there were two
00:59:35
serial killers operating in the same area at the same time who both stopped around the same time
00:59:42
other police completely disagreed and thought mr. Smith was good for all six killings the second analysis report in
00:59:50
1990 said mr. Smith was a viable suspect with weak or non-existent alibis on the
00:59:58
balance of probabilities the same person or persons were responsible for the murders of Alison rook Bertha Miller
01:00:04
Katherine headland and Murray Sargent and joy summers on the information available mr. Smith is the best
01:00:10
nominated person for the offenses serial crime experts in the United States who reviewed the case agreed they believed
01:00:19
mr. Smith was likely the murderer mr. Smith was not working when Bertha Miller anne-marie sergeant Allison Rourke and
01:00:27
Joyce summers disappeared but he was rusted to work from 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. the day Katherine headland was
01:00:34
abducted but was that alibi correct police weren't so sure records weren't the best and they felt mr. Smith's Tom's
01:00:43
shade also could have been falsified in 1997 police ran operationally stuff which actually had nothing to do with
01:00:51
the murder investigation there was a four-day operation between the 20th and 23rd of August targeting street sex work
01:00:57
in st. kilda seventy men were questioned for soliciting and 30 women for loitering during that operation mr.
01:01:06
Smith aged in his late 60s at the time approached an undercover policewoman and asked for sex he was arrested and
01:01:13
questioned when being interviewed over this matter mr. Smith randomly blurted out he was the crime suspect in the
01:01:20
unsolved tie non-north killings the police interviewing him at the time weren't aware of who he was or that he
01:01:27
was a suspect in that case one former detective told the H newspaper as far as I'm concerned he's
01:01:34
not the suspect he's the killer mr. Smith is now in his 80s he's still deeply religious and attends a strict
01:01:43
Church in Melbourne see outer east those who knew mr. Smith referred to him as a crude fellow coworkers remember him
01:01:50
yelling about provocative pictures of women and how offensive they were the original profile of the killer was had
01:01:58
access to a motor vehicle ever didn't work was a shift worker or was possibly on leave had good knowledge of the area
01:02:05
bent by Dandenong Frankston ended the Eastern Bay Area and may have lived in that area was an opportunist
01:02:12
mr. Smith fitted all these points he had lied to police on several occasions admitted to picking up women at bus
01:02:19
stops and knew both areas at torn on north and Frankston but none of that is solid evidence there are no witnesses no
01:02:27
forensic material no hard evidence to put before a court mr. Smith has taken to polygraph tests in relation to the
01:02:35
murders although controversial his answers to questions about the tone on north and Frankston killings showed
01:02:41
signs of deception the head of operation Lyndhurst said we are confident we know
01:02:48
the killer's identity we have used DNA technology behavioral psychological and geographic profiling methods and have
01:02:55
been greatly assisted by receiving new important information from members of the public we are confident in the
01:03:01
direction our investigation is heading we're now focusing on one suspect it said the majority of serial killers
01:03:09
continue until they Accord generally they don't just stop although it does happen in a lot of cases there is a
01:03:17
spark that starts them killing but if their spark is removed then it's possible that will stop in the December
01:03:23
1981 interview mr. Smith admitted that he was experiencing severe marital problems mainly involving financial
01:03:30
difficulties his wife informed him she was filing for divorce mr. Smith was a deeply religious man who
01:03:38
didn't believe in divorce it was at this time that the Frankston anti non-north victims started to disappear mr. Smith
01:03:46
was eventually able to work through his marriage difficulties and remained married about which time the murders
01:03:52
stopped mr. Smith grew up in the king Lake area northeast of Melbourne between the years of 1954 into 1963
01:04:01
through his 20s he was still in the king lake area and was known to be working in
01:04:06
the timber industry by 1967 at around 33 years of age he was living in the st. Kilda area of Melbourne a stone's throw
01:04:15
away from where he would be questioned 30 years later asking for a sex worker by 1972 he had settled down and married
01:04:23
and was living in the Frankston North home after the Frankston and tonk murders after being questioned and after
01:04:31
a court suppression order was issued his movements are more elusive his three children grew up and moved up and his
01:04:38
wife who had provided his alibis passed away in 2006 so her word has gone with her 7 News tracked down mr. Smith and I
01:04:49
encourage everyone to watch that news report the link is in the show notes [Music]
01:05:10
you