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[Music] ten years before the Clairemont serial killings the disappearance of four women
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from around Perth some from the same highway the Clermont victims were abducted from hardly raised then he made
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your attention it was thought they were probably just runaways there was no task force no press
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conferences no billboards and dinero rewards [Music] David Birney was born on the 16th of
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February 1951 David was the oldest of six children two parents John and Margaret Bernie they lived in a semi
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rural area in waddle Grove located 13 kilometers east of Perth David's father John had a physical disability
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consisting of an arched back caused by a genetic defect his mother Margaret was an alcoholic described as a dirty
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unkempt woman a dog dressed in woman's clothes is one description or came across of Margaret an example of
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Margaret Bernie's parenting skills he's one time while travelling on the local bus she passed on her screaming starving
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baby who also had a wet nappy to one of the other bus passengers Margaret then pulled out a comic book lit a cigarette
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and completely ignored her baby until it was time to get off that wasn't a one-off event the burning household was
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anything but a loving caring place Margaret constantly screamed at her children she expected her older kids to
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look after the younger kids if one of the kids did something wrong she would beat them with a broomstick there were
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also rumors of incest in the family John and Margaret found it hard to raise their children on their low income and
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it turns the authorities would come in and take the children away but it never lasted for long the Bernie family moved
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to the city of Perth in the early 1960s and it was in this new household that a 12-year old David Birney would strike up
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an unbreakable bond with his next-door neighbor a girl only three months younger than him Catherine Harrison was
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born on the 21st of May 1951 she was only 2 years old when her mother Doreen died whilst giving birth to Katherine's
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younger brother two days later her younger brother died after their deaths Katherine moved to
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South Africa with her father Harold Harold found it hard to raise his daughter and send her back to Perth to
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live with her maternal grandparents after only a year of living with them she was sent to live with an aunt and
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uncle nobody seemed to want Catherine this bouncing around between different relatives lasted for years
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this led Catherine to an unhappy and lonely childhood she was a sad child who rarely smiled and had very few friends
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she ended up back with the grandparents who wouldn't allow other children around
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at the house to play with Catherine people who knew the family claimed that most parents wouldn't allow their
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children to associate with Catherine anyway David and Catherine met when they were 12 years old by the time they were
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14 they were in a sexual relationship David's parents soon divorced and neither of them wanted custody of him so
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he became a ward of the state when he was 15 David left school to become an apprentice jockey he was given
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accommodation at a local boarding house as part of his employment there were claims from his workmates about him
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harming the horses and being an exhibitionist six months into his employment he broke into his landlady's
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apartment david was naked wearing a stocking mask over his head he attempted to rape his landlady but he ran off
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prior to anything happening David's employer found out and he was sacked after this David team back up
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with Catherine and for years they led a life of petty crime it's thought they started their crime spree long before
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they were ever charged with anything the first time they were caught was the 11th
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of June 1969 they were charged with 11 counts of theft and breaking and entering
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David was sentenced to nine months in prison and Katherine who was pregnant at the time only received probation the
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following month both David and Catherine appeared before the Supreme Court and were charged with
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another eight counts of theft David had three more years of imprisonment added to his sentence and
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Katherine had four more years of probation in early July 1970 David escaped from prison where he was serving
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his three years and nine months sentence he met straight back up with Katherine and they went on another crime spree
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they were arrested soon after on the 10th of July 1970 they were charged with 53 counts of theft breaking and entering
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trespassing and illegal operation of a motor vehicle in their possession police found wigs radios dynamite detonators
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and diffusers David was sentenced to another two and a half years in prison and Katherine for the first time got
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sentenced to six months in prison in her defense Katherine admitted she knew her actions
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were wrong but she claimed she loved David and would do anything for him when her baby was born welfare services
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stepped in and removed it from their custody straight away during Catherine's time in prison a parole officer talked
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to her about how different and much better her life would be if she stayed away from David the parole officer
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managed to get through to her when she was released Catherine found a job as a domestic
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servant for the McLaughlin family she became romantically involved with Donald McLaughlin their youngest son they were
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married on Catherine's 21st birthday they had six children together tragically their 7 month old son Donnie
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was run over in the driveway of their home Katherine witnessed his death David too
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was able to move on once he was released from prison he met another woman Carrie
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and he soon married her they had a daughter together Tonya life was apparently pretty good
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for the new family but all that changed six years later David suffered a head injury whilst at work it was here that
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his ex-wife Carrie noticed the definite change in David's behavior his mood and demeanor changed and he started treating
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her poorly David had many affairs that Kari put up with however the final straw was that
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the ten year mark of their marriage David brought home a 16 year old girlfriend he moved his daughter Tanya into his
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bedroom to sleep with his wife Carrie and David moved into what was Tanya's bedroom with his 16 year old girlfriend
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that was the final straw for Carrie she moved out with Tanya in early 1984 Kathryn and her husband Donald were
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living with Harold Catherine's father and their five children in near poverty in Victoria Park a suburb separated from
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Perth Centre by the Swan River four weeks after the birth of her youngest baby Katherine went to the hospital to
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have a hysterectomy when Donald went to visit her after the operation he saw David holding her hand according to some
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people Kathryn and David had been back seeing each other for at least two years prior to that once Kathryn was released
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from hospital she went to visit David she soon found Donald to let him know she wouldn't be coming back home
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Kathryn moved in with David into number three more house treat in Willa ji a suburb 15 kilometres southwest from the
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center of Perth Kathryn soon changed her last name becoming Kathryn burn during December 1984 David's youngest brother
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James moved into the house with them he'd come out of prison after serving five months for interfering indecently
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with his six-year-old niece who in his words had led him on when asked about his brother James said David had few
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friends was heavily into kinky sex and had a large pornographic collection he described David's insatiable sexual
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appetite and a present that he was given for his 21st birthday he can't seem to live without having sex with females
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he needs it if he can't get it he just seems to go all emotional he just cracks up just cause him to a born this close a
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lot I was living with him in 1994 he I used to sleep in the lane until I fall down ledge what was turned into a bed I
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need to sleep another on that and he said a mattress on the floor beside me and he needs to have a seat she was a
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female on on a mattress on the floor beside me December 84 they since he needed to have
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sex every night they didn't get it so about winslet so it's three days up three nights later he asked if he could
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do it with me I refused and I and he kept on asking I kept on refusing I know eventually so I won ivory and I went to
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bed but when I went to sleep he came to my room and started doing it I was like well I didn't have sex I don't like my
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21st birthday and they as a birthday present as a birthday present they was allowed to
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have sex with Kathy Mary Nielsen was a 22 year old psychology student at the University of Western Australia she was
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planning to work as a counselor with the department of community welfare she had
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a part-time job through Guinea working at a local deli in October 1986 her parents went away on an overseas holiday
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on Monday the 6th of October 1986 Mary went to work at the deli after work she had some like lectures at
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university but had time to spare until they started so Mary decided to get the tires on her car changed
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she stopped in at a car wrecker in the southern Perth suburb of Maier II she was served by David Birney
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he showed her several different tires but then said he had a better offer for her if she came around to his house he
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would be able to cut her a much better deal he lived - less than five minutes away
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eager to save some cash Mary agreed she drove the David and Catherine's house at
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three Morehouse Street villagey and knocked on the door David and Kathryn opened the door
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David was holding a knife they dragged Mary into a bedroom gagged her and chained her to the bed Mary was raped
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repeatedly by David while Kathryn watched and encouraged she also took pictures that night Mary was dragged
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into David and Catherine's car they drove her to Gleneagle forest located 54 kilometers away or 33 miles south of
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where they lived they arrived at the forest in the middle of the night Mary was raped again
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she was then strangled David also stabbed her in the heart they dug a shallow grave for Mary and a vent drove
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back to Perth when they arrived home David drove Mary's card to a Riverside carpark which was located opposite to
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Western Australian police headquarters the car got found six days later Mary was reported as a missing person but
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there wasn't too much of an investigation David and Catherine Bernie were free to
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strike again they posted an ad in the local newspaper that read urgent looking for a lonely young person prefer female
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19 to 24 years to share single room flat it's unknown if any girl actually responded on Monday the 20th of October
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1986 two weeks to the day after Mary's murder David and Catherine spent hours driving around the streets of Perth
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looking for the right girl they both shared a sort of code a line they told to one another if they saw someone they
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liked Catherine would say I've got the munchies if David liked the look of that potential victim he would say I've got
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the munchies too darlin and they would both laugh they weren't drawn to any particular physical characteristic age
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group or interest their victim simply had to be female alone and vulnerable that night they found Susannah candy
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hitchhiking along the Sterling Highway in Claremont the same location where ten years later the Claremont serial killer
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would strike Susannah candy was a 15 year old outstanding student at Hollywood High School a public high
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school in the suburb of Shenton Park in Perth she's Anna's father dr. Douglas candy
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worked as in John of God Hospital and was one of Earth's most respected eye surgeons Susannah lived at home with her
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parents two brothers and one sister Susanna's father was a protective man and when she started a part-time job
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working nights in a local restaurant he would meet her after work and walk her home
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he actually asked her to leave her job as he didn't like oh beanie out at night but Susannah enjoyed what she did and
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wanted to stay on it was that Monday night when she walked out of work her father wasn't there
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waiting for her instead David and Catherine Bernie were they pulled up alongside her and asked if she wanted a
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lift home David and Catherine didn't look threatening they looked like a harmless married couple having Catherine
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in the car put Susannah at ease and she accepted the offer for a lift David and Catherine drove her to their house at
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3:00 more history they changed Susannah up and repeatedly raped her during her captivity Susannah
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was forced to write two letters to her parents in those letters she told them she was okay and that she needed some
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time to herself when they were done David tried to strangle her but Susannah became hysterical and was able to put up
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a hell of a fight so David and Catherine for sleeping pills down her throat when
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she went to sleep David looked at Catherine and said prove you love me Catherine strangled her they drove
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Susanna's body to the Gleneagle forest and buried her close by to Mary's body the Bernie sent the letters they forced
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Susannah to write two weeks apart from each other the first letter was posted in Perth and
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the second one in free Mian the Bernese believed the letters would helpless his and his family at ease and make them
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believe she was okay they actually had the opposite effect after reading the letters Susanna's family became even
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more worried that something bad happened and that they reported her as a missing
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person the police told them that their daughter had probably got mixed up with the wrong crowd
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but addicted to drugs and had simply run away eleven days after Susanna's murder
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Nolan Patterson was driving home from work when her car ran out of petrol nulling was 31 years old she was elegant
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beautiful and popular she worked for nine years as an airline hostess for an answer
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which was a major Australian airline no longer in operation Nolan then worked for two years in Alan
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bonds private airline in 1986 she was working at the Netherlands Golf Club and living with her mother in the Riverside
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suburb of bekhten ten kilometers southwest of Perth that Saturday night when she ran out of petrol David and
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Kathryn Bernie pulled up alongside her and offered to take her to the nearest service station
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Nolan accepted the offer as soon as she got in their car a knife was held to her
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throat and she was taken to three more house street Nolan was chained to the bed gagged repeatedly raped and tortured
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like their previous victims the intention was to kill Nolan that night but David ended up changing his mind he
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developed an emotional attachment to Nollan and he kept putting off her murder after three days Kathryn who had
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become increasingly jealous could no longer stand it she went into a rage and gave David an ultimatum she held a knife
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to herself threatening suicide and screamed her or me you choose David chose Catherine
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he forced Nolan to take a massive dose of sleeping pills when she went to sleep he strangled her they drove her body to
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the Glen Eagle forest and buried her close to Mary and Susanna as they buried Nolan Katherine was still in a rage and
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started screaming and cursing at her body Denis Brown was 21 years old fun-loving
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warm and friendly she worked as a part-time computer operator and loved to go clubbing and dancing she lived with
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her boyfriend and another couple in Netherlands it was Wednesday the 5th of November 1986
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four days after the Bernese had abducted not lean and only the day after they had
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murdered her Denis Brian had been out with a friend and was now waiting for a bus outside
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the stone crow one house in Fremantle free me and all he's about a 30-minute drive south of Perth before a bus
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arrived the Bernese pulled up and offered Denis a lift Denis accepted as soon as Denis
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got in the car a knife was held to her throat the Bernese drove her back to their house of horrors of three
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Morehouse Street Willa gee Denis was tied up gagged raped and tortured during her captivity David and Katherine forced
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her to make phone calls to her friends to say that she was okay they kept her for one night and the next day Thursday
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the 6th of November they forced her to swallow sleeping pills when she fell asleep they dragged her to their car
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this time they changed the burial location instead of going south they went north and drove more than 60
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kilometres 37 miles to a forest in the suburb of one aru on Perth's northern outskirts once they arrived there david
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raped denise again and then cut her throat whilst there was some talker in Perth
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and in the local media about the missing girls there was certainly no outcry or saturation coverage of their cases
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definitely no talk or suggestion of a serial killer on the loose I was just seen as a few missing girls
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it was thought by those outside of the families that they'd probably just run away just four days after the murder of
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Denise Brown a 17 year old girl Kim which isn't her real name was walking along the Sterling Highway in
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Netherlands only a three minute drive west from Clermont where Susana was abducted David and Catherine pulled up
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next to Kim and asked her for directions this time they didn't talk their victim
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into the car David got out with a knife and forced her to get in they drove her to three more hare Street she was tied
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up gagged and raped the Bernese then forced him to phone her parents and tell them she was okay while
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she was being held Kim managed to leave a pack of cigarettes in the ceiling of the room
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she was being holding she took this step in order to prove that she had been at the house in case she was able to escape
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the next day David left for work Kim convinced Catherine she needed to use the bathroom Catherine initially
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told her no but eventually she relented and untied Kim while Kim was using the bathroom somebody knocked on the door
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that was the Bernese drug dealer while Catherine answered the door Kim was able to escape through an unlocked
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window Kim wrens semi naked through the streets of Willa G until she ended up entering a
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nearby supermarket in a small shopping center Kim was hysterical and the shopkeeper
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called the police the two detectives who responded to the call were Vince Katich
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and Paul Ferguson Paul Ferguson you will remember as being the first officer in charge of the macro task force
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investigating the claim on serial killings Paul Ferguson had been following the reports of the previous missing girls
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when Denis Brown went missing on November 5th Ferguson believed there could be a
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serial killer operating however upon checking the backgrounds of the missing girls
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he couldn't link them there was almost nothing in common between any of them plus some had actually made calls home
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or written letters those little details were what held back a major serial killing investigation getting underway
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[Music] when the two detectives met Kim she was able to tell them the address and phone
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number of the house had been kept in she told them about being tied up raped and
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photographed and she also told them about being forced to call home it was at this moment that both detectives
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realized there was a link between these missing girls Ferguson and Katich then paid a visit to three more house treat
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Willa gee no one was home so they set off the house and waited Katherine Burnie turned up soon after
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they approached her and she acted tense and cold and denied any knowledge of abducting Kim and holding her in the
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house Katherine did tell them where they could find David he was at work at the car wreckers they paid David a visit
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until Kim and Katherine to free men or police station they separated the couple and started questioning them they both
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gave the story that Kim had visited their house of her own free will and she had actually been partying with them
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according to them Kim had visited the previous night to share some marijuana then one thing led to another and David
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and Kim had consensual sex they were questioned about the four missing women and they denied any knowledge at the
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same time they were being questioned other police were searching their home they found a handbag and the packet of
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cigarettes came and hidden in the ceiling this proves Kim had been at the house but the Bernese weren't denying that it
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didn't prove rape or a connection to the other missing women the police needed one of the Bernese to
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start talking that unexpectedly happened at 7:00 p.m. that no detective Katich was half joking when he said to David
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come on it's getting dark best we take the shovel and dig them up to Khadijah surprise David replied okay
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there's four of them police informed Catherine about David's confession and as soon as they did Catherine started
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talking as well they both agreed to show the detectives where they had buried the
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victims they went north first 400 meters into the forest David pointed at a spot
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and said dig there they found beneath Brown's body who'd been buried five days earlier the detectives left police
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officers to guard Denise's grave and then they headed south to the Glen Eagle forest
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David guided the police into the forest and along a narrow track on a slight incline about 40 meters from the track
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was where they'd buried Mary Nielsen they followed the same track for about one kilometre and that's where they
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found Susannah candy when the time came to look for Nolan Patterson's burial site Catherine spoke up she said she
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wanted to be the one to show everybody was on the way there she went to great lengths to describe how much she
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disliked narleen and stated she was glad Nolan was dead when they got to the burial site
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Catherine's Battlement on the 12th of November 1986 David and Catherine appeared before Fremantle Magistrates
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Court where they were charged with four counts of murder the couple attracted a hostile crowd and
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everyone who entered the courtroom that day had their bags checked all waiting in the holding cells they were also
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heavily guarded but they didn't stop David copping a beating from other inmates as the charges were read to them
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they stood together neither of them had legal representation and they didn't enter a plea
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bail was refused the magistrate asked Catherine whether she'd prefer eight or thirty days to prepare for her next
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court appearance her answer was to look over at David and say I'll go when he goes the next appearance was on the 10th
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of February 1987 where they attracted an even bigger crowd outside Perth Supreme
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Court David pleaded guilty to four counts of murder one count of abduction and one
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count of rape through his lawyer he stated he wanted to plead guilty in order to spare the families of the
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victims the long agony of a trial he later said to a detective that was the least I could do
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throughout this court appearance Catherine held David's hand she was not required to enter a plea as her
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barrister was waiting on the results of a psychiatric report they wanted to say she was fit to stand trial when analyzed
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David fit the bill of a serial killer but Catherine didn't the expert simply couldn't understand what gain Catherine
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got out of the murders other than following David she was found fit to stand trial with a
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psychiatrist saying it's the worst case of personality dependence I've seen in my career
00:27:31
on the 9th of March 1987 Catherines turn came to stand in court and confessed to
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her party in the murders the judge who sentenced both of them was justice Wallace this is what he had to say to
00:27:46
David each of these horrible crimes was premeditated planned and carried out cruelly and relentlessly over a
00:27:54
comparatively short period the law is not strong enough to express the community's horror at this sadistic
00:28:00
killer who tortured raped and murdered four women in my opinion David John Verney
00:28:07
is such a danger to society that he should never be released from prison and to Catherine justice Wallace said this
00:28:17
in my opinion you should never be released to be with David Birney you should never be allowed to see him again
00:28:25
they both received four life sentences but they were served concurrently meaning they could technically be
00:28:32
eligible for parole in 20 years despite the judge saying they should never be released David started his
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sentence at Fremantle prison but when that closed down in 1991 he was moved to kazarina prison he spent time in
00:28:47
solitary confinement for his own protection as he suffered several beatings from other inmates while in
00:28:54
prison he continued communication with Katherine they exchanged 2,600 letters in the early 90s
00:29:02
David began to bargain with authorities for access to Katherine in July 92 David
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said both he and Katherine had committed other murders and it would be in the public's interest for him to give this
00:29:15
information Katherine was then approached to cooperate and start a negotiation but
00:29:21
she refused she stated she wanted no consideration given to possible visits or phone calls from David she was
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through with him when David found out what Katherine said he told authorities there was nothing they could offer him
00:29:35
still detectives took David out of prison and drove him around Perth for about five hours one day to see if he'd
00:29:42
point out any new burial sites but he didn't one particular case police thought might be linked was that of Lisa
00:29:50
Mott Lisa was a 12 year old girl in 1980 she went to a basketball game in the country town of Koli after the game she
00:29:59
was waiting for a lift home in the main street of town about 8:30 p.m. someone saw her talking to the driver of a
00:30:06
yellow panel van and then she was never seen again David was working as a crane driver in the town of Koli at a time
00:30:15
when detectives asked him if he knew anything about Lisa's disappearance he said he didn't
00:30:22
despite Katherine cutting off all contact with David he continued to write her letters she never responded but that
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didn't stop him he only stopped a few months before his death which was on Friday the 7th of October 2005 David
00:30:39
hung himself in his cell prior to his death he expressed the desire to make Kim the girl who survived
00:30:47
David and Katherine he wanted her to visit him at Kasserine a prison but there was no way that was ever happening
00:30:55
and when he died he was under investigation for the rape of a fellow inmate David's body went unclaimed and
00:31:04
he was given a cremation Kathryn was sent to bandy up women's prison when she first got there she was also attacked by
00:31:13
other inmates during the first years she maintained a correspondence both with her children and with David one letter
00:31:21
she wrote in 1987 to her children said by now you would have heard that I've been charged with murder and other
00:31:28
things please try to understand that what I did was never meant to hurt anybody but that what I did was because
00:31:34
I loved David love is a very powerful thing and I found out that it can make you do things that you wouldn't do
00:31:40
normally it was because of my love for David that those things happened and went on happening be careful of who you
00:31:48
love and to what extent you love that person the letter continued saying that Katherine would go on loving David no
00:31:55
matter what and she asked for her children not to be ashamed because she felt shame enough for all of them
00:32:01
already it was the early nineties when Katherine ceased her correspondence with David when asked why she required it
00:32:10
felt like he was weak and I was stronger than him I didn't need him anymore and I
00:32:16
didn't want to stay in contact with him it was because of this reason that when David wanted to share information in
00:32:23
exchange for access to Catherine she wasn't interested and when catherine was asked if there are any other victims she
00:32:30
just smirked as years passed Catherine also commented on the crimes and her own persona when the couple were first
00:32:39
arrested police asked Catherine why she killed Susannah she told them because I wanted to see how strong I was within my
00:32:46
inner self I didn't feel a thing it was like I expected I was prepared to follow him to the end of the earth and
00:32:53
do anything to see his desires were satisfied she was a female females heard and destroyed males later on though in
00:33:03
prison when asked the same question her response was very different she said it's about power you don't know
00:33:11
what PR is nobody knows what power is until you hold somebody's life in their hands looking to their eyes and to take
00:33:20
it all away from them Catherine even bragged about the fact she lied on Form she was asked to fill out in order to
00:33:27
help draw a profile on her she said I've filled out those forms the profile ones
00:33:33
even the FBI has tried to profile me and I told them exactly what they wanted to
00:33:38
hear you know bad childhood that mother stuff they were after after Mary's body was found
00:33:48
people theorized that this first murder by the couple was unplanned and improvised many believe David simply
00:33:55
took advantage of the fact that Mary had turned up at his workplace and was an easy target however catherine denied
00:34:02
this and deemed those theories is not true she said both her and David have been talking about and planning the
00:34:09
murder for over a year her exact words were we looked into everything before we started every
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little detail right down to how long you could leave a car in a certain place before anyone would notice
00:34:23
we bought this book it was called perfect motor or something like that and we learned a lot from that about
00:34:30
what to do when pushed further about Mary's murder Catherine said she saw our faces didn't
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she she saw where we lived Catherine became the head librarian at bandy up prison and she became known for enjoying
00:34:47
that notoriety she had she exchanged two letters with serial killers Myra Hindley
00:34:53
and Aileen Wuornos she said the three of them were the only ones who would understand each other in 1996 after
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Sarah Spears disappeared from Claremont Catherine said straightaway that it was the work of a serial killer and that
00:35:08
another girl would be abducted soon five months later Jane Rimmer went missing Catherine went as far as to tell people
00:35:17
that the Claremont murders were copycats of her and David and of course David Birney made the approach to Paul
00:35:24
Ferguson who was now heading the Claremont investigation he told Ferguson to interview him so he could give a
00:35:30
serial killers perspective of the Claremont case Ferguson did visit with him and he says David provided useful
00:35:37
information in 2005 when David committed suicide Catherine didn't request permission to attend the funeral she did
00:35:47
ask for permission to attend her former husband Donald's funeral when he passed away in 2000 this request was denied
00:35:55
Perth's house of horrors at three Morehouse Street Willa G still stands to this day after the murders the public
00:36:03
asked for it to be bulldozed but it never was nobody lived in it until 12 years later and that didn't last long
00:36:12
nobody has lived in it since ownership of the house has changed hands four times since 1998 and it has recently
00:36:20
undergone a full renovation in 2007 20 years had passed since the conviction and Catherine's case was up for parole
00:36:29
the Attorney General said he didn't care what the recommendation of the prisoners
00:36:33
Review Board was he would never sign off on Catherine's release Catherines still
00:36:38
apply for parole but it was denied since then every three years her case gets reviewed automatically her
00:36:47
latest parole review was earlier this year and she had at least one lawyer on her side
00:36:52
Tom Percy a judge said she's should be eligible for release after 20 years that's the law now barring any good
00:37:04
reason to keep her in and revenge I don't consider is a good reason she should be released from everything I've
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heard within the prison system is that she's a very frail old lady who is unlikely to be a problem to anyone at
00:37:17
any level are we a society that is based on revenge and keeping her in really is
00:37:23
just bastard Rhee it's just an exercise in pure revenge and hatred Paul Ferguson
00:37:30
couldn't disagree more I didn't give a damn about the victims Cathy and David Bernie did not and have
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never even the victims one ounce of thought this one was terrifying absolutely terrifying because the
00:37:49
victims were just toys were just were just instruments Cathy Bernie you forfeit your right to walk out that door
00:37:58
because those poor girls died didn't deserve it didn't deserve it [Music] catherine was denied parole the next
00:38:13
review will be in three years this is what Kim who survived the Bernie's attack had to say they have been
00:38:21
sensationalized glorified and even kultur fired but they were sad and ordinary there were nobodies who became
00:38:30
somebodies it is time for them to be nobodies again Catherine Bernie is never getting out let's give her an
00:38:39
ignominious end and a truly celebratory farewell [Music] you