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[Music] our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents if you feel at any
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time you need support please contact your local crisis center for suggested phone numbers for confidential support
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and for a more detailed list of content warnings please please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on
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our website Saturday August 10 1963 was a stormy Winter's Night in Perth with heavy rain and thunder but Carl and
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Wendy Dow were heading out anyway to go to a party just a kilometer from their home in Del
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Keith the suburb was just south of Netherlands which been upended by the Australia Day shootings 6 months
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earlier the initial Panic after that event had somewhat calmed down by now even though the shooter hadn't been
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apprehended the fact that there hadn't been any shooting since meant that locals had started to relax ever so
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slightly Carl and Wendy had hired a second year university student to babysit their 8-month-old while they
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were out Shirley McLoud was a diligent science major who was filling in for her friend the D's usual
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sitter she had won a scholarship to attend University and her plan was to become a social
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worker there are so many people who need help she had once told her father Shirley had been devastated by
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the murder of her friend John sturky in the Australia Day shootings they had shared some of the same uni lectures
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and Wendy felt confident leaving their baby in Shirley's care she was a kind conscientious girl who'd brought her
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textbooks with her as the baby was sleeping Shirley was hoping to get some study
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done the dads said goodbye then headed out to their party it was 2:00 a.m. when they arrived
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home happy and in High Spirits after a fun night out Wendy went straight to the bedroom
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to check on the baby while car headed to the lounge room where Shirley had been sitting when they
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left the lounge was well lit and warm as Shirley had the heater running a teacup and saucer sat on the
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coffee table and the turntable was spinning with a record that had long since finished
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playing Shirley's shoes sat neatly on the floor while she sat on a small couch her head
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slumped Carl assumed she must have dozed off while studying as she was still holding a pen and
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notepad then Carl noticed that Shirley's clothes and face were covered in blood clearly visible in her forehead
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was a bullet hole she had been shot and killed with the 22 caliber rifle [Music]
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[Music] as Carl Dow was struck by the shocking realization that Shirley McLoud had been
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murdered he was gripped by the terrifying fear that the killer might still be in the
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house he raced to the bedroom where Wendy was tending to their 8-month-old son he was awakened smiling clearly
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unharmed Carl told Wendy what had happened before quietly phoning the police the dowed family remained
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barricaded in the bedroom until help arrived while the case couldn't be definitively linked to The Killing Spree
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in late January investigating officers had their suspicions the victims in all of the Mur
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murders were random and had been targeted in homes all had been killed with a single shot to the forehead from
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a 22 caliber weapon Perth was still scarred by the Australia Day Massacre and the sudden
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reemergence of the shooter sent the city into a new wave of panic the killer was dubbed the
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Netherlands monster young women stopped taking on jobs and people opted to stay at home
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with their families rather than go out at night Shirley's murder became the police
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department's top priority almost none of the Dows neighbors had heard anything suspicious
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that night though one man said he'd heard a particularly loud clap of Thunder that could have been a
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gunshot the timing of it had aligned with Shirley's suspected time of death a squad of 50 detectives door
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knocked homes throughout Keith and nedlands interviewing more than 8,000 residents police recovered a single
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unidentified fingerprint from the home which didn't match anyone who was known to have visited or lived
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there it was decided that police would take the Fingerprints of all males aged between 14 and 60 in the Perth
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metropolitan area starting with nland and cslo police had also extracted the bullet from Shirley mccloud's head which
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had distinct markings they could use to identify the murder weapon if it was ever
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[Music] found William and Cecilia Kena were an elderly couple who resided in the South
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Perth suburb of Mount Pleasant their daily habit of taking a walk together every afternoon had
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recently been disrupted by The Heavy Rain Perth was experiencing but on Friday August 16 the Sun was
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shining the pair set off sometime after 3:00 p.m. they liked to stroll down the road
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where they lived which was called hawen Street to the banks of the Swan River the couple kept a little fishing
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boat down there which they would check on and they'd also stopped to chat to neighbors they met along the
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way on this particular Friday they turned left upon reaching the river and walked up towards canning Bridge
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as they ambled along they noticed that one of the trees along the path had several limbs snapped
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off car tracks were visible in the ground leading towards it the couple wondered if there had been
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an accident and whether the driver had been heard after walking about 500 M along
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the River Bank William and Cilia turned left at Rookwood Street to make a loop home pale pink native wild flowers were
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growing in abundance all along the street and Cecilia decided to pick some as she reached up to take a sprig
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something on the ground slipped and brushed Cecilia's knee it was the butt of a rifle shocked Cecilia pushed the firearm
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back under the bush before telling William there's a rifle here after taking a look for himself
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William suggested they take it home to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands as neither of them held a gun
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licenses cilia opposed this plan instead when they got home she reported the discovery to the
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police it was a 22 gauge Winchester rifle different from the litho single shot rifle used in the Australia Day
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shootings still it was worth investigating officers searched the entirety of Rookwood street but didn't find a single
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cartridge however the rifle was still loaded with a single bullet when police testified the weapon
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they found that the copper noosed bullet had the same markings as the one taken from Shirley mccloud's
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body they had found the weapon used by her killer it turned out that the rifle was
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registered to a former olymp ypic swimmer named Garrick Agnew Garrick had spent the last month
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and a half overseas when he'd returned home just a few days earlier he discovered that his
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Winchester rifle was missing from the bedroom cupboard where he kept it nothing else had been taken from the
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home including a second rifle that was stored in another room Garrick had reported the rifle
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Stalin on Tuesday August 13 police were interested in the way that the rifle had been left in the bush on
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Rookwood Street it hadn't been carelessly discarded somewhere as though the killer
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was tossing it aside permanently instead it had been hidden inside thick vegetation something that someone might
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do if they planned to retrieve it at a later date investigators took another rifle
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back to the bush where Sicilia Kina had found it and tied it there tight with fishing
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line police requested permission from the residents of the house opposite to set up a 24-hour a day Lookout in their
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backyard which spanned an entire block that way the bush with the rifle could be kept under constant
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surveillance the residents gave their permission and agreed not to tell anyone about the top secret
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operation a trap to catch the killer was set now all the police had to do was [Music]
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wait over the next 2 weeks police kept a 24-hour a day surveillance running in the property opposite the rifle with at
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least one officer remaining on the lookout at all times it was a particularly cold and wet
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winter which made their job even more difficult after a fortnight passed with no sign of the shooter investigators
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decided they needed to do something to lure him back to his weapon with the cooperation of local
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reporters an article had been planted in multiple newspapers that stated police working the Shirley McLoud case would
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turn their attention to the suburb of Mount Pleasant by the end of the coming week on the morning of Saturday August
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31 one of perth's papers ran a story about how police would be fingerprinting Mount Pleasant resident
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very soon that night Constable Bill Hawker was on surveillance Duty in Rookwood Street it was cool and slightly overcast
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a pleasant change from the near constant rain of the past 2 weeks and Bill wondered if the killer would finally be
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spooked enough to try retrieving his rifle he took up his post at 6:00 p.m. alongside a colleague named Peter
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skan so several hours later Constable Hawker was keeping watch alone while Constable ski rested inside a tent set
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up for the officers in the backyard across from the trap Constable Hawker could hear music
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from a nearby pub and occasionally couples would stroll along Rookwood Street on their way home from a night
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out but so far no one had taken any interest in the Trap at 1:15 every night the street
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lights on Rookwood Street went out if the killer decided to return for his rifle he would most likely do so
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after that time when the street was at its darkest when the lights Switched Off like clockwork Constable Hawker braced
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himself and stared even more intently at the dark Street in front of him suddenly a gray blue Holden sedan
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appeared and slowly pulled up at the curb opposite the Trap the road was steep so Constable
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Hawker could only see the top of the car his initial response was to wonder if it was a couple looking for a quiet
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spot to spend time together but then the driver's side door partly opened with the person behind the
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wheel holding at a jar several moments passed then the door opened more widely a man got out and and stood still
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in the car's doorway almost certain that he was looking at their suspect Constable
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Hawker rushed to the tent to wake his colleague they had to act quickly the rifle was tied to the bush and the
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killer would surely flee if he went to retrieve it and discovered the Trap nor did they want the killer to be armed by
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the time they were able to reach him Constable Hawker leapt over the property's face
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closely followed by Constable skan crouching down in front of the Bush was a man wearing a heavy
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Overcoat as he heard the sound of the police officer's footsteps running towards him he turned around to face
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them the two police officers grabbed the man in the Overcoat who struggled against
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them Constable hawar pulled out a set of handcuffs and cuffed the man's wrists then used a second set of cuffs to
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secure the man to offence the suspect mumbled incomprehensibly in a muffled voice as
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he was arrested in clearer light the officers could see that he carried a small pencil
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torch and was wearing a pair of women's leather gloves he had short dark hair a broad
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nose and a notable scar on his mouth from surgery to repair a Clift lip pallet a search revealed that he was
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carrying a pair of women Underpants in one of his pockets and a newspaper clipping in
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another he had scribbled some addresses and phone numbers on the clipping Constable Walker and skan
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called for backup and the suspect was transferred to police headquarters for questioning he was quickly identified as
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32-year-old Eric Edgar cook a man who was already very well known to Western Australia police
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on Friday October 15 1948 cook had committed his first break-in at the age of 17 he forced his way into a flat in
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perth's CBD while its Resident was out and stole a torch and a small clock he also opened several bottles of
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wine and poured them all over the resident's clothing when police later attended the
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crime scene the they found Cook's fingerprints all over the empty bottles though they didn't match anyone in the
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system they added the prints to their files a few weeks later cook broke into another home Angry after he found
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nothing he wanted to steal he trashed the property by pulling all of the clothing from the wardrobes and cutting
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it with a knife he also slashed some bedding and a pillow before taking chocolate from the
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fridge and feeding it to the coup's pet goldfish his final Act was to start a fire in the living
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room the resident returned to find his flat in flames and although firefighters were able to save the home the damage
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cost almost $220,000 in today's money 2 weeks later cook broke into another home and stole 20 Shillings an
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engagement ring a watch and a fountain pen he laid a toss to the jwy out of fear of being
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caught not long after that at Christmas time cook was asked by a friend to house
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it for her while she and her husband were away despite having a key to the property cook smashed a window to cover
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his tracks and decided to set fire to the residence He piled all of his friend's
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clothing on the bedroom floor then coated it in fly spray as an accelerant yet his plan ultimately failed when he
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couldn't find any matches a week later on New Year's Eve cook celebrated the beginning of 1949 by
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breaking into an empty flat in the CBD he used some cellophane and a candle that he found inside to light a
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fire when the resident came home at 12:35 a.m. she found her bedroom completely destroyed by The Blaze
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cook continued to commit more break-ins across the city during the first months of 1949 leaving fingerprints behind when
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he stole whatever cash he found along with women's underwear he also lit more Fires at
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other addresses once he defecated in a toy cot that belonged to a child in early March cook broke into a
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house just north of the CBD entering via the back door cook knew the property as he'd delivered
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groceries there previously while working for a market it was late at night and the
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residents were in their beds asleep the now 18-year-old cook was more emboldened and no longer just targeted
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empty homes using a torch to see cook found a purse and took it to the bathroom to
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search through as he was rumaging through the purse a man entered the bathroom and
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found him it was one of the residents who'd been woken by his wife after she heard
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CK creeping about cook claimed to be a neighbor who had drunkenly entered the property by
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mistake and gave his first name his lies weren't believed when the resident tried to
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Grapple with him cook fled police tracked him down a week later and matched his finger prins to
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two previous break-ins he was charged and taken before the court cook was convicted on two counts
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of stealing four counts of arson and a seven of breaking and entering he was sentenced to 3 years in
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prison with the recommendation he'd be released on parole after a few months so that he could be
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rehabilitated Cook's father was an abusive alcoholic who terrorized his entire family but focused most of his
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rage on his son cook had been born with the clefted pallet and lip a common birth defect
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that made his father hate him he beat his son and verbally abused him once when cook had tried to stop his
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father from beating up his mother his father punched him so badly he suffered a skull
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fracture students at school had also bullied and ostracized cook mocking his appearance and a distinctive speech
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impediment that was the result of his birth defect one time Cook's mother saw her
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son standing in front of a mirror violently pulling at his scarred lip desperate for an escape C had
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started wandering the streets of Perth and stealing from his teachers neighbors and peers as a
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child there were concerns that hard time would only serve to to further criminalize the first time
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offender the parole board ultimately decided to release Eric adeda cook in August
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1949 agreeing that his brief stint in prison had been enough to scare him straight they felt that cook had
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committed crimes because he was socially isolated and saw the axe as a way to gain notoriety and
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friendships although he had been an intelligent student his education was hindered by his behavioral problems and
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his father who forced him to leave school at the age of 14 cook started working from then on
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passing most of his earnings on to his mother and stealing to supplement his own
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income from then on cook worked a series of menial jobs he was an accident prone person and
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his employment record was impacted by repeated accidents once his face was badly sced by steam
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another time he fell and it damaged his spine leading to a weak in hospital C's many injuries included
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multiple head injuries he would often slip and hit his head resulting in concussions and further
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fractures following his release from prison he started working at a confectionary company and had joined a
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church overall his life improved his probation period concluded 2 years later on August 15
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1951 to celebrate his return to Freedom cook traveled east across the country to
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Melbourne where he enlisted in the Australian army during his training he became an
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excellent Marksman but was discharged 3 months later when the army leared of his
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previous offending cook returned to Perth and started working as a truck driver the short dark-haired man had
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never had much luck with women but in 1953 he met a young woman named Sally Lavin they married in November of that
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year and settled in the inner Eastern suburb of Rivervale less than 2 years later the
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couple already had two sons but Cork's new La abiding image and family man lifestyle didn't put a stop
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to his criminal activities in 1953 he broke into the home of some fellow church members and
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stole from them his fingerprints led to his arrest and he was placed on a good behavior
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bond in September 1955 2 months after the birth of his second son cook had set his sights on another
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woman when he found out she was playing in a hockey tournament 2 hours south of Perth in bumbery he stole a car to stalk
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her there cook rolled the car along the way suffering a broken sternum plus face and
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knee injuries the incident led to him being charged with assuming control of a motor
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vehicle cook was sentenced to 2 years hard labor for the theft as well as an additional 6 months for breaking his
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good behavior Bond his young wife Sally had to raise their two children alone as a single
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parent but still made sure to visit cork in prison she stood by her husband throughout his
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incarceration he was back with his family by Christmas [Music] 1956 following Eric Edgar Cook's second
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release he appeared to mostly stick to the straight and narrow focusing on working hard to support his growing
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family he and Sally would eventually go on to have five more children giving them a total of seven four boys and
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three girls on Monday January 25th 1960 Cook's reputation was tarnished once again when
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he was arrested for loitering in a park in llane one of perth's Inon suburbs he was sentenced to A month's
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incarceration in freem manal prison while there police questioned him about a a horrific murder that had been
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committed the previous month the brutal killing of 22-year-old AIS and socialite
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Jillian Brewer during Cook's break-ins he was known to steal women's underwear and
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masturbate with it this deviant criminal history LED police to label him a quote sexo and
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wonder if he could be behind the young woman's murder C had denied having anything to
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do with the crime claimed he was home at the time and his wife Sally supported this
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Alibi after that cook was still occasionally cited by the police for peeping Tom and minor theft offenses but
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they never suspected him of murder not until more than 3 and 1/2 years later in the early hours of Sunday September 1
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1963 when he went to the suburb of Mount Pleasant to collect the rifle used to kill University students Shirley
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McLoud following Cook's arrest he was transferred to the criminal investigation branch
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headquarters he was chatty with the officers readily admitting that he'd broken into some homes that night in the
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wealthy western suburbs of Claremont peppermint Grove and Mossman Park he said he'd stolen more than 22 in
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cash from those properties cook explained that he'd spotted the rifle a few days earlier
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while he'd been driving down Rookwood Street in his work truck he'd stopped to adjust the trucks
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load and noticed that someone had stashed a rifle in some nearby bushes cook had decided to come back to
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take it his plan was to sell it to make some cash he adamantly denied having anything
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to do with Shirley mccloud's murder 3 weeks earlier he claimed that he'd been at a
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bowling alley until 8:00 p.m. then he went straight home and stayed there for the rest of the
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night two sergeants were dispatched to Cook's home where they explained to his wife Sally that he had been arrested for
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breaking and entering they had a search warrant and they wanted to ask her a question where had her husband been on
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the evening of Saturday August 10 Sally cook told them the truth he had been in out until very late that
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night back at the criminal investigation branch headquarters Eric cook was told that his wife was refuting his
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Alibi he flatly refused to believe this instead demanding that Sally be brought in to see
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him officers obliged and Sally was taken into the interrogation room where her husband
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sat when she told him that she had in fact made the statement he asked her why because it is the truth Eric and you
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know it Sally replied what do you think I should do now cook asked Sally told him that decision was
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his to make not long after this cook borrowed a pen from a detective and began to
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[Music] write on on Saturday August 10 cook had left home at 12:30 p.m. and spent the
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afternoon bowling in East Perth later that night he drove in his car to cotso then got out and wandered
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around on foot when he spotted a fancy looking house he walked in and helped himself to
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some coins lying around he opened up a wardrobe and saw a rifle which he took along with a packet
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of bullets cook then drove to Del Keith by now it was pouring rain while Thunder rumbled across the
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sky cook claimed that he must have blacked out at this point because the next thing he knew he was trying to exit
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a house with the rifle in his hand he felt as though he must have fired the weapon and when he leared the
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next day about the murder of Shirley McLoud in Del Keith he knew he was responsible in investigators didn't
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believe cook had blacked out for a second however they had their confession and their case was bolstered by a
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cartridge case recovered from Cook's car the case matched the rifle used to kill Shirley
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McLoud late on Sunday September 1 Police charged Eric Edgar cook with murder as Western Australia still had
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capital punishment in 1963 cook was looking at a death sentence although the rifle didn't match
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the firearm used in the Australia Day Killing Spree 8 months earlier investigators had always suspected that
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whoever was behind Shirley's murder committed those crimes too they just needed to prove
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it over the following days they spent hours and hours with cook questioning him about his other
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crimes just as he'd initially done when arrested CK openly admitted to breaking into homes throughout the western
00:31:04
suburbs but denied anything to do with the other murders on the morning of Tuesday
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September 3 three officers took CK on a tour past the nland and cod's low addresses where John sturky George
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Warmsley and Brian Weir had been shot Cook's uncomfortable body language left no doubt in the officer's mind
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Minds that he was responsible when they stopped for lunch at a pub one of the investigators
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stated cookie you're going to hang there's no two ways about that you'll go to The Gallows as a bloody coward for
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the way you shot those people your wife and your kids are going to be reading history about you as a cowardly Mongrel
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who went to The Gallows without letting the people know exactly what you've done so what are you going to do cookie
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go there like that or go there like a bloody gentleman with that cook indicated that
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he was ready to make another confession he took the officers on another tour through Perth this time
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explaining everything he'd done on Saturday January 26 a police photographer accompanied
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them snapping pictures at each location first cook guided the group to a home in
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the suburb of South Perth where he'd stolen a cream and yellow Holden from the vehicle had been parked in the
00:32:38
garage with the keys in the ignition a common practice in Perth at the time cook used the car as his means of
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Transport on the night in question then returned it to the garage after the car's owner hadn't even
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realized it had been taken let alone used in the notorious ious crime spree the Winchester singleshot rifle
00:33:03
cook used on Australia day was also stolen he'd found it in a wardrobe while robbing a home in
00:33:10
cotso it had taken the owner 5 months to realize it was missing as he rarely used
00:33:16
it it was only when police were asking all gun owners to hand over their rifles for examination that he discovered it
00:33:24
was gone cook took the officers through his actions at each separate crime scene
00:33:31
explaining how he'd attacked each victim he'd first set his sights on Rowena Reeves and Nicholas August who he
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spotted in a parked car cook had initially intended to observe them as a Peeping Tom but then
00:33:47
he felt another urge come over him it was then that this power came over me cook
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explained it wasn't an Impulse it was stronger than an Impulse it was it was as though I was
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God and it was like a manle or like a cloud came over me and I must I must use that he fired at Rowena and Nicholas
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injuring them as they sped away he then broke into Brian Weir into John sturkey's respective homes and shot
00:34:21
them in their beds finally cook rang the doorbell of George worsley's home and shot him as he
00:34:29
answered it all of the victims were random cook described his mood as follows I felt as though I was God or
00:34:40
some person who was Untouchable just having that rifle in my hand and doing what I had done and I felt that no power
00:34:48
could stop me when asked why he'd attacked people at all he replied I just wanted to hurt
00:34:59
somebody after he'd finished he pulled over on the Narrows Bridge which connects South Perth to the rest of the
00:35:05
city and tossed the rifle into the Swan River below police divers were able to retrieve the rifle from the
00:35:15
river it was still there 7 months later buried beneath 10 cm of silt cook was charged with two
00:35:24
additional counts of murder for John stury and GE Warmsley one count of attempted murder for Nicholas August and
00:35:32
one count of unlawful wounding for Rowena Reeves from there the flood gates opened
00:35:41
cook began talking more and more about other crimes he'd committed over the past 5 years with an intricate level of
00:35:48
detail he said that he'd broken into about 250 houses after his early arrests where
00:35:56
fingerprints led to his to rest he'd started wearing a pair of leather gloves he also stayed quiet so that no
00:36:04
one would hear his distinctive muffled sounding voice while he sometimes struck on week
00:36:11
nights he typically offended on weekend nights because that was when he had time
00:36:15
to himself free from work and able to escape the demands of his family he would wonderand the streets of
00:36:24
Perth after dark walking through residential areas and back laneways all night long sometimes not returning home
00:36:32
until morning cook could often remember exactly what he had taken from each house and what he'd done while he was
00:36:41
there often he would steal cars too as many people left their cars unlocked with the keys in the ignition
00:36:49
in those days it was all too easy for Cook to hop into a vehicle take it for a joy ride and either discard it or return
00:36:57
it later detectives followed up at the addresses cook claimed to have burgled some of the burglaries could be
00:37:06
confirmed from reports made or the victim's own Recollections others came as a complete
00:37:13
surprise to the residents who had been entirely unaware that there had been a Prowler in their home or that anything
00:37:20
had been taken yet cook was able to describe their floor plans furnishings and decor
00:37:27
in great detail he could name particular locations in the house where money had been hidden away or left out in the
00:37:36
open of the roughly 250 burglaries cooker detailed he was ultimately charged for
00:37:44
[Music] 20 cook said that he'd sometimes done other things while trespassing in other
00:37:53
people's homes cook watched women through windows broke into their houses and stole their
00:38:00
underwear he was fixated with young women angry with how rejected he felt by them and seeking a kind of Vengeance
00:38:07
against people who didn't even know him in the early hours of Wednesday November 26 1958 he had assaulted a
00:38:16
15-year-old girl named Molly McLoud after she woke during his burglary cook had admitted to more
00:38:24
assaults of women within their own homes he was behind the attacks against Alex Duncan Carmel Reed and an
00:38:34
Melvin these women all survived but others hadn't cook confessed to the unsolved
00:38:42
murders of panina burkman and Lucy Madrill the former came as a shock police had been certain that Pan's then
00:38:51
boyfriend was behind her killing cook said he'd broken into pina's flat halfway through 1958 and had
00:38:59
robbed her he returned 6 months later armed with a knife stolen from a home in Wembley in Western
00:39:07
Perth cook claimed he'd been searching Pan's dressing table when he knocked something over and woke
00:39:14
her she screamed and he jumped on her forcing his heavy weight down and strangling her with his
00:39:22
hands panina tried to scratch him which was when cook pulled out the knife and St
00:39:28
her he later threw away the knife after fleeing the scene just as he' done with panina
00:39:35
burkeman cook had broken into Lucy mad drill's flat previously before returning and taking her
00:39:43
life he was able to take police to her home and explain every step of what he'd done and how her body was
00:39:52
left while taking another trip with detectives through the streets of bayw cook had admitted that he tried to hurt
00:39:59
women in other ways he pointed out a spot where he'd run 20-year-old glennis Peak down in a
00:40:06
stolen Holden sedan his description of the stolen car where it was dumped and the damage to it
00:40:14
all matched the facts of the case cook ultimately admitted to all of the mystery hidden runs that had stumped
00:40:22
investigators for years in total he had run down seven girls and young women between 1958 and
00:40:33
1960 Cook's Newfound willingness to talk was at odds with his earlier reticence when admitting to his violent
00:40:41
crimes after one conversation that took place about a week and a half after his arrest an investigator asked if there
00:40:48
was anything else on his mind he felt like talking about yes said cook I have committed two crimes for
00:40:57
which two men are now serving a sentence of [Music] imprisonment exactly 2 weeks after the
00:41:10
Australia Day shootings on Saturday February 9 three young men who'd spent the day at a racehorse track drove home
00:41:17
together around 10:30 p.m. despite the fear that was gripping Perth the young man had enjoyed their
00:41:24
evening immensely with the driver 21-year-old Barry Hansen winning several bets that he'd
00:41:32
placed they were planning on having one final beer together when they reached one of their homes but Barry noticed
00:41:39
something as they headed along stub's Terrace in the western suburb of shanton Park lying a few meters left of the road
00:41:48
in some sand was what looked like a bundle of clothing slightly unnerved by the site
00:41:55
Barry asked his two friends if they'd seen it they hadn't it looks like a body Barry
00:42:03
said he decided to find a wider spot up ahead where he could safely make a U-turn and then drive back by the
00:42:11
clothing to check everything was okay about 60 M up the road they reached a hospital Barry pulled into its driveway
00:42:21
to turn around then slowly drove back down stub's Terrace when they reached the spot where
00:42:28
Barry had seen the clothing they saw there was now another car pulled over a 1962 sarar sedan with someone sitting
00:42:38
behind the wheel Barry kept a driving further along then made another U-turn and parked
00:42:45
about 10 m behind the other car making sure to switch his headlights off he and his friends sat there in the
00:42:53
darkness all feeling slightly nervous the recent shootings were on their mind as they looked on and Barry warned his
00:43:03
friends not to get out of the car what if the driver of this other car was the killer the driver of the other car
00:43:12
opened to the door and ran towards the bundle of clothing alongside the road Barry's instincts had been right
00:43:21
the pile of clothing was in fact a young woman the three men watched as the other
00:43:28
driver picked up her limp body and struggled to carry it to his Simka his actions were illuminated by
00:43:35
his car's headlights and Barry noticed he was a young man who looked to be wearing shorts and no
00:43:43
shirt the man almost dropped the woman as he took her to his car and placed her in the front passenger
00:43:51
seat by this time another vehicle was passing by its four occupants gazing out the windows at the strange scene as they
00:43:59
drove past the shirtless man carrying the woman they pulled over in front of his
00:44:05
car troubled by what they were seeing the shirtless man paid no attention to the rubber
00:44:13
neckers Barry Hansen believed the shirtless man was the Australia Day shooter and was alarmed to see him place
00:44:20
the body of either a deceased or unconscious woman in his car Barry started his car and took off
00:44:28
to raise the alarm he' had driven about 300 or 400 m when the Sim car suddenly sped by him at
00:44:36
70 mph Barry decided to follow the Sima which soon turned left and parked outside of a doctor's
00:44:45
office Barry and his friends watched the shirtless man run to the doctor's front
00:44:50
door one of Barry's passengers Wilson white realized he recognized the man his name was John button and he was the
00:45:01
boyfriend of Wilson's neighbor and former schoolmate 17-year-old Rosemary Anderson John returned and picked the
00:45:10
young woman out of his car carrying her inside to where the doctor was waiting it was clear that the young
00:45:18
woman was John's girlfriend [Music] Rosemary John bton had told the doctor who was Rosemary's general practitioner
00:45:30
that she had a deep cut over her eye that was bleeding heavily Dr Joseph quinlen examined
00:45:37
Rosemary and could tell that she had been struck by a vehicle the cut on her forehead and the
00:45:44
fact that her pupils weren't equal indicated a head injury the doctor also believed she'd
00:45:50
sustained damage to her chest Rosemary was unconscious her pulse was Rising and she was struggling to
00:45:58
breathe her thighs knees and hips were covered with abrasions Dr Quinlan noticed that Jon
00:46:07
had blood smeared on his bare chest and His Hands there was also some blood on his trousers which were rolled up to
00:46:15
resemble shorts after treating Rosemary as best as he could the doctor called for an
00:46:21
ambulance and the police Rosemary was transferred to Royal Perth Hospital arriving at 11:35 p.m.
00:46:29
she was found to be deeply comos and unresponsive to painful stimuli doctors worked on her for a
00:46:37
couple of hours but just as she was transferred to another Ward Rosemary suddenly stopped
00:46:43
breathing efforts to resuscitate her failed and at 2:30 a.m. she was pronounced a
00:46:51
dead meanwhile John Barton was being questioned by two traffic officers he told the police that that day was his
00:47:00
19th birthday and he'd spent the entire day with rosemary celebrating John's parents were out that
00:47:08
night leaving him and his younger brother alone at their family residence in subo and in a western suburb of
00:47:15
Perth late into the evening John and rosemary had gone out to pick up fish and chips to share with the John's
00:47:23
brother while they were eating the meal back at Jon's house Rosemary had reached
00:47:28
for Jon's piece of fish JN had loudly told her off mistakenly thinking it was his brother
00:47:35
taking the fish not Rosemary hurt by his Angry Words Rosemary had left to walk home alone at
00:47:44
around 10:30 p.m. John got into his car and followed after his girlfriend he repeatedly tried
00:47:53
to talk to her pulling up alongside her on the road as she walked but Rosemary refused to speak to
00:47:59
him John said he'd begged her to get in his car so he could drive her home to no
00:48:06
avail finally johon stopped trying and parked his car turning off the ignition and watching as Rosemary walked away and
00:48:14
around the corner to stub's Terrace after waiting several minutes and smoking a cigarette he started the
00:48:22
car up and decided to try again heading left onto stub's Terrace as Rosemary had
00:48:29
done there he found Rosemary lying unconscious by the road with a head wound JN believed she was the victim of
00:48:38
a hid and run and had quickly decided to take her to her doctor to get help the police noted there was
00:48:46
significant damage to the front left side of Jon's car and it was dotted with spots of
00:48:52
blood in the back seat was a girdle and a pair of stockings when asked what had happened to his car
00:49:00
John claimed he'd been in an accident with another car a few weeks earlier he said that Rosemary always
00:49:07
took off her stockings when she rode in his car because she didn't want to get ladders in them but he stammered as he
00:49:14
gave his explanation and seemed nervous johon was interrogated for 6 hours and provided a lengthy detailed
00:49:24
statement maintaining his version of a Advance detectives didn't believe him they thought a fight over fish and chips
00:49:33
sounded ridiculous and suspected something else had caused the young couple to argue that
00:49:39
night they believed JN and rosemary had likely been fooling around in the back of his car hence why her undergarments
00:49:46
were on the back seat perhaps Rosemary had wanted to stop and that was why she'd gotten out and
00:49:53
left on foot angered John had followed his girlfriend and ran her down in a rage maybe he hadn't intended to hit her
00:50:03
maybe he'd just plan to scare her but got too close by mistake ultimately though she had been
00:50:10
hit and Jon then panicked about his actions detectives continued to interrogate Jon and started getting
00:50:19
physical with him as their frustration grew they punched the 19-year-old several times but all John could focus
00:50:28
on was Rosemary so he asked if they knew how she was doing oh she's dead the detectives
00:50:36
informed him Rosemary had passed away a couple of hours earlier at the hospital John became sick after learning
00:50:45
this and went to the bathroom to throw up what have I done it was all my fault John
00:50:54
said do you mean she was struck by by your car the detectives pressed no longer caring what happened
00:51:01
to him John replied yes he then provided a new statement this time confessing that he was the one
00:51:11
who hit Rosemary John abandoned the story about the fish and chips instead saying they'd
00:51:19
argued after playing strip poker Rosemary had removed her stockings and girdle as part of the game and then
00:51:27
JN had tried to fondle Rosemary's breasts this caused her to storm out John had grabbed her undergarments and
00:51:36
tossed them into his car before driving after her after repeatedly trying to speak
00:51:43
with her while she walked home he'd decided to scare her by pretending he was going to hit
00:51:49
her as Rosemary walked on the left side of stub's Terrace John drove towards her
00:51:55
at 35 m hour or just over 56 km per hour before he could realize what had happened the left side of his car struck
00:52:05
Rosemary with a loud crunch John would later reeni his confession explaining that he'd been
00:52:13
through intense questioning and in his extreme grief he'd felt responsible as it was his mistake of shouting at Ros re
00:52:21
that led to her refusing a lift from him he was compelled to tell a story that sounded more believable to the
00:52:30
police the reason Rosemary's undergarments had been in his car was because they'd had sex there earlier
00:52:36
that evening Jon hadn't wanted to tell anyone that as he wanted to protect Rosemary's
00:52:44
reputation he had adored Rosemary and the two had been planning to get married despite all of this John bam was
00:52:53
tried Less Than 3 months later and convicted of manslaughter he was sentenced to 10
00:52:59
years with hard labor months after johon was convicted confessed spree killer Eric Eda cook
00:53:10
told investigators that he was in fact responsible for the murder of Rosemary Anderson cook said that at around 8:30
00:53:19
on the night of Saturday February 9 he had stolen a brand new two-tone green Holden from a home in southp
00:53:27
he drove to the city then West through the affluent suburbs he particularly liked to pray
00:53:34
on at around 10 p.m. he was heading along stub's Terrace in shanton park when he noticed Rosemary Anderson
00:53:42
walking alone on the side of the road all night cook had been feeling a desire to hurt someone rise inside him
00:53:51
and he decided Rosemary would be his victim he continued driving past pass the teenager then did a u-turn and drove
00:53:59
straight at her at 40 mph or just under 65 km per hour Rosemary didn't make a sound as the
00:54:09
front right hand side of the car struck her she was thrown onto the Bonnet struck the sun visor that jutted out
00:54:17
over the Holden's wind screen then rolled off onto the side of the road cook continued driving turning
00:54:24
right down a side street that left before parking he got out to survey the damage there was an obvious dant on the
00:54:34
Bonnet and a few spots of blood which he wiped away with a handkerchief after about 5 minutes cook
00:54:41
got back in the car and drove back to the crime scene he passed a couple of cars headed
00:54:48
in the other direction on the way when he reached the spot where he'd hit Rosemary he saw no sign of her
00:54:58
cook figured somebody must have found the girl and taken her to the hospital he kept driving east heading towards a
00:55:05
large public garden known as King's Park cook turned left onto a roadway called may drive and abandoned the
00:55:15
vehicle the entire Drive was lined with Memorial trees in honor of Fallen Australian soldiers and cook decided to
00:55:24
drive into one he reduced his speed to 20 mph or 32 km hour and drove directly at a tree further damaging the
00:55:35
car cook got out walked for a distance then caught a taxi home after he took detectives through a
00:55:44
step-by-step process of the night in question he completed a handwritten confession about the
00:55:50
crime he concluded it with the words my reason for running down the girl was just to inflict injury and pain
00:55:59
on her I never knew her the reason I left this statement until I were arrested on other matters was first when
00:56:08
it happened I didn't want to be charged with this crime second now that I have been
00:56:14
arrested on other matters and have so much more against me this bit can't hurt me and I'd like to see an innocent
00:56:21
person like John button free even though this random attack against Rosemary Anderson would be in keeping
00:56:31
with Cook's previous hit and runs detectives weren't buying his confession when cook had pointed to the
00:56:38
spot on the ground where Rosemary's body had Lain he was out by a few meters then when they took cook to may
00:56:46
drive and asked him to point out the tree he'd driven into he was unable to he chose a tree that was actually
00:56:54
several trees away from the location where the Holden had been found after the car was discovered
00:57:01
smashed into the tree back in February it had been returned to its rightful owner following Cook's new claims
00:57:09
investigators went to inspect the vehicle but found none of the damage to the Bonnet that he described although it
00:57:16
had been repaired after its recovery detectives also found some of Cook's other details to be at odds with
00:57:25
the actual event Rosemary had been hit at around 10:45 p.m. not 10 p.m. some items belonging to
00:57:34
her were found some distance from where cook said that he'd struck her and his descriptions of where he'd been when he
00:57:42
spotted Rosemary then drove towards her did not align with where Rosemary was found as one investigator told
00:57:51
him considering the pace you say you were traveling and the distance you say you covered from the time when you first
00:57:58
saw her to where you say you hid her it appears impossible that these circumstances could have
00:58:04
occurred cook became confused stating I don't understand it I am sure I killed her not long after he had written his
00:58:16
confession cook panned a attraction in which he put his Vivid recollection of killing Rosemary Anderson down to an
00:58:24
overactive imagination quote by reading all the available papers on this crime and remembering
00:58:32
where it took place and the person involved I were able to describe what I believe I did having read some books I
00:58:40
get so engrossed in them that I project myself and believe I'm the person in those
00:58:46
books having given further thought to my admissions to the detectives I'm now of
00:58:51
the opinion that I couldn't have been the person associated with the death of Rosemary and
00:58:59
as Cook's certainty about this confession waned so too did his belief in another admission that he'd
00:59:09
made the vicious and violent murder of 22-year-old socialite and Dess Jillian Brewer on Saturday December 19 1959 had
00:59:19
sent shock waves through Perth the young woman had been struck with a hatchet and stabbed with with
00:59:26
scissors while asleep in her bed with perth's coroner calling it the worst murder he had ever
00:59:33
seen investigators hadn't linked it to the Spade of break-ins or other murders of
00:59:40
women after a 19-year-old deaf nonverbal man named Daryl Beamish came to the police's attention for other offenses in
00:59:49
1961 detectives began to suspect him of Jillian's murder darl had a difficult life in
00:59:57
which he faced discrimination and social exclusion due to his disabilities he was described as having
01:00:04
the verbal understanding of a 7-year-old and communicated via signing and using his fingers to spell out
01:00:11
words darl was close with his family who knew him to be gentle and kind but struggled to make friends with other
01:00:19
members of the community in turn he didn't always act appropriately with some report that he
01:00:26
would rush up to girls at a local Cinema in an attempt to get close to them darl later befriended a young woman
01:00:34
named Dan who lived at Brookwood Flats the same codow apartment complex where Jillian Brewer had
01:00:42
lived an later moved away around January 1961 as Daryl couldn't telephone her due
01:00:51
to his disabilities he began hanging around the flats in search of someone who might know where he could find
01:00:58
her at the same time a Prowler around the area had been breaking into Apartments this would lead police
01:01:06
officers to believe darl and the prer were one and the same in April 1961 Daryl was charged with a very
01:01:17
serious crime in four separate incidents little girls aged between 4 and 5 years
01:01:23
old accused him of coaxing them into into his car driving them to King's Park and then parking the
01:01:30
car he would then lift up their dresses pull down their underwear and look at them before driving them back to the
01:01:38
location where he'd found them Daryl admitted to these assaults and would later plead guilty to them in
01:01:46
court his status as a sex offender and association with the Brookwood Flats LED investigators to wonder if he could be
01:01:53
Jillian Brewer's killer he initially denied having anything to do with the murder but eventually
01:02:01
admitted to it after hours of intimidation and threats his written confession was made
01:02:07
by copying down the written answers that the detectives provided in total the statement was four
01:02:15
pages long with very scan a detail about the actual crime another confession was also made
01:02:23
via a sign language interpreter who repeatedly ignored Daryl when he told her he was
01:02:29
innocent he was ultimately convicted of murder and given the death sentence the matter was considered
01:02:39
solved until Eric edar cook threw a spanner in the works 2 and a half years later by confessing to the
01:02:46
crime just as he' done with all the other crimes he gave a detailed description of how he had killed Jillian
01:02:52
Brewer and his actions on that night cook had actually already been questioned about the crime one month
01:02:59
after it was committed due to his known history as a Prowler he'd said he was home at the
01:03:06
time and Alibi his wife backed up years later Sally cook explained that the day after Jillian's murder cook had
01:03:15
shown her an article about the crime in the paper the two had discussed how awful it
01:03:22
was and then cook had asked his wife to tell the police he was at home that night if they asked any
01:03:28
questions he explained that due to his prior convictions for prowling they would try to pin it on
01:03:36
him Sally cook accepted this and did as her husband asked Cook's confession to the murder of
01:03:44
Jillian Brewer amounted to 14 pages when transcribed he said that he had been to
01:03:51
Jillian's apartment building before and had robbed her mother on the night of Saturday December 19 1959 he went there
01:04:00
again and watched Jillian with her fiance through her bedroom window he heard the two chatting and saw
01:04:08
when Jillian's fiance left cook went around the back of the apartment and entered via the rear door
01:04:16
which was unlocked as he pushed the door open he heard a scraping sound on the cement
01:04:23
floor shining his torch down he saw a small bottle of milk that had just been delivered to the home placing his time
01:04:31
of Entry at 1:00 a.m. ker used the bottle to keep the door propped open then went to Jillian's
01:04:39
bedroom where he attacked her with a hatchet had stolen from a nearby property the sound of the assault woke a
01:04:46
Jillian's pet poodle who hid under the bed in fear while barking at the Intruder cook was able to soothe the dog
01:04:55
by patting him and making a gentle shushing sound a neighbor had verified hearing
01:05:01
Jillian's dog briefly bark at this time but once again police were able to convince cook that he could not have
01:05:09
committed this crime and he agreed to retract this admission as well 3 weeks after his initial arrest
01:05:21
cook was transferred to prison to await his trial he was assigned two defense lawyers through Western Australia's
01:05:28
legal aid program he provided more candid confessions to his attorneys even going
01:05:34
so far as to confess to killing Rosemary Anderson and Jillian Brewer again police would keep many of these
01:05:42
confessions secret from the public including the seven hdden runs against women and the assaults of women in their
01:05:49
own homes Eric edar Cook's trial began in November 19 63 Less Than 3 months after
01:05:58
his arrest the first charge he was facing was for the murder of John sturkey during the Australia Day
01:06:06
shootings because cook openly admitted to killing his victims his lawyers were arguing that he was not guilty by reason
01:06:13
of insanity after reviewing Cook's background and speaking extensively with his family they believed he was
01:06:22
suffering from a mental illness most likely schizophrenia Cook's mother told the attorneys about
01:06:28
her son's history of headaches and blackouts the defense wanted to have a private psychiatrist examine cook and
01:06:36
provide an assessment of his mental state but this was denied by the court instead he was assessed by a
01:06:44
senior mental health practitioner employed by the state Dr Aaron Ellis Dr Ellis found no indication that
01:06:53
cook was suffering from delusion a symptom of schizophrenia nor that he lacked the ability to control his
01:07:02
actions in fact Dr Ellis pointed to the lengths cook had gone to in order to conceal his responsibility such as
01:07:10
wearing gloves and discarding weapons these were not the actions of someone who wasn't in
01:07:18
control cook had also been able to maintain the facade of being a good husband and father and worked hard to
01:07:25
provide for his family his total lack of remorse for his crimes was concerning but not an
01:07:33
indication of insanity instead it was more likely the consequence of a quote Psychopathic
01:07:41
character disorder such as antisocial personality disorder Dr Ellis believed Cook's
01:07:49
criminal Behavior was the result of a long simmering resentment towards Society at Large
01:07:56
in superficial encounters he presented as polite compliant and passive beneath that surface image was a
01:08:04
self-obsessed man who wanted to vent his rage against those who he perceived as rejecting or wronging
01:08:12
him he often chose victims from well-off areas because they represented the people he believed had rejected
01:08:19
him cook himself had always lived in workingclass suburbs quote I think this man's antisocial reactions
01:08:29
can be traced back to his early childhood and his resentment at having been born with a hair lip and cleft
01:08:36
pallet the children at school picked on him and he regarded himself as the freak
01:08:41
of the family his persistent stealing Arsen and finally murders all seemed directed
01:08:48
towards satisfying his craving for power over others cook Ed particular resentment
01:08:57
towards women who made up the majority of his victims he was both traumatized by his
01:09:04
father's violence towards his mother and angry at the women he perceived as rejecting him socially and
01:09:11
romantically his wife Sally would later tell Perth the journalist Brett Christian Eric wasn't really insane he
01:09:20
had a grudge against Society he saw his mother beaten up he didn't know how to relate to
01:09:29
women the trial lasted just 3 days and it only took the jury of eight men and four women 1 hour and 5 minutes to reach
01:09:37
a verdict guilty Eric Edgar cook would be sentenced to death by hanging for the murder of John
01:09:47
stury this sentence meant that the prosecution would not be pursuing the other murder and criminal charges
01:09:54
against cook cook ordered his attorneys not to file an appeal even though they were still
01:10:01
concerned about his mental state his hanging was set to be carried out at 8:00 a.m. on Monday October 26th
01:10:10
1964 1 year and 2 months after his arrest 15 minutes before cook was executed he took a Bible from the hand
01:10:20
of a reverend who was visiting him and while holding it he stated I swear before almighty God that I
01:10:29
killed Anderson and Brewer Eric Eda cook was the last person to be executed in the state of Western
01:10:38
Australia the death penalty was later abolished in [Music] 1984 cook had repeatedly confessed to
01:10:50
the murders of Rosemary Anderson and Jillian Brewer during his incarceration he'd written statements
01:10:56
detailing those crimes and signed affidavits but neither the police nor the Judiciary believed him instead
01:11:04
thinking he was just trying to delay his sentence however the truth was there were multiple issues and inconsistencies
01:11:13
with their cases against the two men who had been convicted of those crimes John button tried to appeal his
01:11:21
manslaughter conviction citing Cook's confession as new evidence his appeals failed and he served 5 years
01:11:29
of his 10year sentence before being paroled he struggled to put the pieces of his life back together grappling with
01:11:38
grief and an intense guilt for not being able to prevent Rosemary's murder the young couple had been
01:11:45
planning to get married when Rosemary turned 18 instead John had to mourn Rosemary and also take the blame after
01:11:53
her life suddenly ended in a violent and shocking way Rosemary's parents and many of Jon's
01:12:00
Friends cut him off believing he was guilty he was still desperate for his name to be cleared so he wrote to
01:12:10
everyone he could think of who might be able to help John did this for three decades
01:12:16
with no success he eventually married and had two children but still felt stuck haunted by grief and Injustice
01:12:26
John sunk into a deep depression he attempted suicide multiple times and had to be admitted for psychiatric
01:12:34
treatment the aftershocks of Cook's crime would continue to be felt by John button's wife and two children who also
01:12:42
suffered the consequences of Jon's trauma John's story eventually caught the attention of Perth the journalist to
01:12:51
still Blackburn she had been in her early teens when the night caller stalked the
01:12:56
city and had experienced the same fear as other residents after the Australia Day
01:13:02
shootings she was so terrified that she refused to use the ouse at her family home after dark in case the shooter was
01:13:10
lurking nearby three decades later in 1991 Estelle was at a dance where she had a
01:13:18
chance encounter with the John button's brother Jim who told her that his brother had been wrongfully convicted
01:13:24
for a crime crime actually committed by Eric Edo cook Estelle didn't believe Jim at first
01:13:32
as she had a strong faith in the police and the justice system but she began digging into the case out of
01:13:40
curiosity Estelle met with the John and was intrigued by his story through her contacts she was able
01:13:48
to access all of the police files about the Cork and button cases which had been
01:13:52
archived decades earlier and never made public while the trolling through the files Estelle stumbled across confession
01:14:01
after confession made by Eric Edgar cook admitting to countless violent crimes across
01:14:08
Perth through these statements a still Blackburn was able to track down other victims and hear their stories
01:14:15
firsthand she spoke to the seven women who'd survived Cook's hit and runs all of the stories matched up EST
01:14:25
believed their stories were deliberately withheld from the public as they would make the case against a John button far
01:14:31
weaker and police did not want to undermine his conviction she continued digging over
01:14:38
the next 6 years and her efforts uncovered a brand new witness who had never been interviewed before a man who
01:14:46
had been out riding his vasper scooter with his girlfriend on the night Rosemary Anderson was
01:14:52
killed Doug wilky had been riding along stub's Terrace the street where Rosemary
01:14:57
was run down when a light colored Holden sped up behind them Doug also sped up to put some space
01:15:05
between them but the Holden pursued its engine revving Doug knew the driver wanted to
01:15:12
run them down suddenly another car appeared ahead of them this new witness prompted the
01:15:19
Holden driver to slow down and Doug was able to get away this story seemed to back up Cook's
01:15:27
claim that he was in the area looking for victims Estelle Blackburn wound up writing a book about the case titled
01:15:35
broken lives it was published in 1998 by Brett Christian who owned the Perth Community
01:15:42
publication post newspapers broken lives led to renewed interest in the old case and soon
01:15:50
lawyers were offering to represent John button pro bono an American crash test expert was
01:15:57
brought in and conducted a series of tests using a dummy and the same models of Holden and simar that Kook and John
01:16:04
had been driving respectively via these tests the expert was able to determined that the damage
01:16:12
to Jon's car was inconsistent with having hit a pedestrian as it was too low down on the
01:16:18
bumper there was no dent on the Bonnet where Rosemary would have fallen meanwhile Cook's description of
01:16:26
how Rosemary's body was struck and fell when hit by the holding he was driving was entirely
01:16:33
accurate eventually 4 years after the publication of broken lives John button's conviction was quashed in
01:16:42
2002 the following year he was awarded $460,000 by the state as [Music] compensation John butter exoneration
01:16:55
paved the way for Daryl Beamish to file his own appeal he had originally been sentenced
01:17:02
to death for killing Jillian Brewer however this sentence was subsequently reduced to life in prison and Beamish
01:17:10
was ultimately released after 15 years while many across Perth breathed a sigh of relief after Daryl's conviction
01:17:19
for the horrific murder those who knew him well were uneasy although Daryl was a convicted
01:17:26
sex offender there was a belief that these crimes had stemmed from his childlike Manner and repressed curiosity
01:17:33
about sex he wasn't known to be at all violent or aggressive as Jillian's killer clearly
01:17:40
was it turned out that there had always been issues with Daryl's confession he hadn't accurately
01:17:47
described the injuries to Julian's body said he had raped her despite no evidence of sexual assault and even
01:17:54
named the wrong day the attack had taken place journalist Estelle Blackburn's friend and colleague Brett Christian of
01:18:03
post newspapers turned his Focus to darl Bish's case in his own book presumed guilty he described how Daryl had
01:18:12
difficulty communicating with police officers due to being deaf and nonverbal he repeatedly got facts wrong
01:18:20
about Jillian's case including saying he'd fled her flat via the door which was locked from the inside when the
01:18:27
crime scene was discovered the lead detective had also taken Daryl to Jillian's home and lay on
01:18:35
her bed miming how she had been stabbed in various parts of her body by making chopping motions with his
01:18:42
hands Daryl had apparently nodded as the detective did this which was taken as a
01:18:50
confession in contrast Eric edar Cook's confession aligned perfectly with the details of the case he overheard part of
01:18:59
Jillian's conversation with her fiance which her fiance was able to confirm was most likely
01:19:06
correct evidence also linked him to her home at the Brookwood Flats well before her murder and a burglary of Julian's
01:19:14
mother's home next door in 2005 3 years after John button was exonerated Daryl Beamish had his
01:19:23
conviction overturned earned as well he was awarded $425,000 compensation by the state
01:19:32
government although Eric Edgar cook apologized to John button and Daryl beish for their wrongful convictions
01:19:39
prior to his execution the Western Australia police force never has much of the blame for the wrongful
01:19:47
convictions has been placed on a former detective named Owen leech he was the officer who extracted a
01:19:54
confession from Daryl Beamish and his solving of Jillian Brewer's high-profile murder directly led to him being
01:20:02
promoted to the top position of Western Australia's Police Commissioner leech was also responsible
01:20:09
for convicting another deaf man who was friends with Daryl Beamish for a burglary and assault committed by Eric
01:20:16
Edgar cook the victim's description of her attacker matched cook exactly but leech
01:20:23
instead pinned it on an in man who was taller than cook and looked nothing like him in the documentary series after the
01:20:32
night former Western Australia Premier Brian Burke said that in his experience Owen leech intimidated other officers
01:20:40
and was quote a frightening person to deal with there was no one more fervent in his
01:20:48
efforts to keep innocent people in jail one of leech's detec Ives who was directly responsible for cook ultimately
01:20:57
confessing to the Australia Day attacks admitted to driving cook past Gillian Brewer's home after his
01:21:04
arrest his Hope was that cook would admit to the murder which the detective didn't believe Beamish was responsible
01:21:15
for John button and AD darl Beamish were just two of Eric Edgar Cook's living victims whose lives were permanently
01:21:23
altered and damaged Cook's own family were victims of him as well he kept up a facade with his wife
01:21:31
Sally while also spending copious amounts of time away from her and their children Sally was never allowed to ask
01:21:38
her husband questions about what he got up to at night or query his frequent absences from home she believed her
01:21:46
husband was cheating on her as strange women often came to their house looking for
01:21:51
cook he had told them Sally was his widow 's sister and he was helping to raise her
01:21:58
children in the aftermath of the Australia Day shootings cook acted as though his family needed to fear the
01:22:05
night caller the same as everyone else in the documentary series after the night Sul cook told the filmmakers how
01:22:14
cook had insisted their children no longer sleep outside during the summer they all had to sleep on the
01:22:21
bedroom floor next to her instead he demand that she lock all the doors to stay safe while he was out
01:22:28
prowling the streets of Perth he came up with his own special knock and whistle so when he returned
01:22:36
home after a long night out she would know it was him outside when he arrived home Sally
01:22:43
quickly pulled him inside and said I hate this killer on the loose when are they going to catch
01:22:51
him the date that cook was finally arrested for murder in 1963 was Father's Day when there was a knock at the cook
01:23:00
residence later that morning the children all raced down the hallway with presents in their hands expecting to
01:23:07
greet their father instead they were met by police officers who'd come to inform Sally cook
01:23:14
of her husband's arrest the news of what he was charged with had come as an enormous
01:23:21
shock as Sally cook stated in after the night quote I knew he was a thief and a womanizer but that's far different to
01:23:31
being a murderer the family also had to Grapple with what might have happened to them if
01:23:39
police hadn't managed to arrest cook first he admitted to detectives that he'd been keeping a rifle and ammunition
01:23:47
in the ceiling of his home and intended to kill his wife children and finally himself if it ever seemed the police
01:23:55
were closing in I wasn't going to leave them behind for anybody else he stated Sally cook was left with no money
01:24:06
and had to survive on a pension while raising seven children all alone her siblings would no longer
01:24:12
associate with her due to the social stigma despite this Sally refused to leave Perth explaining that she wanted
01:24:22
to teach her children that painful experiences had to be met and confronted head
01:24:27
on in after the night Sally described how proud she was of her seven children stating my family could have been a lot
01:24:37
different to what they were not one of them took after him the couple's eldest child Tony cook
01:24:47
became a highly regarded social worker and later a union leader who fought for workers
01:24:53
rights in 2002 he and his mother met with the John button and the parents of Rosemary Anderson to apologize for his
01:25:01
father's crimes this meeting was covered in an episode of the ABC television program
01:25:07
Australian story when asked in a televised interview about how his father's crimes
01:25:14
had shaped his life Tony answered I'd have to say it has made a huge impact on me as a person it guides
01:25:23
me in what I do it's formed my values and my attitudes it's given me the conviction
01:25:30
that what I should be doing is working towards a more positive Society the sort of society that doesn't breed people
01:25:38
like my father Tony cook passed away in 2018 followed by his mother Sally one year
01:25:47
later in 2019 the victims of Cook's attacks who survived were also changed Forever by
01:26:00
what was done to them some suffered permanent or temporary physical disabilities and brain damage many
01:26:08
battled post-traumatic stress in the months and years after their assaults their goals and Ambitions
01:26:15
changed some relocated and moved away from their homes a sense of safety freedom and
01:26:22
security was taken from them even victims of Cook's burglaries who had no idea they'd been robbed until
01:26:30
later notified by the police have had to live with knowing they'd had a close brush with the notorious
01:26:37
murderer others faced a different battles when they realized they would never get their day in
01:26:44
court according to a still Blackburn's book broken lives hid and run victim Jill Connell only realized who was
01:26:51
behind her attack after her mother read had an early headline about how cook had
01:26:56
lived nearby she immediately suspected he must have been J's attacker and followed it
01:27:03
up with the police the police confirmed their suspicions and Jill was overjoyed to
01:27:10
finally know what had happened to her however her relief turned to despair when investigators told her cook would
01:27:18
not be trial for her crime jel wanted the Vindication of a public trial so everyone would know who
01:27:26
had hurt her the hit and run left a jaw with significant scarring physical pain and
01:27:32
emotional trauma when she initially told her friends that her case was solved and
01:27:39
cook was responsible they hadn't believed her this further traumatized victims like a jel who were left with a
01:27:47
feeling of Injustice journalist distal Blackburn has argued that police never publicized
01:27:55
Cook's confessions about assaulting women in their homes because they didn't want the public to make the connection
01:28:01
between cook and Jillian Brewer's murder this was in keeping with their decision to keep Cook's hidden runs a
01:28:08
secret so he wouldn't be suspected of Rosemary Anderson's murder just as she had done with those
01:28:15
cases a St Blackburn Tracked Down the survivors who had been assaulted in their homes one of these was Molly McLoud who
01:28:23
had been 15 years old when cook hit her over the head while robbing her family's
01:28:28
home concussing her for 30 years the McLoud family had believed Molly had simply fallen out of
01:28:35
bed until a still Blackburn uncovered Cook's confession and reached out to Molly's
01:28:42
father police hadn't just concealed Cook's non-fatal crimes for years they had believed that Cook's first murder
01:28:51
victim panina burkeman was killed by her boyfriend friend who subsequently left Australia for
01:28:57
grece after cook provided a highly detailed admission to the crime they accepted that he was the true
01:29:05
culprit but they never charged him with Pan's murder and nor did they notify any
01:29:10
of her family members that the case was solved at the time of her murder in 1959
01:29:17
panina had an 8-year-old son named Mark she and Mark had relocated to Perth from
01:29:24
Melbourne after panina and her polish-born husband divorced on the night of his mother's
01:29:31
murder Mark had been staying at a friend's house for the school holidays he never understood the truth
01:29:37
of what happened to his mother and the next four years of Mark's life remain a blur to this
01:29:44
day his father took mark back to Melbourne and the pair later relocated to Israel in the documentary series after
01:29:54
the night Mark described his grief as follows all of a sudden you lose a mother one day you see her the next day
01:30:04
you don't and you don't know the reason and it doesn't really matter I see it as a private
01:30:12
Holocaust it only belongs to me in 2004 Mark visited Australia to see some extended family members
01:30:24
a cousin told him about the book broken lives and how it told his mother's story Mark got hold of a copy and was
01:30:32
stunned to learn the truth it was the first he'd ever heard about what happened to his mother and
01:30:39
who was responsible for taking her life the family members and Friends of CK's seven other murder victims have
01:30:47
been dealt a life sentence as well countless individuals have had to graeve loved ones under the most painful
01:30:55
circumstances and live in a new reality that was far more terrifying than the one they knew
01:31:01
before this loss of innocence was felt more broadly by the entire city of Perth which was fundamentally different after
01:31:11
cook even though Cook's crimes are now more than 60 years old some longtime residents still have firsthand memories
01:31:19
of his reign of terror as a St Blackburn state ated in the 2020 documentary after the night
01:31:28
quote all these years on there are still all these people who carried the scars of the crimes of Eric Eda cook far more
01:31:37
people than we realized at the time really affected by his attacks their families their friends
01:31:46
there are a lot of people still in Perth who sleep with a light on at night [Music]
01:32:07
[Music]