Casefile True Crime - Case 112: Rachel Barber

Episode Date: May 25, 2019

15-year-old Rachel Barber was thrilled to make the move from a conventional high school to a special performing arts school in Melbourne’s inner-city suburb of Richmond. On the evening of March 1 1999, she waved goodbye to her classmates after making plans to meet them for breakfast the following morning. Little did they know, it was the last they’d ever see of her. --- Episode narrated by the Anonymous Host Researched and written by Gemma Harris, Elsha McGill, and Milly Raso For all credits and sources please visit casefilepodcast.com/case-112-rachel-barber

Our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents. If you feel at any time you need support, please contact your local crisis centre. For suggested phone numbers for confidential support, please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website. It came as little surprise to those who knew Rachel Barba that she had chosen to leave conventional high school to pursue a career in dance. Her passion for the art began when she was in the womb. Her mother Elizabeth would press headphones to her bare belly and feel her unborn daughter

move to the sounds of classical music. 15-year-old Rachel, as well as her younger sister's 11-year-old Ashley Rose and a 9-year-old Heather, inherited the flair for the creative arts that ran in their extended family, which boasted a children's author, photographer, artist, writer, toy maker, and designer. As a young child, Rachel directed and choreographed performances at home for her sister's destarring. As her enthusiasm for classical ballet flourished, Rachel enrolled in classes at the Melbourne Dance Academy and would spend her lunch breaks at primary school practicing her routines in the hall.

At home, her bedroom cupboards were crammed full of leotards, tights, and dance shoes, which she often pulled out for her younger sisters to dress up in. She dreamed of becoming a professional performer who ran her own studio. Created as a natural beauty, Rachel posed for her grandmother's photographs and artistic works for years, and at age 14, she enrolled in a two-week modeling course. Tall and slim with piercing green eyes, Rachel was soon featured in Health and Love Style magazine Women's Fitness Australia. Not long after completing the modeling course, Rachel begged her parents to let her leave

high school early to study full-time at the dance factory, a performing art school in the inner Melbourne suburb of Richmond. Although Rachel's heart was clearly in dance and not academia, the decision wasn't an easy one for her parents. The dance factory was an expensive school, and they held concerns their daughter might change her mind later, but her talent was undeniable, and they eventually agreed. Rachel threw herself wholeheartedly into the diploma, attending all her classes and practicing diligently.

Her parents even allowed her to rip up the carpet in her bedroom to expose the polished wooden floorboards underneath, so she had somewhere functional to practice at home. Monday, March 1, 1999, presented an unusually humid morning, as 15-year-old Rachel Barber dressed in a pair of long black pants, a blue top, jazz shoes, and several items of jewellery. She slung her black bag over her shoulder, which contained her wallet, and a homemade gift she had spent the weekend sewing for her boyfriend, a purple cushion in the shape of a heart, tied with a pink ribbon.

Her plan for the day was to meet some friends for breakfast, before the group headed to the dance factory for a typical day of classes. After kissing her mother goodbye, Rachel bounded out the front door of her family's Bayswater North Home in Melbourne's eastern suburbs. She turned to wave happily, calling out over her shoulder. Bye, mum, love you. Rachel was not overly confident navigating Melbourne's public transport system, so each morning her parents took turns dropping her off at one of two nearby tram stops.

On this day, Michael Barber drove his daughter to the Waddle Park stop, on the corner of Riversdale and Elgar Roads, on his way to work. He planned to pick her up from the same stop at around 6.15pm that evening. Rachel bordered the 9.30am tram to Richmond, arriving to a friend's house to eat breakfast with several other performing arts students from the dance factory, including her 16-year-old boyfriend Emmanuel, known by friends as Manny. The couple had met at the dance factory in May the previous year, and had since become inseparable.

Rachel gave Manny the purple heart-shaped cushion she had made him, telling him he had captured her heart. At around 10.15am, Rachel, Manny and their companions made their way to the dance factory. During classes, Rachel mentioned to one of her fellow students that she was going to make a lot of money that evening, but didn't explain how, simply saying she would tell him all about it the following day. It wasn't the first time Rachel had brought up the money she planned to make that night. Whilst she and Manny were walking down the main shopping strip of Swan Street, Rachel

showed him a $100 pair of blue platform shoes she intended to buy the following day. She had been eyeing the shoes for a while, taking her mother to the same shop a week earlier to express her interest in purchasing them. Although Rachel didn't have the funds to buy them yet, she explained to Manny that she was going to meet up with an old female friend that night, who had promised her a high-paying job that would bring her, quote, heaps of money, along with free clothing burps. When Manny asked for more details, Rachel acted uncharacteristically secretive and tight-lipped, telling him nothing about the job.

She explained that she had been instructed not to tell him or her parents about the work. When class finished for the day at around 5.35pm, Rachel left the dance factory with several other classmates and walked along Church Street towards her tram home on Bridge Road. She parted ways with Manny, promising to call him later that evening before kissing him goodbye and walking onwards with two of her friends. When the trio reached the Bridge Road turnoff, Rachel revealed she would be catching a different tram home than usual from a stop located further down the road.

One friend offered to escort her to this other stop, but Rachel declined, assuring them her father would be waiting to pick her up at the other end of the line. At 5.45pm, after the trio agreed to meet for breakfast the following morning, Rachel separated from the group and walked off along the western side of Church Street towards Bridge Road, in the opposite direction to her tram line home. At 6.15pm, Elizabeth Barber was at home preparing for lunch at the Bridge Road, where she and her two youngest daughters played in the next room. Her husband Michael and eldest daughter Rachel were expected to walk through the door any

minute as they generally arrived home together no later than 6.45pm. Yet, by 7.15pm, there was no sign of them. Elizabeth wondered whether Rachel may have missed her tram from Richmond and had been delayed as she waited for the next one. She also considered the possibility that Michael had run out of petrol on the drive home, which he was known to do. As neither her husband nor eldest daughter owned a mobile phone, Elizabeth had few options but to endure the wait.

She knew Rachel was keen to carry on their conversation from the previous day, regarding the adoption of a kitten she had preemptively named Humphrey. Near a half an hour later, at 7.40pm, Elizabeth was startled by the ringing of the home phone. It was her husband, calling from his parents' house 10km away in the suburb of Blackburn. He explained that he had gone to pick up Rachel from the Wattle Park tram stop as planned, but there was no sign of her. He stayed at the stop from 6.10pm onwards, expecting Rachel to emerge from any of the passing trams, but after an hour of waiting, Rachel failed to show.

Michael headed to his parents' house to contact his wife, hoping she might know where their daughter was. The barbers considered the possibility that Rachel had mistakenly disembarked the tram at Camberwell tram stop instead of Wattle Park. Her mother would pick her up from that particular stop twice a week, and there was every chance Rachel had gotten her days mixed up. Michael drove to Camberwell to check, only to find out Rachel wasn't there either. Elizabeth Barber contacted the Box Hill police station to report Rachel missing, explaining

it was extremely out of character for her daughter to be out so late without notifying her family. Rachel was afraid of the dark and felt uncomfortable walking around at night alone. On one previous occasion, she was followed to the local shop by several men, this experience serving to exacerbate her fears. She was also shy, meaning if she had gotten lost, Rachel would opt to walk over catching public transport and would not ask a stranger for directions. Police didn't treat the situation with urgency, explaining that a majority of missing teenagers

usually showed up within 48 hours alive and well. They reassured Elizabeth that Rachel had probably just lost track of time with friends and would be home soon. If not, she would surely show up at the dance studio for her scheduled classes the following day. But with the lukewarm police response, Elizabeth phoned Rachel's boyfriend, Manny, for information. He couldn't offer Rachel's current whereabouts, but was able to detail her actions earlier that day, ending with the two parting ways around 5.30pm.

When Manny made the strange remark, she meant it, I didn't think she would go. Elizabeth pressed him to explain. He recounted Rachel's cryptic comments earlier that day about a secret, well-paying job she had booked for that night, but had refused to elaborate on. Elizabeth was unaware that her daughter had recently attended any job interviews and was confused as to why Rachel would intentionally keep such information from her parents. She contacted Rachel's friends and dance teachers in an effort to trace her movements and determine what this mysterious job offer might have been.

She learned that Rachel had bypassed her usual tram home that afternoon and instead took another, but her expected destination was unknown. At 8.45pm, Michael Barber arrived to the Boxhill police station to file an official missing persons report. Despite rising concerns for Rachel, police remained reluctant to initiate an investigation, certain that Rachel would turn up fine. They explained that 97% of missing persons are usually located within 48 hours of their disappearance and those who don't turn up in that time frame are typically located within

5 days. This did nothing to placate the worried parents, who spent the night driving around a Melbourne city, checking every street and alleyway whilst asking strangers if they had seen at all brown-haired, green-eyed teenage girl out and about. But none had. When Rachel failed to reappear the next morning of Tuesday, March 2, the Barbers paid another visit to the Boxhill police station to provide photographs of their missing daughter to aid in the search.

After their frustration, the officer on duty had not been informed of the missing persons report Michael Barber had filed the night crier and no worthwhile efforts had been undertaken to find their daughter. The Barbers initiated their own investigation, starting with a visit to the dance factory where they spoke with Rachel's friends, classmates and teachers. No one could offer any further insight into where she may have gone. Her search of Rachel's locker revealed nothing more than her wallet containing small change and a tram ticket dated the morning she went missing.

The Barbers then visited the store on Swan Street that sold the blue platform shoes that Rachel had been eyeing to buy for some time. A shop assistant confirmed Rachel had visited the previous day with Manny, during which she requested the shoes be put aside in anticipation for her to purchase them the next day, but she had yet to come in to get them. Michael and Elizabeth Barber continued along Swan Street and then headed down Bridge Road, making inquiries with local retailers along the way. Manny recognized Rachel from her photo and confirmed she had frequented their stores

in the past, but none remembered seeing her the previous day. As Michael and Elizabeth left one of the stores, a sales assistant followed them outside to disclose a troubling piece of information. The proprietor of an illegal brothel in the nearby Inner Northern suburb of Fitzroy had recently been released from jail after serving time for exploiting underage girls in sex work. A sales assistant from another shop shared a similar story. The previous evening, she had been approached by a woman who told her that someone with

her looks could earn a significant amount of money working at a brothel. The possibility that Rachel had been coerced into sex work for cash and clothing seemed completely far-fetched to her parents. Nevertheless, Elizabeth contacted the Fitzroy-based brothel and was told by staff that the establishment did not acquire workers by approaching strangers on the street. They also assured the mother that Rachel was not recruited by their business and seemed genuinely shocked by the suggestion. Elizabeth then contacted the Sex Workers Outreach Program, a community-based organization focused

on the health and safety of sex workers. They made note of Rachel's description to distribute to their street-based welfare workers that explained it was unlikely that the 15-year-old was hired to work in a legal brothel given she was underage. With their inquiries leading nowhere, the barbers attended the Richmond police station to push them to initiate an investigation. By now, Rachel had also been reported missing by faculty members at the dance factory. Despite numerous people having expressed concern for the teen, the Richmond police advised

that their ability to become involved was limited. Given the barbers had first reported Rachel's disappearance to the Box Hill police station, they were told it was up to officers there to investigate the matter. The barbers were unaware of this protocol, assuming it didn't matter which police station they communicated with, given they were all part of the Victorian police force. Frustrated, they were starting to feel like they were going around in circles in their attempt to get a proper investigation underway. Elizabeth phoned hospitals across Melbourne to see if Rachel had been admitted, but was

told that privacy laws prevented them from disclosing the identity of any inpatients. The same laws also prevented Elizabeth from obtaining information about calls made to the barber home in the days preceding Rachel's disappearance, including incoming caller IDs or locations. Her phone company were able to hand over the details of outgoing calls made from the house, but there was nothing amongst this data that seemed out of the ordinary. Local business owners rallied to provide whatever support they could to the panic-stricken parents. The owner of a cafe near the dance factory reached out to a friend who was a detective

in the missing persons unit who spoke with Elizabeth. He was unable to get involved in the investigation at that time, but said he would ensure Box Hill police were taking appropriate action to find Rachel. Another business owner printed a stack of flyers displaying Rachel's photograph, with her friends and family plastering them on telegraph poles and notice boards throughout Richmond and Melbourne's CBD. By the third day of Rachel's disappearance, officers at the Box Hill police station informed the barbers they would visit the dance factory later in the day to speak with the missing

teens' classmates and teachers. Meanwhile, Michael and Elizabeth hit the streets of Richmond once again, combing alleys for any signs of Rachel they may have missed during their nighttime searches of the area. Despite their word, Box Hill police failed to appear at the dance factory to question staff and students. Elizabeth reached out to the missing persons unit detective who was still unable to expedite an investigation on his end. He suggested the barbers compile a list of all of Rachel's friends and acquaintances,

those who could offer insight into the teens' whereabouts. They were asked to identify female associates in particular, as Rachel had expressed plans to visit an unnamed old female friend prior to her disappearance. Unwilling to allow the police to remain idle, the barbers once again attended the police station to write a formal statement about Rachel's disappearance and provide detectives with more photos of their daughter. They were advised to search underneath their house in case Rachel had since returned home and was hiding, too scared to come inside and front her distraught parents.

Despite knowing their daughter would never do such a thing, they searched under the house with a torch in hand. But Rachel was not there. On the brink of delirium from exhaustion and worry, Michael and Elizabeth refused to stop and rest, continuing to look for Rachel at any opportunity. At 4am on March 4, after another fruitless search of the city, the disheartened couple made their way home, fearing their eldest daughter may never be found. Police questioned Rachel's boyfriend, Manny, offering the scenario that Rachel may have

fallen pregnant and run away to avoid the shame of telling her family, or that Manny himself had harmed her when given the news. Manny and the barbers were certain Rachel was not pregnant and assured police that even if she was, she would have felt safe to turn to her family for support. The abundance of Rachel's missing person posters throughout the city and its surrounds caught the public's attention, resulting in a slew of possible sightings. A member of the public claimed to have witnessed a person matching Rachel's description with two other girls at the East Richmond railway station on the day the teen vanished.

Police obtained CCTV footage from the station, but were certain it did not portray Rachel. The report placed the girl matching Rachel's description on Bridge Road at approximately 8am on March 4, three days after she vanished. The girl was in the company of a man with blonde hair. Convinced this was a genuine sighting, police maintained the belief that Rachel had run away from home and was fine. Yet, this theory didn't make sense to the barbers, if their daughter was adamant on running away and not being found, why would she be hanging around the bustling populated

Richmond area in broad daylight, where people were actively on the lookout for her. The barbers discussed launching a public appeal via the media, but police advised it was not yet appropriate to do so. That evening, Rachel's step-grandmother commenced her month-long art exhibition at the Center for Contemporary Photography in Fitzroy, wherein several candid images of Rachel were on display. A sign requested anyone who had seen the girl in the photos to advise gallery staff immediately. Police were aware of the exhibition and were open to the possibility that someone involved

in Rachel's disappearance may visit. A friend of Rachel's step-grandmother remarked, I sense a ghostly presence in this room, I'm too Irish to discount these things. The next day, police visited the barbers' Bayswater North residence to search through Rachel's bedroom. They found a handwritten list compiled by the teen that read, station, go to Manny, fifty to eighty dollars, three special things. Elizabeth explained the list was likely written four months prior, as she recalled the conversation

with Rachel just before Christmas, where her daughter had spoken about wanting to buy three special things as a gift for Manny. The fifty to eighty dollar figure related to a conversation Michael had with Rachel around this time, during which he explained that was all they could afford to spend on her Christmas presents that year. But these explanations, police believed the handwritten list validated their theory that Rachel had run away. They suggested the barbers direct their efforts into accessing cancelling and focusing on

their other two daughters instead. Unable to follow this advice, the barber family worked in shifts to answer the home telephone and answer any calls that came through from the public. As a precaution, they noted all the names and phone numbers of those inquiring about the progress of the investigation and the family's welfare. On the evening of March 4, Michael and Elizabeth ventured to Albert Park to search for Rachel at the Australian Grand Prix, an annual Formula One motor race that drew in hundreds of thousands of spectators.

Having failed to spot Rachel at the event, the barbers headed to the neighbouring waterfront suburb of St Kilda to check the area's infamous red light district, but failed to find Rachel there either. On March 6, the barbers identified someone within their social circle they believed to be a possible suspect. Elizabeth had a male friend who had exhibited some worrying behaviour in the past, often showing up at her home unannounced, peering through her windows and repeatedly calling the barbers' home phone.

He also visited Elizabeth's workplace often, leaving her notes and gifts. Rachel had previously told her mother that the man made her feel uncomfortable. Then, two weeks before Rachel went missing, Elizabeth stepped out of the shower to find the man inside her home, interacting with her two youngest daughters. This was the last straw. Elizabeth instructed him to leave and to never contact her family again. When the barbers went to the police station to report this man to investigators, they were told they had already used a lot of the police resources that week and were brushed

aside. At breaking point, Elizabeth ran from the station, throwing her bag at a parked police car and breaking down in tears on the footpath, screaming, they're going to let our little girl die. The next day of March 7 was Elizabeth's 40th birthday. Instead of celebrating the milestone with her family, she spent the day travelling between Melbourne's railway stations on the lookout for her eldest daughter. The search encompassed the annual Moomba Festival, where Rachel's missing persons

flyers were put on display at the ticket offices and carnival rides. A week had passed since Rachel Barba had gone missing when one of her posters caught the attention of Alison, the older sister of one of Rachel's friends. Up until that point, Alison was unaware of the situation unfolding, but the poster prompted her to contact police. She explained that at approximately 6.40pm on March 1st, she saw Rachel aboard the number 6 tram in the inner city suburb of Prahran. This sighting came approximately an hour after Rachel was last seen in Richmond by her dance

classmates. Rachel's presence on the number 6 tram had caught Alison's attention as she had never seen her on there before. Rachel was in the company of another female, Alison described as, older and plain looking. The two seemed comfortable in each other's company, and Rachel was overheard talking excitedly about Manny and the kitten she was looking forward to adopting. Rachel and her unknown companion disembarked the tram together at the intersection of High Street and Williams Road, where they stood in front of a car dealership and chatted.

Police immediately got to work compiling a sketch of the older girl Alison saw with Rachel, and informed the barbers that they were finally ready to make a public appeal for information via the media. In the meantime, the barbers were contacted by the missing persons unit seeking permission to feature Rachel's disappearance on the True Crime television show, Australia's Most Wanted. They agreed, relieved their ordeal was finally being taken seriously and garnering media attention. The missing persons unit formally assumed responsibility of the case.

March 10 marked Michael and Elizabeth Barber's 20th wedding anniversary, but there was little time for celebration. When the story of Rachel's disappearance hit the press, their home phone rang off the hook. Media outlets interviewed the exhausted parents, who gave impassioned pleas for their daughter's safe return. A mannequin dressed in the outfit Rachel was wearing at the time of her disappearance was placed at the intersection of High Street and Williams Road in Peran, in an effort to jog witnesses' memories.

The next day, investigators presented the barbers with the completed sketch of the girl witnessed travelling with Rachel on the No. 6 tram on the night of her disappearance. To their disappointment, the image failed to immediately remind them of anyone they knew. As Elizabeth studied it further, she informed detectives she recognised the eyes and chin, but nothing else. Her husband agreed these facial features looked familiar, but couldn't put his finger on who they resembled. Throughout the investigation into their daughter's disappearance, the barbers handed police several

lists of names of people who had known associations with Rachel and may be able to assist with inquiries. Then the third list they provided was the name Caroline Reed Robertson. The Robertsons met the barbers in 1992, when the two families were neighbours in Monte Abbott. Both families had three daughters, with several of the girls being in similar age brackets, enabling them and their parents to form close bonds. As the oldest child of the two families, Caroline Robertson was often tasked with babysitting

the barber daughters, and although a five-year age gap prevented the many relatability, she seemed to adopt a particular affinity towards Rachel. She even photographed her for a school project in 1997. The ties between the two families severed that year when the barbers moved 18km east to Bayswater North. The Robertsons had since divorced, with Caroline adopting both her parents' last names and becoming Reed Robertson. On March 7, 1999, the sixth day of Rachel's disappearance, Caroline Reed Robertson phoned

the barber household at 9.15pm to inquire about the incident. The out-of-the-blue call from the old acquaintance prompted the barbers to jot Caroline's name down on their list for police. Caroline bore a striking resemblance to the witness sketch of the female seen with Rachel on the evening of her disappearance. Furthermore, the rental flat where she lived alone was located in Peran, the suburb where Rachel and her companion disembarked the No. 6 tram. When a detective from the missing persons unit contacted the barbers to discuss Caroline,

Elizabeth recalled an incident that occurred in late 1998. Rachel had mentioned receiving a phone call from Caroline, who stated she knew someone that might be able to get her some paid modelling work. Rachel was excited by the prospect, but as far as her mother knew, nothing came of it. Police were able to navigate privacy legislation and obtain the details of calls made to the barber residents in the days leading up to Rachel's disappearance. They identified two calls of significance made to the house on February 28, 1999, the day before Rachel vanished.

The first was a 15-minute call at 5.24pm, and the second was at 5.45pm, which lasted 29 minutes. Elizabeth recalled Rachel answering both these calls, during which her daughter was cheerfully animated and laughing with the person on the other line, whom her mother presumed must have been her boyfriend, Manny. Records revealed both these calls were actually from a number listed under Caroline Reed Robertson's name. While the thought that Rachel might be with Caroline was puzzling, the barbers were somewhat

relieved by the prospect she might be in the company of someone she knew and trusted. As it meant, she was more than likely safe. Investigators paid a visit to Caroline's workplace, where the 20-year-old was employed as a sales coordinator for a telecommunications company. Upon their arrival, they discovered Caroline was out of the office due to illness. In fact, she had called in sick several times over the past week and a half, which was unusual given she rarely took sick days and was typically a reliable and punctual employee. She had first called in sick on March 1, the day Rachel went missing, returning to work

the following day, but leaving after just a couple of hours after complaining she still fell down well. One of Caroline's immediate neighbors told police that in the early hours of March 2, he was awakened by the sound of someone sobbing loudly through the walls. The person would have been situated in the bathroom of Caroline's flat, with their behavior described as a furious tantrum. That day, upon hearing his daughter was sick, Caroline's father paid a visit to her flat to check in on her.

He noted that Caroline kept her bedroom door closed for the duration of his visit. Throughout that day, Caroline made several phone calls to a workmate requesting repayment of $320 she had previously loaned, saying she needed the money to move St. Burnichart to one of her father's holiday homes, with a removalist booked for the following morning. Records showed Caroline had indeed booked a removalist truck and driver for the following day. The driver was necessary as Caroline didn't have a driver's license. Caroline called in sick again on March 3, ensuring she was home when the removalist

arrived to her flat. She told him she needed help moving a statue. It was wrapped up in two blankets and placed inside an army bag. Once the bag was in the truck, Caroline directed the removalist to drive to her father's hobby farm in the rural town of Kilmore, where the bag was deposited. Caroline returned to work the next day on March 4, where she discussed Rachel Barber's disappearance with her colleagues, telling them her former neighbour had a reputation for running away.

Caroline then went to the Australian Grand Prix in Albert Park with some of her colleagues who had scored free tickets through work. In amongst the massive crowds were Michael and Elizabeth Barber, desperately looking for Rachel. When Caroline was informed by a colleague that police had come into work seeking her in relation to the disappearance of Rachel Barber, Caroline explained that it must have been because she used to babysit the Barber girl several years earlier. She insisted Rachel had probably run away because she used to do it all the time.

That same day, Caroline visited the St Kilda branch of the Bank of Melbourne and applied for a personal loan for $10,000, telling bank staff it was for a car and that she needed the money urgently. On March 11 and 12, Caroline again called into work sick. She left messages for her supervisor who returned the calls, but Caroline didn't answer. Police visited Caroline's Parand flat shortly after 9am on March 12, suspecting Rachel may have been hiding out there, or at the very least, Caroline would know where to find her. But their knocks to the front door went unanswered.

They returned at 5.30pm, but still, no one came to the door. They obtained a spare key to Caroline's flat from her real estate agent, but attempts to gain access to the property failed as the door was deadlocked from the inside. They eventually forced their way in, where they found Caroline lying face down on her bedroom floor. It appeared she had suffered a seizure. She was alive, but unresponsive. Her thick, brown, wavy hair had grinned streaks through it, and a used box of hair dye was

found nearby. Caroline was rushed to hospital while police commenced a rudimentary search of her flat, looking for any signs of Rachel. The flat itself was in a state of disarray, with half-packed moving boxes piled everywhere. There were also remains of two partly-eaten pizzas, along with full bottles of alcohol. Police looked behind doors and inside cupboards, but found no sign of the missing 15-year-old. Notebooks filled with writing, with some pages torn out, along with papers and documents containing Rachel's name and personal details were strewn about.

They also found written evidence to suggest Caroline was in the process of enacting some drastic plans, which included changing her name, undergoing cosmetic enhancement surgery, and moving to the northern New South Wales coastal town of Byron Bay. They also cited a bag of women's size 8 clothing, too small for Caroline, but a perfect fit for Rachel. One soon regained consciousness in hospital, where doctors confirmed she had suffered an epileptic fit. As she was questioned by detectives about Rachel's whereabouts, her frank response shocked them.

Caroline revealed that Rachel was dead. Detectives asked whether she was sure, to which Caroline responded. Yes, I've buried her. She admitted to hiding Rachel's body in her flat for two days, before taking her remains to her parents' farmland in Kilmore, but claimed not to remember anything else and refused to answer any further questions. Caroline was discharged from the hospital that evening, and placed into police custody. Police rushed to Caroline's father's Kilmore farmland, located 60km north of Melbourne.

Two neighbours confirmed they had witnessed Caroline arrive to the property in a removalist truck on March 3, where she proceeded to drag a bag towards an area of trees positioned beside one of several dams on the land. Amongst this small grove of trees, investigators found a wooden cross embedded in the ground that bore the name Lucy. It marked the graveside of the Robertson's deceased pet dog. Nearby, they found a second area of disturbed earth, and after sifting a thin layer of dirt, they uncovered Rachel Barber's body.

She was wrapped in two blankets and had a black electric cable knotted around her neck. The investigators concluded the 15-year-old had been murdered on the night of March 1, the day she went missing. The barbers were informed of the devastating discovery. Rachel's aunt made a statement to the media on behalf of the family, saying, �Elizabeth and Michael are endeavouring to bear the unbearable. They are being supported by loving family and friends. We have all been devastated by the death of their beloved daughter, Rachel.

Rachel's burning light has been dimmed, but will burn bright in our hearts forever. She will always be young, beautiful, happy, smiling, and dancing in our hearts.� An extensive search of Caroline Reed Robertson's flat offered investigators disturbing inside into the complex mind of Rachel Barber's killer. Caroline was struggling with untreated, long-term severe depression and deep-rooted self-esteem issues. Her upbringing was marred with dysfunction, conflict, frequent criticism, and emotional abuse, culminating in her parents' divorce and epilepsy diagnosis when she was 16 years

old. Her father moved out and remarried, and in turn caused the relationship between Caroline and her mother to deteriorate. Refusing therapy as a means of support, Caroline slowly manifested an introverted personality that was fueled by poor self-image and extreme self-criticism. She had few close friends and was teased and bullied. As a teen, Caroline would spend hours alone in her room writing. She wrote letters to her father pleading for his help, telling him she was humiliated by

the teasing she endured at school about her weight. Quote, �I get teased badly at school. I get really, really embarrassed. I told mum, but she hasn't helped. I really, really, really need help.� In another letter, Caroline wrote, �I feel like a troubled, tortured, lost soul that's been thrown into an alien environment full of angels. I don't know how I have survived this long.

Life for me sucks.� She warned, �The explosion is just going to get bigger and bigger until there is nothing left inside me. All of the feelings and horrible things everybody says about me bottle up, and I have nowhere to explode everything.� Caroline had maintained a personal diary throughout her adolescence, containing pages and pages of self-loathing, such as �I don't belong anywhere in this crazy world because I'm ugly, obese, pizza face, white worm, massive nose, and just plain weird.�

She also drew unflattering self-portraits which she surrounded in words such as ugly, fat, stupid, worthless, weird, unwanted, deformed, boring, pathetic, selfish, and jealous. At age 14, she compiled a self-improvement checklist with the aim of reinventing herself, titled �How to Change in 9 Weeks� accompanied by things she despised about herself. She titled one diary entry �The I Hate Caroline Club� and listed herself as the president, while signing off her journal entries with different names in a fantasy to adopt a new persona. Caroline hoped to one day become a successful actor, but was hindered by her own self-hatred

and doubt. Caroline wrote in her diary, �I was always laughed at when I shared my dream of being an actor. All my life I have been told by people that I would never be anyone or anything.� Between late 1998 and early 1999, Caroline called the Barber household, requesting the birth dates of all three Barber daughters, stating it was for a project she was working on. This information was used by Caroline to compile a comprehensive and organized adossia, documenting

the life and history of the Barber family. But it was abundantly clear she had developed an obsessive infatuation with the eldest daughter Rachel in particular, whom she regarded as a symbol of perfect purity, calling her a white picket fence. Police were struck by the level of detail and organization in Caroline's writings, which included a record of conversations she and Rachel had years prior when they were neighbors. She compulsively wrote about Rachel's personality, physical characteristics and love of dance, describing her as, quote, �a wild free spirit who lived a life on the edge, a simple yet

complicated girl with enormous talent and contradictions, a fiercely independent girl who was passionate, determined, cheeky, loyal and honest, with a moody and mysterious personality, a strikingly attractive teenager with a dancer's body, clear pale skin and hypnotic green eyes. Police found evidence throughout Caroline's flat to indicate she had initiated an elaborate plan to assume Rachel Barber's identity. She had set up a PO box to receive mail confidentially and an undated birth certificate application had been completed in the name of Rachel Barber. Diary entries confirmed she intended to change her name to Gem Southall, Southall being the

maiden name of Rachel's mother, Elizabeth. She constructed a completely fabricated character for her Gem Southall identity, describing her as a 16-year-old, total rev head. A diary entry authored by Caroline directly implicated her in Rachel's murder and revealed the intricacies of her plot to ensnare Rachel at red. On the way to dance school, say that she can't tell anyone that she's meeting me as I'm not allowed to give the study results to anyone. Ethics, highly confidential, not even your boyfriend or parents.

Hug Rachel, toxic over mouth, put body into army bags and disfigure and dump somewhere way out. No car, meet in toilet block, no cameras, people come into the city. Get birth certificate, rent a box so Rachel can't be traced, check farm, including bag. Tuesday arranged bank loan, moving van, disguised hair, thoroughly clean house, and a steam clean carpet. On March 13, after an unproductive interview wherein their suspect exercised her right to silence, police formally charged Caroline Reed Robertson with the murder of Rachel Barber.

During her first court appearance on March 15, Caroline did not apply for bail or enter a plea. She rocked back and forth in the dock as her lawyer told the court all their client remembered from the evening of March 1 was inviting Rachel back to her flat and the two ordering pizza, but nothing about the teenager's death. She admitted to disposing of Rachel's body, but claimed to have been assisted by two men whom she couldn't identify. On March 24, Rachel Barber was farewelled by over 850 mourners at St. Hillary's Anglican

Church in Kew, where she had been a dedicated member of the youth group and choir. Felix Mendelssohn's Midsummer Night's Dream filled the packed church, as Rachel's family, friends, and fellow members of the dance community gathered to pay tribute to the talented and much loved teen. They reflected on her major dance accomplishments, which included performing on stage at Melbourne's State and Princess Theatres and being a backup dancer for Aussie rock singer Jimmy Barnes. During the service, the minister described Rachel as, quote, the little butterfly that has been released into the limitless love of our Lord.

Rachel's grandfather, uncles, cousins, and boyfriend carried her coffin out of the church towards her final resting place in Lillydale Memorial Park. It contained poems and letters from her friends and family, including a letter from her younger sister Ashley Rose, which read, To my dearest sister Rachel, I love you a lot and I will never not love you. It was not your time, and we all know that. I miss you a lot and I wish you were still here, but you're not, and I will have to live with that.

Everyone loves you and will always miss you. I will never forget you, Rachel, and I hope maybe one day you will visit us. I hope you will never forget me and your family. I hope you didn't go through any pain when you died. Love always, your little sister. In the weeks following their daughter's funeral, Michael and Elizabeth Barber met with senior government officials to propose that a liaison officer be attached to the missing persons unit, whose function would be to offer support to the distressed families of missing people.

The Barbers expressed their gratitude to the detectives of the missing persons unit, who they found to be considerate and sensitive of their ordeal. They were far more critical of the dismissive and unkind response of local patrol officers, who subsequently offered the Barbers a formal apology for their inaction during the initial stages of Rachel's disappearance. As a direct result of the Rachel Barber case, the Victorian police force manual now contains a clause focusing on the need for officers involved in missing persons investigations at a local level, to be sensitive to the needs of the families, and to keep them informed

and updated on all aspects of their investigations. In late January 2000, Caroline Reed Robertson appeared before the court for her committal hearing. The prosecution argued Rachel Barber's murder was a calculated premeditated plan motivated by the accused's infatuation and obsessive jealousy of Rachel Barber's attractiveness, popularity and success, in which she hoped to emulate. Caroline's plan swung into action on the night of February 28, 1999, when she called the Barber household to offer Rachel $100 to participate in a highly confidential psychology

study. It was attempting proposition for the 15-year-old, who had long hoped to find a means to buy a pair of expensive shoes she had her heart set on. Caroline instructed Rachel to bring her wallet, ID, some photos, clothes, ballet shoes and her beloved teddy bear. The two girls met in Richmond on the afternoon of March 1, then caught the No. 6 tram together to Caroline's flat in Paran. There, they ordered two pizzas, which Caroline intended to lace with what she described as

drowsy powder. After Rachel declined Caroline's offer of alcohol, she agreed to take part in a relaxation exercise where she was instructed to, quote, think of pleasant and happy things. Caroline later told her court-appointed psychologist, just for a moment the veil lifted and I didn't want to do it, but something said that I was in so much trouble now, I had to. And it was as though the veil had dropped again. After strangling Rachel with a telephone cord, Caroline hid her body in her bedroom cupboard for two days before bundling her up in a bag.

She then enlisted the help of a removalist to take her victims' remains to Kilmore, where she buried them in a shallow grave alongside those of her deceased pet dog. The attempts to obtain money immediately following Rachel's murder indicated Caroline planned to flee the state and assume her fake identity. Although Caroline admitted to helping bury Rachel's body, her defence team maintained that she was not alone in carrying out the murder, alleging two other men were involved who had since left her to take sole responsibility. They voiced concern for Caroline's health as she had been experiencing more frequent epileptic

seizures since her time in custody and taken to regular self-harm. Caroline entered a plea of not guilty and her trial was scheduled to commence later that year. In early October 2000, Caroline made the surprising decision that she would instead plead guilty to murdering Rachel Barber, although she continued to claim she was experiencing amnesia about the details surrounding the killing. It was a bittersweet moment for Rachel's family and friends, who would be spared from the emotional trauma of a trial.

Caroline's lawyer told the Victorian Supreme Court. Rachel had everything going for her and Caroline had nothing going for her. Caroline ultimately decided, in the most illogical fashion that it begs belief, that she would take the life of a child, because she could then in some way become that child, or at least have the qualities of that person as she perceived them to be. Her motivation we can only guess at, I have certainly not come across a more frustrating or more irrational taking of human life. We can't explain it.

She won't let us in. At the subsequent plea hearing on October 25, the prosecution offered their explanation of the murder, stating Caroline was motivated by, quote, her jealousy of Rachel's attractiveness, popularity and success, and perhaps a desire to emulate the success of a younger person with whom she had become infatuated. A psychologist report detailed Caroline's bleak outlook on life, in which she once painted and displayed what she called a self-portrait, but the page was completely black. It also revealed Caroline's internal struggle, in which she both resented and adored Rachel

Barba, for being everything she wanted to be. The psychologist stated that while Caroline was not mentally unwell at the time of the murder, she was a disturbed and dysfunctional woman with marked disorder of personality, who felt profound animosity and anger because of her own self-loathing. The psychologist concluded, it is possible that she thought she could somehow magically reinvent herself in the image of Rachel. On November 29, 2000, Caroline appeared for sentencing at the Victorian Supreme Court, shocking onlookers at her startling transformation.

Since her time in custody, Caroline had undergone dramatic weight loss, her skin was clear of blemishes, and her once brown wavy hair with tints of green was now straight and blonde. Being judged, Justice Frank Vincent acknowledged Caroline's long history of low self-esteem and mental health issues, but explained her calculated plans to lure Rachel with money and clothes, quote, possessed subtlety and demonstrated the operation of a devious mind and manipulative abilities. He quoted the victim impact statement provided by Rachel's parents, which established that although Caroline obsessively researched the life of their daughter, she never really

knew or understood its complexities. The statement by Michael and Elizabeth Barber detailed the ups and downs of Rachel's short life, the difficulties and doubts she faced, painting a far more complicated picture of Rachel than Caroline ever assumed. Judge Vincent remarked, The simple reality is that contrary to your distorted perception, there are no perfect lives or perfect people for that matter. But each of us, whatever our situation or status, is unique and irreplaceable, and in

our society, the life of each is inviolate and none can be unlawfully taken. Justice Vincent stated Caroline killed Rachel because she believed that the teen would likely have a happy and successful life, the kind that Caroline did not anticipate for herself. Quote, At one level, it is possible to feel a considerable measure of sympathy and sadness for you, but the incontrovertible and irrevocable fact is that you have killed, and in so doing, have created more than one victim. You appear to have been totally self-absorbed, concerned only with your own life situation, feelings and desires.

He expressed grave concerns regarding Caroline's rehabilitation prospects, stating that her remorse for the crime seemed driven out of self-pity rather than having any real degree of insight into the true significance of what she had done. Taking her young age and guilty play into account, Justice Vincent sentenced Caroline Reid Robertson to 20 years in prison with a non-parole period of 14 and a half years. Concluding I have found the task to be extremely difficult in a situation where everyone has lost. But ultimately, I must bear in mind that no one has lost as much as Rachel Barber, from

whom you took everything. Three years after her daughter's murder, Elizabeth Barber co-wrote a book about the crime with investigative journalist Megan Norris, titled Perfect Victim. Years later, Australian film director Simone North adapted the story for a film, which went under the working title How to Change in Nine Weeks, before releasing under the title In Her Skin. North had full support from the Barber family during the movie production, with the Barbers viewing it as a way for Rachel to make her mark, while highlighting the inaction of police

after Rachel was first reported missing. Rachel Barber's former boyfriend Emmanuel Manny Carella went on to have a successful career in music. In a 2013 interview with The Herald Sun newspaper, he revealed he still thought about Rachel every day. A song he wrote, titled Too Beautiful, was believed to have been written about Rachel. Emmanuel Carella, quote Some of my songs are fun and happy, but most of them are deep.

It all depends on how you interpret them. But yes, I did write songs for Rachel, especially around to that time. Elizabeth Barber spoke of her daughter's killer in a 2007 interview for The Age newspaper, explaining, I don't forgive the act, but the person I have compassion for. I thought I had forgiven her, and to then, as times gone by, I've gone more and more angry rather than the other way. I would never want to see Caroline.

I'm still angry with her. Five years later, in mid-2012, the Victorian adult parole board assessed Caroline's suitability for release. In the interest of protecting the community, Rachel's family and friends campaigned for the convicted killer to remain behind bars. Elizabeth told the media that Caroline had not yet been properly rehabilitated, and feared the convicted killer would come looking for her family if the parole board couldn't be absolutely certain she was of sound mind, quote

I don't think that 14 and a half years is enough time. I don't think justice will ever be served for Rachel. I'm not just thinking about my own adult children. I'm thinking about other people out there who she might develop a fixation on. Former inmates who served their time with Caroline claimed she never expressed any remorse for her crime, and continued to compulsively lie in prison, telling others that Rachel's boyfriend was actually her own. Regardless, in October 2014, Caroline's parole application was granted after 14 years imprisonment.

She was released from prison on January 21, 2015, under strict conditions to be held in place until 2020. Elizabeth Barber expressed her thoughts on the controversial decision, stating she would have preferred Caroline to have served 17 or 18 years, but accepting that as far as Rachel was concerned, justice would never be done. She spoke out against possible vigilantism, expressing the hope that Caroline would get on with her life far away from their family, and never hurt anyone else again. Elizabeth Barber, quote

I hope that when she's released she can live a quiet life and not cause any trouble. Elizabeth Barber took to writing letters and poems to her first born daughter as a way to cope with her overwhelming loss. Excerpts of these heartfelt texts can be found in her book Perfect Victim. In one poem, Elizabeth writes Deep beneath the soil your body rests, clothed in rosewood, surrounded by letters and poems, toys and shoes, ballet shoes and Spice Girl shoes, dressed in lace underwear, and your last solo costume.

You lay there, bones and dried flesh, even so, beautiful would your skeleton be, a beautiful skeleton dressed in seashells, dancing feet resting their dancing toes, buried beneath nine feet of cold earth, killed by a cold heart, a cold fish. The warmth of your smile, your being and serenity can never be frozen from recognition. When people think of Rachel Barber, memories remain vivid, vivid as you were, as you are. Energetic with life, full on yet also shy, timid of things new. I am so glad you were found in your shallow grave and brought home to those who loved their deeds, weight Rachel, always remembered, forever in their memory, in their hearts.