Casefile True Crime - Case 183: The MacKenzie Family

Episode Date: August 7, 2021

Karen MacKenzie resided in Greenough with her three children - Daniel, Amara, and Katrina. The 31-year-old single mother had recently gotten together enough money to rent a small house on the rural outskirts of town... --- Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – Elsha McGill Creative direction – Milly Raso Production and music – Mike Migas Music – Andrew D.B. Joslyn For all credits and sources please visit casefilepodcast.com/case-183-the-mackenzie-family

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. This episode involves a crime against children. It may not be suitable for all listeners. It was a scorching hot morning on Monday, February 22, 1993, when married couple Ron and Dina, not their real names, drove along the brand highway towards the small western

Australia town of Grenf. Ferocious salty winds from the nearby coastline were once again lashing the dry countryside, the same winds that had left some eucalyptus trees along the flood plains permanently bent at a 90 degree angle. These leaning trees were just one of a few attractions that Township had to offer, but it was far from a tourist destination. Located 400km north of the city of Perth, few at the time would have even heard of Grenf, or have any reason to visit the quiet and sparsely populated sheep and wheat farming

community. Ron and Dina knew the area well, having spent time there with their friend Karen McKenzie. Karen resided in Grenf with her three children, Daniel, Amara and Katrina. The 31-year-old single mother had recently gotten together enough money to rent a small house on the rural outskirts of town, where landmarks and homesteads were few and far between. Their modest, cream-coloured weatherboard house stood alone among the windswept wild grass, partially framed by dense bushland.

At the isolation of the area, Karen was working hard to build a good life for herself and her kids. Ron and Dina had set out for the McKenzie property that morning to help Karen with some home repairs. They drove along Grenf's main street before turning down Georgina Road, a long, unmarked stretch that cut inland between acres of paddocks. Soon, Ron and Dina reached the turnoff to the McKenzie property and pulled up to the house.

They could hear the family's pet dog barking wildly from inside the house. But other than that, everything was eerily quiet. The wind batted several lines of washing strung up in the backyard, but there was no movement from within the house, and nobody came out to greet them. The state of the house seemed inconsequential to what Ron and Dina spotted upon arriving. Someone was lying motionless on the driveway. It looked like Daniel, Karen's 16-year-old son. Assuming the teen might be playing some kind of prank, Ron got out to see what was going

on. Ron called out for Karen, but there was no reply. He tentatively walked towards the person lying in the driveway. As he got closer, a wave of horror washed over him. From inside the car, Dina became hysterical and screamed for her husband to get back in. Ron ran and leapt into the driver's seat, slamming the door behind him. He grasped the wheel and pressed his foot down on the accelerator. The couple sped off back down the driveway, leaving a cloud of dust in their wake.

The closest neighbor was a few hundred meters away. Ron parked on the road, jumped the fence, and raced towards the house, frantically yelling and waving. But nobody was home. He did the same at the next property, but no one was home there either. Ron rushed back to his car and sped up the main gravel road to the first house he came across, only to find that it too was empty. The couple then headed to the closest business, the Grenif Museum.

Ron rushed in and asked to use their phone to call the police. He needed to report a murder. Although he suspected the body on the Mackenzie's driveway was Daniel, he couldn't be sure. The person was so badly maimed that their face was unrecognizable. Although Grenif is considered to be a bit of a ghost town, the major city of Geraldton is just 24 kilometers north. As the largest city north of Perth, Geraldton has many features that put it on the map, including a thriving fishing industry, stunning spring wildflowers, and sprawling surf beaches.

Near 60 kilometers offshore are Pelsart, Easter, and Wallaby Islands, key locations of the deadly Batavia shipwreck, covered in episode 138 of case file. For many travelers, Geraldton is their main destination, with isolated towns like Grenif acting as stop places along the way. However, in the late summer of 1993, Grenif would surpass the city in making headlines. The unassuming and little-known township was propelled into the national spotlight for what came to be called one of the worst crimes in Western Australia. For that reason, Grenif was put on the map.

It had been a typical morning at Geraldton's Criminal Investigation Bureau on February 22, 1993, when detectives received news that a brutalized body had been found outside a residence in sleepy Grenif. Forensic Inspector Bryn Jones and Detective Murph Cousins, along with a team of uniformed officers, immediately made the 16-minute drive down the Bruce Highway, arriving at the Mackenzie property around 11am. As reported, a blood-soaked body lay in the dust just outside the homestead, having been so savagely attacked that their face was indistinguishable.

The victim was identified as 16-year-old Daniel, the oldest of Karen Mackenzie's three children. Her other two children, daughter's 7-year-old Amara and 5-year-old Katrina, were nowhere to be seen. Karen, too, was missing. The detectives turned their attention to the house before them. The family's pet dog continued to bark from within towards a rear door. The detectives were rattled, was Daniel's killer still at the scene. When willing to take any chances, they raised their handguns before entering the property.

Nothing could prepare them for what they found inside. The lounge room was in complete disarray. Among the clothing and other items that had been strewn about, Karen Mackenzie lay face down on the floor, her head covered with a blood-soaked blanket. It was clear that she was deceased, having sustained numerous blows to her head and body, similar to those unleashed on her son outside. She'd also been positioned in such a way that indicated she had been raped post-mortem. The detectives continued deeper into the house.

Upon reaching one of the bedrooms, they found the bodies of 7-year-old Amara and 5-year-old Katrina, like their brother and mother before them, both had been hacked to death. Amara had also been sexually assaulted. Across the country in the state of Queensland, Evelyn pressed the phone receiver to her ear. She had lost count of how many times she had dialed her sister Karen's phone number, but each time the line rang out or occasionally beeped to signal it was engaged. Earlier that day, Evelyn had received a word from her brother who had overheard some shocking news on the radio.

A woman and her three children had been killed in Greenough. Although the victims weren't named, their ages correlated with that of Karen and her three children. Interstate, all Evelyn could do was try to reach out to her sister via phone and hope for the best. But as her calls continued to go unanswered, her fears increased. She went out with her husband, setting the television up to record the news while they were gone.

When they returned, they watched the footage. The quadruple homicide making waves in Western Australia was reported, but the details were scant. At this point, Evelyn had no reason to believe the victims were her sister, nephew and nieces, but her instincts were telling her otherwise. Her husband contacted authorities to get answers. Evelyn studied his expression as he made the call. When tears started to fall down his face, her worst fears were confirmed.

Evelyn later stated, I still remember that as clear as day. Nothing can ever prepare you for that moment. Inside the Mackenzie House, the juxtaposition was confronting. On one hand, the grisly scene was a living nightmare. On the other hand, it was full of all the small details that make a house a home. Toys were scattered throughout, drawings by the children were displayed on the fridge, and to-do lists captured the family's daily life. A Christmas wish list from Katrina assured Santa that she had been a good girl who hoped

to receive a troll doll, rollerblades or a radio for her bedroom. Karen had proudly held onto a handmade card from Amara that wished her a happy Mother's Day. It was clear that they were a loving and warm family. But things hadn't always been easy for Karen Mackenzie. As a child growing up in Queensland, she had a great curiosity for the world and how things worked. She loved nothing more than exploring outdoors and was eager to learn everything she could. But when she hit adolescence, this curiosity led her to experiment with the drugs, and at the age of 15, she unexpectedly became pregnant.

Karen gave birth to Daniel and was determined to make it as a single mother. She moved out of home and rented her own flat. But the challenges of young parenthood were overwhelming. Karen feared she couldn't give Daniel the life he deserved, so when he was two years old, she made the difficult decision to let her mother have custody of Daniel full-time. She then made the move to Western Australia. Years later, Karen fell in love with a man named Andrew Allen, and they had Amara and Katrina. She adored her two girls, but her relationship with Andrew didn't last.

Once again, Karen found herself as a single parent, but this time she was older and wiser and committed to making things work. She moved with her girls to Granef and reached out to her now-teenage son, Daniel, inviting him to come and live with them as a family. He agreed, and Karen was beyond excited. She was thrilled to have all her children living under the same roof for the first time. It would also give her a bit more independence, as Daniel was also old and responsible enough to babysit his younger sisters.

Daniel was equally looking forward to the change. For his birthday, he asked his grandmother for a bus ticket to Western Australia and made the move the following day. While Daniel had never really enjoyed school and often didn't attend, he enrolled at high school in Geraldton and gave it his best. Things had been looking bright for the Mackenzie family, and they had plenty to look forward to. For the family of four to be viciously struck down in the midst of building a vibrant and positive life together made very little sense.

Inspector Bryn Jones turned to his team and said, I don't care what we do, but we must find the person that did this. The major crime squad arrived in Grenf from Perth and had to work fast. The sun was blazing down on the crime scene, and the accompanying strong coastal winds risked disturbing evidence. The team spent the remainder of the day and night painstakingly combing the property, determined not to let anything go unnoticed. It was an exhausting task, both mentally and physically.

The crime scene was one of the most brutal that attending officers had ever seen, causing several to become physically sick. Others would later change departments or leave that sort of police work entirely. All would struggle with the memories of what they witnessed that day. This extreme reaction offers an explanation as to why the specifics of what happened at the Mackenzie house have been withheld. Deemed too traumatic for public knowledge, a rare court-issued suppression order has banned the exact details from ever being reported.

The information presented in this case file episode is collated from the widely publicised facts. Three days before Karen Mackenzie was found murdered, she had attended a house party in Geraldton. Daniel had agreed to babysit his two younger sisters, affording his mother a rare and welcome to night out. The party was held at a friend's home, and according to some guests, it was relatively uneventful. Karen returned home at around 5am on Saturday, receiving a lift home from a friend.

A neighbour happened to witness Karen's friend driving away from the house on Saturday, but they didn't see anything suspicious over the following hours. The family was targeted on Sunday night. Karen was asleep on a mattress in the lounge room when she was struck. Her daughters were then confronted in the bedroom. It was unclear how Daniel's body came to be outside, though some speculated he'd fled from the house and was chased down by his attacker, before being fatally struck in the driveway. The murder weapon was nowhere to be found, but based on the victim's injuries, it appeared

their killer had been wielding either an axe, a tomahawk, or meat cleaver. Many foreign fingerprints were found throughout the home, but the challenge was ruling out who they belonged to. Seaman was also detected, but DNA technology was still in its infancy, and this couldn't be used to identify who was responsible. Grenaf's community were left shocked by the murders. Although Geraldton City and its surrounding region had its share of drug and theft-related offences, crimes of this magnitude were unheard of. Without a clear motive or suspect for the slayings, the township was gripped by fear that the

unknown, sadistic killer would strike again. No one could understand why anyone would want to hurt Karen and her kids, especially in such a violent and deranged way. The police didn't say too much, as they didn't want to cause any unnecessary alarm. They simply warned the community to take proper safety measures. While it was possible that the killings were a random attack, this didn't appear to be the case. To get to the Mackenzie House, you had to exit the highway and travel a fair distance down a remote side street. There was nothing out there besides a few houses spread throughout the dry, rural flatlands. The only reason to be in the area was to visit one of these residences.

It wasn't the kind of place an opportunistic killer would have stumbled across in their everyday travels. They had to be familiar not only with Granev, but its outskirts. It seemed they had set out on Georgina Road on that Sunday night, with every intention of attacking the Mackenzie family. Phone records from the Mackenzie property revealed that a call had been placed to the house at 11.15 the night of the killings. The caller was identified as a man who had previously lived at their property. He admitted to speaking to Karen at this time, but for innocent reasons. He claimed he went to bed straight after making the call.

After police established a tip line, the pool of potential suspects grew quickly. There was Karen's former partner, Andrew Allen, who was the father to Amara and Katrina. He had contacted police after hearing about the murders on the news and was tracked down to Halls Creek, a small outback town over 2,000 kilometers northeast of Granev. Andrew maintained that he'd been stuck in Halls Creek during the time of the murders due to heavy rainfall that had flooded the roads leading in and out of town. Then there was Shane Eastoff, a man Karen had been seeing shortly before her murder. He told police that Karen had recently broken things off between them out of the blue.

Then, a few days before the murders, Shane received an anonymous Valentine's Day card featuring Karen's handwriting. It read, What did I do? Care too much. To being your arms ain't so rough. Being yours could have been enough. What happened, babe? Scare you off. Like a diamond, you're just too tough. In the bottom left hand corner of the card, Karen had signed off with the word buy. In hindsight, Shane wondered whether this indicated that Karen knew something bad was about to happen. Then there was the sighting of two vehicles leaving the McKenzie property on the night of the murders. The witness hadn't seen either of the cars before and didn't know who they belonged to.

This was just one of many unsubstantiated tips that served to further muddy the already perplexing investigation. There was also the suggestion that the crime could be drug related, as Karen was known to use recreationally and associate with other drug users and individuals linked to the cannabis trade. The city of Geraldton was a known sea passage that facilitated drug trafficking from Asia to Australia. Furthermore, the party Karen attended on the Friday night before her murder involved drug use. Those affiliated with the illicit scene typically kept a safe distance from police, but the murders had rocked the community so much that most people were willing to talk. Bikes and other gangs that were active in the area were

looked into, but the police couldn't find anything worthwhile to their investigations. However, they couldn't rule out that the crimes could be drug related in some way. Then, a witness came forward having seen Karen in Geraldton on the Sunday morning before the attack. She had been speaking to a fisherman who was working in the area at the time. Police looked into the fisherman and discovered that he had left to Geraldton for the city of Darwin in the neighbouring state of the Northern Territory the day the bodies were found. They tracked him down, only to find that he had no alibi for the night of the murders. By now, 70 persons of interest had emerged throughout the Grannath and Geraldton regions

and interstate. Police continued to speculate possible motives, but they were plagued by uncertainty. The sheer brutality of the attack using a handheld bludgeon indicated that the perpetrator was compelled by something personal, such as revenge. Yet, the necrophilia and child sexual assault indicated something else entirely. While a motive and suspect eluded them, police didn't cover one major clue. While carrying out the crimes, the Mackenzie family killer pressed his right hand against an interior wall. His palm was smeared with an oily substance, which left a partial palm print. In the same room, there were three oily fingertip prints on the edge of a door. These markings appeared to have been made as the killer closed the door

behind them. The section of wall containing the palm print was cut out and taken away for examination. The fingerprints were less viable as the door had originally been painted with a coarse paintbrush using rough strokes. Still, investigators removed the entire door so it too could undergo forensic testing. At the Western Australia Chem Centre in Perth, a chief research chemist and his team got to work testing the oily prints. Given that they weren't full fingerprints, their best bet was to identify what the oily substance was. The team concluded the print had been made using a sorboline like substance, which is a common type of hand lotion. But they couldn't be sure exactly what the product was. The chem centre kept a catalogue of approximately 80 different hand and body lotions

on site. The substance was tested against each one, but no match was found. The team then gathered all the various lotions present in the McKenzie household and tested the substance against those. But they couldn't find a match there either. The last time Geraldton resident Hamish Langford, not his real name, saw Karen McKenzie, was at the house party he'd hosted three days before she was killed. As the murder investigation gained pace, Hamish returned home to find a ghastly scene. His house had been broken into and there was a significant amount of blood on the floor. Panicked, Hamish phoned the police who quickly arrived at the scene.

The amount of blood indicated someone had been seriously injured and police feared the McKenzie family murderer had struck again. As they considered this, the back door of Hamish's home flung open. Standing in the doorway was a naked man with a blood-soaked towel wrapped around his waist. He was frantic, telling police that he'd arrived at the address earlier to visit Hamish. When he knocked on the door, three men appeared out of nowhere and dragged him inside. The trio were convinced that Hamish was responsible for the McKenzie murders and demanded to know where he was so they could confront him. The man insisted that he didn't know, but his assailants didn't believe him. Suddenly, one took out a filleting knife

and attempted to sever the man's penis. The man fought for his life and broke free. He raced into a bathroom before locking the door behind him. The offending trio finally left, but fearing they'd come back, the injured man darted outside and hid in some bushes. He waited there until he saw the police arrive. The man was rushed to Geraldton Regional Hospital and treated for his injuries. While police wanted to give him time to recover, they were also eager to get as much information about his three attackers while his memory was fresh. They pressed him for any details, asking for a description of the trio.

The man was hesitant, but the pressure soon got to him. He admitted he had made the whole story up. Struggling with the drug addiction and personal issues, he'd inflicted the knife wounds in a suicide attempt gone awry. This was not the first time police had spoken to this individual. His name was Bill Mitchell, and he was one of the 70 persons of interest that had emerged in the investigation, having been one of the last people to see Karen alive. Hamish Langford's house party was in full swing on the night of Friday, February 19th.

His guests were mingling, alcohol was flowing, and some were partaking in recreational drug use. For the most part, it was an enjoyable evening. That was until a drunken argument broke out between Karen McKenzie and her friend Bill Mitchell. The other guests weren't sure what the fight was about exactly, but it brought down the atmosphere, and some left as a result. Although no one knew what Bill had done to upset Karen, their issues seemed to have dissipated by the early hours, as Karen had accepted Bill's offer of a ride home.

They arrived at her house around 5am on Saturday morning. Bill hung out there until 11am, before driving back to Geraldton. This was verified by a neighbour who saw Bill's car leaving the McKenzie property at this time. When initially questioned by police, Bill maintained he had nothing to do with the murders that occurred the following night. He showed great concern for Karen and her children. Therefore, when Bill Mitchell staged an attack on himself at the house where he and Karen had fought in the days before her murder, police were baffled.

He was charged with making a false statement in relation to the knife attack, and left to recover from his injuries. Greenhead Caravan Park is around a 2-hour drive south of Greeniff. The most direct route is along the Brand Highway, which connects to the scenic Indian Ocean Drive. Here, the road offers endless views of Western Australia's coast on one side, and its jagged, tan-coloured countryside on the other. A turn leads down to the coastal town of Greenhead,

a tourist hotspot for those seeking sun, sand, and surf. Many opt to stay at the Greenhead Caravan Park, as it's just a short walk from the beach. In the early 90s, the park was run by a man named Bernie MacArthur. Although it was some distance from where the Mackenzie family was murdered, Bernie was immediately reminded of the case when one of his employees came to him in a shaken state. They had entered one of the on-site caravans to do a routine clean, when they were greeted by a man who had been shot in the face.

Large amounts of blood and semen were splattered throughout, along with a ripped-up pornographic magazine. Although there was nothing to indicate this incident had anything to do with the Mackenzie murders, Bernie couldn't shake his suspicion of a possible connection. Like other locals along the coastline, he'd been rattled by the crimes and was anxious for the perpetrator to be caught. He called the local police, who came to assess the caravan and bagged the evidence. When the task force fronting the Mackenzie family investigation was notified of the

disturbing discovery, they decided to withhold all details of it from the media. By now, they had narrowed their list down to 25 persons of interest. Each individual was tracked down and asked to provide hair, blood and saliva samples. Forensic Inspector Bryn Jones had been one of the first officers at the Mackenzie family crime scene, and was working hard to keep his word about finding the person responsible. His tireless endeavours led him to the small agricultural town of Morawa, 149km east of Greeniff. There, he met a familiar face, Bill Mitchell. Bill had since recovered from his suicide attempt and had resumed his job as a farm hand.

When asked to volunteer to have his fingerprints taken, Bill agreed. Inspector Jones set up his inking equipment. As he began taking the prints, Bill remarked, I'm surprised you're still going on with the investigation. I thought you caught the bloke. I heard in the press that he was behaving really strangely in some caravan park and you caught up with him. Jones froze. The caravan incident at Greenhead Caravan Park had been withheld from the public. No one outside of the task force knew about it. Jones kept his cool. He calmly finished taking Bill's prints and left the farm, before rushing them to Perth for testing. At the chem centre in Perth, chief research chemist Dr John Chalanoir and his team were

still working to identify the mysterious lotion left behind at the Mackenzie crime scene. Having worked on many sexual assault cases during his career, he was able to identify the mysterious lotion left behind at the Mackenzie crime scene. Dr Chalanoir was aware that perpetrators sometimes used hand lotion as a lubricant. Wondering if that could explain the oily palm and fingerprints, he requested that the mysterious lotion be compared against swabs taken from Karen Mackenzie's body. If there was a match, it would prove that the oily fingerprints belonged to the perpetrator. The same substance was present on Karen's body, confirming that the oily hand and

fingerprints at the crime scene absolutely belonged to her killer. Bill Mitchell's prints were compared to those found at the murder scene. When Inspector Jones received the results, he raced into the office of his colleague, Detective Murf Cousins, who had also been working the case since its inception. Cousins triumphantly slapped his hand down on the desk and said, For the next two days, Bill Mitchell was kept under close surveillance. He continued to go about his daily life as though he had nothing to hide. At one point, he was chatting with his boss while the two worked in the farm's shearing shed,

and he even raised the subject of the murders. Then, on Saturday, March 27, senior detectives travelled up from Perth and took Bill Mitchell in for questioning. They told him that his fingerprints had been linked to the hand lotion used in the rape of Karen Mackenzie's corpse and that they knew he was responsible for the murders. When faced with this evidence, Mitchell didn't deny it. Instead, he spoke coldly and candidly. His statement took detectives back to just over a month earlier in late February when he attended Hamish Langford's house party in Geraldton. Following the spat he had there with Karen, Mitchell convinced Karen to let him drive her home.

Upon arriving at her place, Mitchell tried to have sex with Karen, but she turned him down. Mitchell was infuriated by the rejection. He left the house and spent the following day of Sunday, February 21 in an anger-fuelled bender, consuming alcohol, prescription painkillers, cannabis, and amphetamines. By 2.30 am, he was in an intoxicated haze. It was then that he made the decision Karen and her family had to die. He got in his car and made the 25-kilometer drive to Greenough. 16-year-old Daniel was awake inside his home when he caught sight of a pair of headlights travelling up the driveway. The unexpected arrival prompted him to head out into the early morning

darkness to investigate. As Daniel approached, Mitchell emerged from his car with an axe and unleashed his fury on the unsuspecting teen. This explained how Daniel's body came to be outside. Once he had killed Daniel, Mitchell headed into the house where Karen McKenzie was asleep in the lounge room. He turned the axe on her, striking her multiple times like he had done to her son. He then went into her bedroom and rifled through her drawers until he found a bottle of hand lotion, which he used as lubricant to sexually assault her body. Afterwards, he headed into the children's bedroom, where he viciously assaulted and murdered 7-year-old Amara. He then killed 5-year-old Katrina while she slept.

Mitchell then went into the bathroom and cleaned himself up. Determined not to leave any evidence behind, he took the axe and the hand lotion with him when he drove away from the property. As he made his way back to Geraldton, he pulled over and threw the axe in the Greenough River. He disposed of the hand lotion in a rubbish bin. This explained why the forensic team couldn't link the greasy substance to any of the products found inside the McKenzie home. Mitchell took investigators through each step of his actions in clinical, callous detail. Although he admitted going to the property with the intention of killing the entire McKenzie family, he claimed he couldn't remember what motivated him to do so.

The detectives couldn't believe what they were hearing. Nothing could prepare them for Mitchell's detailed play-by-play of how he single-handedly cut down an entire family, including two young children. Even as he described the worst elements of the attack, Mitchell remained stoic and unaffected. To forensic inspector Bryn Jones, Bill Mitchell was so void of emotion that he might as well have been describing how he washed his car. Following Mitchell's confession, a team of police divers entered the murky shallows of the Greenough River. While the expansive waterway ran 340km into the Indian Ocean, they knew exactly where to look. If nothing else, Bill Mitchell was accurate.

A diver recovered the murder weapon to the applause of those watching on, but the jubilation was momentary. Once they saw the axe, the full weight of what they'd uncovered hit home. Despite being submerged in the river for five weeks, the axe was still stained with blood and covered with bits of hair. On March 30, 1993, William Bill Mitchell appeared at the Geraldton Court and was formally charged with four counts of willful murder, three counts of indecently interfering with the corpse, and one count of sexual penetration of a child. He also faced charges for three unrelated thefts that occurred in November of 1991,

including armed robbery with threats of violence. An angry mob gathered outside the courthouse, and as Mitchell was driven away, they booed and hissed at the police van. At the Perth Supreme Court on September 8, 1993, Mitchell pleaded guilty to all charges, but blamed his actions on his drug and alcohol abuse. His lawyer argued that Mitchell was in a drug-induced frenzy when he decided to kill Karen, Daniel, Amara, and Katrina, and that the crimes were completely without motive or premeditation. But the judge wasn't buying it. He pointed out that Mitchell had admitted going to the Mackenzie House with the intent to kill the family, and therefore, the murders were

entirely premeditated. While the judge was prepared to accept that Mitchell might not have committed the crimes had he not been under the influence of drugs, that didn't warrant leniency. The fact that he'd managed to make the 25-kilometre drive from Geraldton to Greenough and back again, while disposing of the evidence, was proof that he was still able to function with precision. The acute recall he had of his crime spree confirmed that he knew exactly what he was doing. Although Mitchell stood by his claim that he didn't know why he decided to carry out the murders, the judge believed he was motivated by rejection. The fact that Karen had turned down his sexual advances angered him so much that he stewed over it all weekend before deciding

Karen and her children must die. Bill Mitchell was sentenced to life imprisonment. In his sentencing remarks, the judge described the murders as so serious that they almost defied description and were accompanied by sexual activity of the most depraved kind. The crimes against the children were so horrific that the full details of what they had endured were permanently sealed, never to be released to the public. In the Australian legal system, a person who's sentenced to life in prison is still given the right to apply for parole, unless they are considered to be so irredeemable that there's no prospect of rehabilitation. Due to Bill Mitchell's drug addiction, his sentencing judge said,

I am not able to say that you will always be a danger to the public. That depends on whether you will stay away from drugs. Who knows what the future holds. I cannot prognosticate 20 years or more into the future. Therefore, he ruled that Mitchell would be eligible for parole in 20 years time. However, he explained, So far as I am concerned, you will never be released. If the parole board looks at it in the same way as I do, it could be many, many years greater than 20 before you would merit consideration. Mitchell remained emotionless and unremorseful throughout his sentencing. At the time, he was only 24 years old. If his parole was successful, he would only be 44 when released. Not only did that leave years of freedom ahead of him,

but it also meant that he'd ultimately only serve five years for each of the murders and nothing for the sexual assaults. Karen's family were outraged, as were the rest of the public. They thought Mitchell should lose the right to parole and the government agreed. The ruling was appealed to the Western Australian Supreme Court and in a two-to-one vote, the bench agreed that Bill Mitchell should spend the rest of his natural life in prison. Mitchell's legal team appealed the decision to the High Court. They acknowledged the magnitude of his crimes, but argued that he wasn't a serial killer or repeat offender. Instead, they once again blamed his actions on his drug addiction and argued that once he'd overcome

the addiction, he would no longer pose a threat. The High Court agreed. Once again, Bill Mitchell was granted the right to apply for parole after serving just 20 years. The Australian community were appalled and cried for the return of the death penalty, which had been abolished across the country by 1985. Karen's sister, Evelyn, responded to the uproar. Quite frankly, the death penalty would be too quick for him. If you hang someone, they don't suffer. If they get a needle, they don't suffer. I want him to suffer for the rest of his life. I want him to think about what he did.

Ever since the murder of her sister, nephew and nieces, Evelyn lived in a constant state of flight or fight, knowing that Bill Mitchell could one day be free. Even when going about simple daily tasks, she was always on high alert. She wasn't the only one suffering. Many friends and family of the McKenzie family faced some level of profound and permanent grief over the killings. Some endured post-traumatic stress disorder and required ongoing therapy and psychiatric care. They couldn't understand why some perpetrators who killed just one person received large sentences when Bill Mitchell had killed an entire family and only received 20. In 2007, Karen's mother, Barbara, said,

14 years on and I'm still angry. My life is spent always wondering if he'll be released. For all we know, he could walk out and could kill someone else, and I would hate for somebody to have to go through what we went through. Where's the sense in our laws? The things Mitchell did were beyond belief. I feel so much hatred. Why kill two helpless little girls and do what he did to her and to do the same thing to my daughter? She was dead for Christ's sakes. Why would you want to rape a dead body? The man has to be sick. He has to stay in jail. God forbid if he comes out when he is 44. He's got plenty of time to do it to somebody else, hasn't he? It frightens me. One year later, an unexpected letter arrived at Barbara's house in Queensland. It read,

Bound you bitch, had someone look for you, got a photo of your little girl, short hair, white shirt and a little skirt. Nice. See you when I get out. It was signed from William. Barbara was terrified. The description fit that of her 11 year old granddaughter. Fearing that Bill Mitchell was plotting another attack against her family, Barbara reported the letter to the police. They checked Mitchell's prison records and confirmed that he was banned from sending any correspondence to Barbara. Furthermore, he hadn't sent anything to anyone in Queensland. The letter had been sent shortly after the Foxtel television series Crime Investigation Australia aired an episode about the Mackenzie case. Police believed the letter was nothing

more than a cruel hoax orchestrated by someone who had watched the show. In 2010, another blow came to the family when Mitchell was moved from a maximum security to a medium security prison. Karen's sister, Evelyn, then made the brave decision to face the man who single-handedly wiped out four members of her family. She didn't care to ask why he committed the crimes. She simply wanted him to know how much pain he'd caused. Evelyn was accompanied by two mediators armed with panic buttons in case anything went wrong, while two guards kept watch close by. Bill Mitchell nervously entered the small room with his eyes lowered. He sat just a few feet away from Evelyn, close enough that she could hear

him breathing heavily. She was taken aback by how normal he looked. Evelyn sat across from Mitchell and thanked him for meeting her. Mitchell then apologized, saying he was a changed man and a model prisoner. This meant nothing to Evelyn. She told him it was easy to behave when he was surrounded by people who could kill him if he stepped out of line. She then asked if he ever wanted to get out of jail. Mitchell said yes, that the possibility was giving him some kind of light at the end of the tunnel. Evelyn then told him she would use every breath in her body to make sure that never happened, saying, I want you to know I will do everything I can to keep you in jail.

The moment of truth came in 2013, when Mitchell was able to apply for parole for the first time. The Mackenzie's loved ones were on edge, but were relieved when his request was denied, based on the severity of his crimes and the possible threat he posed to community safety. However, now that he'd served 20 years, Western Australia law dictated that Mitchell's case would automatically be up for review every three years. This was unsettling news for those closest to the victims. Evelyn said, This is just really hard to deal with, knowing that it's never going to end. As long as he's alive, it will never end. It's just something that we have to do every couple of years. In 2016, as Bill Mitchell's second parole hearing approached, Evelyn started a petition

to have the laws changed so that he could never be released from prison. Over two and a half thousand people signed the petition, but Attorney General Michael Mission said there would be no changes to the current parole review process. He explained it was necessary to ensure that no prisoner got lost in the system. Evelyn said, Mitchell deserves nothing for what he did, and I will say that to him a thousand times. He deserves nothing because he took so much away from so many precious people. Each year on the anniversary of the murders, Evelyn takes a day off to remember Karen, Daniel, Amara and Katrina. While she can never forgive Bill Mitchell for what he did, she refuses to let it make her a

bitter person. Instead, the experience has taught her what's most important in life, and she focuses on the love she has for her own family. She told Perth Now, I've always taught my kids that everything in life happens for a reason. They even say it now when bad things happen. They tell me that everything in life happens for a reason. It's up to us to learn what that is. The fact that Bill Mitchell has the chance to be freed every three years keeps Evelyn up at night. The killings themselves are never far from her mind. Evelyn has made it clear she will never stop fighting against Mitchell's release, and wishes that there was something in place that would stop other families from having to endure

what she now faces. Yet, she remains steadfast. For Evelyn, the only way this will end is if Mitchell is granted parole, or if she dies, whichever comes first. Appearing on the Nine Networks a current affair program, Evelyn spoke of her sister's killer, quote, You can't call the person an animal, because animals have better decency than what this person has. How can you go in and attack and kill beautiful little baby girls? They're totally innocent. How can you do that? He's a sick, perverted piece of garbage. Why doesn't a woman have a right to say no?

You can't call the person an animal, because animals have better decency than what this person has.