Casefile True Crime - Case 46: The Frankston & Tynong North Serial Killer | Update

Episode Date: October 22, 2017

An important update on the case from Victoria police on October 21st, 2017. MAPS: Frankston North Killings map Frankston and Tynong North points of interests map For all credits and sources please visit casefilepodcast.com/case-46-frankston-tynong-north-serial-killer

On Saturday, October 21st, 2017, Victoria Police conducted a press conference in relation to the Frankston and Tynong North serial killer case we covered earlier this year, Case 46. The following is from the official media release from Victoria Police. Victoria Police is today announcing six $1 million rewards for information regarding Operation Lindhurst, an investigation into the deaths of six people whose bodies were found in the Tynong North and Frankston areas from 1980. This is the largest amount ever offered in a single reward announcement in Victoria. At the time of disappearance, each victim was on foot and did not have access to a

mobile motor vehicle, with the majority intending to travel on public transport. The bodies of all victims had been left in scrub land and efforts were made by the offender to conceal their location and their identity. Personal belongings had also been removed from each victim. Over the years, investigators have spoken to over 2,000 people in relation to the murders and a number of persons of interest were identified. A new task force was established to review the cases in 1998, however no one has ever been charged in relation to the deaths.

A reward of up to $1 million will be paid at the discretion of the Chief Commissioner of Police for information leading to the apprehension and subsequent conviction of the person or persons responsible for the abduction and murder of each victim. In appropriate cases, the DPP may consider, according to established guidelines, the granting of indemnification from prosecution to any person who provides information as to the identity of the principal offender or offenders in this matter. Any payment of a reward will be subject to the applicant signing a deed of confidentiality prior to payment.

Investigators are seeking public assistance to help solve these six murders and are appealing directly to any persons with knowledge of these crimes and of those responsible to come forward and contact police. Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1-800-333-000 or submit a confidential report at crimestoppersvic.com.au that's crimestoppersvic.com.au. The press conference was led by Detective Inspector Mick Hughes from the Victoria Police Homicide Squad and also features family members and friends of the victims. As you know, the murders occur between May 1980 and October 1981.

So Keith Rook is here from East Ellison South. So on the 30th of May 1980, Ellison Rook, $50, was last seen leaving a home in Henness Street, Frexton North, about a limit on him, attempting to catch a bus from the Henness Street in Frexton, down on North Bus Stop to the Frexton Shops, and she's never suiting it. So I'll look for Keith, if you've got questions for him, if not we'll do what's in the next victim. Keith, what is the offer of this reward made to you and your family?

It's something that we're really thankful that the police are now offering the thank them for the work that they've done, and we're very thankful that some closure will come by perpetrators, will perpetrate it, being caught because, you know, we had traumatic times and it's a sad way to lose a mum, a mother of six, and that she was a great mum and how we've had to move on, everyone's had to move on for a lot of time, but still we would love to see some finalisation. And we think that it's a new feeling that the person who has done this for persons really brought to justice for the terrible thing that we just hoped that somebody who may know

something out there should have a look at themself and think what it would mean, not just for our family, but all of them. Thank you, Keith. The next victim we're going to talk about is Bertha Beller, and I spoke to, I'll call him Mr Beller, because he was my chief when I joined, and Bertha was a strong Christian woman. And on the 10th of August, 1980, she was last seen leaving her home in Cutty D Road, Glen Orris, about 10 a.m., continuing to catch the tram from the Marlin Road and High Street

intersection to the Wesley Methodist Church in Preah. Bertha had met someone on that tram stop a couple of weeks before. A male had struck up a conversation with her, and he noticed she was carrying a Bible, and he actually made a reference to her carrying a Bible. And she spoke to a friend after that, and was pretty encouraged. She saw that as an opportunity to talk to Christian addings to this person, so one, we've never identified who that is, and we're working on the principle, good chance he is our friend. So if we look at all of the victims, they're either using public transport or close to.

So he's clearly seen a way in to talk to Bertha, because everything I've told her about it, she wouldn't engage with people unless there was a reason to do so. On the 29th of August, 1980, a 14-year-old Berrick girl, Catherine Hidlund, was last seen leaving her boyfriend's address in High Street, Berrick, about 11 a.m., continuing to catch a bus from Berrick, a road in High Street, Berrick, to the Fairgut Shopping Centre. And of course, she'd not see it again until her body's free. Her best friend Cheryl Goldworthy's here. Cheryl, can you tell us about your friendship and what your friends like?

Well, she was a very well-liked girl, very popular, very friendly. She had friends everywhere in horses and school, and to me, I just idolised her. She's the girl that you want her to be, and you know, back then, you had your best mate, and I would walk around every morning to meet her, to go to school together. I remember when she first moved to Berrick, she'd moved there over school holidays, and would have their dog tied to the handlebars of their bike and be riding around the block. And we'd sort of see her ride past, and then after the school holidays, she turned up at Berrick High School, and I met her there.

It was grade five, six, composite, because I was a year younger than her, and she was given a buddy at the time, and I remember the first chance I got. I walked up and said, I know you, you live around the corner, and she was basically my friend from then, so there. And as a teenager, going through something like this, how did that change you and affect your life? It changed us all, because as it was said that we thought we were safe, we, there was a group of us, and we always stuck together,

and basically climbing over the back fences at night was because you don't go out at night, you know, and it shocked me and shocked us all. It still does. It dictated how I raised my children, and I know that it also had the same effect on her other friends with their daughters, that I wouldn't let my girls go out, I wouldn't let them go on a bus when, you know, because it was broad daylight, and it should never have happened. She just had to cross the street, and normally she wouldn't have even been alone.

It was just wrong time and wrong place, I guess. I mentioned that you've spoken out before. Why has it been so important for you to be so vocal as part of this investigation? Because I truly believe that someone out there knows something, and they keep inquiring, and I think the more that it's brought up, and the more that it's publicised, and the more people that know about it, sooner or later somebody's hopefully going to say something and put a dress for us. Are you hopeful that that will happen?

Yes, I am. Yeah. Thank you. On the 6th of October, 1980, and I should have mentioned Catherine was the youngest, 14-year-old, and he was, they've got kids, just Catherine, they've been through the pain of that. In relation to many of these investigations, they've been a 14-year-old child. 6th of October, 1980, 18-year-old Ann Marie Sgt. was lastly living in Mother's Address, she'd cremate and drive for cremation about 9.30am,

pretending to catch the bus to the sea as she pulled me off to the dead of night, and from there, she tended to travel to the Clive, most of us. Again, she wasn't sitting in until her body was slow cut. Ann Marie's brother, Preetam, is here, and will answer any questions that you may like to ask Preetam. Preetam, what was Ann Marie like, and what did your family, when she went to see Preetam? Well, she's a very bubbly type person, she loved kids. They'd down really emotionally wrecked our family. My mother, at the time, had cancer, and it really sped up her final days.

She had trouble coping with it. It was really, really hard for the whole family. Even now, when we have things like this, we are hopeful that it will get solved. We're hopeful that it will give us closure, because the pain, for us, is really still there on a day-to-day basis in the background, but especially when we have events like Christmas, birthdays and things like that, we miss her being there. So, just despite the number of years that have gone by? Oh, yeah, it's 37 years, and for the whole family, and I can speak for them,

that it is still hurtful, and the pain for us is still there. Even though, as I said, we've put a little bit, parked it a little bit back, but every now and again, we do remember, but the good thing about it, we can talk about her in a great way, her friendliness, her humbliness, her love with her at the time, her nephew and niece, and like I said, on that particular day, there was a daughter lost, a sister lost, and a great aunt, so it is emotionally raw. How frustrating has it been to go almost four decades, and just there be not much progress on this investigation, and how has that really been leading you down a lot?

Well, we feel that there's, someone does hold the key, that they've got that vital bit of information that they can pass on to the police to say, look, you know, it's time now we come forward and they give police that information, so they can solve the case, and I said, give all the families, not just my family, but all the families, their bit of closure, so they can get on. It's not going to go away for us, it's not going to go away, it's not going to bring her back, but at least we know that perpetrator or Pearl, it's been solved. And I think the police have done a great job, because they've really not

part of the way it's forgotten about it. Over the years, it's brought up every and they're still working on it, and I think that's a great thing. So as I said, be nice, if that person who's got that vital bit of information would come forward and give it to the police, so we can close the case, and we can all go on our lives in at least in a better way. Our next victim on the 9th of October, 1981, 55-year-old Joey Carville Summers was last seen at the bus stop in Chillishford, Fraxton, the day, uh, sorry, Ed Fraxton, there the way Fraxton, about 1 p.m. Intended to catch a bus to the Fraxton shops, and of course she's not sure to get hurt if you couldn't drive this year, so if you've got any questions,

point of walk. Here it goes, Joey. Hey, everybody, nice to meet you. I'm Joey, Joey. I've written about you, by a follow-up, here's Joey. Would you like to tell us about your home? Well, I'll tell you, Joey was just a lovely, gentle, intelligent woman. She was, she was our aunt. She was a loved sister by her mother. And, uh, I'm sure that Joey's death in this way, um, certainly didn't hold my mom, who had suffered a severe stroke some time before that, so she, to live with that to the end of three days,

and, um, I'm sure she was very frustrated and concerned that, you know, this, the perpetrator hadn't been found, hadn't been much progress, uh, towards that end, so, um, but, you know, uh, we're very thankful to the police for, um, continuing the investigation through. That's just, uh, just hope that something comes of it. Well, what, I'm assuming you must know I'm not with us, but what would it mean to, to your remaining family members, if there were to be a result yet? Um, well, none of the mum's siblings are alive now, but the rest of the family, um, has, have expressed it, um, emotionally, psychologically. It, it puts a deep scar through your family,

and, uh, you know, we'd be just overjoyed if, um, if something came of it, and then we're out, which actually, might only, um, lay this to residents, so, well, at least we know who did it, and it's been brought to each, whoever, it's been brought to justice. This, this reward, does it, has it given you fresh hope, like, real palpable hope, or, or has it been, how, having been disappointed over the last few years, you sort of not wanting to get to hopes, actually, much? Um, I'm hopeful, because, um, I think it's, uh, probably, this is a great incentive for somebody, if they vaguely remember something that perhaps, you know, they didn't think was important years ago, they, they might decide to come forward, and, um, you know, time,

time goes on, so, um, yeah, I'm, I'm, I'm pretty hopeful that we'll get something out of this. 29th of November, 1980, uh, 34-year-old doubles, Darin Ball Stevenson, was last known outside of Fringe, home in Park Street, Brunswick, nearly hours of the morning. So she'd been there with her husband, Wade, and, uh, they were having dinner with friends, and they had a little bit of a disagreement, nothing major. She was a bit tired, so she went there and, uh, selected the car. Wade goes down, the checks for a couple of times, uh, during the night, and comes back down in the morning, and she's missing, and, uh, she's obviously not seen until her body's locked in. They've got, uh, Wade's, uh, two daughters and adopted son, nephew, uh, here,

St Tabor and Ria are here, uh, uh, at a nephew. Uh, they, they don't want to answer questions, but they're here, uh, supporting their death. So we've got four, uh, victims, all within the title of the median area, and two, uh, two victims in the fraction area. But, uh, the task forces and the original course on investigation have certainly indicated those six cases have leaked. So it's the, uh, the media conference today. Uh, the, the victims were all either, uh, on the one used to public transport or were on foot. So, someone has somehow engaged with them, uh, and, of course, if we had the key to that, we'd probably have answered the question. So, uh, if you, there's a lot of teasers, and there's, uh, I'm sorry to use that word, but there's a lot of little things

that you look at and you think, if I just knew more about that, it might take us somewhere. One example of that is, is Bertha talking to this fellow at the Tree of Stop. But, uh, as, uh, point of trick is, there's more meticulously charged than the cold coast that he sat down with the families today. And, uh, as we say, we progress a lot of those investigations through relationships, changing. And, uh, if someone has assisted, uh, or knows something about this, we're obviously appealing for them to come forward. We do know that, uh, all, all the victims have been left in, uh, sort of scrambling environments and efforts have been made to conceal them. Personal belongings have been removed from each victim, and we obviously won't talk about what

those belongings are. Over the years of, uh, a number of investigations, uh, over 2000 people have been spoke to. Uh, we've had a number of persons of interest identified, and, uh, clearly, we're going to go back to square one and we'll start again. We're not satisfied that idiots, uh, of the earlier, no, no suspects are excluded. Uh, the task force that I mentioned earlier was established in 1998, and I think they actually finalized the actual work, uh, in the early 2000s. We're now seeking, uh, public assistance in relation, uh, to those investigations. Uh, we believe that you've got six victims in full daylight that, uh, have been basically scripted off of this trip. So, someone must know something about these investigations,

and we're appealing for the public to come forward. If we had an appropriate case where, uh, someone had taken a minor role, you know, for example, providing a view or, uh, has, uh, done something after that offense, uh, we would certainly approach the IPP and the Director of Public Prosecutions. Uh, we would judge each case on its merit, but certainly, uh, if we thought that would progress to the investigator, we would certainly consider that. As you know, the rewards are, uh, paid, and they're subject to a confidential agreement with the party. I just mentioned that because, uh, people may want the confidence if they speak that, uh, that's retained. So, that's pretty much it from, uh, William,

unless you've got specific questions, like to ask. How confident are you that it's the one person responsible for all six of these crimes? Yeah, I think it's a fair question, that, uh, even though we're going back from the start and looking again, uh, I know some of the people who worked on all of those, uh, various investigations, but particularly the last one, which was, uh, Co-Owned Clive Rust, uh, and they've done a very thorough, uh, examination. I'm not going to talk about some of the stuff they've done to, shall I say, some supplement they've assumed, but, uh, I know, Co-Owned Clive in particular, that he's still a competent in all six are, as, as, as in what? Um, Harold, gentlemen, his name is, I've got, I've got

a problem with the investigation. Can you talk about where he thinks that one is? No, I'm not going to talk about any suspects, suffice to say, gentlemen, it remains a personal interest. You said that you'll be wearing the SCA more of those people of interest, to see what was that category? Uh, yes. Do you have a particular individual in mind? No. Uh, we, uh, it was one of the things, I think, if we haven't spoken to all the families today about that, oh, you apologize, but we certainly said to a couple of families, their intention is to come in with a clear bullet and start from scratch.

Why now? I mean, you've talked about how this was reinvestigated from the late 90s to the early 2000s. Why again now? Yeah, look, we, uh, the Colcash team have had success recently with rewards, as you know. A couple of those have come, uh, even though we went in, hoping to get a result. A couple of the people of contact has have come forward from left field and have really been helpers and helped us progress investigation. So, sitting down with Pudder and the team, uh, we think it's an opportunity. People are aware that we're using different ways to approach investigations. This is, this is one of them.

So basically, the passing of time is, it could be to your advantage. Yes. People to, you know, adjust to civil and then perhaps they can come back to you. Yes. Yes. And the couple we did recently, uh, one of the things we hated on is young people at the time, you know, where we had young, uh, young friends involved or on the fringe that are now married and have got children. Uh, uh, it could be a, uh, a person that's in a domestic, violent domestic situation that's no longer in that situation that may know something.

We don't know how the relationships change. So we're certainly hoping and look, even, uh, even to look at, uh, you know, this offender is likely to be 70 or over. Uh, I guess if we say it was, uh, uh, 20 and 80, uh, what's he now in his early 60s? If he's 30 and 80s, obviously he's 70s. So someone who might have been threatened by this person 30 years ago, probably not, not threatened by it there. So they're the very people we're looking at is if you know something, uh, count for what it will, uh, will route you out and see what we can do to progress. Is this the situation where you've been able to do any sort of profiling?

Of a potential offender? It's been a work done early on that, but I wasn't going to go into that, but they, they went offshore and, uh, uh, they went to America and had, had a look. Uh, FBI? Yes. Yeah. So it's been a work done around that. Uh, I think we need to get more rudimentary. I think there's, uh, it's a really old-fashioned policy here that will help us progress these. And I think I was sent to most of the families, even if I haven't sent to the wall, I apologize,

but, uh, all we did is to get in on one that I think will progress the others. This is, this is very hypothetical, obviously, but if, if it turns out to be the one offender and, um, you're able to get a conviction on all six offenses, could someone be in line for all six million dollars? Yes. Look, we intentionally, um, um, obviously put a reward on each, uh, victim and you don't understand why that. One is we're showing the families that we value each of these victims the same, but more importantly, it's more likely one person will be able to provide information

for all their best negation. So to answer your question, probably don't. Um, uh, we would certainly, if someone say, a relationship, for example, someone was in a relationship with the offender who's now broken away from that offender, was able to give us information about number of investigations. We would certainly go to the rewards committee and say, look, this person would provide information to us into two or three jobs. So I guess it's from a million dollars, uh, right through subsequent to what information you're able to provide, but that's not how we teach it.

How we teach it is to, you know, basically individually solve every job with a view of solving all six. Can you talk a bit more, sorry, about how all six are, are linked, uh, if you're so confident that they are linked, is it strictly just where the bodies were found, or if there are other links between these two people? Oh, the main link is tied on, is the, the three vectors are tied on the same offender without doubt. Uh, but so if you, if you look at the timeframe, they look from the 30th of May, 80 until, uh, the north of October, 81,

six victims using public transport, uh, abducted off the street and murdered, and dumped in close proximity, uh, three together, almost identically together. There are more students and not far away, but very close to tied on. And I don't know, I think you may have been provided with a map, uh, so those four are really close. Alison Rook is murdered, she's the first victim that's murdered, and she's dumped in Frexton North, and, uh, during Carmel South, is the last victim that again, she's dumped in Frexton North. Uh, if I had information that came in on those two murders and they

took me another way, that's why we're having the open mind, but like most of us that have read all of material, uh, where, as confidence, we can, but that those six jobs are linked. We're looking at six murders in a relatively short space of time. Yeah, absolutely. So if it's the same offender, um, has something caused that offender to stop, or is it someone who's gone on to commit other offenses that you are also looking at? There's nothing that, obviously, air-conditioned, runs that comparison, but we've obviously spoken at the moment, Elliot, who's murdered in 1975, is, uh, she's visiting a friend in

the hospital at Boxfield, she lives in Barrick, and, uh, her body's fed in Gardner's Crook, Glen Oryx. So we, again, we'd have an open bond on that investigation. That's five years before, you know, those murders. Uh, there's not a lot after this, that we, that jumps the evidence, but we would certainly have an open bond on any unsolved investigation. I guess what I'm asking is, uh, are there, despite the passage of time, any potential links to some of the more notorious people we're aware of who are currently in the correction system? Yes, yeah. I think I know you're referring to, in particular. Yes. Uh, I'm going to say I'm not as convinced with the material I've seen, like, to that particular person.

The telltale signs, uh, there? But, okay. Um, just going back to the birth of Miller. Yes. Um, disappearance. Um, can you just go a little bit more detail on the man or person she was chatting to, and that was at the train stop? Who actually saw that happen? What did they see? No, she talked, she, she told a friend, and, uh, you know, we, we don't remember every detail of these cases. You can imagine, though, I haven't looked at Todd, I've forgotten a while previously, and his team had been doing that on a long behalf, but it was only when I was speaking to my ex-chief, and he reminded me that, uh, that this male engaged with Bertha,

that she was, uh, he actually identified she was carrying a Bible and he engaged with that conversation. And when she told her friend, so it's a couple of weeks before, she saw this as an opportunity to, uh, for one of the better words, to witness to someone about Christianity. So we believe that person has probably seized as an opportunity to perhaps read her on the bus stop again, on the train stop again. We have a, um, I don't know how this could be leaked, but we have a record of a story from 1989 about, um, two letters that posted knowledge of the deaths of four women, um, and typewriters were seized from Petrich.

No, it doesn't off the top of the head. I might have to give you some advice on that. Yeah. Um, it was obviously, it was, it appears to me that it was something that was looked at at the time, has been leaked to these, that certainly leads to the four who were found in all year time on, time on north. No, I don't off the top of the head, but I'll make some regards and come back to you. Uh, the, do we know the author of the article? It doesn't matter if you don't know it. The author of the, the story? Yes. Uh, no. No, that's right. That's what it was. It sounds like. Our, our thoughts are most, I think, pretty slick. I did. Yeah, there was information. I didn't know it, but, um, that was the internet. And it discounted?

Oh, I didn't make it. Yeah, thank you. That's all. Are you assuming that this is one perpetrator, as you see? No, I'm not assuming that. I'm assuming, uh, we've got one killer. Uh, you should presumably be asking me about the furniture, right? I posed it and found it or something like that. Sorry? He could have had a couple or both of them. Yeah, well, you just do it all. Like, uh, we have to, serial killers tend to be, work alone, but history tells us not always. So, um,

you've got to have an open mind. Um, if, for example, let's say the, uh, fellow on the tram stop talking to Bertha Miller as their offender, how is he going to get Bertha from the tram stop to his transport? So then you have an open mind and say, was there someone else with the car? Or was it just that he wasn't in his car that day and had no method to, and therefore she was safe on the first occasion? Or he's not the offender. He's, uh, he's someone that's struck up a conversation with a better Bible on a tram stop. So that's how open it might have to build this job.

Why has a DNA outsold any of these? Can you just explain why that has? Oh, I don't think it'll be appropriate for me to get any of it. We haven't gone offender, so we haven't seen it, but I'll hear what you say. Was there, and I apologize to the people in the room, but was there any evidence of, assaults other than double the size? Yes. Could that, if you felt you had a suspect, could that assist in terms of DNA? We're reviewing all of that there. That's why it's hard for me to go there, because we don't know the answer to the next question.

I really also know, like, the cause of death for each person was unknown. Yeah, look, we're, uh, we're not talking about that nor that. Just do one more question. Yes, of course. Ask, um, the friends and family that we have here that's been mentioned, the suspects, who have seemed to be, seemingly being connected to each case in several different ways. We spoke about frustration, but perhaps that's not the best word. What would it mean one of those people is indeed found to be the offender here? The lack of a better word? How frustrating would that be?

But they may have slipped through the cracks to so long. Well, very frustrating, because as I said, I'm sure that everyone here or the family members want that closure. As I said before, if the police could actually get the perpetrator, or perpetrators, if there is any more than one, that they could prosecute and at least get an answer so that they can close the case and get that prosecution. And we can get that closure as a, as I said, wouldn't, it's not going to, for us, make it go away, but it's certainly going to give us closure and help for us to go forward, just a little bit better. Um, I don't know if anyone else is going to be able to say, but yeah,

it would help. Well, as I said before, that person is going to be a lot older. They've had their life. My sisters, for me, didn't have a great life. Like, instead of a long life, her life was cut short while this person went on living and just sitting in the background, whether he wants to admit what he done, or someone wants to put it forward and saying, well, here's some information. But as I said, his life is now probably getting closed to an end, where, as I said, my sister, at her age, didn't have a long life. It was cut short. And I don't think that's really, really fair. Perhaps I could talk a bit about the family in relation to, if we charge him a fender,

if this takes me there, we charge him a fender that's previously been done as a suspect, I know I'd be incredibly frustrated. But you've got to understand that the rate that some of these people went before us, the investigators before us, they may have been limited in a lot of the work they can do that we're not limited with today. So, from our investigation perspective, that's a real possibility that we may have to address the other track, but it's not a bad problem to be addressing. If I charge you a fender or a one-to-one charge of your fender with these six burners, I'll be happy to address the issues and the gaps that were identified as the result.