Casefile True Crime - Case 41: Mr Cruel

Episode Date: January 7, 2017

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Melbourne was gripped by fear when a masked assailant began breaking into suburban family homes and abducting young children. The attacks were particularly callous, earning the assailant the title of Mr Cruel. ---  For all credits and sources please visit casefilepodcast.com/case-41-mr-cruel

Just a quick note before we start. This episode involves crimes against children. It won't be for everyone. Please keep that in mind before listening. A mummy cries for her little girl who never came back home. Now a family live in a shattered world, straining the family home. Are her cries of help ringing in your ears? Her eyes pleading for release? Do you feel her mounting fears? Cause only you can give relief. Please Mr. Cruel let her go, safely without harm. Please Mr. Cruel send her back into her family's arms. Please Mr. Cruel. When you reach deep down inside you and find some good within your soul, let her go back to society, release her from your hold. Please Mr. Cruel. Please Mr. Cruel.

Tuesday the 27th of December 1988. John Willis was inside his house on Hillcrest Avenue, Ringwood, a working class suburb of Melbourne, Australia. Located 23 kilometres or 14 miles east of the Central Business District. John's wife Julie was in bed asleep as were his four young daughters. John was having trouble sleeping himself, so instead of tossing and turning in bed, he decided to stay up and complete a jigsaw puzzle to try and relax. At 5am John had had enough of the jigsaw puzzle and went to bed, cooling up next to his wife. The Willis family weren't alone that night. There was somebody outside, watching and waiting. About 5.30am, 30 minutes after John had gone to bed, a man wearing a ski mask and blue overalls broke in

through the back door of the Willis house. He walked straight to John and Julie's bedroom. Julie woke up and saw the man standing over her, pointing her gun. Julie started screaming and cried out to her daughters to run out of the house. The man told Julie to shut up and stop screaming. He then pointed the gun at John's temple and said, are you going to be a hero? John shook his head, no. The intruder made John and Julie lie face down on their bed and then tied them up with copper wire. He told John that he wanted all of the money in the house. John nodded to the bedside table and the intruder took $35 cash that was located there.

He then walked out of the bedroom and headed towards the kids room. Sharon Willis was 10 years old. She had woken up to her mother's screams and saw the intruder walk into her room. Sharon was described by neighbours as a quiet, well behaved girl who played several musical instruments. She was a choir girl with the Victorian Children's Choir and had appeared on a television show with them only weeks earlier. The intruder called Sharon by name. He covered her mouth with masking tape, blindfolded her, then picked her up and carried her out into the night. About 15 minutes later, John and Julie managed to cut the copper wire that had been used to tie them up. John ran to his kids bedroom to find that Sharon was missing.

The intruder had cut their phone line, so John ran to his neighbour's house and yelled at them to call the police before frantically searching neighbouring yards and streets, hoping that Sharon had managed to run away from the intruder. But his search was in vain. Police were called and cordoned off the Wills House. The major crime squad was instantly alerted and arrived on scene to take charge. A search was conducted of Ringwood and the surrounding suburbs, but there was no trace of Sharon and no witnesses were found. Initially, the thought was that Sharon may have been taken for ransom, given the intruder had demanded money and stolen what cash there was. But no ransom demand had been made. One neighbour told the age newspaper, Why look for money here? It's not

like it's Templestowe, naming a more affluent suburb of Melbourne than Ringwood. Police agreed. They didn't believe Sharon had been abducted for ransom. The belief was the intruder was trying to throw them off by stealing the cash. Another neighbour commented, I never thought anything like this could happen here. It's such a quiet place. The early description of the intruder that was circulated was male, around 20 years old, wearing blue overalls and a black ski mask. As that morning turned into night, police told John and Julie they had to expect the worst. The officer in charge of the case, Detective Chief Inspector Des Johnson, said publicly, we're still as much in the dark as we were this morning. The fears are growing all the time.

At 11.15 p.m. that night, a white Commodore vacation at Sedan was seen acting suspiciously in Bayswater, about eight kilometres or five miles southeast of Sharon's house in Ringwood. The Commodore had three blue stripes running down the side. As the Commodore was turning from Jersey Road, Bayswater, into Mountain Road, it nearly collided with another vehicle. The Commodore had its headlights off and the driver of the other vehicle had to brake and swerve to avoid a collision. The other driver followed the Commodore and pulled up next to it when they stopped at a nearby red light. The other driver was irate and yelling at the male driver of the Commodore, who was the only person visible inside the car. The driver of the Commodore didn't want anything

to do with the other driver. He turned his head and inched forward, looking anxious to not be seen. When the lights turned green, the Commodore continued for a short distance before turning right into Church Street, headed towards Bayswater High School. The other driver didn't get the registration plate. Less than 45 minutes later, Sharon was found wandering along Orchard Road, outside Bayswater High School. A passing motorist saw her and stopped to check if she was okay. The alarm was raised, Sharon was taken to hospital, and police were notified. Sharon had been held captive for 18 hours. She detailed the extraordinary lengths her captor went to in order to avoid detection. He thoroughly cleaned both Sharon and himself,

right down to the scraping of their fingernails and the cleaning and flossing of their teeth, to get rid of any potential DNA evidence. He then taped the garbage bag up to Sharon's neck, put a man's shirt over the garbage bag, then put another garbage bag over her head. He drove her to Orchard Road and let her out of his vehicle, near Bayswater High School. John Willis fronted a press conference where he said he was grateful for the return of Sharon, but he would never be able to forgive the man responsible. He had increased the security of his home, and he, his wife, and four daughters had spent the nights since Sharon's return, huddled together in the lounge room, too scared to sleep alone, fearing the intruder would return.

Police performed regular surveillance and patrols of their house to ensure this didn't happen. John Willis then said, quote, The whole experience of somebody bursting into your home and tying you up is terrifying. To have your daughter taken and not know where she is, is indescribable. I honestly believe this man has done this before. He came well prepared and covered his tracks. I've run his voice over and over in my mind to try to remember whether I might know him, but I don't. Police checked reports of similar offences to see if they could make any connections to prior cases. Within days they revealed it was possible Sharon's attack could be linked to as many as eight previous unsolved attacks across Melbourne in the last 10 years.

Two teams of detectives were put on the case. Detective Chief Inspector Des Johnson told the media that crimes of this nature are often harder to solve than armed robberies or murders. As the offender is often a loner, maintaining the impression of normality in his everyday life, and is somebody who wouldn't boast about the crime to family or friends. He revealed that Sharon was kept blindfolded for the entire 18 hours she was held captive. He then said, quote, We can only dread what the man would have done if the girl had pulled off the blindfold and seen his face. It is that close to being a homicide. It is only an extra step. On Monday the 2nd of January 1989, six days after the attack, the Victorian state government

announced a $100,000 reward for information on Sharon's abduction. It's believed this was the first ever reward offered in an abduction case in the state's history. Detective Chief Superintendent Kevin Holliday said, quote, Nobody can misunderstand the monstrous nature of this offence or the danger to the community if the offender remains at large. There is a real possibility that there will be a repetition of it. On the 5th of January, police did a large pamphlet drop at houses near Sharon's home and around the area she was found. Police also publicly displayed a car similar to the white Commodore seen acting suspiciously in Bayswater just prior to when Sharon was found. Police said

they had considered Sharon's description and version of events before releasing information about that Commodore and doing the public displays. Many calls were received from the public and many leads were chased down. Police even had a few potential suspects in mind, but nothing concrete. No arrests were made. 18 months later, Tuesday the 3rd of July 1990, 13-year-old Nicola Linus was at home with her 15-year-old sister Fiona. They lived on Monometh Avenue, Canterbury, 17km or just over 10 miles west of Sharon's house in Ringwood. Canterbury is an affluent suburb home to several high-ranking former politicians. Many of the properties in the suburb were worth over a million dollars at the time.

Nicola was described by her principal as a hard-working, very balanced and stable girl, one of the school's best students. The Linus family were quiet and mostly kept to themselves. They had moved to Australia from England four years earlier. Nicola's father, Brian Linus, was a partner in the accounting firm Price Waterhouse and he was on succumbent to work at the firm's office in Melbourne. But it was only days before their stay in Australia was over. Brian's work had been completed and the family's bags were packed ready for the move back to England. Nicola and Fiona were in bed asleep. Their parents, Brian and Rosemary, were out for dinner with friends. At 11.40pm, a man described as being dressed in dark clothes and wearing a

black ski mask forced open a rear window of the house. He crept inside armed with a knife and a handgun. The intruder made his way to the girl's bedroom and woke them up, threatening to harm them if they didn't cooperate. He tied up Fiona, then said to her, tell your father I want $25,000. He directed Nicola into another room and told her to get her school uniform. Nicola was a student at Presbyterian Ladies College in Melbourne. The intruder put Nicola's school uniform and some underwear into her bag before taking the car keys to a rented car that was parked in the driveway. A navy blue Berliner sedan. The intruder forced Nicola into the car, then drove off. 40 minutes later, Brian and Rosemary arrived home to find Fiona tied up

and Nicola missing. They immediately called the police. Police officers kept guard at the house and monitored all incoming telephone calls, waiting for any further contact from the kidnapper on how the ransom was to be paid. Police initially considered the abduction might be fake, as it was well known that Nicola wasn't all that keen to leave Australia and move back to England. However, it didn't take long to rule that possibility out. The abduction was very real. The kidnapper had not said how the ransom should be paid or when he would make contact again. He simply said, I want $25,000. Brian and Rosemary made it known to police that they were prepared to pay the ransom,

but they needed to know how to do it. Brian Linus said, We would very much like to have Nikki back with us. Whatever can be done to get her back, we would like to be done. Anyone in this room who has children might well understand the stress when you see one of your own family taken away like that. We have to sit and be patient and hold our nerve. There is nothing else you can do. The family feels no anger towards the men, just a feeling of confusion really, as to why someone would do that to such an unprotected, happy young child. She's a normal 13 year old. She's not a worldly sort of kid. She's not street wise, but resourceful in a situation like this. Who knows. One of the things we have loved about

Australia is the safety of the children on the streets, on trans, on public transport. It was fantastic. It gave the children a freedom, which certainly at their age and as girls, we would never have let them have in London. Head of the major crime squad, Detective Inspector Ron Blackshaw pleaded with the kidnapper to make contact with either the police or Nicholas' family. Quote, we are prepared to discuss any time, anywhere, anything he wants to talk about. You can draw your own conclusions with a naive 13 year old girl in the hands of a kidnapper. The mind boggles with what could happen. We are very concerned. Ron Blackshaw went on to say that the kidnapping had been carefully planned

and police believe the men responsible observed the house for some time before the attack, possibly several weeks, working out the patterns of the Linus family. All residents in the street were questioned, but nobody heard or saw anything suspicious. All they could offer was similar to what the neighbours of Sharon Wilson said. We never thought this sort of thing would happen here. Police visited Presbyterian Ladies' College and interviewed Nicholas' classmates. They also investigated the possibility that Nicholas' abduction was linked to the abduction of Sharon Wilson. The car the kidnapper stole from the Linus house was found dumped at 3pm the next day,

Wednesday the 4th of July, in Chaucer Street, Canterbury, only a few streets away from the Linus home. Forensic police were immediately called and dusted the vehicle for prints. The early description of the kidnapper was a softly-spoken male, possibly in his 30s, wearing a black balaclava, dark-coloured jeans and a dark skibby. The Victorian state government announced a $100,000 reward for information leading to the capture and conviction of Nicholas' abductor. Forensic psychologist Tim Watson Munro said he was puzzled by the abduction. The sum of $25,000 seemed too small for a planned kidnap. It didn't look like money was the issue, so the motive was unclear.

He told the age newspaper, quote, Whether it was impulsive or planned, the person is a disturbed individual. It is someone who can't empathise with the family or the victim and is very directed to his own demands. But he seems to be in touch with reality. There is no indication he is suffering from a psychotic influence. That's probably a good thing. If he's in touch with reality, he will probably calm down and release the child. The important thing is for him to make contact, so some dialogue can start happening, to establish some rapport and take the edge out of the situation. At 2 a.m. on Friday the 6th of July, Nicholas was driven around in a vehicle

by her kidnapper. He stopped the car in Kew and told Nicola to get out. Kew is a suburb about 6km or 3.7 miles west of Nicola's house in Canterbury. She was blindfolded and wrapped in a light brown blanket. The kidnapper made Nicola sit down and put her head between her legs. He then left. After a while Nicola made her way to a nearby house and asked to use the phone. She called her father Brian. Police were notified and Nicola was taken to hospital. It was Nicola's 14th birthday that Friday and she had been held captive for 50 hours. She had been kept bound and blindfolded during her captivity. She had no idea who kidnapped her or where she was taken to. Nicola reported that the kidnapper was meticulous when it came to

cleaning and destroying any potential forensic evidence. Despite this the police announced they had several pieces of forensic evidence they believed could provide a breakthrough. The evidence was found in the Linus house and in the rented car the kidnapper stole. Although they didn't specify what exactly the forensic evidence was. Forensic psychologist Tim Watson Munro was interviewed again by the age newspaper. He said quote. He had thought out the modus operandi quite well. The parents were out. He may have been watching the house or that could have been a coincidence. He took the parents car and then used his own car. There has obviously been quite a deal of

planning. He went on to say that it is possible the same man had been responsible for abducting Sharon Wills 18 months earlier. Quote. If that is true and I suspect it is. It suggests he is able to sit on his urges fairly well and maybe now is a good time for him to seek some help before he starts acting out again. He also said that if the offender did strike again the time before his next offense would likely be shorter. Police learned from Nicola that the kidnapper was aged between 20 and 40 and wore a dark green hand knitted balaclava with creams stitching around the eyes and mouth. He had a serrated kitchen knife with a 25 centimeter black plastic handle. Nicola said she was driven around for about 10 minutes in her parents rented

car before they stopped in Chaucer Street only a few streets away from her house. She was then put into another vehicle. A blanket was placed over her and she was kept underneath the dashboard. She was driven around for about another 45 minutes before she was taken into a house in a suburban area. There was no one else in the house that she heard during her captivity. Her kidnapper watched the press conference given by Nicola's father and commented to Nicola about it. Police set up an information caravan in Chaucer Street in the hopes somebody may have seen something. They also set up a caravan at the location where Nicola was found. In relation to these displays Detective Inspector Maloney said we are not following any specific leads but some investigations

look promising. Police then set up a roadblock in Canterbury. Every car was pulled over and people were questioned if they were in the area the night Nicola was abducted. If they were they were asked if they saw anything suspicious. Traffic was banked up for 500 meters at times. Some accused the police of resorting to this tactic because they were getting desperate. Detective Inspector Maloney denied this saying he was confident the case would be solved. It wouldn't be solved in five minutes but it was a solvable case. Given that the attacker had told Nicola to grab a school uniform police believed he may have been keeping watch on her school Presbyterian Ladies College. There had been recent reports of several different suspicious men loitering around the school grounds.

Reports then surfaced that another attack had been linked to the abductions of Sharon Wills and Nicola Linus. This attack occurred in August 1987 in the suburb of Lower Plenty 16 kilometers northeast of Melbourne's Central Business District. At 4 a.m the attacker removed a window pane in the lounge room and entered the house. He was wearing a mask and carried a small handgun and large hunting knife. He made his way to the parent's bedroom, forced them onto their stomachs at gunpoint and then expertly tied their hands and feet with knots commonly used by sailors or by those securing large loads. The offender then made his way to the kid's bedroom. He gagged a six year old boy and tied him to his bed then attacked an 11 year old girl.

He didn't abduct the girl but he was in no hurry either. He remained inside the house for two hours. He even took the time to stop his attack, go to the kitchen and to make himself a meal. Afterwards he searched the house and stole a box of classical records and a dark blue coat with a fake fur collar. Before leaving the house the attacker made a phone call. He referred to the person on the other end as bozo and warned him to move his children or they would be in danger. Police were called and during that investigation they found that no call was made from the phone at all. He was pretending. A red herring to confuse the police, just like stealing the records and coat, demanding money and stealing the $35 from the Willis House and making a ransom demand at

the Linus House. He was just trying to conceal his true motive. Those three attacks had now been all linked to the same offender and the media came up with a name for him, Mr Cruel. The concerning thing for police was the time pattern between each attack was decreasing and the time in which he held his victims was increasing. The Sun newspaper ran an article suggesting Mr Cruel may be a former police officer. Unnamed detectives were quoted as apparently supporting this theory due to Mr Cruel's obsession with cleaning and destroying clues and his apparent knowledge of forensic science. One unnamed detective in the article said,

it could be an ex-copper, it could be a doctor, it could be a lab technician, but whoever it is, he's bloody cunning. In response to this, Detective Maloney said, detectives are looking at all possible scenarios and at people from a variety of backgrounds. It could be anybody. Other senior police dismissed the claim Mr Cruel was a former or current police officer, saying he could be anyone, even someone who has just read a lot of detective books and knew something about procedures and forensic evidence. Whoever Mr Cruel was, police were no closer to solving the case and in September 1990, they sought the help of the FBI to compile a profile. They were able to come up with an extensive profile of Mr Cruel, however,

the details weren't immediately released to the public. The police then announced that they believed Mr Cruel was responsible for at least six attacks in total since 1984. Although they didn't release any details about the other attacks, they did say not all the victims were children, at least one was described as being mature in age. Nine months later, Saturday the 13th of April, 1991, 13-year-old Carmen Cham was at home watching television with her two younger sisters, Carly aged nine and Karen aged seven. They were at their home in Serples Road, Templestowe, an affluent Melbourne suburb within close proximity to the other Mr Cruel attacks. Carmen was a student at Presbyterian Ladies College, the same school Nicola Linus went to. Carmen's principal described her as charming,

polite, enthusiastic and lively with a good group of friends. She was known as an extremely hardworking student who hoped to be a barrister one day. Carmen and her sisters were home alone as their parents, John and Phyllis Chan, were working at one of their Chinese restaurants. They owned two in total. Their parents worked extremely long hours at the restaurants, sometimes 15 to 18 hours per day, so it wasn't unusual for the girls to be home alone. About 9pm, Mr Cruel tampered with an elaborate security gate and was able to gain entry to the property that was surrounded by a hybrid fence. He made his way to one of the Chan's vehicles that was parked in the driveway. In white spray paint, Mr Cruel wrote, payback, more to come

and Asian drug deal. Another red herring to try and confuse the police. It's believed he got inside through an unlocked door or window. Carmen, Carly and Karen were in a bedroom watching a TV special on Marilyn Monroe. Carmen and Carly heard a noise and walked down the hallway to investigate. There, they were confronted by Mr Cruel. He forced the girls back into the bedroom, where he found Karen curled up, hiding behind the bedroom door. Mr Cruel threatened the girls with a knife and made sure they knew he was in charge. He put Carly and Karen in a wardrobe and pushed the bed up against it to trap them inside.

Mr Cruel then grabbed Carmen and left the house. It was now about 9.30pm. 15 minutes later, Carly and Karen managed to free themselves from the wardrobe. Carly rang John at the restaurant and told him a man with a knife had taken Carmen. John rushed home. He frantically searched for Carmen but couldn't find her. He called police and a message was broadcast over the police radio for a car to attend. When the radio dispatcher said a 13-year-old girl had been abducted by a masked man armed with a knife, police immediately realized the possible connection between the previous attacks. All available units were called to attend, including a police helicopter and sniffer dogs.

Surrounding streets were sealed off as the massive search got underway. A police dog did pick up a scent which had followed north to nearby Church Road. However, the scent suddenly ended. It's believed this is where Mr Cruel had his car waiting. Nearby residents were canvassed and nobody had seen or heard anything. It was a suburban residential area and police couldn't believe Mr Cruel was able to carry a presumably struggling girl that far without being seen. The latest description of Mr Cruel was, male, about 25 to 35 years old, slim to medium build, 170 to 180 centimetres tall, wearing grey sneakers, a greyish greenish tracksuit and a balaclava.

Based on the way the words were spray painted on the chain's car, they believed he was right-handed. The officer in charge of Carmen's case was Detective Inspector David Sprague. He immediately appealed to the public for help. He said police wanted to hear from anyone knowing of a workmate, friend or relative who unaccountably disappeared at the time of Carmen's abduction. Another thing that stood out, it was currently the school holiday period. The previous Mr Cruel attacks had occurred either during or right around school holiday time. The police had no doubt Mr Cruel had been watching the chain's home and knew the three girls were alone. Whilst the exact details weren't released, police said Mr Cruel had become more vicious

towards his victims with each attack. Criminologist Dr Paul Wilson told the city morning herald, quote, I think that if he is caught, a lot of people will be shocked. They will have known him as an intelligent, quiet, maybe even introverted man. He then said Mr Cruel's personality could be similar to Peter Sutcliffe's, the Yorkshire Ripper. It's believed Mr Cruel closely followed his own publicity. He liked reading about himself in the paper and watching news reports on television. Inspector Sprague appealed to him to release Carmen as she suffered from asthma and did not have a spray with her, so she had the potential to suffer a severe attack under stress. John and Phyllis Chan gave an emotional press conference on Tuesday, the 16th of April.

That girl's waiting for you. You love to go very much. Carmen, your sister leaves you. Don't spoil my family, please. Take my daughter home safe. Please, please, my daughter. Oh, my family, my baby, my baby. Some of the police working in the case had worked for as long as 36 hours straight. On Friday the 19th of April, Carmen's sisters wrote letters to their sister and to Mr Cruel. It was now six days since Carmen's abduction. By far the longest amount of time Mr Cruel had held on to a victim. The police released the letters hoping Mr Cruel would see them and release Carmen. Seven-year-old Karen wrote, Dear Carmen, I miss you a lot of time. I'm very scared in the

dark and mum and dad miss you very much. Mimi is sick because she misses you too. Love from Karen. Mimi was the family dog. Nine-year-old Carly wrote, Whoever has my sister, I would like her back because then she can help me with my homework and also take good care of my little sister and me. Carmen, I wake up all the time. I need you, Carmen. Please bring Carmen back. Carmen, Mum, Dad, Karen and I are waiting for you. We all miss you very much with our hearts. Love, Carly. Chief Superintendent Kevin Holiday said the concern of the investigators was growing the longer Carmen remained missing. Quote, Quite obviously the longer the time, the greater our concerns. We are now approaching a week. We have grave concerns. We are affected. It's the tragedies

in life that we see all the time. I think this one in particular has probably affected far more people than we realize. And that would include many of the media, I think. Inspector Sprague again had to address questions and rumors about the occupation of Mr. Cruel. He said, Quote, It could just as well be a policeman who is working now. It could be a former policeman. It could also be a solicitor or a barrister. Or it could just be somebody who is well read in forensic medicine. It could also be a criminal who has come unstuck before through forensic evidence. Any suggestion of occupation or background is pure speculation, with no basis in fact. He also said that in the 25 years he has been a police officer, he had never tried to track

a cooler, more calculating criminal with such an extensive knowledge of forensic science. Given how Mr. Cruel had previously tried to throw police off with red herrings, the fact that both Carmen and Nicola were students at Presbyterian Ladies College could have been a deliberate tactic by Mr. Cruel, another decoy to focus police attention on staff at the school. It also could have been the spot that Mr. Cruel found his victims. Or it just could have been a coincidence. Police weren't sure which it was and had to consider all possibilities. Mr. Cruel had also tried to make one of his previous victims believe he wasn't alone. He would yell out, ask questions and make demands as if he was talking to somebody else in the house.

But Mr. Cruel's victim never heard anyone answer, never heard anyone else speak, and got the sense that Mr. Cruel was just pretending there was somebody else present. Yet another red herring. Despite the fact that it had been a week since Carmen's abduction and concerns were growing, Inspector Sprague remained hopeful Carmen would be returned. Quote, We are ever optimistic. We know that he displays sympathy to his victims. We also know he is very clever. We think that he knows it's in everyone's best interests to release Carmen. On Tuesday the 23rd of April, the Victorian state government issued a $100,000 reward for

information leading to the arrest and conviction of Carmen Chan's kidnapper. The $100,000 reward still stood for Nicola and Sharon's cases as well, making the total $300,000. On top of the reward, police commenced an extensive door knock around the area where Carmen was abducted. More than 200 police knocked on over 3,000 doors. One of the most widespread police door knocks ever conducted in Victoria. As well as speaking to the residents, police also delivered leaflets with information and set up an information caravan in Templestowe. Widespread public appeals for information had resulted in over 3,000 phone calls made to the police hotline. Detectives had hoped that Mr. Kruel would release Carmen before the end of the

school holidays. When Monday the 29th of April arrived, the first day back at school, the hopes of finding Carmen alive had severely faded. Police held grave fears for her safety. The students at Presbyterian Ladies' College began their new school term with a special assembly praying for the safe return of Carmen. Police also requested the students fill out a questionnaire which asked about any suspicious activity they may have seen around the school or around their homes. Police had compiled a list of over 130 people they believed could be capable of kidnapping children. Some names were provided by members of the public. Other names were identified by going through police records. The background of all of these suspects was thoroughly

investigated, establishing their marital status, identifying what car they drove, their occupation, and ascertaining if their partners went away during the school holiday period. On Wednesday the 1st of May it was announced that a special task force had been established to investigate the Mr. Kruel case. The task force was called Operation Spectrum and the officer in charge was Detective Inspector David Sprake who led the investigation into Carmen's abduction. They released a colour poster with photographs of Carmen, Nicola, and Sharon. It was titled Child Abductions and it was displayed in every police station in Victoria and printed in all major newspapers. They'll display it at railway stations and on crime stoppers notice boards in

shopping centres. You'll find a link to view the poster in the show notes. The poster asks three questions. Do you believe you know the identity of this man? Have you informed police of your suspicions? Where was the man during the above dates? On Thursday the 2nd of May Phyllis Chan wrote an open letter to Mr. Kruel pleading with him to let Carmen go. At red. To the man who took Carmen Chan. Dear Mr. Kond. Not Mr. Kruel. We miss Carmen very very much. Please let Carmen go. We know you are a kind and caring person. We hope Carmen is safe with you. School has resumed and it would be nice if Carmen can return to school. Thank you for letting her free and we can rebuild our lives. Please hear our plea. Love from the

Chan family. Father, mother, and sisters of Carmen. A family friend of the Chan family, Jennifer Walsh also wrote a song. The lyrics are what you heard at the start of the show. On Sunday the 5th of May it was first reported that police now believed Carmen had been murdered. Operation Spectrum had started as a murder investigation. An unnamed police source told the age newspaper. Quote. We've got no doubt the same person is involved and after three weeks you've got to say it's not looking good. In the past he has let them go but this one has gone on too long. It has been three weeks and there hasn't been any contact. I would say this bloke not only has a good knowledge of forensic science but also of autopsy which means we'll probably

never find her. Crime stoppers calls were starting to taper off however detectives still remained hopeful of a breakthrough. On Tuesday the 14th of May they set up a roadblock near a bus stop in Main Street, Elphin. This bus stop is one that Carmen got off after school as it is close by to her parents' Chinese restaurant. Detectives were working with a theory that Mr. Cruel stalked Carmen after he saw her getting off the bus. They questioned hundreds of motorists and handed out leaflets containing information about Carmen's abduction. And in what was a first in the history of Australian policing, leaflet-sized copies of the poster that had been released appealing for information were delivered to every home in Victoria and to some homes in New South Wales and

South Australia. About 1.4 million homes in total. Inspector David Spraig said, quote, this is unique in Australian policing. Nothing on this scale has ever been attempted before. It just shows the feeling out there in the community. Someone knows who this person is and that's who we are trying to get to. I hope it will trigger the person to give us that phone call we are looking for. As well as the leaflets close to 100 billboards around Melbourne despite the poster. Phyllis Chan penned another open letter to Mr. Cruel. It read, to the man who is with Carmen Chan now. I beg you to release my daughter Carmen immediately. I am longing for her safe return every minute of the day. I love her very, very much. I am willing to offer my life in exchange

for Carmen's release. Carmen's sisters Karen and Carly miss her very, very much. They had trusted you on the night of 13 April. They had cooperated with you because you were calm and you looked kind. You had promised them that after you had gone, their sister would open the door for them. You have broken your promise. They were very upset. They blamed themselves for trusting you and did not help Carmen. They feel very, very guilty now. Karen's birthday is at the end of May and Carly's birthday is in June. Both girls say they want nothing but Carmen for their birthday present. Please send Carmen back home immediately. God bless you. Thank you very much. Love from Phyllis.

Carly had started sleepwalking. She would walk into the living room at the Chan House saying, Carmen, where are you? Have you come home yet? Inspector Sprague witnessed Carly doing this on one occasion and said, I've watched her and she's definitely asleep. It's a bit scary. The Chan family decided to try something different and bypassed the police. They wrote another open letter to Mr. Cruel, telling him he could contact them by writing to a private postal address. In order to get the address, Mr. Cruel would have to decipher a code in the letter by asking Carmen the name of family friends in Hong Kong.

Phyllis Chan said, if we do it through the police, he won't get in touch. Maybe he's at the stage to release her, but he's just too scared, but he could feel a little bit easier if he believes us. Detective Inspector Sprague said he was surprised by the Chan family's attempt to make private contact with Mr. Cruel, but refused to make any further comment. As if the Chan family weren't going through enough, on Thursday the 11th of July, a prisoner, Peter Allen Reed, and a Federal Protective Services Officer, Vince D'Piola, were charged with a sickening extortion attempt.

Despite being locked up, serving a sentence of 21 years for shooting dead a police officer after a chase in a stolen car, Peter Reed called John Chan on six separate occasions. He demanded $15,000 from John for Carmen's release, otherwise he would never see her again. He also threatened to kill John if he didn't pay. When John agreed to pay, Peter Reed contacted Vince to go to the arranged drop site and collect the money. Vince did go to the location, but there was no money. The police were aware of the extortion attempt and had placed a trace on the Chan's phone after the first call. They were both arrested and police conducted several search warrants.

Neither of them knew anything about Carmen's abduction or where she was. They were just trying to obtain money from the Chan family. Their actions were described as a brutal psychological assault on the Chan's. The Linus family had since moved back to England. Detectives from Operation Spectrum flew to England to re-interview Nicola. The thought was that Nicola had been held the longest by Mr Cruel. She now had more time to reflect, and it was hoped she may have remembered more details that could help the investigation. Inspector Sprague said, You are opening up old wounds when the family is just trying to get back on track,

but the family realises we are trying to catch this bloke. The more we know, the more chance we've got in catching him. Leading up to the one-year anniversary of Carmen's abduction, the age newspaper ran a feature article about the case. A close family friend of the Chan's, Paul Williams, said this about Phyllis. I think she's a lot more in control of herself now. Having been through a year of trauma, she's more or less resigned to believing that Carmen may no longer be alive, and she's trying to go about her life, but certainly in a different way than she did 12 months ago. On Thursday 9th April 1992, only a few days short of the

one-year anniversary of Carmen's abduction, a man was walking his dog along a track that ran through an isolated, state electricity commission terminal station site in Thomastown, about 20 kilometers or 12.5 miles from Temple Stove. Part of the area had been used as a dumping ground for landfill. It had recently been levelled by earthworks, causing a shallow grave to be disturbed. The man found a human skull about 20 meters away from Edgar's Creek. Police were called, and an extensive search uncovered a number of other bones in a shallow grave. The human skull had three bullet holes. Police were able to confirm it was the remains of Carmen Chan. The Chan's were actually preparing to hold a press conference to mark the one-year

anniversary of Carmen's abduction. That press conference was cancelled. The police held their own press conference to announce the discovery. Detective Inspector Sprague said, It is horrific. For a child to be killed in that fashion is just incomprehensible. We believe he cannot control the desire to act out his urges. It is like an addiction, and he would not stop until he is caught. Although John and Phyllis may never hear the laughter of their daughter again, they can now say goodbye to Carmen and put her soul to rest as she deserves. The family will now have the opportunity to start rebuilding their lives. Detective Chief Inspector Peter Halloran, head of the Homicide Squad,

said the body had probably been at the site for almost 12 months, and whoever buried the body would likely have some knowledge of the area. Police believe Carmen may have been killed because she saw Mr. Kool's face, causing him to panic. They believe this based on what Mr. Kool told one of his other victims. My freedom is more important than your life. Phyllis had also previously told police that Carmen was not the sort of girl to accept being kidnapped without a fight. She believes Carmen may have ripped off a blindfold and confronted Mr. Kool. Believing Mr. Kool may have suffered anxiety, stress, depression, and displayed signs of remorse after Carmen's murder,

police wrote to every single one of Victoria's 10,000 registered doctors, asking them to consider breaking patient confidentiality. Their appeal asked doctors to consider whether their duty to the community outweighed their duty to a patient. They believed Mr. Kool may have sought treatment after Carmen's death. The letter had the backing of the President of the Victorian Branch of the Australian Medical Association, Dr Paul Heming. The doctors were also sent a profile of Mr. Kool, the dates of the crimes, and other information about the case. The move was met with some criticism, as people doubted Mr. Kool would have made a full confession

to a doctor. So it became a little murky for doctors if they just had suspicions about a patient. It would be difficult to know if they were just being paranoid and overly cautious, or if they were making a reasonable judgment. Many doctors did respond to the appeal and police said they received some useful information. Police then turned to the United States and a convicted kidnapper and child killer, Richard Sterrett. He was being held in a hospital for the criminally insane, and Victoria police wanted to speak to him in the hope he could give them some insight into Mr. Kool. The reason being, like Mr. Kool, Sterrett kidnapped several young girls, held them for several days, then released them. However, he did end up shooting one of his

victims dead. Sterrett's forensic profile closely resembled Mr. Kool's. How helpful he was, or if he even spoke to the Victorian police, is unknown. An officer did fly to the United States at one point, but it's not clear if any contact was made. Sterrett said publicly he would be happy to speak to the Victorian police if they wanted, but he doubted he would be able to provide any useful information. In Sterrett's case, he was married and waited until his wife visited family who lived in the state. He then hired a vehicle and drove to another city. He went door to door acting as a salesman until he found a young girl home alone, so his method was different to Mr. Kool's. It wasn't until Wednesday the 27th of January 1993 that further information was released to

the public about Mr. Kool. Police released sketches of a bedroom and a bathroom of his house, drawn by one of the victims. You will find links to those sketches in the show notes. They also released information that Mr. Kool's victims heard large jets flying overhead when they were held captive, leading police to believe the house was directly underneath a Melbourne airport flight path. This information led police to check about 30,000 houses in 15 different northern suburbs of Melbourne, trying to find a match to the descriptions given by Mr. Kool's victims. Detective Inspector Sprague hoped someone would recognise the bedroom and bathroom based on the sketches. The bedroom had beige or cream carpet, peach coloured full length curtains,

a double bed with peach coloured bed head, an orange lamp base and lemon shade with thin white vertical stripes, light coloured walls and a white door. There was a dark blanket over a book case or cabinet at one end of the room and a radio had been playing constantly. The interior design was believed to be dated between 1988 and 1990. Inspector Sprague said, quote, that description of the bedroom was drawn by one of the victims who actually, to her extreme danger, had a peep and looked around the bedroom at one stage, even though she was warned. The bathroom was an unusual configuration. Someone would have to pass a wash basin to get into the shower, which had a glass sliding door. There was also a bath.

The house had a right side driveway and there were only a couple of steps to the front entrance. The house was on a quiet street with little traffic. Inspector Sprague said that they didn't want to tip off Mr. Kool that they knew that much information about his lair. That's why they didn't release the information sooner. Mr. Kool could have changed the interior before police had a chance to find his house. However, police had now exhausted their door-to-door search for the house, so they were turning to the public for help. Detectives were convinced their house was under a flight path and close to Melbourne Airport. They received a flood of calls from the public

after this press release. Around 1,400 additional pieces of information were received. They checked out a number of houses, but all were eliminated. In June 1993, just over two years since Carmen's abduction, Operation Spectrum was scaled down to a core group of 10 police. At one stage, there were over 40 working on the task force. Inspector Sprague departed as head of the task force to take up a job as officer in charge of the Detective Training School at Russell Street headquarters. He said, quote, It is not work after a while. It becomes your life. You live the investigation day after day, racking your brains for possibilities. You are constantly thinking,

when is he going to strike again? If we don't get him, some other child will be a victim. That's the pressure we deal with all the time. The decision to scale down the size of the task force was made after an internal review of the investigation. The assistant police commissioner said that after the review he was happy everything possible had been done to solve the case and nothing had been overlooked. He assured the public that the case would not be forgotten or neglected and the search for Mr. Krull would continue. If there was a major breakthrough, the number of staff on the task force would be increased again. It was then reported that the task force would be completely disbanded at the end of January

1994. Phyllis Chien said, quote, The task force has been fantastic. The detectives have been very hard working, but unfortunately they couldn't find or identify the men who took my comment. I know they have worked very hard and they care for me and my girls. Detective Sergeant Fontana, who was the second in charge under Detective Inspector Sprague, said, The workload has been enormous. Everyone has worked extremely long hours. It's not through a lack of trying that we haven't solved this case. It's depressing and very frustrating that with all the work we put in, we haven't solved it. Responsibility for the investigation fell to the rape squad and to the homicide squad. The Chien marriage had suffered

enormously in the years since Carmen's abduction. The speculation, the strain of media appearances, and their never ending search all took their toll. Phyllis and John divorced, after which Phyllis went through a financial collapse. She lost her car, the house, and only just held on to her restaurant. In early 1995, Phyllis was viciously bashed. Her guard dog was poisoned weeks before the attack and the police believe her attacker was watching her during that time. After working over 16-hour days at her restaurant over the weekend, she returned home about 12.30 a.m. on Monday morning. She was carrying the restaurant takings when she got out of the car. She was clubbed from behind with a wooden object. She pleaded, I'm Carmen Chan's mother, please don't.

But she was smashed on the skull several more times before her attacker took off with the money. She required surgery 60 stitches and hospitalization for about one week to recover. An ex-employee of Phyllis was responsible for the attack. Operation Spectrum had taken its toll on the health, marriages, and family lives of many of the police officers involved as well. Six years after Carmen's death, a coronal inquest was held. The coroner ruled that Carmen died of gunshot wounds to the head fired by an unknown person. The date and location where Carmen was killed could not be determined. The coroner said the case will remain open. Operation Spectrum was the largest task force

in Victoria's history up to that point. Incredible resources were thrown at it. The people of Victoria demanded that the crime be solved, more so than any other. It lasted for close to three years. 27,000 people were interviewed. 10,800 leads were investigated. 910,000 kilometers or 565,000 miles were traveled investigating those leads. The FBI and Scotland Yard were both consulted. 30,000 houses were checked out. Police worked 25,000 hours in unpaid overtime. There are still 32 people the task force identified as possible suspects that have not been able to be eliminated from the investigation. The total cost of the investigation was about

$3.8 million. As a result of the inquiries and leads generated by the task force, 74 people were charged with offences such as conspiracy, improper use of telecommunications equipment, firearm and drug offences, rape, incest and child pornography. Changes to child pornography legislation were made as a result of the investigation. As was a strengthening of legislation regarding sex offenders loitering in areas frequented by children. But they didn't get the man they most desperately wanted. On the 25th anniversary of Carmen Chan's abduction in 2016, a new reward was announced. $1 million for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of her killer.

They also announced that the director of public prosecutions may grant anyone with information on the case indemnity from prosecution. Former member of the task force, who is now an assistant commissioner, Stephen Fontana, said, We have always maintained that there will be someone in the community who is an associate or knows the offender in this case. We have always thought someone would know and be close to him and know it was him. He also said that he believed Mr. Krull was still alive and that he would still have items taken from the victims as trophies. Detective Inspector Sprague describes the case as the monkey on his back that's still there. There were too many suspects rather than too few.

He believes it is possible Mr. Krull was one of the tens of thousands of people police interviewed during the investigation. In 2012, David Sprague told the Herald Sun newspaper some issues that Operation Spectrum faced. This quote is referring to the Carmen Chan case. The crime scene was not preserved as it should have been. We had a lot of problems with it. Unfortunately, the initial police member in charge had set up the command post inside the house. It was a disaster, with people stomping all over the place. They didn't seal the crime scene off as they should have. He also talked to the Herald Sun about when Operation Spectrum first identified Mr. Krull was

almost certainly responsible for an earlier series of attacks in Melbourne. When they reviewed the evidence from those cases, they discovered vital evidence had gone missing. The tape that Mr. Krull had used to bind one of his victims was no longer there. Mr. Krull wasn't as careful in those earlier attacks as he was in the later attacks, so his DNA may have been on that tape, able to be discovered by advances in technology. This is what David Sprague said. We will never know, as the exhibit just isn't there anymore. In those days, police didn't have the supervision that they do now. With things like exhibits, people would sometimes leave them in their lockers. By the time we identified these additional

attacks used after they had taken place, some of those exhibits had been lost, and others had simply been thrown out. They had never been examined. Operation Spectrum actually changed the way all Victorian detectives conduct investigations, with the introduction of minimum standards for things like exhibits, crime scene preservation, and record keeping. Mr. Krull had an incredible impact on Australia in the late 80s and early 90s. He was Australia's boogeyman, sparking unprecedented fear in adults and children. Even hardened criminals were shaken and took measures to better protect their families. Unless you lived through it, it's hard to fully appreciate.

Dr. David Wells, head of the Victorian Police Forensic Department, told the Sydney Morning Herald in 1991, quote, For all children, their home is a safe house. They feel secure there. They are looked after there. Suddenly, they have been confronted by the idea that they could be taken away from that environment by a man in a balaclava. Many parents I've spoken to say their children are feeling very insecure. Some are having nightmares, can't sleep, and are worried about the security on their house. The FBI profile of Mr. Krull has since been made public. Information from the victims was analysed and formed a basis for some of the profile.

Keep in mind a profile is only a guide and not an exact science. Nobody should be discounted just because they don't match the profile. Mr. Krull is intelligent, obsessive about cleanliness, has an intense interest in children, a steady job, is creative and visually orientated, meaning he gets satisfaction from the way things look rather than the way they function. He is Caucasian with a slim to medium build, aged between 30 and 50, about 175 cm tall, with a small pot belly, fair to sandy coloured hair, and at times was unshaven or sported a beard. He possibly wears glasses, he is tidy in his appearance and dress, his home is neat and clean.

He is the type of person to clean his hands immediately if they become dirty. He could have had a low or senior management job or may have even been self-employed, giving him mobility to roam around Melbourne during the day. He would appear to be kind, genuine, interested and dedicated to helping children, a good neighbour, possibly an introvert. He would have access to another house during the kidnappings and would have been very stressed after each crime. His behaviour might have been erratic around the times of the crimes. He could have taken time off work and appeared preoccupied, distant and unable to concentrate.

He used the words bozo, worry wart and missy a lot during the attacks. He would possibly show signs of sexual dysfunction if involved in a personal relationship. His sexual arousal and gratification would be dependent on his partner playing specific roles, such as dressing up as a schoolgirl. The possibilities as to why Mr Cruel has an attack again are as follows. He was sent to jail for an unrelated case. He moved, either interstate or overseas. He may well have committed more crimes, but they either haven't been detected or they haven't been linked to him. He was interviewed by officers from Task Force Spectrum during the investigation

and that was enough to make him stop. Or he's dead. We end with a quote from forensic psychologist Tim Watson Munro. There is a big question mark over Mr Cruel in that there have been no further offences that we know of since Carmen Chan. I find it intriguing that he has not surfaced again, because people with this kind of problem have a very strong compulsion to satisfy their needs.