A brutal crime that shook Western Australia | Forensic Files

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invisiblehandpodcast.com [Music] our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents
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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 granif 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 floodplains permanently bent at a 90
degree angle these leaning trees were just one of a few attractions the township had to
offer but it was far from a tourist destination located 400 kilometers north of the city
of perth few at the time would have even heard of grenith or have any reason to visit the
quiet and sparsely populated sheep and wheat farming community ron and dana knew the area well having
spent time there with their friend karen mckenzie karen resided in grenoff 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-colored weatherboard house stood alone among the wind-swept
wild grass partially framed by dense bushland despite the isolation of the area karen
was working hard to build a good life for herself and her kids ron and dana had set out for the
mackenzie property that morning to help karen with some home repairs they drove along grenade'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 turn off to the mackenzie 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 battered 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 dana 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 neighbour 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 granite 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
[Music] [Music] although granite 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 a granite acting as stop places along the way
however in the late summer of 1993 grenoff 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 grenith 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 granite
forensic inspector bryn jones and detective merv 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 laying the dust just outside the homestead having been
so savagely attacked that their face was indistinguishable the victim was identified as
sixteen-year-old daniel the oldest of karen mckenzie's three children her other two children daughters
seven-year-old amara and five-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 unwilling 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 mckenzie 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 seven-year-old amara
and five-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 granite 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 scared at this point evelyn had no reason to
believe the victims were her sister nephew and denise's 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 grizzly 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 mckenzie 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 grenith 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 [Music] 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 brynn 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 grena
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
publicized facts three days before karen mckenzie 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 neighbor 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 ax a tomahawk or meat cleaver many foreign fingerprints were found
throughout the home but the challenge was ruling out who they belonged to semen was also detected but dna
technology was still in its infancy and this couldn't be used to identify who was responsible
grenoff'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 [Music] 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 granite but its outskirts
it seemed they had set out on georgina road on that sunday night with every intention of attacking the
mackenzie family [Music] 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 tipline 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 hall's creek a small outback town
over two thousand kilometers north east of grenit 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 eastof 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 be in your arms ain't so rough being yours could have been enough what happened to
babe scare you off like a diamond you're just too tough [Music] 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 mackenzie 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
[Music] bikees and other gangs that were active in the area were looked into but the police couldn't
find anything worthwhile to their investigations 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 fishermen and discovered that he had left a 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 granitef 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 did uncover 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 center in
perth a chief research chemist and his team got to work testing the oily prince 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 subaline-like substance which is a common type of hand lotion
but they couldn't be sure exactly what the product was the chem center 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 mackenzie
household and tested the substance against those but they couldn't find a match there either
the last time geraldton resident jamie schlangford 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 that
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
mackenzie family murderer had struck again [Music] 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 mackenzie 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 filing 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 [Music] 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
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betterhelp.com slash case file [Music] 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 mackenzie
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
two-hour drive south of granite 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 green head 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 mcarthur although what 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 disturbing scene 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 endeavors led him to the small agricultural town of morowa
149 kilometers east of grenoff there he met a familiar face bill mitchell bill had since recovered from his
suicide attempt and had resumed his job as a farmhand when asked to volunteer to have his
fingerprints taken bill agreed inspector jones set up his inking equipment as he began taking the prince 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 green head 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 prince and left the farm before rushing them to perth for testing at the chem center in perth chief
research chemist dr john chalinor 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 dr chalinor 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 mckenzie'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 murph cousins who had also been working the case since
its inception cousins triumphantly slapped his hand down on the desk and said we got him
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 mckenzie'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-fueled bender consuming
alcohol prescription painkillers cannabis and amphetamines 2 30 a.m 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 grenith sixteen-year-old daniel was awake inside his home when he caught sight of a pair of
headlights traveling 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 team 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 seven-year-old amara he then killed five-year-old katrina
while she slept mitchell then went into the bathroom and cleaned himself up determined to not to leave any evidence
behind he took the axe into the handle ocean 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 grenade 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 mackenzie 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 mackenzie 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 brynn 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 grenade river while the expensive waterway ran 340
kilometers 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 pierced 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 kilometer drive
from geraldton to grenith 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 2-1 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 mackenzie 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's 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 found you [ __ ] 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 heard 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 better 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 network's 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 [Music] you

Case 183: The MacKenzie Family

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...

CREDITS

Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – Elsha McGill Creative direction – Milly Raso Production and music – Mike Migas Music – Andrew D.B. Joslyn

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RESOURCES

For all credits and sources please visit https://casefilepodcast.com/case-183-the-mackenzie-family

Brief Summary

The episode recounts the brutal McKenzie family murders in 1993 and the subsequent investigation leading to Bill Mitchell's arrest and confession.

Key points

The Invisible Hand Podcast. Georgina Savage returns to South Africa to explore a conservation war against poaching.
A Gruesome Discovery. Ron and Dina discover a body on the driveway, leading to a frantic search for help.
The Mackenzie Family Murders. The brutal murder of Karen McKenzie and her three children shocks the community.
The Brutality of the Attack. The attack was marked by sheer brutality and personal motives, hinting at deeper issues.
A Frantic Plea. A blood-soaked man arrives at Hamish's home, claiming he was attacked by three men.
Mitchell's Cold Confession. Bill Mitchell's confession reveals a chilling lack of emotion as he details his actions.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

Nothing can ever prepare you for that moment.

Evelyn recalls the moment she learned about her sister's murder.

12:22WatchAug 7, 2021

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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