Australian Suburb Terrorised by Serial Killer | Forensic Files

As Casefile continues into its 10th year, we're currently taking a very short [music] break from new episodes.
Brand new cases will be returning on May 23rd for premium subscribers >> [music]
>> and May 30th for the regular feed. But, in the meantime, we're continuing our special bonus series Casefile
Archives, a collection of releases revisiting the earliest years of the show, along with previously unreleased
premium episodes. Over the next 3 weeks, we'll be releasing two fully re-recorded episodes
from our first year of production, along with one episode that was previously only available to Patreon and premium
[music] subscribers. Rest assured that these are additional bonus releases and will not replace our
standard schedule. We will still be delivering the same number of new episodes this year as we did last year.
Casefile Archives is simply a way to mark the 10th year, revisit some older episodes, and share stories that newer
listeners may not have heard before. For the re-release episodes, we fully edited, polished, re-recorded, and
freshly produced them from start to finish to match our current production standards. They are not complete
rewrites. Our aim isn't to reshape the cases or alter the original storytelling, but to
preserve them as they were first told while bringing them up to the level of production the show has today. [music]
Where appropriate, updates have been added, but the core structure remains faithful to the originals. Because of
this, these episodes may sound a little different to our recent work. Today's re-release is the Frankston
serial killer, originally released as case 23 in June 2016. [music] The case was first presented as a
two-part series, with part one released on June 19th, followed by part two the following week.
Thank you to everyone who has listened and supported us over the years. >> [music]
>> Now, here is the next episode from Case File Archives, the Frankston Serial Killer.
Our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents. If you feel at any time you need
support, please contact your local crisis center. For suggested phone numbers for
confidential support and for a more detailed list of content warnings, please see the show notes for this
episode on your app or on our website. Frankston City is a local government area in Victoria, located 40 km
southeast of Melbourne. At the time [music] of this episode's initial release, it had a population of
about 135,000 people. Frankston City incorporates many different suburbs, including Frankston,
Langwarrin, Frankston North, Seaford, and others. All of the places you will hear about in
this episode are part of the Frankston City [music] area. Our story begins in February 1993 on
Claude Street in Seaford, [music] where a local resident by the name of Donna Vines was growing nervous.
She lived in [music] a unit there with her boyfriend Les and her young infant, but lately Donna's home life [music] had
been disrupted by a series of prank phone calls. Les worked as a pizza delivery driver,
meaning he was typically out at night, leaving Donna home alone with the baby. Feeling uncomfortable due to the calls
she had been receiving, [music] Donna decided to spend one particular February evening driving around with Les
while he worked rather than stay home alone. As it happened, [music] Les only had a short shift that night,
so they were back home within about an hour. The first [music] thing they saw when
they walked inside was Donna's cat on the laundry room floor, dead. A picture of a naked woman [music] had
been placed on top of the cat. And written on a wall in the cat's blood were the words
"Donna, you're dead." >> [music] [music] >> There were further horrific discoveries
elsewhere in the unit. The entire place had been ransacked. Drawers were pulled out, [music]
cupboards had been opened, and Donna's belongings were strewn everywhere. A knife had been used [music] to slash
and stab the walls and cabinets. The intruder had even done this in the nursery, slashing some of the baby's
clothes. In the crib [music] was another picture of a naked woman stabbed through with a knife so
viciously that cut through to the crib below. In the bathroom, Donna's [music] two
kittens lay dead, both violently killed. Shaving cream had been used to write the
names [music] of Donna and Robin on the bathroom mirror. This message baffled Donna, as she
didn't know anybody named Robin. Nor could she think of anybody who would so violently damage her home or harm her
pets. Les wasn't her child's father, but the breakup [music] with her ex-partner
hadn't been that bad. He'd never been violent towards her during the relationship, and she
couldn't believe he would start now. [music] Police later questioned her ex and learned he had a solid alibi.
>> [music] >> Terrified, Donna left her unit immediately and moved in with her sister, Trisha Vains.
Trisha's neighbor, [music] Julia, comforted Donna. She could empathize because she had just
experienced a similar [music] thing. When Julia was recently away for a holiday, somebody had broken into her
unit and slashed every photo that featured her across her throat. The dress she'd worn to her engagement
party was cut up as well. Just like Donna, [music] Julia had no enemies and couldn't imagine who would
be capable of such a thing. A young man who lived next door to Trisha reassured the two women that
whoever was responsible was just [music] a sicko, and he would look out for them.
It wouldn't have seemed like it at the time, but in the coming months, Donna and her Julia would learn how incredibly
lucky they'd been. Tasmanian local Elizabeth Stevens had been living in foster care since she was
14. After she turned 18, she decided to relocate to Victoria to move in with her
auntie Rita and uncle Paul, arriving in January 1993. They lived together in Patterson Avenue
in the suburb of Lang Warren. Although Elizabeth was quiet and shy, she was also extremely friendly to
anyone she met. She was studying at TAFE in Frankston. For For not familiar with TAFE, it is
similar to community or technical college in other parts of the world. As Elizabeth had grown up in Tasmania,
she didn't have many friends in the Frankston area and no boyfriends. When she wasn't studying, she liked to
spend her time reading and mainly hung out at home. On Friday, June 11, 1993, 4 months after
Donahue's violent break-in, Paul and Rita arrived home from work to find a note from Elizabeth on the kitchen
bench. The note explained that she had gone to the TAFE library to study and would be
back about 8:00 p.m. Elizabeth always made sure to let Paul and Rita know where she was. So, when it
ticked over to 10:00 p.m. and Elizabeth still wasn't home, Paul and Rita panicked.
Paul got in his car and started driving around the streets looking for his niece.
Elizabeth didn't drive, so she caught the bus to and from TAFE. Paul drove to Frankston TAFE, then back
to Cranbourne Road, Lang Warren, where Elizabeth's bus stop was located. It was only a short walk from the bus
stop to Paul and Rita's house. Paul took the same route as the bus before expanding his search into
surrounding streets. He couldn't find any trace of Elizabeth. The weather didn't help. Heavy rain and
the gusts of wind [music] significantly reduced Paul's visibility. The couple called the police, who
arrived at [music] just after 1:00 a.m. The officer who attended, Sergeant Webster,
>> [music] >> immediately had a feeling something wasn't right. There were the missing person reports
where a young person had a lot of friends, like to go out partying, took off with boyfriend or girlfriend, or had
trouble at home. Then, there were the missing person reports that were completely out of
character. Elizabeth was reliable, well-behaved, and left a note letting her auntie and
uncle know exactly where she was and when she'd be home. She didn't have a boyfriend or many
friends at all, and she wasn't the partying type. The police conducted their own search,
though there wasn't much they could do at that time of morning. The Tafe and library were shut, and the
company had finished up for the night. There was nobody to go and question. After they looked for Elizabeth without
success, they made a report and left instructions for their day-shift colleagues to follow up.
The next day, a local man named Rod was down at Lloyd Park on Cranbourne-Frankston Road in Lang
Warren. >> [music] >> Lloyd Park is a large area surrounded by scrub and trees with playgrounds,
[music] barbecue facilities, a couple of sporting fields, and vast grassy areas.
At night, it is a very quiet and isolated spot. Rod's wife had sent him to Lloyd Park to
find a small pine tree they could decorate for their mid-year Christmas party. Rod walked along one of the tracks that
weaved through the trees and scrub searching for a suitable tree. Instead, he discovered the body of
Elizabeth Stevens. >> [music] >> Police were called and set up a crime scene. Elizabeth had been the victim of a
frenzied knife attack. Multiple stab wounds in a crisscross pattern had been carved into her
stomach. [music] The killer had also stomped on her face, breaking her nose. >> [music]
>> A post-mortem would reveal that Elizabeth was choked unconscious prior to being stabbed.
Although her top had been removed, the bottom half of her clothing was intact. There was no evidence of sexual assault.
Lloyd Park was only a short walk from Elizabeth's [music] bus stop. Police believed Elizabeth had caught the
bus from Frankston TAFE, then disembarked at her usual stop, >> [music] >> where she was attacked.
The area was quiet and isolated at the best of times, but the previous night's howling wind and heavy rain would have
prevented neighbors from hearing any screams. Paul and Rita's house actually backed
onto Lloyd Park. When they spotted the flashing lights and numerous police cars over their back
fence, they knew before the police even knocked on their door that Elizabeth had
been found. A forensic examination turned up almost nothing. It had rained all night and was still
raining that day, removing any possible evidence. A search of the area did reveal one
thing, >> [music] >> a piece of the knife blade. The force of the attack had been so
extreme that the killer's [music] knife broke. But no prints or other evidence were
found on the blade. Elizabeth's [music] bag and the top half of her clothing were found nearby.
Both were soaking wet with all possible evidence washed away. As well as there being zero forensic
evidence, nothing useful came from the police's extensive witness interviews. No disgruntled ex-boyfriends, no
troubles at home, no issues at TAFE. One theory was that maybe Elizabeth had accepted a ride from somebody to escape
the bad weather. Every student who attended Elizabeth's TAFE was checked out. Some names that popped up raised a few
eyebrows based on prior criminal history, but they were eventually eliminated from the investigation.
Police set up a roadblock near Elizabeth's bus [music] stop and displayed a mannequin dressed like her,
but this didn't help jog anyone's memory. The bus driver couldn't remember Elizabeth, and nor could the librarians.
Appeals for other passengers on the bus to come forward didn't produce any other
witnesses. Police also issued public appeals on newspaper front pages and nightly news
bulletins. [music] They received more than 1,000 tip-offs, though unfortunately none amounted to
anything. Nothing came out of an extensive doorknock of every house in the area,
either. No forensic evidence, no witnesses, >> [music] >> no suspects, no leads at all.
Four weeks later, [music] on Thursday, July 8, 1993, 41-year-old Rosa Toth got off a train at Seaford
station. It was 5:50 p.m. A short distance from the station was Seaford North Reserve, similar to nearby
Lloyd Park, though not nearly as big. It had a grass reserve with children's playgrounds, barbecue areas, and
sporting fields, surrounded by scrub and trees. Rosa walked along Railway Parade, which
took her past Seaford North Reserve. She noticed a man standing next to the park's toilet block, but didn't think
much of it. Although it was dark, there were other people in the area. Passengers who had disembarked the same
train as Rosa were still back in the car park, and there was the odd car driving
past. As Rosa passed the man, he quickly ran up behind her, covered [music] her mouth, and forced her to the ground.
He dragged her from the footpath, down past the toilet block, [music] then into the grass to reserve area.
The attack was quick. It was dark. [music] Nobody saw a thing. Rosa kicked and struggled, trying to
break free from her attacker, >> [music] >> but she couldn't. Pressing something up against her head,
he told her he would blow her head off if she didn't stop fighting. But Rosa could tell he wasn't holding a
gun. The object felt wooden. Rosa stopped struggling, and her attacker relaxed, thinking the threat of
the gun had worked. Rosa seized her opportunity and ran. She ran straight out onto the road,
screaming as loudly as she could. >> [music] >> Her attacker didn't follow. He fled in the opposite direction,
through the reserve and sporting fields. A driver stopped and gave Rosa a lift home. Then Rosa reported the attempted
abduction to the police. Her right leg was badly grazed, her clothing had been ripped, and some of
her hair had been pulled out. She described her attacker as male, [music] 18 to 20 years old, wearing a
black jacket and a beanie. He was approximately [music] 180 cm tall, or just under 6 ft,
>> [music] >> with a round face and blue eyes. Police took her statement, filled out a
report, >> [music] >> and sent it to detectives to have a look at. Elsewhere that same night, just a short
distance away in Seaford's Cannanook Avenue, a woman named Debbie Fream was at home.
Debbie was 22 years old and had just given birth to a son, who was only 12 days old.
Her boyfriend was at work and Debbie was cooking dinner for a long-term mutual friend of theirs named Russell.
Russell hadn't seen Debbie since her child's birth and both were looking forward to the catch-up.
Debbie was making an omelet when she realized that there was no milk. She told Russell she had to duck out to
the shops, but it would only take 2 minutes, if that. Her son was asleep, so Debbie would
leave him at home. It was 7:00 p.m. when Debbie left the house. Russell occupied himself by watching TV.
As 2 minutes turned to 10 and 10 turned to 20, he grew concerned. Where was Debbie? She said she'd only be
2 minutes. Russell didn't live in the area, so he wasn't sure which shop Debbie had gone
to. Besides, he couldn't go out to look for her, as that would mean leaving her baby
home alone. After an hour had gone by, he called the police and the local hospital to see if
there'd been any accidents in the area. There hadn't been. He then called Debbie's boyfriend, Gary
Blair, who arranged to leave work early. He also called one of Debbie's friends,
who would come over to watch the baby. Gary and Russell then went out looking for Debbie.
Gary directed Russell to the local shop where Debbie would have gone, and they drove around the surrounding streets.
There was no trace of her or her car, which was a gray Nissan Pulsar. The two men decided to drive to
Frankston police station to report Debbie missing. They sat anxiously throughout the night,
waiting to hear from Debbie or from the police with some information. But they didn't hear anything.
It was as if Debbie had vanished. Police visited all of the local shops, but nobody could remember serving
Debbie. It didn't take detectives long to link Debbie's disappearance to the attack on
Rosa Toth, which had happened in the same area just 1 hour earlier. Debbie lived right near Cannons Creek
train station, the next stop after Seaford station, where Rosa was attacked. The two locations were just 2 km apart.
Moreover, [music] they weren't far from Lloyd Park in the nearby suburb of Lang Warren, where Elizabeth Stevens was
found. >> [music] >> Even without the link to those other two attacks, Debbie Frame's disappearance
was treated as sinister from the start. She'd had dinner cooking and a guest waiting, and she left her 12-day old son
at home. A search of nearby Cannons Creek was organized. >> [music] >> Divers were called in to scour the
water, while the surrounding thick bush and scrub were also searched. Nothing was found.
This time, [music] an appeal to the public did reveal some interesting information.
Several people came forward to report they'd seen a gray Pulsar, the same car as Debbie's, driving erratically.
It was swerving and flashing [music] its high beams at passing cars. Had Debbie been trying to signal for
help? The next day, Friday, a detective who was out dealing with an unrelated case
happened to drive past a gray Pulsar parked outside a Christian center on Madden Street in Seaford, [music] just 2
km from where Debbie had gone missing the night before. Aware of Debbie's case and the car she'd
been driving, the detective turned around to check out the Pulsar. It was Debbie's.
The front passenger side door was unlocked, and there was a dent in the center of the bonnet.
The damage looked recent. Debbie's boyfriend, Gary, confirmed the car hadn't been damaged [music]
prior to Debbie's disappearance. A forensic examination was quickly arranged, and traces of Debbie's blood
were found. [music] Something else that stood out was the driver's seat. It was pushed right back.
Debbie was short, so there was no way she would have had the seat back that far.
It certainly looked like foul play, but police had to keep an open mind. >> [music]
>> Four days later, on Monday, July 12, a farmer named Fred was out working on his
farm on Taylor's Road in Cranbourne Downs. Cranbourne Downs lies east of Seaford,
and about a 15-minute drive from where Debbie had gone missing. Taylor's Road itself was quiet and
isolated, surrounded by farmland. Although it was part of the Frankston area, it seemed like it was in the
middle of nowhere. That afternoon, Fred was driving around checking his fence line to make sure
there were no holes or other damage that livestock could escape [music] through.
Underneath a couple of large fern leaves by his fence line along Taylor's Road, Fred saw what he thought was a pile of
dumped rubbish. As he drew closer, he started smirking. It was a mannequin. One of his neighbors was playing a trick
on him. Good one, he thought. As he got closer still, he froze. Just that morning, Fred had read a
newspaper article about the disappearance of Debbie Fream. In that moment, Fred knew that he'd
found her. Police arrived and set up a crime scene. The case was very similar to that of
Elizabeth [music] Stevens. Debbie had been the victim of a frenzied knife attack.
There were no signs of sexual assault, and a postmortem would reveal she had been strangled as well.
Debbie had numerous defensive wounds on her arms and hands. And just as with the Elizabeth Stevens
scene, not a shred of forensic evidence was found. The media ran wild with the story, and
the Frankston [music] area was gripped by fear. The recent attacks were linked to the
unsolved murders of two other women that had previously occurred in the area. The first was Sarah MacDiarmid, who went
missing from Kananook train station 3 years earlier in 1990. Blood stains were found next to her
vehicle, as well as drag marks. To this day, Sarah's body has never been found. However, a coroner ruled she met
with foul play. A $1 million reward has been offered for information that helps solve her case.
You can listen to our Casefile presents series about Sarah's case, titled Searching for Sarah MacDiarmid. [music]
The other victim was Michelle Brown, who was found murdered in Frankston in 1992.
There's also a $1 million reward on offer for her case, which is now believed to have no connection to the
Frankston serial killer. To avoid confusion, I won't mention these two cases again. Their inclusion
here is to give an idea of what was happening at the time and what the media was reporting.
Despite the uncertainty as to whether Sarah and Michelle's cases were linked to the 1993 attacks, whispers about a
murderer in Frankston were no longer whispers. There was a serial killer on the loose
who had killed at least two women and tried to kill a third. Newspapers ran panicked headlines.
Police warned women to avoid traveling solo or going to their vehicles alone, especially at night and in [music] quiet
spots. Detectives conducted a search for anyone in the Frankston area with a history of
violent attacks against women. 500 names were spat out of the computer. That list was eventually narrowed down
to 30 who were checked out more thoroughly. All were eventually cleared. Detectives also sought the help of a
fellow officer who had spent 14 months training in criminal profiling at the FBI Academy in Quantico.
He put together a profile which suggested that the killer was a male who had acted out on a strong fantasy that
had been building up inside him for years. He was likely unemployed, but if he was
employed, he would hold a menial job. The killer lived in and was very familiar with the Frankston [music]
area. He would be aged between 18 and 24, was average looking, and would live alone.
Based on the location of the attacks and the spot where Debbie's car was found, the profiler marked out an area on the
map that he believed the killer lived in. As the killer had obviously driven Debbie's car from the crime scene at
Taylor's Road, then dumped it on Madden Street in Seaford, it was thought that he lived somewhere in that area.
>> [music] >> Not too close, but not too far either. As was the case with any profile, it was
only a guide and could apply to many people. Detectives were encouraged not [music]
to discount anyone just because they didn't fit the profile. The constant news cycle about a serial
killer on the loose meant that local residents were living in fear. The Frankston area had been a quiet,
friendly place. Now people cast suspicious eyes everywhere they went, wondering is that [music] person the killer?
Some started changing their habits, while others put their houses on the market so they could move away entirely.
But there was a problem trying to sell houses. Nobody wanted to move into the Frankston
area. Property sales dried up and rental homes remained vacant. People started arming themselves with
hockey sticks and cricket bats. Women carried oven cleaner in their handbags to spray in the eyes of any
attacker. Enrollments in self-defense classes skyrocketed. In response [music] to the public's
panic, police commenced Operation Reassurance. The Frankston area was flooded with
extra police. It was a high-visibility operation designed to make the public feel safe,
but also [music] to deter further attacks. On Friday, July 30, just 3 weeks after
the murder of Debbie Fream, a postal worker was delivering mail on her motorbike along Skye Road in Frankston.
Skye Road is only a short distance from the other crime scenes, all of which were within an 8-km radius.
At about 2:30 p.m., the postal worker noticed a rusty yellow Toyota Corona without number plates parked near the
entrance of a bike track that ran past the nearby golf course. The track was used as a shortcut to get
from Skye Road to Frankston North. A high-wire fence bordered either side with overgrown trees, thick scrub,
[music] and grass pushed up against it. The bike track was quiet and isolated and wasn't visible from the road.
You couldn't see it from the golf course, either, due to the trees and heavy scrub between them.
As the postal worker observed the old Toyota parked by the track's entrance, she noticed a man with a chubby face
sitting in the driver's seat. He wore a dark-colored cap and was gazing down Skye Road.
As she rode past, the man slouched down in his seat as if he didn't want to be seen.
There was something off about the man. Given the news about a violent serial killer stalking the streets of
Frankston, the postal worker decided to report him to the police. She pulled into the driveway of a nearby
home and knocked on the front door, asking to use their phone. As she did so, she noticed the
schoolgirl walking along Skye Road towards the bike track. The girl was 17-year-old Natalie
Russell, a year 12 student at John Paul College, a Catholic high school located just off Skye Road.
Natalie had finished [music] the day with a free period, so she'd left early to go home and study for upcoming exams.
[music] Two days earlier, the principal of John Paul College warned students at a school
assembly to avoid shortcuts home, [music] including the nearby bike track. But plenty of kids had ignored the
caution, and the track remained in [music] use. At this time, however, Natalie was the
only student headed there due to her early finish. It was a much quicker way for her to
walk home to Frankston [music] North. As Natalie walked up Skye Road, she was being watched through a pair of
binoculars. Realizing where she was headed, the man [music] stopped watching her. He got out
of the car, ran up the bike track, and waited. A short time later, Natalie walked past
the now empty yellow Toyota and made her way onto the track. [music] Police responded to the postal worker's
call about a suspicious male in the Toyota, but when they arrived, there was nobody
in the car. They doorknocked some nearby houses, though didn't learn anything useful.
When a call for an armed robbery came over the radio, the officers had to leave and respond to that.
By this [music] time, school had finished for the day and students were now starting to flood the streets
heading off in various directions. A few other kids ventured onto the bike track.
One noticed a shoe lying in the middle of the track right next to a hole in the fence that led into the trees and scrub.
Another noticed a man walking hurriedly towards him. Fear gripped the child then quickly
passed when the man kept walking without saying anything, keeping his head down and his hands shoved in his pockets.
At 8:00 p.m. that night, Natalie Russell's family called Frankston Police Station to report her missing.
Natalie was always home before dark and she made sure to call her parents to let
them know where she was. She was a good kid, quiet and well-behaved with a close circle of
friends. She had never run off before. Needless to say, the report was treated with great urgency.
Police questioned Natalie's parents and learned about the bike track that she used to walk home.
A search of the track was quickly arranged. Several holes had been cut along the
wire fence that flanked the track. It was through the third hole, deep into the scrub and trees, that they found
Natalie's body. She had been the victim of a frenzied knife attack and sustained numerous
defensive injuries. There was no sign of sexual assault. There was no question her murder was
related to those of Elizabeth Stevens and Debbie Frame. A search of the crime scene and a
forensic examination was postponed until the next day. Police didn't want to risk losing any
evidence in the poor light. Organizing floodlighting in the area would only increase the amount of foot
traffic, in turn, increasing the chances of a contaminated crime scene. Their decision proved to be a wise one.
Unlike the two previous cases, the site of Natalie Russell's murder provided a lot of forensic evidence.
There was blood around the wire fence where the hole had been cut. The cut in the fence could be matched to
a tool owned by the suspect if one was ever identified. A small piece of skin was located in one
of Natalie's wounds, which seemed foreign. The pathologist believed the killer may
have cut himself in the attack. About 10 small dark hairs that did not belong to Natalie were found in her
hand. She had ripped some of the killer's hair out. Two leather straps with blood on them
were also found at the scene. While police were waiting for test results to come back, they linked the
postal worker's report about the suspicious mail to the attack on Natalie Russell.
So, who was the man in the Toyota Corona? When police had responded to the postal
worker's call, there was nobody in the car and the car had no number plates. However, there was a registration
sticker affixed to the windscreen and the police who attended had recorded those registration details.
Detectives ran a check and found the vehicle belonged to a man who they'd run into before.
He'd recently been spotted sitting in his car alone at night in a nearby car park, prompting police to approach and
[music] speak to him. His name was Paul Charles Denyer. Paul Denyer was born on April 14, 1972,
making him 21 years old. He was a middle child with four brothers and one sister.
Paul was average looking and overweight with a baby face, clean-cut, and quietly
spoken. His parents were Anthony and Maureen Denyer, who moved to Australia from the
United Kingdom in 1965. They lived in Sydney and Adelaide before settling in Melbourne.
Paul didn't mix well with the other kids at school. He struggled academically, had low self-esteem, and other students
tended to stay away from him, leaving him isolated. From a young age, he showed a complete
lack of emotion about pretty much everything. At the age of 11, Paul cut the throat of
his sister's teddy bear. When confronted about it, he just smirked. Around the same time, his family's pet
cat was found hanging in a tree with its throat slashed. Paul blamed the neighbors, but his older
brother noticed the blood on Paul's pocket knife. At 13, he was arrested for stealing a
car. He ended up [music] getting a caution for that because he was a juvenile. At 15, he was charged with assault on a
fellow student. Paul was also caught staring through the window at one of his brother's
girlfriends while she was undressing. He had an interest in knives and he liked going on long walks by himself in
the middle of the night. Paul worked a number of menial jobs, but was fired from all of them either for
dishonesty or for being lazy. He met his girlfriend Sharon while working at a grocery store, one of seven
jobs he was sacked from. Sharon was described by some as being somewhat controlling, demanding to know
where Paul was at all times. She was often opinionated and could at times be rude and outspoken, whereas
Paul was generally more reserved and softly spoken. He had very few friends, mainly
associating with just his family and Sharon. Earlier in 1993, before fear had gripped
Frankston, Paul applied to join the police force, but failed the physical due to being overweight.
He knew the Frankston area well, having lived there most of his life. He'd spent much of his teenage years
smoking cannabis with his brothers at Lloyd Park where Elizabeth Stevens was found and along Taylors Road where
Debbie Fream was found. Detectives paid a visit to Paul's Frankston North unit on the afternoon of
Saturday, July 31, the day after Natalie Russell was killed. They found Daniel at home with his
girlfriend, Sharon. The couple invited the detectives into their small, messy, and barely furnished
home. The detectives asked Daniel all of the usual background questions. Then they got down to business, asking
him where he had been and what he had done the day before. Daniel explained that he'd woken up at
about 7:30 a.m. He drove Sharon to work, then went to an ATM in Seaford to withdraw $40.
Next, he drove around to visit a few car wreckers in search of a spare wheel for
his old Toyota Corona. After finding one, Daniel returned home, worked on his car for a bit, then went
to a different car wrecker to look for a new speedo cable. While he was out, he visited his mother,
but she wasn't home, so he had a coffee with her boyfriend instead. During the journey home, Daniel's car
overheated, and he had to pull over. He topped the vehicle's water up, then went for a quick walk while waiting for
the radiator to cool down. Returning to the car, he successfully started it up, only for it to overheat
again a short distance later. [music] Daniel pulled over on Skye Road, checked under the bonnet, and to notice a hose
had come loose. He needed a screwdriver, so he closed the bonnet and walked home to get one,
also filling his water bottles up so he could top up the radiator again. That was his explanation for being on
Skye Road. Detectives asked why he didn't go to a nearby house to ask for water and a
screwdriver. Denyer replied, "I don't like going into other people's houses." When queried why he didn't go to the
nearby golf course instead, Denyer replied, "I didn't think of that." Denyer had a number of scratches on his
fingers, including some deeper cuts [music] on his middle finger and thumb. He explained these away as being caused
by the work he'd been doing on his car. When detectives asked what he'd been doing 3 weeks earlier on the night
Debbie Fream went missing, Denyer surprised them by specifically recalling that it was a [music] Thursday
night. They were even more surprised when he said he'd been at Cannons Creek [music]
railway station, just around the corner from where Debbie had gone missing. Denyer had just placed himself at the
scene of two murders. Instead of wondering why they were asking him all these questions, Denyer
sat back casually and answered everything, almost as if he was enjoying the experience.
He was calm and relaxed, barely batting an eyelid. He agreed to participate in a more
formal interview. Denyer was taken to Frankston police station, where he was interviewed by
Sergeant Rod Wilson and Senior Constable Mark Wolf from the Homicide Squad. The interview commenced at 9:20 p.m. on
Saturday, July 31. It was recorded on video. The detectives advised Denyer that he
didn't have to say anything, and that he also had the right to speak to a lawyer.
Denyer said he didn't want to exercise either right, and he was happy to talk. They went back [music] over the story he
told at his unit in painstaking detail. There were contradictions and times weren't matching up.
>> [music] >> The explanation he gave for his injuries didn't make much sense either.
Before continuing, I must inform you that you are not obliged to say or do anything, but anything you say or do may
be given in evidence. Do you understand that? Yeah. What is your age and date of birth?
21 years old. I was born on the 14th of April, 1972. Okay. Are you an Australian
citizen? >> Yeah. Are you currently employed? No, I'm unemployed at the present time. What
we'd like to do, Paul, is if you could just run through, um, starting with yesterday
morning. I got up in the morning about 20 to 8:00. 7:30, 20 to 8:00. Right. As I was coming
down, say past Corio Road, I noticed Mhm. the temperature gauge started go right
up to high. So, I just pulled over and in Skye Drive All right, yeah. And what I crossed over
is, you know, a golf course and that. Yeah. And everything. So, I pulled up there and I checked
under the car and under the bonnet, found out the hose had come loose. When we saw you down at your flat this
afternoon, >> Mhm. I noticed a number of cuts on your fingers. >> Yeah. Can you just, um, put your hands
flat on the desk here so that, um, just right up here. >> [snorts] >> This injury here is a long, a sort of a
cut. Just explain how you got that injury and when you got that injury. I got it yesterday when I was working on
the car. What How are you saying it occurred? Well, the fan spins this way. So, if I'm
standing at the front of the car, Yeah. like, yeah, the fan spins that way, the alternator sits there. Yeah.
And there's some wires running down underneath bottom of the radiator. There's a wire at the top, which was for
a wire that I just recently put on. And it must have been when I was putting my hand down there, I caught the fan.
Why did you have it [clears throat] running uh, at that stage What when you were checking the radiator?
I'm a worker. I'm fast. Denyer's story wasn't holding up under scrutiny. Detectives asked him more questions
about Debbie Fream. Denyer stuck with his story, placing [music] himself at Cannonal train
station at roughly the same time and just around the corner from where Debbie went missing.
Not only that, it had been the one night Paul [music] didn't pick up his girlfriend Sharon from work, something
he usually did without fail. Amazingly, Denyer told detectives that he was out walking in the heavy rain on
the night Elizabeth Stevens was [music] murdered. He walked from his place to his mom's
place, then to Sharon's mom's place, supposedly looking for a spare car battery.
The area he said he was walking, Lang Warren, right near Lloyd Park. Instead of giving himself an alibi,
Denyer was repeatedly placing himself at the scene of each murder. Yesterday, your car was parked opposite
the location where the body of Natalie Russell was found. Mhm. On the night that Debbie Fream
disappeared, you walked over to Cannonal railway station, missed the train and walked back.
And on the night Elizabeth Stevens disappeared, you walked in a very close proximity to Lloyd Park
on your way to pick up this battery. Do you think that's fairly coincidental in all the all the circumstances?
>> Are you responsible for the deaths of any of these women? No. When detectives asked specifically about
Natalie Russell's murder, Denyer denied any involvement, but he said he was aware of what happened because he'd
driven past the scene. Are you aware that girl was found murdered in Frankston? >> Yeah.
Today being Saturday. Yeah. When did you first become aware of that? Well, I saw
some police cars and everything when I was driving up Sky Road this morning. And SES workers. So, you saw SES workers
and all that? Yeah. In Sky Road? >> Yeah. And I had some white tape across the walkway.
>> I saw you. You saw You saw me? >> Yeah, I saw you. And I saw uh the other guy. And that was What were
you doing when you saw that? What were you going or what were you doing? Uh we were going to the wrecker's.
He was then asked if he knew anything about the victims or how they died. Danya replied,
"Elizabeth Stevens had her throat cut and the other girl, Debbie Fream, had multiple stab wounds or something to her
body and upper body. Up here." Danya pointed to the exact [music] spot where Debbie's wounds were.
Detective Wilson pounced. "Why did you indicate the exact area?" Danya, "I was just pointing. That's all."
"But why did you point there?" "It was just a lucky guess." When detectives asked if he would
provide his fingerprints and samples of his blood and hair, Danya agreed. >> [music]
>> But he started to look very uncomfortable. The detectives paused the interview for
a coffee break and to wait for an officer to come and collect the samples. Well, I just want to suspend the
interview for a short time. Is there anything else you want, like a cup of coffee or glass of
>> Yeah, I'd like another cup of coffee. Danya, have your coffee. Uh I'd like one or two. All right, you
get a couple of coffees just for a short break. During the break, Danya went to the
toilet. The officer who escorted him there was Detective Darren O'Loughlin, who hadn't
participated in the interrogation. Denyer noticed [music] that the detective was wearing a cross
and began asking him about religion. The conversation then moved to DNA. Denyer wanted to know why they wanted
his blood and hair, wondering if they'd found something at the scene, and if so,
how long would it take to match? Detective O'Loughlin said that he couldn't [music] answer those questions.
He would have to ask Detective Wilson. Denyer was [music] silent for a short period of time before looking at
O'Loughlin and saying, "Okay, I killed all three of them." O'Loughlin immediately alerted Detective
Wilson, and the interview recommenced. This time, O'Loughlin joined in, as Paul [music] seemed to have taken a liking to
him. Some of the audio you're about to hear has been taken from the interview, and
some of [music] it was taken from a walk-through of the crime scenes completed after the interview.
First, they talked about the murder of Elizabeth Stevens. Can you tell me why you attacked her on that night?
Just Just had Just had the feeling that's all. What what sort of feeling can you
possibly describe it? Where where you had this feeling? Just wanted Just wanted to kill.
Denyer also admitted to the attack on Rosa Toth. The The asked him, "What did you plan to do with Rosa?"
Danyal replied, "I was just going to drag her in the park and kill her. That's all."
He went on to say that after Rosa ran away, he caught the train one stop from Seaford to Cannons Creek.
Not long after getting off the train, he saw Debbie Fream exiting her car at the
shop. What caused you to select her as a at that time? Just that gut feeling. Danyal then described killing Debbie
before detailing what happened after. I um dragged her about a meter into the trees and
bushes lying against the fence. Yeah. And I broke off two branches off the nearest tree to put them on her body.
And I hopped back in the car again and I adjusted the seat to match my height cuz
she was a lot smaller than me. And I headed back to Madden Street. Where was Madden Street? Wasn't too
close. Wasn't too far from home. He buried [music] Debbie Fream's purse along the bike track where he later
attacked Natalie Russell. Danyal later dug up the purse for police when they did a walk-through of the
crime scenes. When asked why [music] he killed Debbie Fream, his reply was, "I just wanted to."
Danyal then detailed the murder of Natalie Russell. What did you want to kill her for?
Same reason as before. No, always wanted to kill. Since when? Since I was about 14.
I've been stalking women for a few years. Right. In Frankston. Just waiting for that opportunity.
Right. Waiting for the sign. Right. After the murder, Daniel walked back down the track towards his car and saw
the police there checking it out. He casually continued out of the track and headed down Sky Road away from the
police. As you can hear from the interviews, Daniel displayed zero emotion and zero
remorse. That never changed and he never said [music] he was sorry. Daniel just repeated that he had always
wanted to kill and was waiting for the right opportunity. While the interview was taking place,
other police officers were searching Daniel's unit. They found a hat with blood [music] on
it, a large homemade knife, and a long cord with two knots tied at each end. >> [music]
>> The cord looked as though it had hair on it. In his car, they found the fake gun he
had made as well as another large knife and a pair of pliers. They were later able to confirm that the
pliers had been used [music] to cut the holes in the bike track fence. Each pair of pliers leaves a distinctive
mark much [music] like a fingerprint. Remember back at the start of this episode, a woman named Donna Vains had
her home vandalized and her cats killed. >> [music] >> A death threat was also written in blood
across her wall. Donna then learned that her sister Trisha's neighbor had experienced a
similarly terrifying break-in. Every photo in her house that featured her had been slashed across the throat.
The two women were comforted by a male neighbor of Trisha's who called the person responsible a sicko and promised
to look out [music] for them. Well, that neighbor was Paul Denyer. He lived next door to Trisha Fiennes and
admitted to both [music] of the break-ins. Denyer had met Donna through Trisha and
found out that she was home alone most nights. Denyer openly confessed that he had gone
to Donna's flat with the intention of murdering her. But when she wasn't there, he killed her
cats instead. He said he had done so because he hated [music] Donna and Trisha. Denyer never explained why he hated
them. >> [music] >> They weren't the only women Denyer hated. When one of the detectives asked Denyer
why all of his victims were female, Denyer replied, "I just hate them." "Is that particular girls [music]
or is that women in general?" the detective asked. "General." said [music] Denyer.
Donna had been left so terrified by her break-in that she moved out of her unit and in with her sister Trisha, not
realizing she had moved next door to the person responsible. When Denyer was arrested, Trisha told
reporters, "He was the nicest and most considerate person I ever met. I could not believe
it when I heard the news. I still find it difficult to accept. He was cool, calm, and collected.
He seemed quiet and subdued and often kept to himself." Another of Paul's neighbors agreed.
"I just can't believe that the charges have been laid against him. He seemed the nicest of people."
Paul Denyer was charged with the murders of Elizabeth Stevens, Debbie Fream, and
Natalie Russell, as well as the abduction of Rosa Toth. He pleaded guilty [music]
and never attempted to fight the charges. While awaiting sentencing, he was visited by many doctors and
psychologists [music] who were looking for answers. What they found was that Paul Denyer was
a rare breed of serial killer who murdered his victims at random without motive, simply because he had always
wanted to. He had always wanted to kill and claimed he could no longer suppress the urge.
Denyer was able to describe his crimes without a flicker of emotion. Experts found him to be extremely
emotionally disturbed, but not legally insane. He was diagnosed as having a sadistic
personality disorder demonstrated by a steady pattern of cruel, demeaning, and aggressive behavior since early
adulthood. He appeared amused by the psychological and physical suffering he inflicted on
his victims. Denyer mentioned that his favorite movie was a 1987 horror film called The
Stepfather, which had given him the idea to slash his victims' throats. He thought it seemed effective.
Denyer claimed that one of his brothers had sexually abused him when he was younger, but this was strongly denied by
his family. Paul Denyer was sentenced in Melbourne's Supreme Court on Monday, December 20,
1993. He was given three life sentences with no parole period. The judge described Denyer as a danger
to society for which nothing could be done. Denyer showed no remorse, and his only
regret appeared to be the fact he was arrested. 11 days later, Paul Denyer lodged an
appeal against his sentence on the grounds that it was excessive. He argued that the sentencing judge
should have given him a minimum term of imprisonment. The appeal was heard in the Supreme
Court in July 1994. Three judges came to a majority verdict of two to one, overruling the trial
judge's decision not to issue a minimum term. They granted Paul Denyer a non-parole of
30 years, meaning he could have been released in 2023, when he was 51 years old.
When given this minimum term, Denyer said, "I will become a better person and I will not re-offend. That's my promise to
God as well as to the people [music] of Melbourne." While in prison, Denyer began saying
that he now identified as a woman and began going by the name Paula instead of Paul.
He claimed that his gender dysphoria had led him to hate women and ultimately resulted in him committing crimes
against them. He applied to have access to makeup and other beauty products as well as hormone
therapy and to gender reassignment surgery. All of those requests were denied. Prison authorities, victims' families,
and the transgender advocates have all expressed their doubts about the sincerity of Denyer's claims.
One prison officer said Denyer's supposed transition was sudden and merely a ruse to gain access [music] to
certain benefits. By 2022, Denyer had reverted back to using the name Paul and identifying as male.
In 2023, seven years after this episode was originally released, crime author Vicky Bettridge released an 11-part
podcast series titled The Frankston Murders with Casefile Presents. The series uncovered new material about
the infamous case and featured interviews with other women who were stalked by Paul Denyer, as well as the
victims' family members, prison guards, and detectives who worked on the case. That same year, Paul Denyer became
eligible for parole. He submitted an application to the Adult Parole Board of Victoria, which was
rejected. When Natalie Russell's father, Brian, received the news, he felt a sense of
relief, telling the ABC, "It [music] was a terrific outcome as far as I'm concerned."
Debbie Fream's son, Jake, who was just 12 days old when his mother was murdered, told The Age newspaper that
Denyer was not someone who should ever be released. Quote, "He has done nothing to deserve it. He
will never change, >> [music] >> and they must keep him inside." Despite his initial parole application
being rejected, Denyer remained eligible to apply again and again. [music] Each time, the victims' families would
be forced to prepare submissions, relive the trauma, and face the possibility that he could one day be released.
In direct response, the Victorian government passed new laws in late 2023, allowing the parole board to impose a
no-return date for certain life-sentence prisoners, >> [music] >> including Denyer.
The laws were developed in consultation with the family of Natalie Russell, Denyer's final victim, and were dubbed
[music] Nat's Law. "It's like having a tremendous weight lifted off us," Brian Russell told the
ABC. We're tickled [music] pink knowing that Denyer will never be allowed to apply
for parole again, and there's no hope of him ever getting out of jail. It's something we've been working
towards for the last 30 years. When this started, Denyer was [music] knocked back on parole, but 6 months
down the track, he could have applied again, and [music] we'd have to go through it all once more.
Now, that will never happen, and it won't happen in other cases, either. The loss of Natalie is something we live
with every day. We don't need the added pressure of knowing her murderer could be free
[music] at any time.

In early 1993, Frankston resident Donna received a series of unnerving prank calls. Afraid of being home alone, she accompanied her boyfriend during his pizza delivery shift, only to return home to find her worst fears had come true.

Her pet cats had been killed, and written in blood on the lounge room wall were the words: ‘Donna, you’re dead.’ This marked the beginning of a five-month crime spree that terrorised locals and resulted in the murders of three young women – Elizabeth Stevens, Deborah Fream and Natalie Russell.

The perpetrator was dubbed ‘The Frankston Serial Killer’, but who was he, and when would he strike again?

---

Casefile Archives is a series of special bonus releases revisiting the earliest years of the show. The re-run episodes have been completely edited, polished, re-recorded and freshly produced from start to finish to match our current production standards. They are not complete rewrites - our goal wasn’t to alter the cases or reshape the writing, but to preserve the original storytelling while giving the production the refinement it didn’t have when we started the show back in 2016.

Where appropriate, updates have been added, but the core structure and storytelling remain faithful to the originals. Because of this, these re-releases may sound a little different to our recent episodes, but they allow us to bring some of the earliest episodes up to the technical quality listeners expect today.

CREDITS Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – Anonymous Host Additional writing & editing - Erin Munro Production & music – Mike Migas Audio editing – Anthony Telfer

SOCIAL LINKS

Website https://www.casefilepodcast.com Facebook https://www.facebook.com/casefile Twitter https://twitter.com/case_file Instagram https://www.instagram.com/casefilepodcast Patreon https://www.patreon.com/casefile Casefile Presents https://casefilepresents.com

RESOURCES

Brief Summary

The episode recounts the murders by Paul Denyer, detailing his violent crimes and their impact on the Frankston community.

Key points

Casefile Celebrates 10 Years. As Casefile marks its 10th anniversary, new episodes return on May 23rd for premium subscribers.
The Frankston Serial Killer Case. Today's re-release focuses on the chilling case of the Frankston serial killer, originally aired in 2016.
Elizabeth Stevens Found. The body of Elizabeth Stevens is discovered in Lloyd Park after her mysterious disappearance.
Debbie Fream Disappearance. Debbie Fream goes missing shortly after leaving home to buy milk, raising alarms.
A Community in Fear. The Frankston area was gripped by fear as a serial killer was on the loose.
Police Profile the Killer. Detectives created a profile of the suspect, suggesting he was familiar with the area.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

Thank you to everyone who has listened and supported us over the years.

Acknowledgment of listener support as the show celebrates its 10th year.

1:55WatchMay 9, 2026

Tension

85/ 100High tension

More from Casefile

Solve the Crime

Read a real case one clue at a time, then see how your call held up against the investigators.