Dark secrets unravel after a serial killer is finally caught (Part 2/2) | Forensic Files

[Music] our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents if you feel at any
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our website Saturday August 10 1963 was a stormy Winter's Night in Perth with heavy rain and thunder but Carl and
Wendy Dow were heading out anyway to go to a party just a kilometer from their home in Del
Keith the suburb was just south of Netherlands which been upended by the Australia Day shootings 6 months
earlier the initial Panic after that event had somewhat calmed down by now even though the shooter hadn't been
apprehended the fact that there hadn't been any shooting since meant that locals had started to relax ever so
slightly Carl and Wendy had hired a second year university student to babysit their 8-month-old while they
were out Shirley McLoud was a diligent science major who was filling in for her friend the D's usual
sitter she had won a scholarship to attend University and her plan was to become a social
worker there are so many people who need help she had once told her father Shirley had been devastated by
the murder of her friend John sturky in the Australia Day shootings they had shared some of the same uni lectures
and Wendy felt confident leaving their baby in Shirley's care she was a kind conscientious girl who'd brought her
textbooks with her as the baby was sleeping Shirley was hoping to get some study
done the dads said goodbye then headed out to their party it was 2:00 a.m. when they arrived
home happy and in High Spirits after a fun night out Wendy went straight to the bedroom
to check on the baby while car headed to the lounge room where Shirley had been sitting when they
left the lounge was well lit and warm as Shirley had the heater running a teacup and saucer sat on the
coffee table and the turntable was spinning with a record that had long since finished
playing Shirley's shoes sat neatly on the floor while she sat on a small couch her head
slumped Carl assumed she must have dozed off while studying as she was still holding a pen and
notepad then Carl noticed that Shirley's clothes and face were covered in blood clearly visible in her forehead
was a bullet hole she had been shot and killed with the 22 caliber rifle [Music]
[Music] as Carl Dow was struck by the shocking realization that Shirley McLoud had been
murdered he was gripped by the terrifying fear that the killer might still be in the
house he raced to the bedroom where Wendy was tending to their 8-month-old son he was awakened smiling clearly
unharmed Carl told Wendy what had happened before quietly phoning the police the dowed family remained
barricaded in the bedroom until help arrived while the case couldn't be definitively linked to The Killing Spree
in late January investigating officers had their suspicions the victims in all of the Mur
murders were random and had been targeted in homes all had been killed with a single shot to the forehead from
a 22 caliber weapon Perth was still scarred by the Australia Day Massacre and the sudden
reemergence of the shooter sent the city into a new wave of panic the killer was dubbed the
Netherlands monster young women stopped taking on jobs and people opted to stay at home
with their families rather than go out at night Shirley's murder became the police
department's top priority almost none of the Dows neighbors had heard anything suspicious
that night though one man said he'd heard a particularly loud clap of Thunder that could have been a
gunshot the timing of it had aligned with Shirley's suspected time of death a squad of 50 detectives door
knocked homes throughout Keith and nedlands interviewing more than 8,000 residents police recovered a single
unidentified fingerprint from the home which didn't match anyone who was known to have visited or lived
there it was decided that police would take the Fingerprints of all males aged between 14 and 60 in the Perth
metropolitan area starting with nland and cslo police had also extracted the bullet from Shirley mccloud's head which
had distinct markings they could use to identify the murder weapon if it was ever
[Music] found William and Cecilia Kena were an elderly couple who resided in the South
Perth suburb of Mount Pleasant their daily habit of taking a walk together every afternoon had
recently been disrupted by The Heavy Rain Perth was experiencing but on Friday August 16 the Sun was
shining the pair set off sometime after 3:00 p.m. they liked to stroll down the road
where they lived which was called hawen Street to the banks of the Swan River the couple kept a little fishing
boat down there which they would check on and they'd also stopped to chat to neighbors they met along the
way on this particular Friday they turned left upon reaching the river and walked up towards canning Bridge
as they ambled along they noticed that one of the trees along the path had several limbs snapped
off car tracks were visible in the ground leading towards it the couple wondered if there had been
an accident and whether the driver had been heard after walking about 500 M along
the River Bank William and Cilia turned left at Rookwood Street to make a loop home pale pink native wild flowers were
growing in abundance all along the street and Cecilia decided to pick some as she reached up to take a sprig
something on the ground slipped and brushed Cecilia's knee it was the butt of a rifle shocked Cecilia pushed the firearm
back under the bush before telling William there's a rifle here after taking a look for himself
William suggested they take it home to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands as neither of them held a gun
licenses cilia opposed this plan instead when they got home she reported the discovery to the
police it was a 22 gauge Winchester rifle different from the litho single shot rifle used in the Australia Day
shootings still it was worth investigating officers searched the entirety of Rookwood street but didn't find a single
cartridge however the rifle was still loaded with a single bullet when police testified the weapon
they found that the copper noosed bullet had the same markings as the one taken from Shirley mccloud's
body they had found the weapon used by her killer it turned out that the rifle was
registered to a former olymp ypic swimmer named Garrick Agnew Garrick had spent the last month
and a half overseas when he'd returned home just a few days earlier he discovered that his
Winchester rifle was missing from the bedroom cupboard where he kept it nothing else had been taken from the
home including a second rifle that was stored in another room Garrick had reported the rifle
Stalin on Tuesday August 13 police were interested in the way that the rifle had been left in the bush on
Rookwood Street it hadn't been carelessly discarded somewhere as though the killer
was tossing it aside permanently instead it had been hidden inside thick vegetation something that someone might
do if they planned to retrieve it at a later date investigators took another rifle
back to the bush where Sicilia Kina had found it and tied it there tight with fishing
line police requested permission from the residents of the house opposite to set up a 24-hour a day Lookout in their
backyard which spanned an entire block that way the bush with the rifle could be kept under constant
surveillance the residents gave their permission and agreed not to tell anyone about the top secret
operation a trap to catch the killer was set now all the police had to do was [Music]
wait over the next 2 weeks police kept a 24-hour a day surveillance running in the property opposite the rifle with at
least one officer remaining on the lookout at all times it was a particularly cold and wet
winter which made their job even more difficult after a fortnight passed with no sign of the shooter investigators
decided they needed to do something to lure him back to his weapon with the cooperation of local
reporters an article had been planted in multiple newspapers that stated police working the Shirley McLoud case would
turn their attention to the suburb of Mount Pleasant by the end of the coming week on the morning of Saturday August
31 one of perth's papers ran a story about how police would be fingerprinting Mount Pleasant resident
very soon that night Constable Bill Hawker was on surveillance Duty in Rookwood Street it was cool and slightly overcast
a pleasant change from the near constant rain of the past 2 weeks and Bill wondered if the killer would finally be
spooked enough to try retrieving his rifle he took up his post at 6:00 p.m. alongside a colleague named Peter
skan so several hours later Constable Hawker was keeping watch alone while Constable ski rested inside a tent set
up for the officers in the backyard across from the trap Constable Hawker could hear music
from a nearby pub and occasionally couples would stroll along Rookwood Street on their way home from a night
out but so far no one had taken any interest in the Trap at 1:15 every night the street
lights on Rookwood Street went out if the killer decided to return for his rifle he would most likely do so
after that time when the street was at its darkest when the lights Switched Off like clockwork Constable Hawker braced
himself and stared even more intently at the dark Street in front of him suddenly a gray blue Holden sedan
appeared and slowly pulled up at the curb opposite the Trap the road was steep so Constable
Hawker could only see the top of the car his initial response was to wonder if it was a couple looking for a quiet
spot to spend time together but then the driver's side door partly opened with the person behind the
wheel holding at a jar several moments passed then the door opened more widely a man got out and and stood still
in the car's doorway almost certain that he was looking at their suspect Constable
Hawker rushed to the tent to wake his colleague they had to act quickly the rifle was tied to the bush and the
killer would surely flee if he went to retrieve it and discovered the Trap nor did they want the killer to be armed by
the time they were able to reach him Constable Hawker leapt over the property's face
closely followed by Constable skan crouching down in front of the Bush was a man wearing a heavy
Overcoat as he heard the sound of the police officer's footsteps running towards him he turned around to face
them the two police officers grabbed the man in the Overcoat who struggled against
them Constable hawar pulled out a set of handcuffs and cuffed the man's wrists then used a second set of cuffs to
secure the man to offence the suspect mumbled incomprehensibly in a muffled voice as
he was arrested in clearer light the officers could see that he carried a small pencil
torch and was wearing a pair of women's leather gloves he had short dark hair a broad
nose and a notable scar on his mouth from surgery to repair a Clift lip pallet a search revealed that he was
carrying a pair of women Underpants in one of his pockets and a newspaper clipping in
another he had scribbled some addresses and phone numbers on the clipping Constable Walker and skan
called for backup and the suspect was transferred to police headquarters for questioning he was quickly identified as
32-year-old Eric Edgar cook a man who was already very well known to Western Australia police
on Friday October 15 1948 cook had committed his first break-in at the age of 17 he forced his way into a flat in
perth's CBD while its Resident was out and stole a torch and a small clock he also opened several bottles of
wine and poured them all over the resident's clothing when police later attended the
crime scene the they found Cook's fingerprints all over the empty bottles though they didn't match anyone in the
system they added the prints to their files a few weeks later cook broke into another home Angry after he found
nothing he wanted to steal he trashed the property by pulling all of the clothing from the wardrobes and cutting
it with a knife he also slashed some bedding and a pillow before taking chocolate from the
fridge and feeding it to the coup's pet goldfish his final Act was to start a fire in the living
room the resident returned to find his flat in flames and although firefighters were able to save the home the damage
cost almost $220,000 in today's money 2 weeks later cook broke into another home and stole 20 Shillings an
engagement ring a watch and a fountain pen he laid a toss to the jwy out of fear of being
caught not long after that at Christmas time cook was asked by a friend to house
it for her while she and her husband were away despite having a key to the property cook smashed a window to cover
his tracks and decided to set fire to the residence He piled all of his friend's
clothing on the bedroom floor then coated it in fly spray as an accelerant yet his plan ultimately failed when he
couldn't find any matches a week later on New Year's Eve cook celebrated the beginning of 1949 by
breaking into an empty flat in the CBD he used some cellophane and a candle that he found inside to light a
fire when the resident came home at 12:35 a.m. she found her bedroom completely destroyed by The Blaze
cook continued to commit more break-ins across the city during the first months of 1949 leaving fingerprints behind when
he stole whatever cash he found along with women's underwear he also lit more Fires at
other addresses once he defecated in a toy cot that belonged to a child in early March cook broke into a
house just north of the CBD entering via the back door cook knew the property as he'd delivered
groceries there previously while working for a market it was late at night and the
residents were in their beds asleep the now 18-year-old cook was more emboldened and no longer just targeted
empty homes using a torch to see cook found a purse and took it to the bathroom to
search through as he was rumaging through the purse a man entered the bathroom and
found him it was one of the residents who'd been woken by his wife after she heard
CK creeping about cook claimed to be a neighbor who had drunkenly entered the property by
mistake and gave his first name his lies weren't believed when the resident tried to
Grapple with him cook fled police tracked him down a week later and matched his finger prins to
two previous break-ins he was charged and taken before the court cook was convicted on two counts
of stealing four counts of arson and a seven of breaking and entering he was sentenced to 3 years in
prison with the recommendation he'd be released on parole after a few months so that he could be
rehabilitated Cook's father was an abusive alcoholic who terrorized his entire family but focused most of his
rage on his son cook had been born with the clefted pallet and lip a common birth defect
that made his father hate him he beat his son and verbally abused him once when cook had tried to stop his
father from beating up his mother his father punched him so badly he suffered a skull
fracture students at school had also bullied and ostracized cook mocking his appearance and a distinctive speech
impediment that was the result of his birth defect one time Cook's mother saw her
son standing in front of a mirror violently pulling at his scarred lip desperate for an escape C had
started wandering the streets of Perth and stealing from his teachers neighbors and peers as a
child there were concerns that hard time would only serve to to further criminalize the first time
offender the parole board ultimately decided to release Eric adeda cook in August
1949 agreeing that his brief stint in prison had been enough to scare him straight they felt that cook had
committed crimes because he was socially isolated and saw the axe as a way to gain notoriety and
friendships although he had been an intelligent student his education was hindered by his behavioral problems and
his father who forced him to leave school at the age of 14 cook started working from then on
passing most of his earnings on to his mother and stealing to supplement his own
income from then on cook worked a series of menial jobs he was an accident prone person and
his employment record was impacted by repeated accidents once his face was badly sced by steam
another time he fell and it damaged his spine leading to a weak in hospital C's many injuries included
multiple head injuries he would often slip and hit his head resulting in concussions and further
fractures following his release from prison he started working at a confectionary company and had joined a
church overall his life improved his probation period concluded 2 years later on August 15
1951 to celebrate his return to Freedom cook traveled east across the country to
Melbourne where he enlisted in the Australian army during his training he became an
excellent Marksman but was discharged 3 months later when the army leared of his
previous offending cook returned to Perth and started working as a truck driver the short dark-haired man had
never had much luck with women but in 1953 he met a young woman named Sally Lavin they married in November of that
year and settled in the inner Eastern suburb of Rivervale less than 2 years later the
couple already had two sons but Cork's new La abiding image and family man lifestyle didn't put a stop
to his criminal activities in 1953 he broke into the home of some fellow church members and
stole from them his fingerprints led to his arrest and he was placed on a good behavior
bond in September 1955 2 months after the birth of his second son cook had set his sights on another
woman when he found out she was playing in a hockey tournament 2 hours south of Perth in bumbery he stole a car to stalk
her there cook rolled the car along the way suffering a broken sternum plus face and
knee injuries the incident led to him being charged with assuming control of a motor
vehicle cook was sentenced to 2 years hard labor for the theft as well as an additional 6 months for breaking his
good behavior Bond his young wife Sally had to raise their two children alone as a single
parent but still made sure to visit cork in prison she stood by her husband throughout his
incarceration he was back with his family by Christmas [Music] 1956 following Eric Edgar Cook's second
release he appeared to mostly stick to the straight and narrow focusing on working hard to support his growing
family he and Sally would eventually go on to have five more children giving them a total of seven four boys and
three girls on Monday January 25th 1960 Cook's reputation was tarnished once again when
he was arrested for loitering in a park in llane one of perth's Inon suburbs he was sentenced to A month's
incarceration in freem manal prison while there police questioned him about a a horrific murder that had been
committed the previous month the brutal killing of 22-year-old AIS and socialite
Jillian Brewer during Cook's break-ins he was known to steal women's underwear and
masturbate with it this deviant criminal history LED police to label him a quote sexo and
wonder if he could be behind the young woman's murder C had denied having anything to
do with the crime claimed he was home at the time and his wife Sally supported this
Alibi after that cook was still occasionally cited by the police for peeping Tom and minor theft offenses but
they never suspected him of murder not until more than 3 and 1/2 years later in the early hours of Sunday September 1
1963 when he went to the suburb of Mount Pleasant to collect the rifle used to kill University students Shirley
McLoud following Cook's arrest he was transferred to the criminal investigation branch
headquarters he was chatty with the officers readily admitting that he'd broken into some homes that night in the
wealthy western suburbs of Claremont peppermint Grove and Mossman Park he said he'd stolen more than 22 in
cash from those properties cook explained that he'd spotted the rifle a few days earlier
while he'd been driving down Rookwood Street in his work truck he'd stopped to adjust the trucks
load and noticed that someone had stashed a rifle in some nearby bushes cook had decided to come back to
take it his plan was to sell it to make some cash he adamantly denied having anything
to do with Shirley mccloud's murder 3 weeks earlier he claimed that he'd been at a
bowling alley until 8:00 p.m. then he went straight home and stayed there for the rest of the
night two sergeants were dispatched to Cook's home where they explained to his wife Sally that he had been arrested for
breaking and entering they had a search warrant and they wanted to ask her a question where had her husband been on
the evening of Saturday August 10 Sally cook told them the truth he had been in out until very late that
night back at the criminal investigation branch headquarters Eric cook was told that his wife was refuting his
Alibi he flatly refused to believe this instead demanding that Sally be brought in to see
him officers obliged and Sally was taken into the interrogation room where her husband
sat when she told him that she had in fact made the statement he asked her why because it is the truth Eric and you
know it Sally replied what do you think I should do now cook asked Sally told him that decision was
his to make not long after this cook borrowed a pen from a detective and began to
[Music] write on on Saturday August 10 cook had left home at 12:30 p.m. and spent the
afternoon bowling in East Perth later that night he drove in his car to cotso then got out and wandered
around on foot when he spotted a fancy looking house he walked in and helped himself to
some coins lying around he opened up a wardrobe and saw a rifle which he took along with a packet
of bullets cook then drove to Del Keith by now it was pouring rain while Thunder rumbled across the
sky cook claimed that he must have blacked out at this point because the next thing he knew he was trying to exit
a house with the rifle in his hand he felt as though he must have fired the weapon and when he leared the
next day about the murder of Shirley McLoud in Del Keith he knew he was responsible in investigators didn't
believe cook had blacked out for a second however they had their confession and their case was bolstered by a
cartridge case recovered from Cook's car the case matched the rifle used to kill Shirley
McLoud late on Sunday September 1 Police charged Eric Edgar cook with murder as Western Australia still had
capital punishment in 1963 cook was looking at a death sentence although the rifle didn't match
the firearm used in the Australia Day Killing Spree 8 months earlier investigators had always suspected that
whoever was behind Shirley's murder committed those crimes too they just needed to prove
it over the following days they spent hours and hours with cook questioning him about his other
crimes just as he'd initially done when arrested CK openly admitted to breaking into homes throughout the western
suburbs but denied anything to do with the other murders on the morning of Tuesday
September 3 three officers took CK on a tour past the nland and cod's low addresses where John sturky George
Warmsley and Brian Weir had been shot Cook's uncomfortable body language left no doubt in the officer's mind
Minds that he was responsible when they stopped for lunch at a pub one of the investigators
stated cookie you're going to hang there's no two ways about that you'll go to The Gallows as a bloody coward for
the way you shot those people your wife and your kids are going to be reading history about you as a cowardly Mongrel
who went to The Gallows without letting the people know exactly what you've done so what are you going to do cookie
go there like that or go there like a bloody gentleman with that cook indicated that
he was ready to make another confession he took the officers on another tour through Perth this time
explaining everything he'd done on Saturday January 26 a police photographer accompanied
them snapping pictures at each location first cook guided the group to a home in
the suburb of South Perth where he'd stolen a cream and yellow Holden from the vehicle had been parked in the
garage with the keys in the ignition a common practice in Perth at the time cook used the car as his means of
Transport on the night in question then returned it to the garage after the car's owner hadn't even
realized it had been taken let alone used in the notorious ious crime spree the Winchester singleshot rifle
cook used on Australia day was also stolen he'd found it in a wardrobe while robbing a home in
cotso it had taken the owner 5 months to realize it was missing as he rarely used
it it was only when police were asking all gun owners to hand over their rifles for examination that he discovered it
was gone cook took the officers through his actions at each separate crime scene
explaining how he'd attacked each victim he'd first set his sights on Rowena Reeves and Nicholas August who he
spotted in a parked car cook had initially intended to observe them as a Peeping Tom but then
he felt another urge come over him it was then that this power came over me cook
explained it wasn't an Impulse it was stronger than an Impulse it was it was as though I was
God and it was like a manle or like a cloud came over me and I must I must use that he fired at Rowena and Nicholas
injuring them as they sped away he then broke into Brian Weir into John sturkey's respective homes and shot
them in their beds finally cook rang the doorbell of George worsley's home and shot him as he
answered it all of the victims were random cook described his mood as follows I felt as though I was God or
some person who was Untouchable just having that rifle in my hand and doing what I had done and I felt that no power
could stop me when asked why he'd attacked people at all he replied I just wanted to hurt
somebody after he'd finished he pulled over on the Narrows Bridge which connects South Perth to the rest of the
city and tossed the rifle into the Swan River below police divers were able to retrieve the rifle from the
river it was still there 7 months later buried beneath 10 cm of silt cook was charged with two
additional counts of murder for John stury and GE Warmsley one count of attempted murder for Nicholas August and
one count of unlawful wounding for Rowena Reeves from there the flood gates opened
cook began talking more and more about other crimes he'd committed over the past 5 years with an intricate level of
detail he said that he'd broken into about 250 houses after his early arrests where
fingerprints led to his to rest he'd started wearing a pair of leather gloves he also stayed quiet so that no
one would hear his distinctive muffled sounding voice while he sometimes struck on week
nights he typically offended on weekend nights because that was when he had time
to himself free from work and able to escape the demands of his family he would wonderand the streets of
Perth after dark walking through residential areas and back laneways all night long sometimes not returning home
until morning cook could often remember exactly what he had taken from each house and what he'd done while he was
there often he would steal cars too as many people left their cars unlocked with the keys in the ignition
in those days it was all too easy for Cook to hop into a vehicle take it for a joy ride and either discard it or return
it later detectives followed up at the addresses cook claimed to have burgled some of the burglaries could be
confirmed from reports made or the victim's own Recollections others came as a complete
surprise to the residents who had been entirely unaware that there had been a Prowler in their home or that anything
had been taken yet cook was able to describe their floor plans furnishings and decor
in great detail he could name particular locations in the house where money had been hidden away or left out in the
open of the roughly 250 burglaries cooker detailed he was ultimately charged for
[Music] 20 cook said that he'd sometimes done other things while trespassing in other
people's homes cook watched women through windows broke into their houses and stole their
underwear he was fixated with young women angry with how rejected he felt by them and seeking a kind of Vengeance
against people who didn't even know him in the early hours of Wednesday November 26 1958 he had assaulted a
15-year-old girl named Molly McLoud after she woke during his burglary cook had admitted to more
assaults of women within their own homes he was behind the attacks against Alex Duncan Carmel Reed and an
Melvin these women all survived but others hadn't cook confessed to the unsolved
murders of panina burkman and Lucy Madrill the former came as a shock police had been certain that Pan's then
boyfriend was behind her killing cook said he'd broken into pina's flat halfway through 1958 and had
robbed her he returned 6 months later armed with a knife stolen from a home in Wembley in Western
Perth cook claimed he'd been searching Pan's dressing table when he knocked something over and woke
her she screamed and he jumped on her forcing his heavy weight down and strangling her with his
hands panina tried to scratch him which was when cook pulled out the knife and St
her he later threw away the knife after fleeing the scene just as he' done with panina
burkeman cook had broken into Lucy mad drill's flat previously before returning and taking her
life he was able to take police to her home and explain every step of what he'd done and how her body was
left while taking another trip with detectives through the streets of bayw cook had admitted that he tried to hurt
women in other ways he pointed out a spot where he'd run 20-year-old glennis Peak down in a
stolen Holden sedan his description of the stolen car where it was dumped and the damage to it
all matched the facts of the case cook ultimately admitted to all of the mystery hidden runs that had stumped
investigators for years in total he had run down seven girls and young women between 1958 and
1960 Cook's Newfound willingness to talk was at odds with his earlier reticence when admitting to his violent
crimes after one conversation that took place about a week and a half after his arrest an investigator asked if there
was anything else on his mind he felt like talking about yes said cook I have committed two crimes for
which two men are now serving a sentence of [Music] imprisonment exactly 2 weeks after the
Australia Day shootings on Saturday February 9 three young men who'd spent the day at a racehorse track drove home
together around 10:30 p.m. despite the fear that was gripping Perth the young man had enjoyed their
evening immensely with the driver 21-year-old Barry Hansen winning several bets that he'd
placed they were planning on having one final beer together when they reached one of their homes but Barry noticed
something as they headed along stub's Terrace in the western suburb of shanton Park lying a few meters left of the road
in some sand was what looked like a bundle of clothing slightly unnerved by the site
Barry asked his two friends if they'd seen it they hadn't it looks like a body Barry
said he decided to find a wider spot up ahead where he could safely make a U-turn and then drive back by the
clothing to check everything was okay about 60 M up the road they reached a hospital Barry pulled into its driveway
to turn around then slowly drove back down stub's Terrace when they reached the spot where
Barry had seen the clothing they saw there was now another car pulled over a 1962 sarar sedan with someone sitting
behind the wheel Barry kept a driving further along then made another U-turn and parked
about 10 m behind the other car making sure to switch his headlights off he and his friends sat there in the
darkness all feeling slightly nervous the recent shootings were on their mind as they looked on and Barry warned his
friends not to get out of the car what if the driver of this other car was the killer the driver of the other car
opened to the door and ran towards the bundle of clothing alongside the road Barry's instincts had been right
the pile of clothing was in fact a young woman the three men watched as the other
driver picked up her limp body and struggled to carry it to his Simka his actions were illuminated by
his car's headlights and Barry noticed he was a young man who looked to be wearing shorts and no
shirt the man almost dropped the woman as he took her to his car and placed her in the front passenger
seat by this time another vehicle was passing by its four occupants gazing out the windows at the strange scene as they
drove past the shirtless man carrying the woman they pulled over in front of his
car troubled by what they were seeing the shirtless man paid no attention to the rubber
neckers Barry Hansen believed the shirtless man was the Australia Day shooter and was alarmed to see him place
the body of either a deceased or unconscious woman in his car Barry started his car and took off
to raise the alarm he' had driven about 300 or 400 m when the Sim car suddenly sped by him at
70 mph Barry decided to follow the Sima which soon turned left and parked outside of a doctor's
office Barry and his friends watched the shirtless man run to the doctor's front
door one of Barry's passengers Wilson white realized he recognized the man his name was John button and he was the
boyfriend of Wilson's neighbor and former schoolmate 17-year-old Rosemary Anderson John returned and picked the
young woman out of his car carrying her inside to where the doctor was waiting it was clear that the young
woman was John's girlfriend [Music] Rosemary John bton had told the doctor who was Rosemary's general practitioner
that she had a deep cut over her eye that was bleeding heavily Dr Joseph quinlen examined
Rosemary and could tell that she had been struck by a vehicle the cut on her forehead and the
fact that her pupils weren't equal indicated a head injury the doctor also believed she'd
sustained damage to her chest Rosemary was unconscious her pulse was Rising and she was struggling to
breathe her thighs knees and hips were covered with abrasions Dr Quinlan noticed that Jon
had blood smeared on his bare chest and His Hands there was also some blood on his trousers which were rolled up to
resemble shorts after treating Rosemary as best as he could the doctor called for an
ambulance and the police Rosemary was transferred to Royal Perth Hospital arriving at 11:35 p.m.
she was found to be deeply comos and unresponsive to painful stimuli doctors worked on her for a
couple of hours but just as she was transferred to another Ward Rosemary suddenly stopped
breathing efforts to resuscitate her failed and at 2:30 a.m. she was pronounced a
dead meanwhile John Barton was being questioned by two traffic officers he told the police that that day was his
19th birthday and he'd spent the entire day with rosemary celebrating John's parents were out that
night leaving him and his younger brother alone at their family residence in subo and in a western suburb of
Perth late into the evening John and rosemary had gone out to pick up fish and chips to share with the John's
brother while they were eating the meal back at Jon's house Rosemary had reached
for Jon's piece of fish JN had loudly told her off mistakenly thinking it was his brother
taking the fish not Rosemary hurt by his Angry Words Rosemary had left to walk home alone at
around 10:30 p.m. John got into his car and followed after his girlfriend he repeatedly tried
to talk to her pulling up alongside her on the road as she walked but Rosemary refused to speak to
him John said he'd begged her to get in his car so he could drive her home to no
avail finally johon stopped trying and parked his car turning off the ignition and watching as Rosemary walked away and
around the corner to stub's Terrace after waiting several minutes and smoking a cigarette he started the
car up and decided to try again heading left onto stub's Terrace as Rosemary had
done there he found Rosemary lying unconscious by the road with a head wound JN believed she was the victim of
a hid and run and had quickly decided to take her to her doctor to get help the police noted there was
significant damage to the front left side of Jon's car and it was dotted with spots of
blood in the back seat was a girdle and a pair of stockings when asked what had happened to his car
John claimed he'd been in an accident with another car a few weeks earlier he said that Rosemary always
took off her stockings when she rode in his car because she didn't want to get ladders in them but he stammered as he
gave his explanation and seemed nervous johon was interrogated for 6 hours and provided a lengthy detailed
statement maintaining his version of a Advance detectives didn't believe him they thought a fight over fish and chips
sounded ridiculous and suspected something else had caused the young couple to argue that
night they believed JN and rosemary had likely been fooling around in the back of his car hence why her undergarments
were on the back seat perhaps Rosemary had wanted to stop and that was why she'd gotten out and
left on foot angered John had followed his girlfriend and ran her down in a rage maybe he hadn't intended to hit her
maybe he'd just plan to scare her but got too close by mistake ultimately though she had been
hit and Jon then panicked about his actions detectives continued to interrogate Jon and started getting
physical with him as their frustration grew they punched the 19-year-old several times but all John could focus
on was Rosemary so he asked if they knew how she was doing oh she's dead the detectives
informed him Rosemary had passed away a couple of hours earlier at the hospital John became sick after learning
this and went to the bathroom to throw up what have I done it was all my fault John
said do you mean she was struck by by your car the detectives pressed no longer caring what happened
to him John replied yes he then provided a new statement this time confessing that he was the one
who hit Rosemary John abandoned the story about the fish and chips instead saying they'd
argued after playing strip poker Rosemary had removed her stockings and girdle as part of the game and then
JN had tried to fondle Rosemary's breasts this caused her to storm out John had grabbed her undergarments and
tossed them into his car before driving after her after repeatedly trying to speak
with her while she walked home he'd decided to scare her by pretending he was going to hit
her as Rosemary walked on the left side of stub's Terrace John drove towards her
at 35 m hour or just over 56 km per hour before he could realize what had happened the left side of his car struck
Rosemary with a loud crunch John would later reeni his confession explaining that he'd been
through intense questioning and in his extreme grief he'd felt responsible as it was his mistake of shouting at Ros re
that led to her refusing a lift from him he was compelled to tell a story that sounded more believable to the
police the reason Rosemary's undergarments had been in his car was because they'd had sex there earlier
that evening Jon hadn't wanted to tell anyone that as he wanted to protect Rosemary's
reputation he had adored Rosemary and the two had been planning to get married despite all of this John bam was
tried Less Than 3 months later and convicted of manslaughter he was sentenced to 10
years with hard labor months after johon was convicted confessed spree killer Eric Eda cook
told investigators that he was in fact responsible for the murder of Rosemary Anderson cook said that at around 8:30
on the night of Saturday February 9 he had stolen a brand new two-tone green Holden from a home in southp
he drove to the city then West through the affluent suburbs he particularly liked to pray
on at around 10 p.m. he was heading along stub's Terrace in shanton park when he noticed Rosemary Anderson
walking alone on the side of the road all night cook had been feeling a desire to hurt someone rise inside him
and he decided Rosemary would be his victim he continued driving past pass the teenager then did a u-turn and drove
straight at her at 40 mph or just under 65 km per hour Rosemary didn't make a sound as the
front right hand side of the car struck her she was thrown onto the Bonnet struck the sun visor that jutted out
over the Holden's wind screen then rolled off onto the side of the road cook continued driving turning
right down a side street that left before parking he got out to survey the damage there was an obvious dant on the
Bonnet and a few spots of blood which he wiped away with a handkerchief after about 5 minutes cook
got back in the car and drove back to the crime scene he passed a couple of cars headed
in the other direction on the way when he reached the spot where he'd hit Rosemary he saw no sign of her
cook figured somebody must have found the girl and taken her to the hospital he kept driving east heading towards a
large public garden known as King's Park cook turned left onto a roadway called may drive and abandoned the
vehicle the entire Drive was lined with Memorial trees in honor of Fallen Australian soldiers and cook decided to
drive into one he reduced his speed to 20 mph or 32 km hour and drove directly at a tree further damaging the
car cook got out walked for a distance then caught a taxi home after he took detectives through a
step-by-step process of the night in question he completed a handwritten confession about the
crime he concluded it with the words my reason for running down the girl was just to inflict injury and pain
on her I never knew her the reason I left this statement until I were arrested on other matters was first when
it happened I didn't want to be charged with this crime second now that I have been
arrested on other matters and have so much more against me this bit can't hurt me and I'd like to see an innocent
person like John button free even though this random attack against Rosemary Anderson would be in keeping
with Cook's previous hit and runs detectives weren't buying his confession when cook had pointed to the
spot on the ground where Rosemary's body had Lain he was out by a few meters then when they took cook to may
drive and asked him to point out the tree he'd driven into he was unable to he chose a tree that was actually
several trees away from the location where the Holden had been found after the car was discovered
smashed into the tree back in February it had been returned to its rightful owner following Cook's new claims
investigators went to inspect the vehicle but found none of the damage to the Bonnet that he described although it
had been repaired after its recovery detectives also found some of Cook's other details to be at odds with
the actual event Rosemary had been hit at around 10:45 p.m. not 10 p.m. some items belonging to
her were found some distance from where cook said that he'd struck her and his descriptions of where he'd been when he
spotted Rosemary then drove towards her did not align with where Rosemary was found as one investigator told
him considering the pace you say you were traveling and the distance you say you covered from the time when you first
saw her to where you say you hid her it appears impossible that these circumstances could have
occurred cook became confused stating I don't understand it I am sure I killed her not long after he had written his
confession cook panned a attraction in which he put his Vivid recollection of killing Rosemary Anderson down to an
overactive imagination quote by reading all the available papers on this crime and remembering
where it took place and the person involved I were able to describe what I believe I did having read some books I
get so engrossed in them that I project myself and believe I'm the person in those
books having given further thought to my admissions to the detectives I'm now of
the opinion that I couldn't have been the person associated with the death of Rosemary and
as Cook's certainty about this confession waned so too did his belief in another admission that he'd
made the vicious and violent murder of 22-year-old socialite and Dess Jillian Brewer on Saturday December 19 1959 had
sent shock waves through Perth the young woman had been struck with a hatchet and stabbed with with
scissors while asleep in her bed with perth's coroner calling it the worst murder he had ever
seen investigators hadn't linked it to the Spade of break-ins or other murders of
women after a 19-year-old deaf nonverbal man named Daryl Beamish came to the police's attention for other offenses in
1961 detectives began to suspect him of Jillian's murder darl had a difficult life in
which he faced discrimination and social exclusion due to his disabilities he was described as having
the verbal understanding of a 7-year-old and communicated via signing and using his fingers to spell out
words darl was close with his family who knew him to be gentle and kind but struggled to make friends with other
members of the community in turn he didn't always act appropriately with some report that he
would rush up to girls at a local Cinema in an attempt to get close to them darl later befriended a young woman
named Dan who lived at Brookwood Flats the same codow apartment complex where Jillian Brewer had
lived an later moved away around January 1961 as Daryl couldn't telephone her due
to his disabilities he began hanging around the flats in search of someone who might know where he could find
her at the same time a Prowler around the area had been breaking into Apartments this would lead police
officers to believe darl and the prer were one and the same in April 1961 Daryl was charged with a very
serious crime in four separate incidents little girls aged between 4 and 5 years
old accused him of coaxing them into into his car driving them to King's Park and then parking the
car he would then lift up their dresses pull down their underwear and look at them before driving them back to the
location where he'd found them Daryl admitted to these assaults and would later plead guilty to them in
court his status as a sex offender and association with the Brookwood Flats LED investigators to wonder if he could be
Jillian Brewer's killer he initially denied having anything to do with the murder but eventually
admitted to it after hours of intimidation and threats his written confession was made
by copying down the written answers that the detectives provided in total the statement was four
pages long with very scan a detail about the actual crime another confession was also made
via a sign language interpreter who repeatedly ignored Daryl when he told her he was
innocent he was ultimately convicted of murder and given the death sentence the matter was considered
solved until Eric edar cook threw a spanner in the works 2 and a half years later by confessing to the
crime just as he' done with all the other crimes he gave a detailed description of how he had killed Jillian
Brewer and his actions on that night cook had actually already been questioned about the crime one month
after it was committed due to his known history as a Prowler he'd said he was home at the
time and Alibi his wife backed up years later Sally cook explained that the day after Jillian's murder cook had
shown her an article about the crime in the paper the two had discussed how awful it
was and then cook had asked his wife to tell the police he was at home that night if they asked any
questions he explained that due to his prior convictions for prowling they would try to pin it on
him Sally cook accepted this and did as her husband asked Cook's confession to the murder of
Jillian Brewer amounted to 14 pages when transcribed he said that he had been to
Jillian's apartment building before and had robbed her mother on the night of Saturday December 19 1959 he went there
again and watched Jillian with her fiance through her bedroom window he heard the two chatting and saw
when Jillian's fiance left cook went around the back of the apartment and entered via the rear door
which was unlocked as he pushed the door open he heard a scraping sound on the cement
floor shining his torch down he saw a small bottle of milk that had just been delivered to the home placing his time
of Entry at 1:00 a.m. ker used the bottle to keep the door propped open then went to Jillian's
bedroom where he attacked her with a hatchet had stolen from a nearby property the sound of the assault woke a
Jillian's pet poodle who hid under the bed in fear while barking at the Intruder cook was able to soothe the dog
by patting him and making a gentle shushing sound a neighbor had verified hearing
Jillian's dog briefly bark at this time but once again police were able to convince cook that he could not have
committed this crime and he agreed to retract this admission as well 3 weeks after his initial arrest
cook was transferred to prison to await his trial he was assigned two defense lawyers through Western Australia's
legal aid program he provided more candid confessions to his attorneys even going
so far as to confess to killing Rosemary Anderson and Jillian Brewer again police would keep many of these
confessions secret from the public including the seven hdden runs against women and the assaults of women in their
own homes Eric edar Cook's trial began in November 19 63 Less Than 3 months after
his arrest the first charge he was facing was for the murder of John sturkey during the Australia Day
shootings because cook openly admitted to killing his victims his lawyers were arguing that he was not guilty by reason
of insanity after reviewing Cook's background and speaking extensively with his family they believed he was
suffering from a mental illness most likely schizophrenia Cook's mother told the attorneys about
her son's history of headaches and blackouts the defense wanted to have a private psychiatrist examine cook and
provide an assessment of his mental state but this was denied by the court instead he was assessed by a
senior mental health practitioner employed by the state Dr Aaron Ellis Dr Ellis found no indication that
cook was suffering from delusion a symptom of schizophrenia nor that he lacked the ability to control his
actions in fact Dr Ellis pointed to the lengths cook had gone to in order to conceal his responsibility such as
wearing gloves and discarding weapons these were not the actions of someone who wasn't in
control cook had also been able to maintain the facade of being a good husband and father and worked hard to
provide for his family his total lack of remorse for his crimes was concerning but not an
indication of insanity instead it was more likely the consequence of a quote Psychopathic
character disorder such as antisocial personality disorder Dr Ellis believed Cook's
criminal Behavior was the result of a long simmering resentment towards Society at Large
in superficial encounters he presented as polite compliant and passive beneath that surface image was a
self-obsessed man who wanted to vent his rage against those who he perceived as rejecting or wronging
him he often chose victims from well-off areas because they represented the people he believed had rejected
him cook himself had always lived in workingclass suburbs quote I think this man's antisocial reactions
can be traced back to his early childhood and his resentment at having been born with a hair lip and cleft
pallet the children at school picked on him and he regarded himself as the freak
of the family his persistent stealing Arsen and finally murders all seemed directed
towards satisfying his craving for power over others cook Ed particular resentment
towards women who made up the majority of his victims he was both traumatized by his
father's violence towards his mother and angry at the women he perceived as rejecting him socially and
romantically his wife Sally would later tell Perth the journalist Brett Christian Eric wasn't really insane he
had a grudge against Society he saw his mother beaten up he didn't know how to relate to
women the trial lasted just 3 days and it only took the jury of eight men and four women 1 hour and 5 minutes to reach
a verdict guilty Eric Edgar cook would be sentenced to death by hanging for the murder of John
stury this sentence meant that the prosecution would not be pursuing the other murder and criminal charges
against cook cook ordered his attorneys not to file an appeal even though they were still
concerned about his mental state his hanging was set to be carried out at 8:00 a.m. on Monday October 26th
1964 1 year and 2 months after his arrest 15 minutes before cook was executed he took a Bible from the hand
of a reverend who was visiting him and while holding it he stated I swear before almighty God that I
killed Anderson and Brewer Eric Eda cook was the last person to be executed in the state of Western
Australia the death penalty was later abolished in [Music] 1984 cook had repeatedly confessed to
the murders of Rosemary Anderson and Jillian Brewer during his incarceration he'd written statements
detailing those crimes and signed affidavits but neither the police nor the Judiciary believed him instead
thinking he was just trying to delay his sentence however the truth was there were multiple issues and inconsistencies
with their cases against the two men who had been convicted of those crimes John button tried to appeal his
manslaughter conviction citing Cook's confession as new evidence his appeals failed and he served 5 years
of his 10year sentence before being paroled he struggled to put the pieces of his life back together grappling with
grief and an intense guilt for not being able to prevent Rosemary's murder the young couple had been
planning to get married when Rosemary turned 18 instead John had to mourn Rosemary and also take the blame after
her life suddenly ended in a violent and shocking way Rosemary's parents and many of Jon's
Friends cut him off believing he was guilty he was still desperate for his name to be cleared so he wrote to
everyone he could think of who might be able to help John did this for three decades
with no success he eventually married and had two children but still felt stuck haunted by grief and Injustice
John sunk into a deep depression he attempted suicide multiple times and had to be admitted for psychiatric
treatment the aftershocks of Cook's crime would continue to be felt by John button's wife and two children who also
suffered the consequences of Jon's trauma John's story eventually caught the attention of Perth the journalist to
still Blackburn she had been in her early teens when the night caller stalked the
city and had experienced the same fear as other residents after the Australia Day
shootings she was so terrified that she refused to use the ouse at her family home after dark in case the shooter was
lurking nearby three decades later in 1991 Estelle was at a dance where she had a
chance encounter with the John button's brother Jim who told her that his brother had been wrongfully convicted
for a crime crime actually committed by Eric Edo cook Estelle didn't believe Jim at first
as she had a strong faith in the police and the justice system but she began digging into the case out of
curiosity Estelle met with the John and was intrigued by his story through her contacts she was able
to access all of the police files about the Cork and button cases which had been
archived decades earlier and never made public while the trolling through the files Estelle stumbled across confession
after confession made by Eric Edgar cook admitting to countless violent crimes across
Perth through these statements a still Blackburn was able to track down other victims and hear their stories
firsthand she spoke to the seven women who'd survived Cook's hit and runs all of the stories matched up EST
believed their stories were deliberately withheld from the public as they would make the case against a John button far
weaker and police did not want to undermine his conviction she continued digging over
the next 6 years and her efforts uncovered a brand new witness who had never been interviewed before a man who
had been out riding his vasper scooter with his girlfriend on the night Rosemary Anderson was
killed Doug wilky had been riding along stub's Terrace the street where Rosemary
was run down when a light colored Holden sped up behind them Doug also sped up to put some space
between them but the Holden pursued its engine revving Doug knew the driver wanted to
run them down suddenly another car appeared ahead of them this new witness prompted the
Holden driver to slow down and Doug was able to get away this story seemed to back up Cook's
claim that he was in the area looking for victims Estelle Blackburn wound up writing a book about the case titled
broken lives it was published in 1998 by Brett Christian who owned the Perth Community
publication post newspapers broken lives led to renewed interest in the old case and soon
lawyers were offering to represent John button pro bono an American crash test expert was
brought in and conducted a series of tests using a dummy and the same models of Holden and simar that Kook and John
had been driving respectively via these tests the expert was able to determined that the damage
to Jon's car was inconsistent with having hit a pedestrian as it was too low down on the
bumper there was no dent on the Bonnet where Rosemary would have fallen meanwhile Cook's description of
how Rosemary's body was struck and fell when hit by the holding he was driving was entirely
accurate eventually 4 years after the publication of broken lives John button's conviction was quashed in
2002 the following year he was awarded $460,000 by the state as [Music] compensation John butter exoneration
paved the way for Daryl Beamish to file his own appeal he had originally been sentenced
to death for killing Jillian Brewer however this sentence was subsequently reduced to life in prison and Beamish
was ultimately released after 15 years while many across Perth breathed a sigh of relief after Daryl's conviction
for the horrific murder those who knew him well were uneasy although Daryl was a convicted
sex offender there was a belief that these crimes had stemmed from his childlike Manner and repressed curiosity
about sex he wasn't known to be at all violent or aggressive as Jillian's killer clearly
was it turned out that there had always been issues with Daryl's confession he hadn't accurately
described the injuries to Julian's body said he had raped her despite no evidence of sexual assault and even
named the wrong day the attack had taken place journalist Estelle Blackburn's friend and colleague Brett Christian of
post newspapers turned his Focus to darl Bish's case in his own book presumed guilty he described how Daryl had
difficulty communicating with police officers due to being deaf and nonverbal he repeatedly got facts wrong
about Jillian's case including saying he'd fled her flat via the door which was locked from the inside when the
crime scene was discovered the lead detective had also taken Daryl to Jillian's home and lay on
her bed miming how she had been stabbed in various parts of her body by making chopping motions with his
hands Daryl had apparently nodded as the detective did this which was taken as a
confession in contrast Eric edar Cook's confession aligned perfectly with the details of the case he overheard part of
Jillian's conversation with her fiance which her fiance was able to confirm was most likely
correct evidence also linked him to her home at the Brookwood Flats well before her murder and a burglary of Julian's
mother's home next door in 2005 3 years after John button was exonerated Daryl Beamish had his
conviction overturned earned as well he was awarded $425,000 compensation by the state
government although Eric Edgar cook apologized to John button and Daryl beish for their wrongful convictions
prior to his execution the Western Australia police force never has much of the blame for the wrongful
convictions has been placed on a former detective named Owen leech he was the officer who extracted a
confession from Daryl Beamish and his solving of Jillian Brewer's high-profile murder directly led to him being
promoted to the top position of Western Australia's Police Commissioner leech was also responsible
for convicting another deaf man who was friends with Daryl Beamish for a burglary and assault committed by Eric
Edgar cook the victim's description of her attacker matched cook exactly but leech
instead pinned it on an in man who was taller than cook and looked nothing like him in the documentary series after the
night former Western Australia Premier Brian Burke said that in his experience Owen leech intimidated other officers
and was quote a frightening person to deal with there was no one more fervent in his
efforts to keep innocent people in jail one of leech's detec Ives who was directly responsible for cook ultimately
confessing to the Australia Day attacks admitted to driving cook past Gillian Brewer's home after his
arrest his Hope was that cook would admit to the murder which the detective didn't believe Beamish was responsible
for John button and AD darl Beamish were just two of Eric Edgar Cook's living victims whose lives were permanently
altered and damaged Cook's own family were victims of him as well he kept up a facade with his wife
Sally while also spending copious amounts of time away from her and their children Sally was never allowed to ask
her husband questions about what he got up to at night or query his frequent absences from home she believed her
husband was cheating on her as strange women often came to their house looking for
cook he had told them Sally was his widow 's sister and he was helping to raise her
children in the aftermath of the Australia Day shootings cook acted as though his family needed to fear the
night caller the same as everyone else in the documentary series after the night Sul cook told the filmmakers how
cook had insisted their children no longer sleep outside during the summer they all had to sleep on the
bedroom floor next to her instead he demand that she lock all the doors to stay safe while he was out
prowling the streets of Perth he came up with his own special knock and whistle so when he returned
home after a long night out she would know it was him outside when he arrived home Sally
quickly pulled him inside and said I hate this killer on the loose when are they going to catch
him the date that cook was finally arrested for murder in 1963 was Father's Day when there was a knock at the cook
residence later that morning the children all raced down the hallway with presents in their hands expecting to
greet their father instead they were met by police officers who'd come to inform Sally cook
of her husband's arrest the news of what he was charged with had come as an enormous
shock as Sally cook stated in after the night quote I knew he was a thief and a womanizer but that's far different to
being a murderer the family also had to Grapple with what might have happened to them if
police hadn't managed to arrest cook first he admitted to detectives that he'd been keeping a rifle and ammunition
in the ceiling of his home and intended to kill his wife children and finally himself if it ever seemed the police
were closing in I wasn't going to leave them behind for anybody else he stated Sally cook was left with no money
and had to survive on a pension while raising seven children all alone her siblings would no longer
associate with her due to the social stigma despite this Sally refused to leave Perth explaining that she wanted
to teach her children that painful experiences had to be met and confronted head
on in after the night Sally described how proud she was of her seven children stating my family could have been a lot
different to what they were not one of them took after him the couple's eldest child Tony cook
became a highly regarded social worker and later a union leader who fought for workers
rights in 2002 he and his mother met with the John button and the parents of Rosemary Anderson to apologize for his
father's crimes this meeting was covered in an episode of the ABC television program
Australian story when asked in a televised interview about how his father's crimes
had shaped his life Tony answered I'd have to say it has made a huge impact on me as a person it guides
me in what I do it's formed my values and my attitudes it's given me the conviction
that what I should be doing is working towards a more positive Society the sort of society that doesn't breed people
like my father Tony cook passed away in 2018 followed by his mother Sally one year
later in 2019 the victims of Cook's attacks who survived were also changed Forever by
what was done to them some suffered permanent or temporary physical disabilities and brain damage many
battled post-traumatic stress in the months and years after their assaults their goals and Ambitions
changed some relocated and moved away from their homes a sense of safety freedom and
security was taken from them even victims of Cook's burglaries who had no idea they'd been robbed until
later notified by the police have had to live with knowing they'd had a close brush with the notorious
murderer others faced a different battles when they realized they would never get their day in
court according to a still Blackburn's book broken lives hid and run victim Jill Connell only realized who was
behind her attack after her mother read had an early headline about how cook had
lived nearby she immediately suspected he must have been J's attacker and followed it
up with the police the police confirmed their suspicions and Jill was overjoyed to
finally know what had happened to her however her relief turned to despair when investigators told her cook would
not be trial for her crime jel wanted the Vindication of a public trial so everyone would know who
had hurt her the hit and run left a jaw with significant scarring physical pain and
emotional trauma when she initially told her friends that her case was solved and
cook was responsible they hadn't believed her this further traumatized victims like a jel who were left with a
feeling of Injustice journalist distal Blackburn has argued that police never publicized
Cook's confessions about assaulting women in their homes because they didn't want the public to make the connection
between cook and Jillian Brewer's murder this was in keeping with their decision to keep Cook's hidden runs a
secret so he wouldn't be suspected of Rosemary Anderson's murder just as she had done with those
cases a St Blackburn Tracked Down the survivors who had been assaulted in their homes one of these was Molly McLoud who
had been 15 years old when cook hit her over the head while robbing her family's
home concussing her for 30 years the McLoud family had believed Molly had simply fallen out of
bed until a still Blackburn uncovered Cook's confession and reached out to Molly's
father police hadn't just concealed Cook's non-fatal crimes for years they had believed that Cook's first murder
victim panina burkeman was killed by her boyfriend friend who subsequently left Australia for
grece after cook provided a highly detailed admission to the crime they accepted that he was the true
culprit but they never charged him with Pan's murder and nor did they notify any
of her family members that the case was solved at the time of her murder in 1959
panina had an 8-year-old son named Mark she and Mark had relocated to Perth from
Melbourne after panina and her polish-born husband divorced on the night of his mother's
murder Mark had been staying at a friend's house for the school holidays he never understood the truth
of what happened to his mother and the next four years of Mark's life remain a blur to this
day his father took mark back to Melbourne and the pair later relocated to Israel in the documentary series after
the night Mark described his grief as follows all of a sudden you lose a mother one day you see her the next day
you don't and you don't know the reason and it doesn't really matter I see it as a private
Holocaust it only belongs to me in 2004 Mark visited Australia to see some extended family members
a cousin told him about the book broken lives and how it told his mother's story Mark got hold of a copy and was
stunned to learn the truth it was the first he'd ever heard about what happened to his mother and
who was responsible for taking her life the family members and Friends of CK's seven other murder victims have
been dealt a life sentence as well countless individuals have had to graeve loved ones under the most painful
circumstances and live in a new reality that was far more terrifying than the one they knew
before this loss of innocence was felt more broadly by the entire city of Perth which was fundamentally different after
cook even though Cook's crimes are now more than 60 years old some longtime residents still have firsthand memories
of his reign of terror as a St Blackburn state ated in the 2020 documentary after the night
quote all these years on there are still all these people who carried the scars of the crimes of Eric Eda cook far more
people than we realized at the time really affected by his attacks their families their friends
there are a lot of people still in Perth who sleep with a light on at night [Music]
[Music]

Case 307: The Night Caller (Part 2)

*** Content Warning: Sexual assault, gun violence, child victims *** [Part 2 of 2] By mid-1963, The Night Caller’s reign of terror had altered Perth forever, and he still remained at large and unidentified. Following another execution-style slaying in Perth’s wealthy western suburbs, investigators set a trap that would expose his identity as Eric Edgar Cooke. Cooke’s capture would ultimately lead to the unravelling of countless terrible secrets…

Listen to part one here https://youtu.be/9-SVSwbIlf0

CREDITS

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

SOCIAL LINKS

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RESOURCES

For all credits and sources, please visit https://casefilepodcast.com/case-307-the-night-caller-part-2

Brief Summary

Eric Edgar Cook's crimes terrorized Perth, leading to wrongful convictions and lasting trauma for victims and their families.

Key points

The Night of Terror. On a stormy night, Carl and Wendy Dow return home to a shocking discovery.
The Discovery of the Rifle. William and Cecilia Kena find a rifle while walking, leading to a police investigation.
The Killer's Identity Revealed. Police apprehend Eric Edgar Cook, a known criminal with a disturbing history.
Eric Cook's Confession. Cook admits to a series of violent crimes, revealing his disturbing mindset.
Cook's Criminal History. Cook details his extensive history of burglaries and assaults on women.
The Discovery of Rosemary Anderson. A young woman is found unconscious, leading to a shocking investigation.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

There's a rifle here!

Cecilia discovers a rifle while picking flowers.

7:55WatchFeb 22, 2025

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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