Perth is terrorised after dark by a prolific offender (Part 1/2) | Forensic Files

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our [Music] website the capital of the state of Western Australia Perth has long been
referred to as the most isolated city in the world while there is some debate as
to whether this title is accurate the fact remains that Perth is the only large city in a circuit of more than
2,000 km it sits on the other side of the country to the more heavily populated eastern states home to Sydney Melbourne
and Brisbane and the next nearest capital city is south Australia's adelade a 28-hour
driveway Perth is located in the lower Western corner of the state and is adjacent to the Indian Ocean another
body of water the Swan River cuts through the middle of Perth dividing the city in two with much of the central
business district built up along its banks east of the city is home to sprawling
Hills and Parklands filled with the native flora and iconic Australian bush Winters in Perth are mild reaching
a top temperature of 19° C on average while the summers are renowned for their dry heat in the warmer months swimmers
and Surfers flock to perth's Coastline to enjoy popular beaches such as cotso and
scabra during the late 195 50s the city was home to about 388,000 people but was
rapidly growing due to a baby boom and post World War II migration even as the city expanded and
swelled a sense of Innocence remained nights were quieter strict Licensing Laws meant that pubs closed by 9:00 p.m.
dance halls and concerts were a favorite weekend Pastime for the city's youth but
they too were governed by restrictions that typically saw the entertainment wind down before
midnight homes were kept unlocked with windows open even at night drivers parked their cars with the keys in the
ignition and residents were never more than a couple of degrees of separation from one
another however this sense of security and safety that residents took for granted would be shaken and then
irrevocably damaged as the city entered the 1960s under the cover of Darkness Perth
was terrorized by an elusive figure someone who would eventually be dubbed the night caller
[Music] [Music] [Music] towards the end of the 1950s households throughout Perth experienced an uptick
in burglaries residents would return home from being away or awake in the morning
to find that someone had been in their house overnight cash that had been left lying
around or stashed inside wallets and purses was missing it could range from a few
shillings to pound notes as austral was using the Pound currency at the time sometimes money was even missing
from hiding places such as drawers or inside an ornamental vase small objects of varying value were
also pocketed watches pens jewelry and even a torch were taken more disturbingly women had their
underwear stallen police reports were typically filed when the crimes were discovered
but officers were left stumped by the lack of fingerprints at any of the crime scenes other times residents were
entirely unaware that they'd had an intruder at all sometimes so little of importance
was taken that it was never missed or was assumed to have been misplaced these seemed like the crimes
of an opportunistic offender seeking financial gain taking advantage of the lack security measures in place
during this time there were also sightings and reports of a Prowler in Central and Southern
Perth a man was spotted lurking in the bushes peeping in Windows and loitering outside of apartment
blocks sometimes his Footprints were discovered in garden beds the following morning occasionally women's night gowns
and underwear left hanging on washing lines were found cut and slashed no one could know that a single
person was behind all of these crimes which were typically written off as minor offenses there was seemingly nothing
violent about them but that would soon change the McLoud family lived in the Riverside suburb of applecross close to
perth's CBD and just across the Swan River in the early hours of Wednesday November 26th 1958 Lucy and er McLoud
were woken by a strange commotion in their bedroom their daughter 15-year-old Molly
was wandering around the room tripping over her own feet and wretching as though she was going to
vomit Molly rambled incoherently clearly trying to tell her parents something but
she couldn't form the words to speak terrified Lucy rushed to her child who had been fine when she'd gone to bed
the previous evening Lucy and er repeatedly asked Molly what had happened begging her to
explain what was wrong Molly was unable to answer and soon lost Consciousness her father carried her
back to her room which was a sleepout that adjoined the family's kitchen and gently laid her in
bed Lucy kneed beside Molly and held a set of rosary beads in her hand praying repeatedly for her daughter's health
to her parents' relief Molly regained Consciousness though she continued to moan and Mumble without making any
sense by morning Molly was able to string a few words together enough to tell her parents that her head
hurt one of her eyes had turned black suggesting she'd somehow received a knock to the
Head Lucy McLoud took Molly to The Family Doctor Who was unable to ascertain the cause of Molly's injury
but diagnosed her as having a concussion and a hairline skull fracture it took Molly more than a month
to recover a sta student she had been due to finish high school but was unable to
attend her leaving exams meanwhile her family was puzzled over the mystery behind what caused her
severe head injury they eventually concluded that Molly must have received the knock after
an awful nightmare caused her to fall out of bed Molly and her family had no idea
that she had actually crossed paths with the night caller he had slipped into the mccloud's
applecross home as its resident slept he prowled about looking for cash he could
steal and helped himself to some money he found in the kitchen as he was opening the back door
to escape his grip on the handle s slipped and the noise woke Molly whose bed was right next
door seeing the girl stir the night caller grabbed a nearby object and hit her over the head with it before
[Music] fleeing throughout December 1958 and into the new year the night caller continued to stalk the streets of Perth
weekends seemed to be when he was most active though he also ventured out on Tuesday and Thursday
evenings his crimes were growing ever more Brazen at 3:00 a.m. one night a 21-year-old school teacher who lived in
milpo Road South Perth was woken by a strange man grabbing her by the neck and scratching her
face she screamed and the Intruder jumped out of her bedroom window 6 weeks after this attack on
Wednesday January 28th Perth reached its warmest day of the year when the temperature reached 43° C or 109°
F that night a man who lived one street over from where the teacher had been attacked heard a noise outside at 1:50
a.m. and went to investigate his sudden appearance Disturbed a man trying to break in via
the back door the Prower fled on foot a neighbor who had also spotted him watching a block of flats from a nearby
phone booth described him as being between 5'8 and 5' 10 with thick dark hair the following day of Thursday
January 29 33-year-old panina burkeman worked a shift at the perfume counter of the David Jones department store in
perth's CBD panina had relocated dep Perth from Melbourne 4 years earlier after she and
her husband divorced p Nina had settled into a ground floor apartment on milpo Road in
South Perth and was happy there even though her flat had been broken into about 6 months earlier and
35 Shillings were stolen panina was comfortable in her new city she was a glamorous woman who had
caught the eye of a local radio DJ named photus hunus the pair became a couple they
planned to meet up after panina finished her shift of that day photus picked panina up from David Jones
and drove her back to her apartment where they ate dinner together later on they drank some beer
then went to bed together at midnight fotus got dressed and prepared to head home to
sleep as he left panina said good night and that she would see him tomorrow neighbors overheard photos's
footsteps as he Departed the building and heard some other things in the hours that
followed at around 3:00 a.m. a couple in an apartment next to panas were woken by
the sound of someone gasping followed by a scream a few minutes later they heard a
car door slam then the car driving away another Resident also heard some screams and a car leaving at around the
same time the next morning photus drove by Pan's apartment on his way to an appointment
and noticed that the door was a jar and her bedroom window was open its curtains
blowing in the breeze panina often slept with the window open during the hot summer nights
but fotus knew that she always made a point to close everything and lock up before heading to
work she was supposed to have a shift of that day so the apartment should have been secured
photus decided to investigate inside he found panina on the Lou room floor by the sliding glass
doors she was naked in a pool of blood she had been stabbed through the nose and in the heart with a
knife it appeared panina had crawled to the doors in an attempt to escape but hadn't
survived nothing was missing from the apartment except for P's purse the murder weapon wasn't
recovered the horrific murder sent shock waves through Perth crimes like this were a rarity in
The Quiet City photus hunas told police that when he left pina's apartment she had been
naked in bed it wasn't unusual for her to sleep naked in hot weather photus quickly found himself the
cas's prime suspect and the public agreed that he seemed suspicious when fotus left Perth to
return to his birth country of Greece their suspicions were all but confirmed Pan's killer had gotten
away even though panina lived on the same street where a 21-year-old teacher had been attacked in her own home just 6
weeks earlier police didn't consider that her murder could be part of a larger pit
they reassured worried Perth residents stating the public have no need to be feared from the activities of the person
who killed panina burkeman and they can forget all about the existence of that [Music]
person residents of perth's western suburbs felt somewhat detached from the murder of panina burkman as she had been
living in South Perth although that wasn't far in terms of distance it almost felt like another
world due to the Swan River providing a geographical buffer moreover the inner western
suburbs were an affluent and insula pocket that felt particularly safe with a tight-knit
community one of these wealthy suburbs was nland an attractive neighborhood just 7 km west of the
CBD dotted with nice house houses and lots of parks nedlands was also close to the University of Western
Australia this made it a popular suburb for students who primarily lived in the area's apartment
buildings in August 1959 Alex Duncan was a firste nursing student who was staying
at her Elder sister's flat in Netherlands Saturday August 8 was going to be a break from Alex's busy work and
study schedule some friends from her hometown were visiting for the weekend and Alex was looking forward to seeing
them Alex and her friends spent the evening at a drive-in Cinema then headed back to Alex's flat to drink coffee and
listen to records at 12:45 a.m. Alex's guests left and she got ready for bed a security conscious person Alex
made sure to lock the front door and close all the windows the the exception was one narrow
window in the kitchen which led to an outdoor Landing because the window was so narrow
Alex felt comfortable leaving it slightly a jar while she slept the following morning Alex's
friends from out of town headed over to her flat for a planned visit George and Hedley were both
farmers who lived in Western Australia's wheat belt about an hour and a half outside of
Perth the young men knocked on the door and were shocked when Alex opened it her
face and hair were soaked with blood due to a deep wound over her left eye still wearing her pajamas Alex was
disoriented and clearly oblivious to the injury George and Headley searched the apartment Alex's pillow was drenched
with blood and her purse was missing she told George and Headley that there had been 6 inside the purse but
she struggled to answer other questions when asked about the previous night Alex said she'd woken up at 3:30
a.m. then Fallen back asleep she couldn't recall anything else George and Hedley couldn't see any
sign of forced entry but it was clear their friend had been attacked and robbed they arranged to take Alex to the
doctor an examination revealed she also sustained a small fracture to the back of her
skull that plus the injury above her eye indicated she'd been hit twice the attack left Alex with the
severe epilepsy that she would need to treat with medication for the rest of her life she was unable to continue her
studies or achieve her dream of becoming a nurse Alex's uncle was a special investigator in the police's criminal
investigation branch and the attack against his niece was taken very seriously officers searched the
apartment but found no fingerprints a poker was missing from the fireplace which they speculated
could have been used to inflict Alex's injuries they took note that the kitchen window was the only point of entry for
an intruder yet with no evidence leading to a specific spefic person there was little they could
do 4 months later residents of Perth were preparing for another Sun soaked summer one week before Christmas on
Saturday December 19 22-year-old Jillian Brewer invited her fiance over to her home in Brookwood Flats a twostory red
brick apartment complex in the Beachside suburb of codow Jillian was well known in Perth as
a socialite and an aess whose great-grandfather had founded the Chocolate Company MC Robertson's
confectionary after growing up in Melbourne and beginning a career in interior design Jillian had flown West
to Perth at the age of 21 she was happy in her new city settling into an apartment next door to
her mother's and living with her small French poodle deor for company Jillian would be getting married
in 2 months time to her 31-year-old fiance Andrew not his real name Andrew and Jillian spent that
Saturday together before returning to her apartment for the evening Jillian's flat was on the ground
floor and at the back of the complex Andrew went home at around midnight with the plan to play golf with
a Jillian the next day at 9:00 a.m. Andrew went to pick a Jillian up and found her front door
locked this was unusual as she mostly kept it open when she was up Andrew could see Jillian's poodle
Dior jumping up and down frantically at the bedroom window Andrew had a key to Julian's
apartment in his car so he went back to get it and then leted himself in the kitchen window was open and a
breeze had blown some Christmas cards Julian had out on display onto the floor unusually the door to Jillian's
bedroom was closed Andrew had never seen it shot before he opened the door and saw
Jillian lying in bed a sheet pulled all the way up to her chin and a pillow lying on her
chest her face was covered in blood as was the sheet in the wall behind her Andrew raced next door to Jillian's
mother 's apartment and called for a doctor upon arriving at the scene the doctor in turn phoned the
police after removing the sheet officers saw the extent of Jillian's injuries she was naked and had wounds
all over her body that had been inflicted with a hatchet her breasts head and genitals
had all been struck using the flat side of the hatchet the killer had also to Jillian's
stomach thighs face and throat this final blow had been hard enough to sever her
windpipe then the killer had used a pair of scissors that belonged to Jillian to
stab her five times an autopsy would later reveal that Jillian had likely remained alive for 2
to 3 hours after the attack with the corer stating it was the worst murder he had ever
seen the killer covered her with the sheet and wiped the scissors clean before returning them to their usual
spot blood was later found on the inner Blades of the scissors indicating they had been closed when the killer wiped
them down he had taken the hatchet with him and tossed it Over The Back Fence police found it lying on the
ground on the other side still covered with the Gillian's blood the killer had been so forceful
when using it that the wooden handle was Split near the head the hatchet was found to have been
stolen from a home in the street behind jillians there were no clues as to the Killer's identity he hadn't left any
fingerprints and there was no sign of forced entry at Jillian's apartment both the front and back doors
were locked none of Jillian's neighbors had seen anything un War though a mother and
daughter who lived in nearby reported hearing Jillian's dog bark at around 1:00 a.m. The Barking abruptly stopped as
though someone had reprimanded the [Music] animal in the days that followed Jillian's murder dominated newspaper
headlines as well as the horror of the crime itself there was the fact that police didn't have a
suspect no one in Julian's life was thought to be responsible her purse was missing from
the apartment indicating her killer had stolen it the pathologist who observed Jillian
and Pan's bodies noted the similarities between their injuries both had been stabbed multiple times while asleep in
bed a journalist at the Tabloid The Daily News also compared the crimes pointing out the Striking similarities
between the women's living circumstances their missing purses and how their Killers hadn't left a
trace but investigators firmly believed panina had been killed by her boyfriend and that Jillian was attacked by a
stranger police looked into known sex offenders in the area as the injuries to Jillian's breasts and groin appeared to
indicate a sexual motivation it would turn out that over the past 11 months there had been eight
reports of a Prowler lurking around to the Brookwood Flats someone had broken into Apartments
there and taken money alcohol and keys one time a car was stolen a number of these reports were
made by Jillian's mother Betty who lived in the flat next door to her daughter her first report came just 3
weeks after panina burkman's murder in January at the start of the year if the murder of pan a burkman
shocked Perth months earlier this second slang left it reeling Not only was it another brutal
killing in a city that saw few crimes of that nature but Jillian Brewer's wealth
and social status elevated The public's horror to new heights Jillian had lived in codow one
of the affluent western suburbs that felt cushioned from Pan's murder residents who also lived in
perth's comfortable West Western Enclave could relate to Jillian she was one of us a Community
member later told filmmakers of the 2020 documentary series after the night as well as dominating the new
cycle Jillian's murder became the focus of many local conversations the Brookwood Flats where
she'd lived and died were now a public spectacle with parents driving their children past the building so they could
stare at it through the car windows even through their fear and anxiety most Perth residents felt
assured that police would soon catch the person responsible they trusted law enforcement
to complete a thorough investigation and keep the public safe despite their faith weeks and then
months passed with no arrest in the [Music] case 19 1960 dawned and Perth welcomed
another New Year the city had continued to grow both in size and population also on the increase was the
number of break-ins and Prowler encounters being reported to the police sometimes cars were stolen from
driveways and garages these were later found either abandoned somewhere else in the city or
returned with a slightly emptier petrol tank neighborhoods all over Perth were being
targeted from south of the river suburbs like KO and South Perth to those just north and west of the
city these crimes continued over the following years sometimes the same Target was hit
twice in March 1961 a tin of silver coins was stolen from a residence in swanborn close to codow
beach 2 weeks later a 24-year-old woman Inside the same home was attacked by an intruder after she heard him break
in as she tried to phone for help the Intruder grabbed her by the throat and wrestled her to the
floor She briefly lost Consciousness then came to and managed to kick the man in the
groin he fled out the back door and the woman ran to the window to watch him go under the sharp glow of the street light
she saw that he was white between 5' 6 and 5'8 and wellb built his face was Broad and clean shaven and he had dark
wavy hair on another occasion in 1962 a woman was cleaning up after a party her teenaged daughter had held at their
codow home as she did so she noticed a man outside the house watching her he was
lurking behind a bush wearing a large brimmed hat the woman told her husband who chased
after the man but lost him in the darkness on Saturday March 3 1962 a 23-year-old named an Melvin was feeling
nervous she'd moved out of her childhood home just a few weeks earlier and was now sharing a flat with her sister in
the western suburb of Crawley and sister was out that night and it would be the first time Anne had
stayed in the flat alone she made herself a snack and was having a coffee when she heard a noise
on the porch outside Ann paused and listened carefully when she didn't hear anything
else she told herself it must have been a cat Ann went to bed and slept peacefully
for a little while before she suddenly started having an awful nightmare in the dream she was
suffocating an forced herself awake only to realize that she wasn't just dreaming a piece of tailing was wrapped
tightly around her neck her left arm had been tied to the bed head with a stocking and most terrifying of all
there was a man standing next to her bed removing his belt an SAT up Ted desperately at the
tailing at her neck and began to scream at the sound of her yells the man ran out of the room Anne managed to free her
arm and took off after him screaming that she was going to kill him in her Terror and confusion she had
forgotten that her sister was away for the evening and when Anne saw her empty bed she believed the Intruder must have
kidnapped her the man got away but an's screams attracted the attention of some nearby
neighbors who found her on her balcony with blood dribbling from her mouth one of the neighbors comforted
Anne while the other called the police a detective who soon arrived was shocked to see Ann's
appearance she looked as though she was almost dead with bloodshot eyes and raw red markings on her neck and
wrist Anne moved back in with her parents after the attack and would only leave the house to go to church
terrified her attacker would track her down she eventually left Australia alt together a few days after the attack
against an Melvin the couple who had come to her rescue woke to find their car covered in pairs of women's
Underpants they had been twisted around door handles tucked under the windscreen
wipers and stuck into any available gaps the couple not notified the police who attended the property and found
footprints in the garden beds some of the plants were trampled it appeared as though someone
had been lurking in the area looking through the windows in the months that followed
there were more reports of a Prowler around Perth on one occasion on Saturday December 29
1962 a woman in codow woke to find a man in her room he'd wrapped a handkerchief around his
face as a disguise and was shining a torch in her eyes the man punched her face before
fleeing later that same night another young woman in cotso was woken by the same
Prowler in addition to the handkerchief he wore a hat and had leather gloves on his hands as well as what looked like a
knuckle duster he hit her over the head with the torch but before punching above her
eye the woman screamed which woke her parents as well as some neighbors by the time her parents
reached her bedroom the attacker had fled it would later turn out that he had stolen cash from the young woman's
purse an internal police report on this latter attack noticed that over the past
6 months there had been a pattern of break and denters at homes in the area whoever was behind the break-ins was
entering via unlocked doors and open Windows the offender would steal cash and his crimes appeared to be
escalating quote of late these reports have become more frequent and some concern is being
felt for the safety of women who are being disturbed by the offender after he has entered the premises and stolen what
money he can find one with who saw the offender fleeing described him as being aged
between 30 and 40 with the tan complexion his height was short at around 5'9 and he had a thin to medium
build the offender wore a suit as well as a black felt hat with a wide brim and close fitting white
gloves sometimes his face was masked he never left fingerprints behind and he never spoke
the report was distributed to police patrols who were asked to be aware of the situation and told it was crucial
that the offender be apprehended before his crimes escalated further perth's police had no idea just
how far his crimes had already [Music] gone in early 1963 Perth was experiencing another hot
summer on Friday February 15 in the inner city suburb of West Perth two young women
were busy polishing the floors of a flat they'd recently rented together 24-year-old constant Madrill
who went by her middle name Lucy was a government employed social worker her housemate Jennifer HSE worked
as a school teacher the two friends were happy with their new home a two-bedroom flat inside
a large house that been converted into two apartments although the area had had issues with prowers and break-ins the
property was situated on a busy road which made them feel safe plus a family of three rented the
other flat so there was always someone nearby Lucy felt secure enough there that she kept the back door propped open
at all times so that her Siamese cat could come and go after the two women finished
polishing the floors they each retired to separate rooms to read for the rest of the
night between 11: and 11:30 p.m. Lucy stopped by Jennifer's bedroom to say good night now wearing a short blue
night she then headed to her own room at the other end of the flat near the back
door at around 1:30 a.m. Jennifer got up to go to the toilet which was at the rear of the property
on her way back to bed she looked in on Lucy's room Lucy was asleep on her bed having pulled aside the top shade and
blanket due to the warm Night Jennifer returned to her room and wasn't Disturbed for the rest of the
night across a lane at the rear of Lucy and Jennifer's flat was a house with a large lawn out the
back at 6:00 a.m. the morning of Saturday February 16 one of The house's residents got up with her young son and
the two went to use the ouse that sat at the back of the property their attention was drawn to a
strange bundle that appeared to be lying on the ground near a Hills hoist washing
line the woman walked closer and realized that she was looking at the naked body of a young
woman the body belonged to 24-year-old Madrill an empty Whiskey Bottle was tucked into the crook of her right
arm police found out that the couple who lived at the house had sat outside the previous night drinking the whiskey
together when they retired to bed at around midnight one of them had tossed The Empty Bottle onto the
lawn Lucy's killer had seemingly found it while dumping her body and used it to penetrate her before posing it under her
her arm Lucy's blue nighty lay alongside her there was a blue bruise across her neck and she had been strangled with a
ligature such as a cord the killer had raped Lucy postmortem the killer had initially
dragged Lucy from her home with her heels trailing along the ground before reversing his approach and pulling her
across the lawn by her legs Lucy's bedroom hadn't been ransacked her clothes from the day
before were lying on the floor near a wall likely where she'd left them after undressing her sheet and blanket were
turned back and a dressing gown lay across the foot of her bed detectives identified what had
likely been the murder weapon a piece of flex had been torn from a reading lamp in another
room one lound had been stolen from a [Music] purse the murder of Lucy Madrill called
to mind the murders of panina burkeman and a Jillian Brewer several years earlier although those cases involved
stabbing not strangulation there was a familiar element in that all involved a young woman brutalized in her own home
and left in a state of undress Lucy's case was almost more shocking due to the horrific way that
her body had been violated then posed out in the open over the past 5 years the increase
in break-ins and attacks against women at home had made Perth residents far more Vigilant about locking doors than
they ever had before the murder of Lucy Madrill Amplified their weariness yet reports continued to
trickle through about nighttime break-ins and prowling incidents across the city
in suburbs throughout the north south and west of Perth residents found they were missing
cash typically the burglaries weren't discovered until the thief was long gone but sometimes he was caught in the
act on one occasion a couple kissing good night in Ko spotted a man hiding in the bushes watching them another time at
a house in applecross a little girl went into her kitchen and spotted the silhouette of a
man is that you daddy she asked as he darted out the back door in one encounter a man came across
the prowler in his home he begged the homeowner to let him go claiming he was only there because he was unemployed and
desperate to feed his children taking pity on who he thought was a desperate burglar the man gave him
some food and let him leave one afternoon at 5:00 p.m. a woman named Phyllis was in her South Perth Kitchen
preparing dinner when a strange man walked in he had dark hair underneath his brimmed hat was short and carried a
leather suitcase the man's most notable feature was his cleft lip and pallet a relatively common birth defect in which
there is a split in an individual's upper lip as the man calmly strolled in he turned and looked blankly at one of
phyllis's sons who was playing nearby then he put his bag down and started questioning Phyllis first asking
if her husband was home Phyllis said yes he was sitting in the lounge room the man asked how many children the
couple had how old they were and which schools they attended Phyllis was terrified but
something told her that the best way to handle the situation was by remaining calm and
unfaced she politely answered his questions when she finished the man picked up his bag again turned and
walked out of the house Phyllis rushed to her husband to tell him what had happened and the
couple ran to a window the man was outside casually walking down the street and disapp
appearing around the corner like nothing unusual had happened halfway through the year on
Saturday June 15 1963 20-year-old Carmel Reed was going to a party carel did clerical and statistical
work at the University of Western Australia and didn't have many late nights out but tonight was a special
occasion it was the 21st birthday of one of her closest friends carel had a fun night and was
driven home at 2:20 a.m. by her friend's fiance who made sure she got into her home
safely carel had moved into her flat in Netherlands just one month earlier and was living there with two other young
women one of them who carel shared a room with was staying with her boyfriend that night while the other housemate was
already fast asleep by the time caramel got home caramel got ready for bed and checked all of the windows and doors
were locked there was just one window she didn't check it was a small ventilator window
located about 5 ft up the loung room wall as it only measured 2 ft by 1 and 1/2 ft carel figured it was safe to
leave slightly open she climbed into bed at 24 45 2 hours later she was abruptly awoken
by a rustling sound coming from the dining room Carl's heart started to pound and
she called out is anyone there no reply came and the noise stopped carel sat up in bed listening
carefully then she saw the figure of a man appear in her doorway he Shone a bright torch into her
eyes blinding her as he walked into the room carel HIIT under her bed sheets and
screamed in response the man stabbed at her chest with a sharp object caramel's chest seared with pain
and she rolled away to escape the barrage she realized she needed to try to escape carel flung off her sheet and
blanket open to hit the man with them then leapt out of bed and bolted for the door it was dark and she couldn't see
anything suddenly she felt a sharp stinging sensation in her face the men had hit her then he fled from the flat
dropping the object he'd stabbed carel with as he went it was an umbrella he'd found in
her room and he'd used its Still Point to jab at her screaming carel ran to her housemate's
room and found her cing in bed having overheard the attack neighbors who heard the commotion
called the police officers quickly descended on the flat but recovered nothing belonging to
the Intruder not even any fingerprints the only thing taken from the property was a purse that contained
15 Shillings it would turn out that one of the extra police cars patrolling the area due to the frequency of these
attacks had passed by carmel's apartment building just minutes before the assault the prowler break-ins weren't
the only reason for police issuing additional patrols throughout the relatively small
City there had been a number of other crimes that had warranted the extra Manpower but no one in law enforcement
realized that they were actually all connected almost 5 years earlier on the night of
Friday September 12 1958 a woman named enel Schneider had been riding her bike home in the southern suburb of Bentley
about 8 km from perth's CBD when she was just a few hundred meters from her home a car suddenly sped
up behind her and slammed into her bicycle the bike became stuck to the car's Grill as n was thrown up in the
air she slammed down on the road head first as quickly as it had arrived the car sped away disappearing into the
night n was left lying on the bitchman unconscious in a pool of blood she was found by a passing
motorist about 45 minutes later and remained in a coma for 2 weeks although she eventually recovered
Nell was diagnosed with chronic post-traumatic temporal lobe epilepsy which led to her experiencing blackouts
and seizures on occasion the car used in the attack was identified as a Ford console which had
been stolen that same night from a home in Victoria Park it was found abandoned about half a
mile from where n was struck no fingerprints were recovered from the vehicle police attributed the theft of the car
to Joy Riders and concluded that they had most likely hit n by accident while speeding then fled in
panic the incident featured in some newspaper headlines and officers began an intensive search for the
culprits the investigations continued for some time but with nothing more to go on they made no
progress what the police didn't know was that the man who would later be dubbed the night caller had abruptly started
committing a new kind of attack he'd been breaking into residences and prowling for years but
this was his first violent assault against a stranger 3 and a half months later on
Saturday December 27 a woman named Kathy Bellis was walking home from a bus stop
late at night after working a shift as a waitress Kathy lived in Belmont then a new suburb
in the city's East there were no street lights there in 1958 so Kathy pulled out a small
torch she kept for occasions when she had to walk their suburbs unlit streets at
night shining it in front of her she began to make her way home it was only two blocks but Kathy's
surroundings were pitch black and very isolated the street she walked along had no houses just paddocks and Bushland
flanking the bitchman road that had only been recently built suddenly a car sped up behind
Kathy engine revving it veered straight towards her striking Kathy hard and throwing her 60
ft across an intersection and into a neighboring padic as Kathy lay in the soft ground of
the padic she drifted in and out of consciousness her pelvis and one of her legs seared
with pain then she saw the face of a man looming above her realizing it was the car's driver
but unsure whether or not she was hallucinating she begged don't leave me or I'll
die the man laughed then ran back to his car and sped away Kathy was discovered by a couple who'd
heard her anguished cries and was rushed to the hospital she had suffered a broken
pelvis two breaks in her leg a shattered knee a fracture to the base of her spine
and another fracture at the top of her skull over the next year Kathy had to undergo multiple surgeries and
treatments she would never be able to run again the car that had struck her turned
out to be Ute that was stolen the previous night from the suburb of ko 9 km Southwest of
Belmont it was subsequently dumped about 5 km away from the crime scene more than a year went by with no
more mysterious hidden runs but plenty of other seemingly unrelated crimes were committed during that time including the
murders of panina burkeman and Jillian Brewer then then almost 4 months after Jillian's murder the hidden runs started
[Music] again on Saturday April 9 1960 a 20-year-old named glennis Peak walked home from a night out at a
dance an almost full moon illuminated the night sky as glenis walked alone in the suburb of baywater 6 km Northeast of
perth's CBD glennis kept to the right side of the road so she would be facing any oncoming
traffic it was after midnight and the streets were quiet this area of Perth was sparsely
populated with few houses and residents shortly into her walk the headlights of a car appeared behind her
as it passed glennis took note of the make a hold and sedan with a short looking man behind the
wheel the car kept driving and made a right turn further up the road Vanishing into the
darkness glennis kept walking when she reached the street the car had turned into she noticed that the
Holden was parked there with the driver still inside facing her glennis was mildly puzzled by
this as it happened she had to go down the same street straight As the car to get home only she was headed in the
opposite direction glennis turned left onto the side street she was just one block from her
home she walked in the middle of the street in order to see better as the moon was no longer providing enough
light and the bitchman was riddled with potholes all of a sudden glennis heard the Roar of an engine as a car drove up
behind her it was the same Holden as before and it had veered into the wrong side of the
road in order to head straight towards her glennis tried to jump out of the way but the car hit her left hip as the
driver Struck glennis from an angle so was to avoid a nearby tree she was tossed over the Bonnet
cutting her face open on one of the windscreen wipers in the process glennis landed in some gravel
and a broken glass by the side of the road Road she lay there shocked but conscious
as the car drove away she knew the driver had run her down deliberately terrified he'd come back to
finish the job she scrambled to her feet and stumbled home glennis was rushed to hospital
where an assessment revealed that she hadn't broken any bones but she had a number of wounds that required
stitches police officers paid a visit to the scene of the Hidden run although glennis had said she'd left her handbag
lying there it was missing about 100 m from there was a clearly abandoned car it was a holding
sedan with the keys in the ignition it had been stolen from the garage of a used car salesman who'd
taken the Holden home from the dealership for the weekend the attacker's fingerprints were
nowhere to be found [Music] just after 11:00 p.m. on Friday May 13 1 month after glennis peak's hit and run
18-year-old jel Connor was walking home from a bus stop in Belmont when she was deliberately run down by a driver in a
green Morris Miner sedan after being thrown onto the Bonnet jel fell to the ground
sobbing meanwhile the Morris Miner had gotten stuck in some sand that bordered the
road the driver jumped out and ran away laughing it was an hour before Jill was found lying unconscious and bleeding
behind the abandoned vehicle she later underwent emergency surgery the green moris Miner had been
reported stolen from a home in the South Perth suburb of ko 2 hours earlier the prince of the car thief
weren't found anywhere on or in the vehicle exactly 1 week after the attack on juel Connell an 18-year-old named
Georgina Pitman spent a fun night out dancing she caught the 11:35 p.m. train home where she struck up a conversation
with 16-year-old Marine Rogers and her 12-year-old cousin theres zagami who had just attended a
concert it was raining heavily when they disembarked at Queens Park Station in South Perth and there were no taxis
waiting at the cabaran outside the only car in the vicinity was an expensive looking new kler Royal
which was white with a red stripe and had Victorian license plates a man sat behind the wheel
wearing a brimmed hat the three girls decided to walk home Moren and Georgina huddled together
under moren's umbrella while Theresa walked slightly ahead under to her own umbrella they were making their way up
at George Street an isolated Road bordered by large paddocks a few houses and a poultry
farm suddenly a car zoomed past them at high speed gee this guy's an idiot Meine
said it was the same CRI light that had been parked at the train station the driver then did a u-turn and
sped back past the girls in the other Direction before pulling into a side street behind
them the three girls kept walking it was quiet and dark as they reached an area of the road where there
were no houses only empty paddocks on either side the still night air was abruptly broken by a roaring
sound Georgina turned around and saw headlights approaching it was the Chrysler veering
across the road to towards them 12-year-old theres who was walking right at the road's Edge also spun
around look out she cried before jumping out of the car's path it barely missed her and terise
felt a gust of wind hit her as the vehicle passed then it struck Georgina and morine head
[Music] on Georgina was thrown into the ditch that ran alongside the road Moren bore the brunt of the impact as
the vehicle hit her left leg and broke both of its major Bones the force of the hit had also
broken the car's radiator Grill Moren was tossed onto the Bonnet and stayed there bleeding profusely as
the driver continued to Speed Ahead he made a sharp turn as they reached an intersection about 100 m up
the road and Morin finally fell from the Bonnet onto the the ground Georgina Pitman was in a days
down the road looking for her shoes she had no idea what had happened she only knew that her feet were bare for some
reason Georgina didn't realize that her dress was also torn and she'd sustained deep cuts to her head and back which
were now bleeding mom mom Georgina desperately called as she walked in circles theres zami had escaped injury
but was terrified that the driver would return she began running towards home which was up ahead in the direction
they'd been walking thees stayed low and away from the road to hide from their attacker as she reached the top of the
hill she came across her cousin Moren lying bleeding in the middle of the road to ran over to her asking Moren are
you all right there was no answer realizing her cousin must be dead Theresa's fear intensified and she kept
running towards home which was only about another 100 m away Theresa's parents were out but her
aunt lived next door theres banged on her front door screaming it was deliberate it was
deliberate just as theres was raising the alarm two Patrol officers passing through the area stumbled across moren's
body she still had a pulse they soon found a Georgina as well the girls were rushed to
hospital Morin needed emergency surgery on her left leg her left cheekbone was also fractured and she was entirely
covered in bruises Georgina had a concussion and several deep gashes that needed
stitches all three girls were left with severe mental and emotional trauma at the scene of the crime police
recovered a small piece of the car's radiator grill that had been broken during the hidden
run the Crisler itself was found just before 7 the following morning of Saturday May 21
it had been dumped near a railway line in the suburb of East Victoria Park about 5 km
away there was damage to the top and left side of the Bonnet and the broken radiator Grill matched the piece found
at the scene the kryler had been stolen from a 60-year-old man who had driven from
Melbourne to Perth to visit his adult son and his family the family had discovered the
theft the previous night and immediately reported it to the police no fingerprints belonging to the
thief were found on either the interior or exterior of the vehicle meanwhile both the police and
perth's media were starting to notice the pattern of deliberate hidden runs over the past month and a half a number
of detectives and traffic police were assigned to the case with a growing Theory emerging that one man could be
behind all of the crimes articles about the latest incident ran on the front page of the weekend papers
with one headline asking is a hitr run Maniac on the loose the story read in part
quote three girls were apparently deliberately run down by a powerful stallen car early
today this climaxed what may be a series of cold-blooded attempts to kill or main
pedestrians three times in the past 6 weeks each time in the weekend girls have been
injured by a stalen hit run car later abandoned in different suburbs detectives tracked downn car
thieves and questioned them extensively due to the HD and runs always taking place on a Friday or
Saturday night special patrols were implemented on those days between 5:00 p.m. and 1:00
a.m. in a report about the case one detective Sergeant concluded that he was convinced that one perpetrator was
responsible for all three of the attacks while acknowledging that he had no evidence without fingerprints or
anything else belonging to the perpetrator at any of the scenes there was no way to prove their
Theory no connection was made to the Prower breaking into homes across the city even though he also stole cars
struck on weekend nights targeted random victims and never left a single fingerprint the HD and runs stopped
after the attack against Georgina Pitman morine Rogers and teres zami months passed then
years but the night caller never ceased his crimes and in the beginning of 1963 he would launch another shocking
attack using a new kind of stalen weapon Australia Day is Australia's official national day observed annually on
January 26 there is some controversy around this date as it was chosen to Mark the
landing of the first British colonists in 1788 in recent years there has been much
debate as to whether it should be changed for many residents of Perth in 1963 Australia Day just signified
another long weekend and a chance to enjoy the summer the holiday fell on a Saturday
that year so Australians would have a 3-day weekend with no work on Monday Saturday January 26 was a hot
night and Perth was a bus with many out drinking and celebrating the Ocean Beach Hotel a pub
that sat across from the beach in North codow was packed bartender Rowena Reeves worked at
the hotel until closing then went to a restaurant with three friends afterwards at around 2 a.m. the
group of four drove to a quiet spot overlooking the ocean to chat and have a few more
drinks however an argument broke out between two members of the group who were a
couple they soon left leaving Rowena alone in the car with her friend Nick August Rowena said in the car's back
seat drinking pink Champagne while Nick sat behind the wheel as Rena sipped her drink she
noticed a man standing less than 8 m away staring at them she pointed him out to
Nick Nick was married and suspected The Stranger had been sent by his wife to spy on
him angered Nick tossed an empty beer bottle at the man through the open window and yelled at him to piss
off as the bottle rolled down the street Rowena saw the man lift up something look out he's got a gun she
cried while pushing Nick's head down so it wouldn't be visible from outside the man fired a
rifle Nick felt a sudden pain in his neck he's got me he stated before hurriedly starting the car's engine and
speeding away the man with the rifle fired once again at the retreating vehicle but
missed in the back seat of the car Rowena was bleeding badly the bullet that had grazed Nick's
neck had then struck her wrist shattering it Nick sped towards the nearest hospital which was in the port city of
freemantle about 8 km South the pair were admitted for treatment and at 3 :30 a.m. medical
staff notified the police that they had two shooting victims who needed to be [Music]
interviewed it was almost half an hour later when the doorbell rang at a house on L Street in Netherlands 5 and 1 half
kilm east of where Rowena Reeves and Nick August were attacked the house was a single story
brick residence home to the Warmsley family daughter Sandra Warmsley was woken by
the doorbell which rang twice in quick succession Sandra heard the familiar footsteps of her father George Warmsley
walking towards the front door as he opened the door a loud gunshot rang out dad Sandra screamed jumping out of
bed and running to the front door she was joined by her mother to their horror George lay in the
doorway his hair soaked with blood and his eyes glazed clearly visible in his forehead
was a bullet hole there was no sign of the shooter Sandra ran to the kitchen where
the family's telephone was located and called the police and a nearby neighbor then she returned to her
father's body and tried to comfort her devastated mother the pair were in complete
shock it made no sense that their entire world could have been turned upside down
in a split second George was a loving warm man it made no sense that anyone would want to
harm him 15 minutes later and just one block over on Vincent Street a young man named
Scott McWilliam was woken from his sleep by the sound of shouting Scott was staying at a boarding house
that was home to a number of young people and the yelling was coming from another Resident his land lady's niece
Pauline she was saying that there was something wrong with the John sturky an 18-year-old border who was leaving Perth
the following week to study veterinary medicine in Brisbane Scott got up to see what was
wrong John had been sleeping outside on a single bed on the back of Veranda where the air was cooler at
night flicking on the Vera's light switch Scott saw there was an enormous pool of blood on the concrete flooring
next to Jon's bed Jon was in the bed with blood soaked into the linen around his
head he was making a gurgling sound Scott and another border rushed forward to lift John's head up so he
could breathe there was a gunshot visible at the the top of his forehead Pauline phoned for an ambulance
then called the police offices told Pauline that everyone at the residence was to stay
inside and keep a low beneath the windows there was somebody going around the neighborhood shooting
people both the George Warmsley and John sturky were rushed in separate ambulances to Royal Perth Hospital
arriving within 5 minutes of one another John was pronounced dead 3 minutes after
arrival George Warmsley was given aemergency surgery but died about an hour and a half
later police were still processing both crime scenes and had just been notified of the two deaths when another call came
[Music] in Len B wasn't initially worried when his friend Brian Weir didn't show up for
a scheduled surf rescue boat training session on Sunday morning 29-year-old Brian whose day job
was as an accountant was often late but after waiting around for more than 2 hours Len decided to go check on
Brian he drove the short distance from the swanborn Netherland surf life saving Club to Brian's
home Brian lived in a first floor apartment in a block of four on Broom Street codow when Len arrived he saw that the
door that led from Brian's bedroom to the apartment's balcony was open Len clambered up to the balcony and
walked in Brian was still in bed but the scene was all wrong his head was hanging over one side
and there was blood everywhere Brian felt stiff and his complexion was gray but Len could still
hear him faintly breathing Len was horrified it looked as though Brian had been in a violent
fight Len raced back to the surf lifes saving club and told his teammates what he'd
found one of them had heard news reports about the overnight shootings in nearby
nedlands and they all raced back to Brian's flat together when they looked more closely
at their friend they saw that the top left side of his head was completely gone Brian was rushed to the hospital
and underwent emergency surgery a bullet was found lodged in the left temporal lobe of Brian's brain with
fragments scattered throughout surgeons had to remove these foreign objects as well as splined
pieces of bone and much of Brian's damaged brain matter Brian survived the surgery but
remained in a coma he stayed in his coma for 6 months with police constantly keeping
guard when Brian eventually regained Consciousness he was unable to speak walk or move his
arms his right side was entirely paralyzed he had lost sight in one eye and hearing in one
ear the severe brain damage also caused him to have epileptic fits despite being being just 29 years
old Brian had to be moved into an aged Care Nursing Home due to requiring round the-clock
Care on December 19 1965 almost 3 years after the attack Brian Weir died as a result of his
injuries the Australia Day attacks dominated newspaper headlines in the immediate aftermath of the
shootings articles provide at a timeline of the attacks which was pieced together
by the police Rowena Reeves and Nick August had been the shooters first victims both had
survived after sustaining injuries from the same bullet police had found a spent casing
at the scene of the crime the shooter had then walked around the corner and stopped outside Brian
we's home he'd climbed up the first floor balcony where Brian had left the door open Brian had dragged his bed right up
to the door sleeping with his head towards the balcony to take advantage of the sea breeze on the hot night the
shooter had shot Brian once in the head then left the flat and headed 5 km East to
Netherlands once in Netherlands the shooter walked around the back of the boarding house where John sturky was
sleeping on the rear veranda and shot him once in the head the SHO Juda then walked one street
over ejecting another spent showcasing as he did so and rang the doorbell of the Warmsley
residence George Warmsley was his last victim it didn't appear that any of the victims were connected or had been
specifically targeted no fingerprints had been recovered from any of the crime scenes
nor did police find the murder weapon all of the showcasing recovered had come from the same 22 gauge firearm
which was a litho single shot rifle there were 75,000 such rifles registered in the state of Western
Australia police began following up on each one in search of the murder weapon and even extended their search to the
eastern states of Australia they test fired a total of 60,000 rifles but none were a match
there appeared to be a time lapse between the attacks in cotso and those in Netherland prompting detectives to
wonder if the shooter had used a bike to cycle from the first location to the second however some witnesses had
reported seeing a light colored Holden sedan driving in cotso around the time of the first
attacks what made the sedan suspicious was the fact that its headlights weren't on even though it was the middle of the
night Witnesses in Netherland had reported seeing a similar car parked near the crime scenes
there Perth had experienced some ripples of concern in the Years immediately preceding the random shootings in late
January 1963 the pattern of hdden runs and the reports of a Prowler entering and
robbing homes before attacking female residents had both caused a stir but the Australia Day shootings
sent the city into a full-blown panic overnight people completely changed their habits and behaviors in
response to the senseless attacks they locked their doors and made sure to close their windows at night
despite the sweltering summer heat gun purchases skyrocketed people slept with weapons by
their bed where they could reach them at a moment's notice Others May do with what they
could find in including knives cricket bats and even cans of fly spray they could aim directly at an asal's
eyes animal shelters suddenly faced a huge demand for guard dogs with pounds across Perth selling out of
dogs ouses were common at the time but more people started installing toilets inside of their houses so they wouldn't
have to go outside at all after dark children were no longer allowed to sleep on back Verandas to stay cool on
hot nights as they'd done in the past strange theories about the shootings emerged some people falsely confessed to
the crimes others pointed out that the attacks had taken place during a full moon in his Memoir the sharknet author
Robert Drew wrote about how the shootings changed Perth in an instant quote the murders immediately changed
the Spirit of the place they chilled the warm Shadows of the peppermint and box trees and flowering gums lining the
streets the slightly crumbly lines of the brick and Limestone houses the Cozy looking fake Tudor apartment blocks and
Shop fronts had a sharper harsher Edge their facades looked Stony and closed people's eyes flicked away as
they hurried indoors or into their car fewer residents went out after dark creating an eerie atmosphere where the
streets were especially quiet at night despite the reduced forant vehicle traffic the state government arranged to
keep street lights blazing all night long from nedlands down to freemantle in a direct response to the
shootings police were under intense pressure to solve the case working day and night to catch the person
responsible calls flooded in from the public with tip offs sometimes there was so many that
they clogged up the switchboard a special operational room was set up just to manage these
calls while detectives combed over every detail of the Australia Day shootings and break-ins an additional 40 Patrol
officers were out on the streets of Perth every night watching the city from patrol cars horseback and on
foot despite this they failed to identify or apprehend a suspect nor were they able to prevent
the prowler attacks which continued in the wake of the Australia Day shootings but were believed to be
unrelated Lucy Madrill was murdered Less Than 3 weeks after the shootings carel Reed was attacked 4
months later it wasn't until August that there would finally be a significant development in the
[Music] case to be continued [Music]

Case 307: The Night Caller (Part 1)

*** Content Warning: Sexual assault, gun violence, child victims *** [Part 1 of 2] The city of Perth in Western Australia is sometimes described as the most isolated city in the world. During the late 1950s, Perth’s idyllic beaches, laidback lifestyle and small town atmosphere made it feel like a safe, protected place to live. But that sense of safety would be abruptly shattered by a man who would come to be known as The Night Caller.

Listen to part 2 here https://youtu.be/u7MVui3UZsA

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-1

Brief Summary

The episode recounts the violent crimes in Perth, focusing on the night caller and the community's response to fear and insecurity.

Key points

The Night Caller. A mysterious figure terrorizes Perth, leading to a series of unsettling incidents.
Molly's Mysterious Injury. 15-year-old Molly McLoud suffers a severe head injury after an encounter with the night caller.
Jillian's Brutal Murder. Jillian Brewer is found murdered in her apartment, shocking the community.
Investigation Challenges. Police struggle to identify Jillian's killer, leading to public fear and speculation.
Jillian Brewer's Murder Shocks Perth. The murder of Jillian Brewer sent shockwaves through Perth, raising public horror to new heights.
Lucy Madrill Found Dead. The body of Lucy Madrill was discovered, leading to comparisons with previous murders.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

Molly was unable to answer and soon lost consciousness.

Molly's mysterious injury after the night caller's intrusion.

6:43WatchFeb 15, 2025

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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