The chilling case of Mr Cruel’s abductions | Forensic Files

[Music] just a quick note before we start this episode involves crimes against children
it won't be for everyone please keep that in mind before listening a mummy cries for her little girl who never came
back home now a family live in a shattered world straining the family home aah her cries have helped ringing
in your ears arise pleading for release do you feel her mounting fears because only you can give relief
please mr. cruel let her go safely without harm please mr. cruel sent her back into her family's arms
please mr. cruel when you reach deep down inside you and find some good within your soul let her go back to
society release her from your hold please mr. cruel please mr. cruel please mr. crew
[Music] Tuesday the 27th of December 1988 John Willis was inside his house on Hillcrest Avenue Ringwood a
working-class suburb of Melbourne Australia located 23 kilometers or 14 miles east of the central business
district John's wife Julie was in bed asleep as were his four young daughters John was having trouble sleeping himself
so instead of tossing and turning in bed he decided to stay up and complete a jigsaw puzzle to try and relax at 5:00
a.m. John had had enough of the jigsaw puzzle and went to bed curling up next to his wife the Wills family weren't
alone that night there was somebody outside watching and waiting about 5:30 a.m. 30 minutes after John had gone to
bed a man wearing a ski mask and blue overalls broke in through the back door of the whoops house he walked straight
to John and Julie's bedroom Julie woke up and saw the mean standing over her pointing a gun
Julie started screaming and cried out to her daughter's - running out of the house the man told Julie to shut up and
stop screaming he then pointed the gun at John's temple and said are you going to be a hero John shook his head no the
intruder made John and Julie lie face down on their bed and then tied them up with copper wire he told John that he
wanted all of the money in the house John nodded to the bedside table and the intruder took $35 of cash that was
located there he then walked out of the bedroom and headed towards the kids room
Sharon whilst was 10 years old she had woken up to her mother screams and saw the intruder walk into her room
Sharon was described by neighbors as a quiet well-behaved girl who played several musical instruments she was a
choir girl with the Victorian children's choir and had appeared on a television show with them only weeks earlier the
intruder called Sharon by name he covered her mouth with masking tape blindfolded her then picked her up and
carried her out into the night about 15 minutes later John and Julie managed to cut the copper wire that had been used
to tie them up John ran to his kids bedroom to find that Sharon was missing the intruder had cut their phone line so
John ran to his neighbor's house and yelled at them to call the police before frantically searching neighboring yards
and streets hoping that Sharon had managed to run away from the intruder but his search was in vain
police were called and cordoned off the wilts house the Major Crime Squad was instantly alerted and arrived on scene
to take charge a search was conducted of Ringwood in the surrounding suburbs but
there was no trace of Sharon and no witnesses were found initially the thought was that Sharon may have been
taken for ransom given the intruder had demanded money in stolen what cash there
was but no ransom demand had been made one neighbor told the aged newspaper why look for money here it's not like it's
Templestowe naming a more affluent suburb of Melbourne than ringwood police agreed they didn't believe Sharon had
been abducted for ransom the belief was the intruder was trying to throw them off by stealing the cash another
neighbour commented I never thought anything like this could happen here it's such a quiet place the early
description of the intruder that was circulated was male around 20 years old wearing blue
overalls and a black ski mask as that morning turned into night police told John and Julie they had to expect the
worst the officer in charge of the case Detective Chief Inspector Dez Johnson said publicly we're still as much in the
dark as we were this morning the fears are growing all the time at 11:15 p.m. that night a white
Commodore vacationer sedan was seen acting suspiciously in Bayswater about eight kilometers or five miles southeast
of Sharon's house in Ringwood the Commodore had three blue stripes running down the side as the Commodore was
turning from Jersey Road Bayswater into Mountain Road it nearly collided with another vehicle the Commodore had its
headlights off and the driver of the other vehicle had the break and swerved to avoid a collision
the other driver followed the Commodore and pulled up next to it when they stopped at a nearby red light the other
driver was irate and yelling at the male driver of the Commodore who is the only
person visible inside the car the driver of the Commodore didn't want anything to
do with the other driver he turned his head and injured forward looking anxious to not be seen when the lights turned
green the Commodore continued for a short distance before turning right into Church Street headed towards the
Bayswater high school the other driver didn't get their registration play less than 45 minutes later Charon was found
wandering along Orchard Road outside Bayswater high school a passing motorist saw her and stopped to check if she was
okay the alarm was raised Charon was taken to hospital and the police were notified shown had been held captive for
18 hours she detailed the extraordinary lengths her captor went to in order to avoid detection he thoroughly cleaned
both Charon and himself right down to the scraping of their fingernails in the cleaning and flossing of their teeth to
get rid of any potential DNA evidence he then take the garbage bag up to Sharon's
neck put a man's shirt over the garbage bag then put another garbage bag over her head he drove her to Orchard Road
and let her out of his vehicle near Bayswater high school John wills fronted a press conference
where he said he was grateful for the return of Charon but he would never be able to forgive the man responsible
he had increased the security of his home and he his wife and four daughters had spent their night
since Sharon's returned huddled together in the laundry too scared to sleep alone
fearing the intruder would return police performed regular surveillance and patrols of their house to ensure this
didn't happen John Willis then said quote the whole experience of somebody bursting into your home and tying you up
is terrifying to have your daughter taken and not know where she is is indescribable
I honestly believe this man has done this before he came well-prepared and covered his tracks
I've run his voice over and over in my mind to try to remember whether I might know him but I don't police checked
reports of similar offenses to see if they could make any connections to prior cases within days they revealed it was
possible Sharon's attack could be linked to as many as eight to previous unsolved
attacks across Melbourne in the last 10 years two teams of detectives were put on the case Detective Chief Inspector
Dez Johnson told the media that crimes of this nature are often harder to solve than armed robberies or murders as the
offender is often a loner maintaining the impression of normality in his everyday life and he's somebody who
wouldn't boast about the crime to family or friends he revealed that Sharon was kept blindfolded for the entire 18 hours
she was held captive he then said quote we can only dread what the man would have done if the girl had pulled off the
blindfold and seen his face it is that close to being a homicide it is only an extra step on Monday the
2nd of January 1989 six days after the attack the Victorian state government announced a $100,000 reward for
information on Sharon's abduction it's believed this was the first ever reward offered in an abduction case in
the state's history Detective Chief Superintendent Kevin Holliday said quote nobody can
misunderstand the monstrous nature of this offense or the danger to the community if the offender remains at
large there is a real possibility that there will be a repetition of it on the 5th of January police did a large
pamphlet drop at houses near Sharon's home and around the area she was found police also publicly displayed a car
similar to the white Commodore seen acting suspiciously in Bayswater just prior to when Sharon was found police
said they had considered Sharon's description and version of events before releasing information about that
Commodore in doing the public displays many calls were received from the public and many leads were chased in police
even had a few potential suspects in mind but nothing concrete no arrests were made 18 months later Tuesday the
3rd of July 1990 13 year-old Nicola Linus was at home with her 15 year old sister Fiona they lived on monomyth
Avenue Canterbury 17 kilometres or just over 10 miles west of Sharon's house in ring we
Canterbury is an affluent suburb home to several high-ranking former politicians
many of the properties in the suburb were worth over a million dollars at the time Nicola was described where her
principal as a hard-working very balanced and stable girl one of the school's best students the Linus family
were quiet and mostly kept to themselves they had moved to Australia from England
two four years earlier niccola's father Brian Linus was a partner in the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers
office in Melbourne but it was only days before their stay in Australia was over
Brian's work had been completed and the family's bags were packed ready for the move back to England Nicola and Fiona
were in bed asleep their parents Brian and rosemary were out for dinner with friends at 11:40 p.m. and Menon
described as being dressed in dark clothes and wearing a black ski mask forced open a rear window of the house
he crept inside armed with a knife and a handgun the intruder made his way to the
girls bedroom and woke them up threatening to harm them if they didn't cooperate he tied up Fiona then said to
her tell your father I want $25,000 he directed Nicola into another room and told her to get her school uniform
Nicola was a student at Presbyterian ladies college in Melbourne being true to put Nicholas school uniform and some
underwear into a bag before taking the carcase to a rented car that was parked in the driveway a navy-blue ballina
sedan the intruder forced Nicola into the car then drove off 40 minutes later Brian and Rosemarie arrived home to find
Fiona tied up and Nicola missing they immediately called the police two police officers kept guard at the house and
monitored all incoming telephone calls waiting for any further contact from the kidnapper on how the ransom is to be
paid police initially considered the abduction might be fake as it was well known that Nikola wasn't all that keen
to leave Australia and move back to England however it didn't take long to rule that possibility out the abduction
was very real the kidnapper had not said how the ransom should be paid or when he
would make contact again he simply said I want $25,000 Brian and rosemary made it known to police that they were
prepared to pay the ransom but they needed to know how to do it Brian Linus said we would very much like
to have Nicky back with us whatever can be done to get her back we would like to
be done anyone in this room who has children might well understand the stress when you see one of your own
family taken away like that we have to sit and be patient and hold our nerve there is nothing else he can do the
family feels now laying it towards the men just a feeling of confusion really as to why someone would do that to such
an unprotected happy young child she's a normal thirteen-year-old she's not a worldly sort of kid she's not streetwise
but resourceful in a situation like this who knows one of the things we have loved about Australia is the safety of
the children on the streets on trends on public transport it was fantastic it gave the children of freedom which
certainly had their age and as girls we would never have let them have in London
head of the Major Crime Squad Detective Inspector Ron black Shaw pleaded with the kidnapper to make contact with
either the police or Nicholas family quote we're prepared to discuss anytime anywhere anything he wants to talk about
you can draw your own conclusions with a no a 13 year old girl in the hands of a
kidnapper the mind boggles with what could happen we are very concerned Ron Blackshaw went on to say that the
kidnapping had been carefully planned and police believed the man responsible observed the house for some time before
the attack possibly several weeks working out the patterns of the lioness family
all residents in the street were questioned but nobody heard or saw anything suspicious all they could offer
was similar to what the neighbors of Sharon wills had said we never thought this sort of thing would happen here
police visited Presbyterian ladies college and interviewed Nikolas classmates they also investigated the
possibility that niccola's abduction was linked to the abduction of Sharon Wilson
the car the kidnapper stole from the Linus house was found dumped at 3 p.m. the next day Wednesday the fourth of
July in Chaucer Street canterbury only a few streets away from the Lynas home forensic police were immediately called
and dusted the vehicle for prints the early description of the kidnapper was a softly spoken male possibly in his 30s
wearing a black balaclava dark colored jeans and a dark sky v the Victorian state government announced a $100,000
reward for information leading to the capture and conviction of Nicholas abductor forensic psychologist Tim
Watson Monroe said he was puzzled by the abduction the sum of $25,000 seemed too
small for a plan to kidnap it didn't look like money was the issue so the motive was unclear he told the aged
newspaper quote whether it was impulsive or planned the person is a disturbed individual it is someone who can't
empathize with the family or the victim and is very directed to his own demands but he seems to be in touch with the
reality there is no indication he is suffering from a psychotic influence that's probably a good thing if he's in
touch with reality he will probably calm down and release the child the important thing is for him
to make contact so some dialog can start happening to establish some rapport and take the edge
out of this situation at 2:00 a.m. on Friday the 6th of July Nicola was driven around in a vehicle by her kidnapper
he stopped the car in queue and told Nicoletta Gettier queue is a suburb about six kilometers or three point
seven miles west of Nicholas house in Canterbury she was blindfolded and wrapped in a
light brown blanket the kidnapper made Nicholas sit down and put her head between her legs
he then left after a while Nicola made her way to a nearby house and asked to use the phone she called her father
Brian police were notified and Nicola was taken to hospital it was Nicolas Baudin birthday that
Friday and she had been held captive for 50 hours she'd been kept at bound and blindfolded during her captivity she had
no idea who kidnapped her or where she was taken to Nicola reported that the kidnapper was meticulous when it came to
cleaning and destroying any potential forensic evidence despite this the police announced they had several pieces
of forensic evidence they believed could provide a breakthrough the evidence was
found in the Linus house and in the rented car the kidnappers thought although they didn't specify what
exactly the forensic evidence was forensic psychologist Tim Watson Munroe was interviewed again by the aged
newspaper he said quote he had thought out the modus operandi quite well the parents were out he may have been
watching the house or that could have been a coincidence he took the parents car and then used
his own car there has obviously been quite a deal of cleaning he went on to say that it is possible the same man had
been responsible for abducting Sharron will say teen months earlier quote if that is true and I suspect it is it
suggests he is able to sit on his urges fairly well and maybe now is a good time
for him to seek some help before he starts acting out again he also said that if the offender did
strike again the time before his next offense would likely be shorter police learned from
Nicola that the kidnapper was aged between 20 and 40 and wore a dark green here knitted balaclava with cream
stitching around the eyes and mouth he had a serrated kitchen knife with a 25 centimeter black plastic handle
Nicola said she was driven around for about 10 minutes in her parents rented car before they stopped in Chaucer
Street only a few streets away from her house she was then put into another vehicle a blanket was placed over her
and she was kept underneath the dashboard she was driven around for about another 45 minutes before she was
taken into a house in a suburban area there was no one else in the house so she heard during her captivity the
kidnapper watched the press conference given by Nicholas father and commented to Nicola about it police set up an
information caravan in Chaucer Street in the hope somebody may have seen something they also set up a caravan at
the location where Nicola was found in relation to these displays Detective Inspector Maloney said we are not
following any specific leads but some investigations look promising police then set up a roadblock in
Canterbury every car was pulled over and people were questioned if they were in the area that night Nicola was abducted
if they were they were asked if they saw anything suspicious traffic was backed up for 500 meters at times some accused
the police of resorting to this tactic because they were getting desperate Detective Inspector Moloney denied this
saying he was confident the case would be solved it wouldn't be solved in five minutes
but it was a solvable case given that the attacker had told Nicola to grab a school uniform police believed he may
have been keeping watch on her school Presbyterian ladies college there had been recent reports of several different
suspicious men loitering around the school grounds reports then surfaced that another attack had been linked to
the abductions of Sharon Wilson Nicola Linus this attack occurred in August 1987
in the suburb of lava plenty 16 kilometers northeast of Melbourne central business district at 4:00 a.m.
the attacker removed the windowpane in the lounge room and entered the house he was wearing a mask and carried a small
handgun and large hunting knife he made his way to the parents bedroom forced them onto their stomachs at gunpoint and
then expertly tied their hands and feet with knots commonly used by sailors or by those securing large loads the
offender then made his way to the kids bedroom he gagged a six-year-old boy and tied him to his bed then attacked an
11-year old girl he didn't abduct the girl but he was in no hurry gave her he remained inside the house for two hours
even took the time to stop his attack go to the kitchen and to make himself a meal afterwards he searched the house
and stole a box of classical records and a dark blue coat with a fake fur collar
before leaving the house the attacker made a phone call he referred to the person on the other end this bozo
and warned him to move his children or they would be in danger police were called and during that investigation
they found that no call was made from the phone at all he was pretending a red herring to confuse the police just like
stealing the records and coat demanding money in stealing the $35 from the Wills
house and making a ransom demand at the Linus house he was just trying to conceal his true motive those three
attacks had now been all linked to the same offender and the media came up with a name team mr. cruel the concerning
thing for police was the torn pattern between each attack was decreasing and the time in which he hold his victims
was increasing the Sun newspaper ran an article suggesting mr. cruel may be a former
police officer unnamed detectives were quoted as apparently supporting this theory
juda mr. crawls obsession with cleaning and destroying clues and his apparent knowledge of forensic science one
unnamed detective in the article said it could be an axe copper it could be a doctor it could be a lab technician but
whoever it is he's bloody cunning in response to this detective Maloney said detectives are looking at all possible
scenarios and two people from a variety of backgrounds it could be anybody other
senior police dismissed the claim is the crew was a former or current police officer saying he could be anyone even
someone who has just read a lot of detective books and knew something about procedures and forensic evidence
whoever mr. cruel was police were no closer to solving the case and in September 1990 they sought the help of
the FBI to compile a profile they were able to come up with an extensive profile of mr. cruel however the details
weren't immediately released to the public the police then announced that they believed Panisse Turk rule was
responsible for at least six attacks in total since 1984 although they didn't release any details about the other
attacks they did say not all the victims were children at least one was described
as being mature in age nine months later Saturday the 13th of April 1991 13 year-old Carmen Chen was at home
watching television with her two younger sisters Carly aged 9 and Karen age 7 they were at their home in circles Road
Templestowe an affluent Melbourne suburb within close proximity to the other mr.
cruel attacks Carmen was a student at Presbyterian ladies college the same school Nicola Linus went to Carmen's
principal described her as charming polite enthusiastic and lively with a good group of friends
she was known as an extremely hard-working student who hoped to be a barrister one day carmen and her sisters
were home alone as their parents John and Phyllis Chen were working at one of their Chinese restaurants they owned two
in total their parents worked extremely long the hours at the restaurants sometimes 15 to 18 hours per day so it
wasn't unusual for the girls to be home alone about 9:00 p.m. mr. cruel tampered with an elaborate
security gate and was able to gain entry to the property that was surrounded by a
high brick fence he made his way through over chairs vehicles that was parked in
the driveway in white spray paint mr. cruel wrote pay back more to come and Asian drug deal another red herring
to try and confuse the police it's believed he got inside through an unlocked door or window
Carmen Carly and Karen were in a bedroom watching a TV special on Marilyn Monroe
Carmen and Carly heard a noise and walk down the hallway to investigate there they were confronted by mr. cruel he
forced the girls back into the bedroom where he found a Karen called up hiding behind the bedroom door mr. cruel
threatened the girls with a knife and made sure they knew he was in charge he put Carly and Karen in a wardrobe and
pushed the bed up against it to trap them inside mr. cruel then grabbed Carmen and left
the house it was now about 9:30 p.m. 15 minutes later Carly and Karen managed to free
themselves from the Wardrobe Carly rang John at the restaurant and told him a man with a knife had taken common Jon
rushed home he frantically searched for Carmen but couldn't find her he called police and a message was broadcast over
the police radio for a car to attend when the radio dispatcher said a 13 year old girl had been abducted by masked men
armed with a knife police immediately realized the possible connection between the previous attacks
all available units were called to attend including a police helicopter and sniffer dogs surrounding streets were
sealed off as the massive search got underway a police dog did pick up a scent which had followed north to nearby
Church Road however the scent suddenly ended it's believed this is where mr. cruel had his
car waiting nearby residents were canvassed and nobody had seen or heard anything it was a suburban residential
area and police couldn't believe mr. cruel was able to carry a presumably struggling goal that far without being
seen the latest description of mr. cruel was male about 25 to 35 years old slim to medium build 170 to 180
centimeters tall wearing gray sneakers a greyish greenish tracksuit and a balaclava based on the way the words
were spray-painted on the Chan's car they believed he was a right-handed the officer in charge of Carmen's case was
Detective Inspector David Sprague he immediately appealed to the public for help he said police wanted to hear from
anyone knowing of a workmate friend or relative who one accountably disappeared at the time of Carmen's abduction
another thing that stood out it was currently the school holiday period the previous mr. cruel attacks had occurred
either during or right around school holiday time the police had no doubt mr. cruel had been watching the Chan's home
and he knew the three girls were alone whilst the exact details weren't released police said mr. cruel had
become more vicious towards his victims with each attack criminologist dr. Paul Wilson told The Sydney Morning Herald
quote I think that if he is caught a lot of people will be shocked they will have
known him as an intelligent quiet maybe even introverted men he then said mr. crawls personality could be similar to
Peter Sutcliffe the Yorkshire Ripper it's believed to mr. cruel closely followed his own publicity he liked
reading about himself in the paper and watching news reports on television inspector Sprague appealed to him to
release Carmen as she suffered from asthma and did not have a spray with her so she had the potential to suffer a
severe attack under stress John and Phyllis Chen gave an emotional press conference on Tuesday some of the police
working the case had worked for as long as 36 hours straight on Friday the 19th of April common sister's wrote letters
to their sister into mr. cruel there was near six days since Carmen's abduction by far the longest amount of time mr.
cruel had held on to a victim the police released the letters hoping mr. cruel would see them and release Carmen
seven-year-old Karen wrote dear Carmen I'll miss you a lot of time I'm very scared in the dark and mum and dad miss
you very much Mimi is sick because she misses you too love from Karen Minnie was the family
dog nine-year-old collie wrote whoever has my sister I would like her back because
then she can help me with my homework and also take good care of my little sister in me common I'll wake up all the
time I need you Carmen please bring calm and back Carmen mum dad Karen and I are
waiting for you we all miss you very much with our hearts love Carly Chief Superintendent Kevin holiday said the
concern of the investigators was growing the longer command remained missing quote quite obviously the longer the
time the greater our concerns we are now approaching a week we have grave concerns we are affected
it's the tragedies in life that we see all the time I think this one in particular has
probably affected far more people than we realize and that would include many of the media I think inspector Sprague
again had to address questions and rumors about the occupation of mr. cruel he said quote it could just as well be a
policeman who is working now it could be a former policeman it could also be a solicitor or a barrister or it could
just be somebody who is well-read in forensic medicine it could also be a criminal who has come unstuck before
through forensic evidence any suggestion of occupation or background is pure speculation with no basis in fact he
also said that in the 25 years he has been a police officer he had never tried the tracker cooler more calculating
criminal with such an extensive knowledge of forensic science given how mr. cruel had previously tried
to throw police off with red herrings the fact that both Carmen and Nicola were students at Presbyterian ladies
college could have been a deliberate tactic by mr. cruel another decoy to focus police attention on staff at the
school it also could have been the spot that mr. cruelty and his victims or it just could have been a coincidence
police weren't sure which it was and had to consider all possibilities mr. cruel had also tried to make one of
his previous victims believe he wasn't alone he would yell out ask questions and make demands as if he was talking to
somebody else in the house but mr. crews victim never heard anyone answer never heard anyone else speak and got the
sense that mr. cruel was just pretending there was somebody else present yet another red herring despite the fact
that had been awake since Carmen's abduction and concerns were growing inspector Sprague remained hopeful
Carmen would be returned quote we are ever optimistic we know that he displays sympathy to his victims we also know he
is very clever we think that he knows it's in everyone's best interests to release Carmen on Tuesday the 23rd of
April the Victorian state government issued a $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of
Carmen Chan's kidnapper the $100,000 Awards still stood for Nicola in Sharon's cases as well making the total
$300,000 on top of the reward police commenced an extensive door knock around the area where Carmen was abducted more
than 200 police knocked on over 3000 doors one of the most widespread police door knocks ever conducted in Victoria
as well as speaking to the residents police also delivered leaflets with information and set up an information
Caravan in temples though widespread public appeals for information had resulted in over 3,000 phone calls made
to the police hotline detectives had hoped that mr. cruel would release comment before the end of the school
holidays when Monday the 29th of April arrived the first day back at school the hopes of finding
Eliab had severely faded police hold grave fears for her safety the students of Presbyterian ladies college began the
new school term with a special assembly praying for the safe return of Carmen police also requested the students fill
out a questionnaire which asked about any suspicious activity they may have seen around the school or around their
homes police had compiled a list of over 130 people they believed could be capable of kidnapping children some
names were provided by members of the public other names were identified by going through police records the
background of all of these suspects was thoroughly investigated establishing their marital status identifying what
car they drove their occupation and ascertaining if their partners went away during the school holiday period on
Wednesday the first of May it was announced that a special task force had been established to investigate the mr.
cruel case the task force was called Operation spectrum and the officer in charge was Detective Inspector David
Sprague who led the investigation into Carmen's abduction they released the color poster with photographs of Carmen
Nicola and Sharon it was titled child abductions and it was displayed in every police station in Victoria and printed
in all major newspapers they'll displayed at railway stations and on Crime Stoppers notice boards in shopping
centres you'll find a link to view the post there in the show notes the poster asks three questions do you believe you
know the identity of this man have you informed police of your suspicions where was the man during the above date on
Thursday the second of May Phyllis Chen wrote an open letter to mr. cruel pleading with him to let come and
go at read to the man who took a common Chan deem is the kind not mr. cruel we miss Carmen very very much please let
come and go we know you are a kind and caring person we hope Carmen is safe with you school has resumed and it would
be nice if Carmen can return to school thank you for letting her free and we can rebuild our lives
please hear our plea love from the chain family father mother and the sisters of
common a family friend of the chain family Jennifer Walsh also wrote a song the lyrics are what you heard at the
start of the show on Sunday the 5th of May it was first reported that police now believed command had been murdered
operation spectrum had started as a murder investigation an unnamed police source told the agent newspaper quote
we've got no doubt the same person is involved and after three weeks you've got to say it's not looking good in the
past tears let them go but this one has gone on too long it has been three weeks
and there hasn't been any contact I would say this bloke not only has a good knowledge of forensic science but also
of autopsy which means we'll probably never find her Crimestoppers calls were starting to
taper off however detectives still remained hopeful of a breakthrough on Tuesday the 14th of May they set up a
roadblock near a bus stop in Main Street Elfen this bus stop is one that Carmen got off after school as it is close by
to her parents Chinese restaurant detectives were working with a theory that mr. cross thought to come and after
he saw her getting off the bus they questioned hundreds of motorists and handed out leaflets containing
information about Carmen's abduction and in what was a first in the history of Australian policing leaflet sized the
copies of the poster that had been released appealing for information we're delivered to every home in Victoria in
to some homes in New South Wales in South Australia about 1.4 million homes in total inspector David Sprague said
quote this is unique in Australian policing nothing on this scale has ever been attempted before it just shows the
feeling out there in the community someone knows who this person is and that's who we are trying to get to I
hope it will trigger the person to give us that phone call we are looking for as well as the leaflets close to 100
billboards around Melbourne displayed the poster Phyllis chain pendant other-- oppan letter to mr. cruel at red to the
man who is with Carmen chair now I beg you to release my daughter Carmen immediately I am longing for her safe
return every minute of the day I love her very very much I am willing to offer my life in exchange for Carmen's release
Carmen sisters Karen and Karly miss her very very much they had trusted you on the night of 13
April they had cooperated with you because you were calm and you looked client you had promised them that after
you had gone their sister would open the door for them you have broken your promise they were very upset they blame
themselves for trusting you and did not help Carmen they feel very very guilty Neel Karen's birthday is at the end of
May and Carly's birthday is in June both girls say they want nothing but coming for their birthday present please send
Carmen back home immediately god bless you thank you very much love from Phyllis Carli had started sleepwalking
she would walk into the living room at the Chanti house sane Carmen where are you have you come home yet
inspector Sprague witness Carly doing this on one occasion and said I've watched her and she's definitely asleep
it's a bit scary the Chen family decided to try something different and bypassed
the police they wrote another open letter to mr. cruel telling him he could contact them by writing to a private
postal address in order to get the address mr. cruel would have to decipher a code
in the letter by asking Carmen the name of family friends in Hong Kong Phyllis Chan said if we do it through
the police he won't get in touch maybe he's at the stage to release her but he's just too scared but he could feel a
little bit easier if he believes us Detective Inspector Sprague said he was surprised by the chain families attempt
to make private contact with mr. cruel but refused to make any further comment as if the chain family won't don't throw
enough on Thursday the 11th of July a prisoner Peter Allen Reid and a Federal Protective Services officer Vince de
paola were charged with a sickening extortion attempt the spot being locked up serving a sentence of 21 years for
shooting dead a police officer after a chase in a stolen car Peter Reid called John Chen on six separate occasions he
demanded $15,000 from John for Carmen's release otherwise he would never see her
again he also threatened to kill John if he didn't pay when John agreed to pay Peter Reid contacted Vince to go to the
arranged drop site and collect the money Vince did go to the location but there was no money the police were aware of
the extortion attempt and had placed the trace on the Chan's phone after the first call they were both arrested and
police conducted several search warrants neither of them knew anything about Carmen's abduction or where she was they
were just trying to obtain money from the Chan family their actions were described as a brutal psychological
assault on the chance the Lynas family had since moved back to England detectives from operation spectrum flew
to England to re-interview Nicola the thought was that Nicola had been held the longest by mr. cruel she now had
more time to reflect and it was hoped she may have remembered more details that could help the investigation
inspector Sprague said you were opening up old wounds when the family is just trying to get back on track but the
family realizes we're trying to catch this bloke the more we know the more chance we've got in catching you leading
up to the one-year anniversary of Carmen's abduction the age newspaper ran a feature article about the case a close
family friend of the chance Paul Williams said this about Phyllis I think she's a lot more in control of herself
now having been through a year of trauma she's more or less resigned to believing
that Carmen may no longer be alive and she's trying to go about her life but certainly in a different way than
she did 12 months ago on Thursday the 9th of April of 1992 only a few days short of the one year anniversary of
Carmen's abduction a man was walking his dog along a track that ran through an isolated State Electricity Commission
terminal station site in Thomas town about 20 kilometers or 12 and a half miles from Templestowe part of the area
had been used as a dumping ground for landfill it had recently been leveled by earthworks causing a shallow grave to be
disturbed the man found a human skull about 20 meters away from Edgar's Creek police were called in an extensive
search uncovered a number of other bones in a shallow grave the human skull had three bullet holes police were able to
confirm there was the remains of Carmen Chen the chains were actually preparing to hold a press conference to mark the
one year anniversary of Carmen's abduction that press conference was cancelled the police held their own
press conference to announce the discovery Detective Inspector Sprague said it is horrific for a child to be
killed in that fashion is just incomprehensible we believe he can not control the desire to act out his urges
it is like an addiction and he would not stop until he is caught although John and Phyllis may never hear the laughter
of their daughter again they can now say goodbye to Carmen and put her soul to rest as she deserves the family will now
have the opportunity to start rebuilding their lives Detective Chief Inspector Peter Halloran head of the homicide
squad said the body had probably been at the site for almost 12 months and whoever buried the body would likely
have some knowledge of the area police believed Carmen may have been killed because she saw mr. cruel face causing
him to panic they believed this based on what mr. cruel told one of his other victims my freedom is more important
than your life Phyllis had also previously told police that cumin was not the sort of girl to
accept being kidnapped without a fire she believes Carmen may have ripped off a blindfold and confronted mr. cruel
believing mr. cruel may have suffered anxiety stress depression and displayed signs of remorse after Carmen's murder
police wrote to every single one of Victoria's 10,000 registered doctors asking them to consider breaking patient
confidentiality their appeal asked doctors to consider whether their duty to the community
outweighed their duty to a patient they believed mr. cruel may have sought treatment after Carmen's death the
letter had the backing of the president of the Victorian branch of the Australian Medical Association dr. Paul
hemming the doctors were also sent a profile of mr. cruel the dates of the crimes and other information about the
case the move was met with some criticism as people doubted mr. cruel would have made a full confession to a
doctor so it became a little murky for doctors if they just had suspicions about a patient it would be difficult to
know if they were just being paranoid and overly cautious or if they were making a reasonable judgment many
doctors did respond to the appeal and police said they received some useful information police then turned to the
United States and a convicted kidnapper and child killer Richard starett he was being held in a hospital for the
criminally insane and Victoria police wanted to speak to him in the hope he could give them some insight into mr.
cruel the reason being like mr. cruel starett kidnapped several young girls held them for several days then released
them however he did end up shooting one of his victims dead starett's forensic profile closely resembled mr. crews how
healthily was or if he even spoke to the Victorian police is unknown an officer did fly to the United States at one
point but it's not clear if any contact was made starett said publicly he would be happy to speak to the Victorian
police if they wanted but he doubted he would be able to provide any useful information
in starett's case he was married and waited until his wife visited family who lived in two state he then hired a
vehicle and drove to another city he went door-to-door acting as a salesman until he found a young girl
home alone so his method was different to mr. Cruz it wasn't until Wednesday the 27th of
January 1993 that further information was released to the public about mr. cruel police released sketches of a
bedroom and a bathroom of his house drawn by one of the victims you will find links to those sketches in the show
notes they also released information that mr. Cruz victims heard large jets flying overhead when they were held
captive leading police to believe the house was directly underneath a Melbourne Airport flight path this
information led police to check about 30,000 houses in 15 different northern suburbs of Melbourne trying to find a
match to the descriptions given by mr. Cruz victims Detective Inspector Sprague hoped someone would recognise the
bedroom and bathroom based off the sketches the bedroom had beige or cream carpet peach colored full-length
curtains a double bed with peach colored bedhead an orange alien base and lemon shade with thin white vertical stripes
light colored walls and a white door there was a dark blanket over a bookcase or cabinet at one end of the room and a
radio had been playing constantly the interior design was believed to be dated between 1988 and to 1990 inspector spray
said quote that description of the bedroom was drawn by one of the victims who actually to her extreme danger had a
peep and looked around the bedroom at one stage even though she was warned the bathroom was an unusual
configuration someone would have to pass a wash basin to get into the shower which had a glass sliding door there was
also a bath the house had a right side driveway and there were only a couple of steps to the front entrance the house
was on a quiet street with a little traffic inspector Sprague said that I didn't
want to tip off mr. cruel that they knew that much information about his lair that's why they didn't release the
information sooner mr. cruel could have changed the interior before police had a
chance to find his house however police had now exhausted their door-to-door search for the house so they were
turning to the public for help detectives were convinced their house was under a flight path and close to
Melbourne Airport they received a flood of calls from the public after this press release around 1,400 additional
pieces of information were received they checked out a number of houses but all were eliminated in June 1993 just over
two years since Carmen's abduction operation spectrum was scaled down to a core group of ten police at one stage
there were over 40 working on the task force inspector Sprague departed as head of
the task force to take up a job as officer in charge of the detective training school at Russell Street
headquarters he said quote it is not work after a while it becomes your life you live the investigation day after day
racking your brains for possibilities you're constantly thinking when is he going to strike again if we don't get
him some other child will be a victim that's the pressure we deal with all that one the decision to scale down the
size of the task force was made after an internal review of the investigation the
assistant police commissioner said that after the review he was happy everything
possible had been done to solve the case and nothing had been overlooked he assured the public that the case would
not be forgotten or neglected in the search for mr. cruel would continue if there was a major breakthrough the
number of staff on the task force would be increased again it was then reported that the task force would be completely
disbanded at the end of Jan in 1994 Phyllis Chan said quote the task force has been fantastic the detectives
have been very hard-working but unfortunately they couldn't find or identify the men who took my Carmen I
know they have worked very hard and they care for me and my girls Detective Sergeant Fontana who is the second in
charge under Detective Inspector Sprague said the workload has been enormous everyone has worked extremely long hours
it's not through a lack of trying that we haven't solved this case it's depressing and very frustrating that
with all the work we've put in we haven't solved it responsibility for the investigation fell to the right squad
and to the Homicide Squad the chain marriage had suffered enormous ly in the years since Carmen's abduction the
speculation the strain of media appearances and their never-ending search all took their toll Phyllis and
John divorced after which Phyllis went through a financial collapse she lost her car the house and only just told on
to her restaurant in early 1995 Phyllis was viciously bashed her guard dog was poisoned weeks before the attack and the
police believe her attacker was watching her during that time after working over
16-hour days at a restaurant over the weekend she returned home about 12:30 a.m. on Monday morning she was carrying
the restaurant takings when she'd got out of the car she was clubbed from behind with a wooden object she pleaded
I am calm and Chan's mother please don't but she was smashed on the skull several
more times before her attacker took off with the money she required surgery 60 stitches and a hospitalization for about
one week to recover an ex-employee of Phyllis was responsible for the attack operation spectrum had taken its toll on
the health marriages and family lives of many of the police officers involved as
well six years after Carmen's death a cranial inquest was held the coroner ruled the Carmen died of gunshot wounds
to the head fired by an unknown person the date and location where Carmen was killed could not be determined the
coroner said the case will remain open operation spectrum was the largest task force in Victorious history up to that
point incredible resources were thrown at it the people of Victoria demanded that the crime be solved more so than
any other at lasted for close to three years 27,000 people were interviewed ten thousand eight hundred leads were
investigated nine hundred and ten thousand kilometers or five hundred and sixty five thousand miles were traveled
investigating those leads the FBI and Scotland Yard were both consulted thirty thousand houses were checked there
police worked twenty five thousand hours in unpaid overtime there are still 32 people the task force identified as
possible suspects that have not been able to be eliminated from the investigation the total cost of the
investigation was about 3.8 million dollars as a result of the inquiries and leads
generated by the task force 74 people were charged with offenses such as conspiracy improper use of
telecommunications equipment firearm and drug offenses rape incest and child pornography changes to child pornography
legislation were made as a result of the investigation as was a strengthening of
legislation regarding sex offenders loitering in areas frequented by children but they didn't get the men
they most desperately wanted on the 25th anniversary of Carmen Chan's abduction in 2016 a new reward was announced 1
million dollars for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of her killer they also announced that the
Director of Public Prosecutions have made grant anyone with information on the case Indemnity from prosecution form
a member of the task force who is now an assistant commissioner Steven Fontana said we have always maintained that
there will be someone in the community who is an associate or knows the offender in this case we have always
thought someone would know and be close to him and know it was him he also said that he believed that mr. cruel was
still alive and that he would still have items taken from the victims as trophies
Detective Inspector Sprague describes the case as the monkey on his back that's still there there were too many
suspects rather than too few he believes it is possible mr. cruel was one of the tens of thousands of people
police interviewed during the investigation in 2012 David Sprague told the Herald Sun
newspaper some issues that operation spectrum faced this quote is referring to the Carmen Chan case the crime scene
was not preserved as it should have been we had a lot of problems with it unfortunately the initial police member
in charge had set up the command post inside the house it was a disaster with people stomping all over the place
they didn't seal the crime scene off as they should have he also talked to the herald-sun about
when operation spectrum first identified mr. cruel was almost certainly responsible for an earlier series of
attacks in Melbourne when they reviewed the evidence from those cases they discovered vital evidence had gone
missing the tape that mr. cruel had used to bond one of his victims was no longer
there mr. cruel wasn't as careful in those earlier attacks as he was in the later attacks so his DNA may have been
on that tape able to be discovered by advances in technology this is what David Sprague said quote we will never
know as the exhibit justice and there anymore in those days police didn't have the supervision that they do now with
things like exhibits people would sometimes leave them in their lockers by the time we identified these additional
attacks used after they had taken place some of those exhibits had been lost and
others had simply been thrown out they had never been examined operation spectrum actually changed the way all
Victorian detectives conduct investigations with the introduction of minimum standards for things like
exhibits crime-scene preservation and record-keeping mr. cruel had an incredible impact on Australia in the
late 80s and early 90s he was Australia's boogeyman sparking unprecedented fear in adults and
children even hardened criminals were shaken and took measures to better protect their families unless you lived
through it it's hard to fully appreciate dr. David Wells head of the Victorian police forensic department told The
Sydney Morning Herald in 1991 quote for all children their home is a safe house they feel secure there they are looked
after there suddenly they've been confronted by the idea that they could be taken away from that environment by a
man in a balaclava many parents I've spoken to say their children are feeling very insecure some are having nightmares
can't sleep and are worried about the security on their house the FBI profile of mr. cruel has since been made public
information from the victims was analyzed and formed the basis for some of the profile keep in mind a profile is
only a guide and not an exact science nobody should be discounted just because they don't match the profile mr. cruel
is intelligent obsessive about cleanliness has an intense interest in children a steady job is creative and
visually orientated meaning he gets satisfaction from the way things look rather than the way they function he is
Caucasian with a slim to medium build aged between 30 and 50 about 175 centimeters tall with a small potbelly
fair to sandy colored hair and that Torrens was unshaven or sported a beard he possibly wears glasses
he's tidy and his appearance and dress his home is neat and clean he's the type of person to clean his hands immediately
if they become dirty he could have had a low or senior management job or may have
even been self-employed giving him mobility to roam around the melbourne during the day he would appear to be
kind genuine interested and dedicated to helping children a good neighbor possibly an introvert he would have
access to another house during the kidnappings and would have been very stressed after each crime his behavior
might have been erratic around the times of the crimes he could have taken time off work and appeared preoccupied
distant and unable to concentrate he used the words bozo worrywart and Missy a lot during the attacks he would
possibly show signs of sexual dysfunction if involved in a personal relationship
his sexual arousal and gratification would be dependent on his partner playing specific roles such as dressing
up as a schoolgirl the possibilities as to why mr. cruel hasn't attacked again are as follows he was sent to jail for
an unrelated case he moved either interstate or overseas he may well have committed more crimes but they either
haven't been detected or they haven't been linked to him he was interviewed by officers from task force spectrum during
the investigation and that was enough to make him stop or he's dead we end with a
quote from forensic psychologist Tim Watson Munroe there is a big question mark over mr. cruel in that there have
been no further offenses that we know of since Carmen Chen I find it intriguing that he is not surfaced again because
people with this kind of problem have a very strong compulsion to satisfy their needs
[Music] you

Case 41: Mr Cruel

Mr Cruel had an incredible impact on Australia in the late 80’s and early 90’s. He was Australia’s bogeyman.

Sparking unprecedented fear in adults and children. Even hardened criminals were shaken and took measures to better protect their families. Unless you lived through it, it’s hard to fully appreciate….

CREDITS

Narration – Anonymous Host Research and writing – Anonymous Host Production, scoring – Mike Migas Additional scoring – Andrew Joslyn

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RESOURCES

For all credits and sources please visit https://www.casefilepodcast.com/case-41-mr-cruel

Brief Summary

The episode details the abductions of three girls in Melbourne by the unidentified criminal known as Mr. Cruel, focusing on the investigations and tragic outcomes.

Key points

The Abduction of Sharon Wills. In December 1988, 10-year-old Sharon Wills was abducted from her home, leading to a frantic search.
Nicola Linus Kidnapping. In July 1990, 13-year-old Nicola Linus was kidnapped, prompting a desperate ransom situation.
Mr. Cruel's Pattern of Attacks. The media dubbed the attacker 'Mr. Cruel' as his methods became more vicious.
Carmen's Abduction. Carmen Chen was abducted from her home, leading to a massive police search.
Desperate Pleas from the Family. Carmen's family made emotional public appeals for her safe return.
Extortion Attempt. An extortion attempt was made against Carmen's family, demanding money for her release.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

The whole experience is terrifying... is indescribable.

John Willis describes the horror of having his daughter abducted.

7:57WatchNov 19, 2018

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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