For a decade in Melbourne, a sadistic murderer stalked the streets of suburbia.
In the late 80’s and early 90’s, nowhere was safe for young girls. Not even their homes. A generation of women will remember the fear, that they would be the next to be plucked from their beds like the others before them. He was their bogeyman, Mr Cruel.
True crime writer Emily Webb discusses the cold case and why it has her transfixed, on the latest episode of Meshel Laurie’s Nitty Gritty Committee:
This year marks the 25th anniversary of Mr Cruel’s last attack. Is he dead? Or in jail for another crime? Victorian Police have lamented the fact they are still searching for this man, despite unearthing several suspects and offering a whopping reward.
For anyone who thinks, ‘that couldn’t possibly happen in my neighbourhood,’ Mr Cruel’s rampage is believed to have begun in 1987, in the quiet streets of Lower Plenty, Melbourne.
The first girl to be attacked in the dead of the night was 11 years old. The man broke in through a window, locked her parents in a wardrobe and tied her brother to a bed, before turning his attention on to her. He was armed with a knife and a gun. And the stories only get more disturbing.
Top Comments
Mr cruel has to be a former police officer just like the Golden state killer to go undetected for so long and commit so many rapes and murder,
I suspect it was not one police officer but two working in team that helped cover up most of the evidence leaving hardly any thing behind to go off those officers are more likely to have pointed the finger at known child sex offenders and rapists,
I suspect this the same in the beautumont abduction in south Australia in 1966 was the work of police officer's too.
Before anyone dismisses this as nonsense look at the number of police caught up in sex offence involving children these days here in Australia from Northern Territory to Tasmania as well as world wide.
Also before Ivan Milat was capture a police office was suspected of number of rapes in the region that officer took his life while in a police cell waiting to be spoken too over the first back packers murders discovery,
before Ivan Milat became the suspect, that too is when the full back packers murders stopped and Ivan Milat got arrested serval years after who to say they were not working pairs as the sitting judge who convicted Ivan Milat stated he did not operate alone.
Horrifying that evil like this can spread so far, affect so many yet never be caught. I remember this very real bogeyman well. He terrified all of us so badly - not only was he hunting girls locally but one of them went to our ballet school. My youngest sister was about 10 at the time and never really got over it. RIP Carmen.