Murder Hunt Car Clue The Sunday Times 19th June 1988 Dead in bedroom by Andrew Masterson and Maxine Brown
Police investigating the brutal sex murder of Vanessa Roberta Devlin, 23, have appealed to the public to help in the search for a man who gave her a lift to her Maddington house just before she was murdered.
The man was seen arriving in a metallic green Datsun 260 C sedan and is believed to be the last person to see her alive.
Senior Detective Sergeant Max Kiernan the man heading the hunt for the notorious Southside rapist said yesterday the 1976 ? or 1977 model car had been parked at Miss Devlins house at 2003 (1999?) Albany Highway. It had mag wheels, stickers on the rear windscreen and black and yellow registration plates.
Urgent
The urgent hunt for the driver of the vehicle may help to resolve the disturbing question haunting police this weekend. Was the murder the work of the southside rapist or is there now a second sex fiend stalking the southern suburb?
Sergeant Katich said police believed the driver of the car had given Miss Devlin a lift to her home when she was hitch hiking from a friends house on Friday morning.
It is believed she was picked up near Nicholson Rd Canning Vale. Senior D-S Vince Katich said the murder had occurred between 11.30 am and 2.00pm on Friday (17[SUP]th[/SUP] June 1988). Her body was discovered about 3.00 pm by the other occupant of the house, Mr Max Carroll. She was lying in a rear bedroom naked from the waist down and had been strangled with an electrical cord.
Mr Carroll was yesterday being interviewed by police but was not suspected of any involvement in the crime.
Miss Devlin, unemployed had been living at the house for only seven weeks before her death.
The house is an old rambling bungalow set back from the road on a large block next to Stockerly railway station. It is surrounded by trees and tall bamboo plants and has no near neighbours.
Police sources said it appeared Miss Devlin had been strangled while she was being raped. The sources said there were marked differences between her killing and that of Victoria Clarke but a link between them had not been discounted.
There is every chance it is the same person involved, but we just cant say said S Kiernan. There are indications? and some evidence to support a connection.
Copycat crime
He said the daylight timing of the killing was out of character for the southside rapist who is thought to have so far struck at night.
He said it was possible it was s copycat crime.
But I think we are one step closer to catching the southside rapist he said.
Det Sgt Katch said they are extremely confident the man seen driving the Datson could explain what had happened on Friday. Continued Pg 2.