Australia Claremont Serial Killer, 1996 - 1997, Perth, Western Australia

[Bartholemeus]

Mr Coward is not a person of interest in the case. For many years he has been urging police to look closely at a former taxi driver he brought to their attention after the abduction and murder of Ciara Glennon in 1997.

Mr Coward is unsure why detectives wanted him to fill out the questionnaire or why they wanted his DNA.

Mr Coward said he told the two detectives he wouldn’t fill out the questionnaire or let them have his DNA.

“Primarily (that was) because I don’t trust them,” he said. “And because they had not, in my opinion, investigated the original evidence I supplied.

“(The detective) said he could not show me (the questionnaire) unless I complied and filled it out.”

http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/wes...uest-dna-samples/story-fnhocxo3-1227168035093

So --- if they HAVE DNA to match Mark Dixie's with, WHY can they not just come out and say "excluded by DNA" - the end? You'd think a piece of info like THAT would all over the news. But it's not...?

There's no way they had usable DNA at the time and it's highly unlikely any thing has changed.

If they did have it then the could have ruled out LW within weeks rather than years. All those other hot suspects (PW/SR Combo, Judoman, TaxiTony, Known sexual pervert, Estelle Blackburn's BF etc) would have been ruled in or out. And given there's no arrest they'd be looking for new suspects.

 

[Deleted member 153673]

There's no way they had usable DNA at the time and it's highly unlikely any thing has changed.

If they did have it then the could have ruled out LW within weeks rather than years. All those other hot suspects (PW/SR Combo, Judoman, TaxiTony, Known sexual pervert, Estelle Blackburn's BF etc) would have been ruled in or out. And given there's no arrest they'd be looking for new suspects.

I gave a DNA swab and within a week or so they called me to say I'd been eliminated from their inquiries: I assumed on the basis of the dna evidence. So if they dont have any crime scene DNA how on earth did they eliminate me, LW and all the other POI's? I doubt it was on the basis of the polygraph results because I doubt mine went very well lol.

Such a confusing case! they MUST have DNA evidence from something at the scene, be it from the poor victims, the surroundings, items found at the scene etc. I took a forensic science elective at university in the early 2000's and some of the pollen and spore evidence they could use with microscopy was unbelievable even back then. Who KNOWS what new technology they've come across now. Really hope they have a suspect by the end of the year and that he's still alive. I'd like to see some resolution for the families at least. Plus debunk all those psychic vultures preying on their families for money (and all the loons on various forums spreading their disinformation)

 

[perthite]

Were you around during that period Perthite? Any memories of what it was like back then living with the threat of a serial killer?

I was too young - started going out in the late 90's / early 00's and there was not too much concern at that time that I can recall. I didn't often venture to Claremont though - usually Freo or Northbridge.

It's safe to say that Claremont would have suffered a lot but I reckon it was probably business as usual everywhere else.

 

[Deleted member 153673]

I was too young - started going out in the late 90's / early 00's and there was not too much concern at that time that I can recall. I didn't often venture to Claremont though - usually Freo or Northbridge.

It's safe to say that Claremont would have suffered a lot but I reckon it was probably business as usual everywhere else.

it didn't do too bad...that old coles shopping centre and the underground capark all got renovated a while later. Its full of hipsters and rich school kids at the burger place now. That hungry jacks was in institution for us back in the day. I went there a month ago and almost fell over when I saw the cost of a bacon deluxe with cheese LOL

 

[PavoAustralis]

Do you think this guy is the "known sexual pervert" from the CIA episode?

My understanding is this guy was pulled over years and years after the CSK murders. Does anyone know if that is correct? Does anyone know anything about this bloke?

I'm just reading Debi Marshall's book. According to her source (Con Bayens, headed up Operation Bounty which was supposed to clear prostitutes out of Northbridge & Highgate), he (Bayens) was driving around Northbridge one night and spotted a Commodore in a side street. He thought it was an unmarked cop car because it had all the standard police additions (although they're things that anyone can get, pursuit rims & tyres, lowered suspension) so he radioed the base to ask to talk to what he thought was a cop in that vehicle. Then he saw a prostitute get into the car, so he went up to the occupants. He "thought it was perhaps a drug bust and wanted to somehow warn the bloke to get out, that he could jeopardise our operation by being there." The guy was very tall and exuded confidence and, of course, wasn't actually a cop. So Con's team searched the car and found "zip ties, a balaclava, gaffer tape and scissors." Also: "The boot was fully lined with plastic, top and bottom. I put together a report on the bloke and did a running check on him. He'd completed a taxi driving course and done one shift. He was so hot as a possible Claremont suspect that the Bureau of Criminal Investigation wanted to put their dogs on him. But, as I'd been told, they "had their man."'

I'm not sure about details in this book, though. The WA Police sledged her for getting details incorrect, and I've noticed that Marshall has got a few things wrong too. Something as simple as the night Sarah Spiers vanished. It was the night of Friday, 26 January 1996. Marshall says SS disappeared on Saturday 26th. Nope. Check any calendar, it was a Friday night/Saturday morning. And a couple of other things she says are just sort of 'off' slightly, like describing SS and JR as "slender." They were both curvy girls in every single photo I ever saw of them. Getting things like that wrong, it makes me wonder how true some of her statements from anonymous sources are.

 

[AngelJoan]

He used to like the beaches because you'd get girls jogging super early in the morning and he knew which routes certain women took, where they lived, or where they parked. He was a completely normal bloke otherwise. I lost track of him when he moved out but I often wondered if he ever went any further. Had a friend who got followed several times by a nutter who eventually turned up at her house. Unfortunately it seems like a pretty common thing

Sadly, you wouldn't believe how common :"-(

 

[perthite]

it didn't do too bad...that old coles shopping centre and the underground capark all got renovated a while later. Its full of hipsters and rich school kids at the burger place now. That hungry jacks was in institution for us back in the day. I went there a month ago and almost fell over when I saw the cost of a bacon deluxe with cheese LOL

The good old days when a large meal at Maccas gave you change from $5, as did a pack of cigarettes

It always surprised me that there were only 3 disappearances for the simple fact that, as Australians, nothing really seems to change our way of life - we're laid back to a fault. You mix that in with young bullet-proof and intoxicated teenagers out on the town and the toll could have been so much higher.

It's interesting that during the period the Police focus all their energy on Claremont we didn't have an incident in Fremantle or Northbridge. From that do we assume that the bloke only hit Claremont because he was comfortable in this location and therefore a local - it certainly ties in with the profile. By the discovery of CG it would have been far too hard to continue to operate in Claremont with all the cameras and police surveillance, so did he just stop? The probably casts some doubt on the taxi driver theory a little because you'd think he'd just wait 6 months, drive 10 minutes up the road and strike in Fremantle while the police are flooding Claremont.

It's hard to see this case being cracked unless the Police have DNA, find some trophies at the home/car/work of one of the POI's or we get a deathbed confession.

Maybe the Police have been right all along and the killings stopped because LW was being monitored 24 hours a day.

 

[Jezz]

I'm glad to see this thread has gotten more active especially since the big footy thread was stopped. We need to keep the discussion going I feel.

After years of being occasionally interested and recently having read this thread, the big footy thread and others similar there is one thing that stands out the most for me.

It's not that there is any one obvious suspect, but that there are so many. It is staggering how many people have acted so disturbingly that they could realistically be this serial killer. It is so scary that there are so many people out there like this let alone just in the Claremont area at the time. It's terrifying actually.

I personally think that the CI episode was nothing to do with mm and that he was a red herring to distract you from the fact that they were putting judoman out there. Whether or not he is their guy, I think the police were convinced well enough to air that show. He was just so misplaced in his 'testimony' on that show. I think the police were putting him out there hoping to get a connection from the public.

Will be very interesting to see what the Sunday night show brings and whether there is anything new or 'out of place' again...

 

[Parkie]

No one will be exposed. Nothing startling will be said. The bloke with the plastic lined boot was discounted years ago. I know that for a fact.

Droc is dead. RIP Droc. He did try with his theory. Good on him too. The Cops had the video of MM. Now no one he knew at the time can identify him now. Blame it on Macro, now SCS & nineteen years.. Silly fools indeed.

 

[perthite]

I personally think that the CI episode was nothing to do with mm and that he was a red herring to distract you from the fact that they were putting judoman out there. Whether or not he is their guy, I think the police were convinced well enough to air that show. He was just so misplaced in his 'testimony' on that show. I think the police were putting him out there hoping to get a connection from the public.

I have gone back and forth on this - what would be his reason for agreeing to go on the show? If you were an innocent POI at one point in the investigation wouldn't you immediately say no? I suppose the simple answer is, that if he is the CSK he probably thinks he's in the clear and he gets to 'celebrate' eluding police for almost 20 years on national TV.

Your conclusion is correct though, his presence was bizarre and was a clear tactic by the Police - especially if you believe they've been sitting on that enhanced footage for years. By their own admission, 700 people had viewed that footage already - it probably didn't need to be released because there appears to be no connection between JR and MM other than a brief exchange. They probably had MM identified and cleared a long time ago.

If Sunday's program is a WAPOL production it will be interesting to see where they take us this time around.

 

[AngelJoan]

He used to like the beaches because you'd get girls jogging super early in the morning and he knew which routes certain women took, where they lived, or where they parked. He was a completely normal bloke otherwise. I lost track of him when he moved out but I often wondered if he ever went any further. Had a friend who got followed several times by a nutter who eventually turned up at her house. Unfortunately it seems like a pretty common thing

I've now had 7 stalkers in 30 years, and neither I nor anyone else can figure out why? I became a social recluse after the first few and over the years I have perfected my ability to blend in to the furniture, I do my damnedest to avoid attention and it's not like I'm some bombshell. I don't have a long list of non-stalking admirers...

 

[Aberline_1979]

I have gone back and forth on this - what would be his reason for agreeing to go on the show? If you were an innocent POI at one point in the investigation wouldn't you immediately say no? I suppose the simple answer is, that if he is the CSK he probably thinks he's in the clear and he gets to 'celebrate' eluding police for almost 20 years on national TV.

Your conclusion is correct though, his presence was bizarre and was a clear tactic by the Police - especially if you believe they've been sitting on that enhanced footage for years. By their own admission, 700 people had viewed that footage already - it probably didn't need to be released because there appears to be no connection between JR and MM other than a brief exchange. They probably had MM identified and cleared a long time ago.

If Sunday's program is a WAPOL production it will be interesting to see where they take us this time around.

I agree about Judoman's "strange" appearance on the Crime Investigation Australia (2008) program. He said very little of note, was blinking an awful lot, stumbled over his words, and the whole reason for using him on that program (when everyone else was either a close family member or parent/sibling etc, rather than just a "friend") seems....odd. He wasn't able to give us any more information about Jane Rimmer than her parents could.

I disagree with your belief that the CSK (whoever he is, Judoman or not) would be confident enough to be "celebration", though. If anything, I reckon that they made him "an offer he couldn't refuse". Or more accurately, an offer than no innocent person would refuse (e.g. come on the show, talk to the people, help them track down the killer of your friend Jane Rimmer). Heck, the police may have given him the impression that the show would not be screened widely, etc. I'm sure that they wouldn't have told him that they would be mentioning a "well-educated martial arts practitioner from a wealthy English family..." as a key suspect, LoL!

As for "enhanced video" of the Mystery Man...all I've heard is that the footage was sent to NASA in 2008 (or a bit earlier) for enhancement, but they couldn't do much (the original footage was just too low quality). They did manage to make a few improvements, and they showed the improved version on the CIA episode. But I've not heard any information about REALLY GOOD QUALITY version of the Mystery Man footage. I'd say that the 700 people you referenced just saw the improved CIA documentary footage. Do you disagree still?

 

[perthite]

As for "enhanced video" of the Mystery Man...all I've heard is that the footage was sent to NASA in 2008 (or a bit earlier) for enhancement, but they couldn't do much (the original footage was just too low quality). They did manage to make a few improvements, and they showed the improved version on the CIA episode. But I've not heard any information about REALLY GOOD QUALITY version of the Mystery Man footage. I'd say that the 700 people you referenced just saw the improved CIA documentary footage. Do you disagree still?

I think the footage was cleaned up a long time before the airing of the show and that's what was shown to all the people that were identified as being in Claremont that night, presumably this is our 700 people.

I think the footage is the red herring because the MM angle is not relevant to the disappearance of JR. The footage adds a dramatic element to the show and probably helps the ratings. The goal of WAPOL appears to be to stick Judomans face in front of a million people and see what comes out in the wash.

This is all speculation obviously but on the basis that the Police, who have been spectacularly disinterested in enagaging with the public previously, all of a sudden want to share some poor and seemingly insignificant footage with us all. They've managed to get a production company to give out their suspects name, and then give everyone enough information to connect the dots.

They received 150 calls off the back of that show, I wonder how many related to judoman?

 

[billywhizz]

I've now had 7 stalkers in 30 years, and neither I nor anyone else can figure out why? I became a social recluse after the first few and over the years I have perfected my ability to blend in to the furniture, I do my damnedest to avoid attention and it's not like I'm some bombshell. I don't have a long list of non-stalking admirers...

Helllooooooooooooo

Can you please answer my question from the previous page about why you are certain the CSK (or one of them) is involved with IT?

 

[perthite]

Just more on our mate MM, there is some audio of the Asst. Police commissioner being interviewed on ABC prior to the release of the enhanced footage where he says that MM wasn't the last known person to speak to JR. I can't work out if this is a slip up or just a
poor choice of words. He also confirms that the video enhancing has been done by the production company handling the CIA episode and he doesn't have a good answer as to why it wasn't released 12 years ago.

I will post a link tomorrow.

 

[Deleted member 153673]

G'day billywhizz.

 

[Alice Bernadette]

Did anyone see Liam Bartlett's interview on Channel 9 News tonight with Peter Weygers? I missed it and can't find it online.

 

[kemo]

I saw the CIA documentary that presented some interesting information on the case. The complete enhanced video of JR with MM puts the events in a different light.

We know from the account given by her friend that she left the Continental Hotel with her friends and went to the nearby club that had a long line. The friends decide to call it a night while JR decides to stay.

We then see her in the video standing on the curb. She appears to be waiting. She glances around in different directions but she pays particular attention to down the street on her right. She appears to be waiting for a vehicle to pick her up.

She then sees MM and appears to be very excited to see him. The CCTV cuts to a different direction and 28 seconds after encountering the MM, he is gone and she is back on the curb making occasional glances to the right down the street. Once, she looks at her watch. The CCTV again cuts and when it again opens on her location, she is gone. Less than 2 and 1/2 minutes have elapsed between JR encountering MM and JR being gone from her waiting spot on the curb.

It is speculated that MM is the one who retrieved his car and picked her up. This is rather unlikely. The only car park that appears to be close enough to permit MM to retrieve his car and pick up JR in front of the hotel is the lot next to the hotel on Grugeri St. If he were parked there, or any place that close to the hotel, certainly JR would have walked with him to his car, not waited for him to swing by. The only reason a woman would wait curbside while the guy went to get the car would be if it were significant distance, which it clearly wasn't. JR was not waiting for MM. She was waiting for someone else.

It has been suggested that JR did not go home with her friends because she had plans to hook up with some guy. Reasonable perhaps, buy highly unlikely that she had made arrangements for somebody to pick her up at that spot at that time. What are the odds that her friends would just decide to leave the Continental to check out the other club and the pile into their own taxi within minutes of JR's rendezvous time? I think she was waiting for a taxi to take her to another club in another district.

 

[perthite]

Link I mentioned in my previous post

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2008-08-18/police-defend-claremont-serial-killer-investigation/480310

She then sees MM and appears to be very excited to see him.

I reckon the bloke cracked a stupid joke and she laughs - if they knew each other surely they would have had a cheeky cuddle or a kiss.

 

[Shadowboxer]

3. They asked me if I had access to a taxi specifically, and if I knew any of the victims personally. They wanted to know my whereabouts on and around specific dates but I don't think I came up with a solid alibi for those dates which was why they asked me to agree to a polygraph test. I know they were very unhappy that I didn't agree to a search of my property but in my mind it was ridiculous that I was a POI in the first place. I already had homicide detectives visiting my work, talking to my neighbours etc. Wasn't letting them sniff through my house as well.

Lets not forget that SR had not only claimed to have had a victim in his taxi the night before, he also had a stun gun. He is my number 1 and always will be. What the police havn't ever divulged is what the killer actually done to the girls. I believe he done his thing with them elsewhere and then used the pre planned dump sites so the actual kill site could not be profiled. I have had a few PM's regards the condition of the body's or what the killer done and will not answer. Taxi, I'm 100 percent on.