Australia Claremont Serial Killer, 1996 - 1997, Perth, Western Australia - #3

[Bartholemeus]

Was he creepy?

Not really but some of us were sceptical of story. From memory there was something that didn't add up in his story. Questions were asked of him and he never posted again. I think the assumption was he was probably fibbing. Not uncommon regarding this case.

 

[Bartholemeus]

Some articles say Julie disappeared from the Parmelia Hilton and others say the Sheraton Hotel. Does anyone know which is correct?

Pretty sure it was the Parmelia in Mill St. It's easy to get these two hotels mixed up. During the 70s, the two competed to be Perth's best known hotel.

There's also the theory that she went to The Raquet Club in East Perth.

 

[Sutton]

Wasn't there a former poster who said he lived on the Hwy and was interviewed and polygraphed? He was a student from memory. Went by the name of Chris Isaac on BF. Don't recall his username on WS.

I just read his BF posts. He posted on WS as Mordekai. He was polygraphed, gave DNA and cleared (his version). I found his story believable. He answered many questions from both you and Billy.

Mordekai also claimed LW offered him lifts in numerous occasions.

Here's a link to a list of his WS posts:
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/search.php?searchid=4370430

In his first WS post he asked about an assault on a Nedlands female student attacked from behind on Princess Road in which the attacker fled on foot. Unfortunately he did not provide a link or a date. Here's his first post:

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11804889

 

[Sutton]

Pretty sure it was the Parmelia in Mill St. It's easy to get these two hotels mixed up. During the 70s, the two competed to be Perth's best known hotel.

There's also the theory that she went to The Raquet Club in East Perth.

Is this the same reference where someone was saying The Racquet Club was the best/classiest club in Perth?

 

[Bartholemeus]

Is this the same reference where someone was saying The Racquet Club was the best/classiest club in Perth?

Yep. I think it might have been the guy with the blog/twitter/drop box set up.

 

[Parkie]

Is this a theory or are you saying you know this to be true?

The detectives I believe were at the Conti. They said to themselves; " It`s him" when they saw a match. I don`t believe they knew that much at that time re POI`s.

 

[Bartholemeus]

The detectives I believe were at the Conti. They said to themselves; " It`s him" when they saw a match. I don`t believe they knew that much at that time re POI`s.

It's reasonable to expect a number of undercover police were out and about in Claremont on Fri and Sat nights after JR went missing. We can't confirm this but there's a strong chance.

But the rest of it is unlikely and way down the list of probabilities. Let's just explore your theory for a second;

1. They use the footage from inside Conti (or an identikit from people who talked to him) to get an idea what MM looks like
2. They patron The Conti regularly to see if he appears
3. He appears

Then what?

4a. Investigate him and rule him out?
4b. Investigate him and he remains a suspect?
4c. He makes a film, posts it on Youtube as Claremont Ghost and skips the country to Europe?

 

[Parkie]

Totally agree with you here Bath. I recon after JR, the Dets would have regularly had an ale in a small group of 3 or 4 on Fri & Sat nights at the Conti. Not hard to spot them. They also would have parked up in say Laura Ave as well as by the railway parking near the Post Office on the corner. Laura Ave is pretty dark too.

 

[Bartholemeus]

The Cottesloe Hotel is located right next to Rowe Park. I wonder what time the abduction occurred?

Just for clarity; The Cottesloe Hotel is on Marine Pde (Cnr John St) Cottesloe, right across the road from the beach.

I can't believe how many sex related attacks occurred during this period in Perth's Western Suburbs. I recall around the same time a girl that I knew of had been to the Cott and well-known basket baller Tiny Pinder tried to attack her when she was in a phone box across the road.

 

[Parkie]

Well Bret Christian from the Post in Shenton Park Newspaper now knows of the single frame shown inside the Conti cause I emailed him about it. It is right at the 45 second mark on Flects You Tube Video. You have to pause & start/pause at 44 secs to be able to stop at the frame. Former SCS head has seen it. So it will be interesting what the media have to say about this, this week eh?

 

[billywhizz]

Well Bret Christian from the Post in Shenton Park Newspaper now knows of the single frame shown inside the Conti cause I emailed him about it. It is right at the 45 second mark on Flects You Tube Video. You have to pause & start/pause at 44 secs to be able to stop at the frame. Former SCS head has seen it. So it will be interesting what the media have to say about this, this week eh?

The most interesting thing is that the video has been available for 7 years and someone is now making a big deal out of it. Has everyone just come out from under a rock? Or has no one actually never watched that video before despite it being posted countless times in CSK threads?

The media has already seen that footage. So has the former SCS head, unless he was the laziest SCS head of all time.

 

[billywhizz]

Should point out that the other article in the Post is not written by Bret Christian

http://www.postnewspapers.com.au/editions/20151114/view.php

Cops seek info on student
Police seeking the Claremont serial killer want information about a student who worked in hospitality around the time of the murders.
Last month, police questioned a woman who had lived in a Federation house in Stirling Highway, Claremont in the mid 90s.She shared the house with her sister and four other people.She said the man the police were interested in had lived in the share house for about three months after the first victim, Sarah Spiers, went missing in January 1996.During the initial investigation into the murders, a house resident had contacted police about the man because he thought he was suspicious.“They asked us if we could remember any-thing about the guy,” the woman said.“All we could remember was his first name and sketchy details: he drove a Com-modore, he was a student and worked in hospitality.“The police said they couldn’t rule him out and he was still on their list.”The woman said that in 1996 they had adver-tised in the local paper for a short-term tenant."He responded and my sister met him,” she said.The woman was sorry neither she nor her former housemates could remember much.“The police tried hard to jog our memories,” she said.She said a housemate had reported the man to police because he was creepy.“I would come home from work late and he would be outside looking in my window,” she said. She said police told her there were still a few people they wanted to investigate so they could be eliminated from their inquiries.“They were very, very definite they weren’t homing in on this person [the man at the house],” she said.A WA Police spokeswoman said Operation Macro remained an active investigation for the special crime squad.“Maintaining the operational integrity of this investigation is paramount,” she said.

 

[aim2solve]

Comments made by Rachel CUTLER in 2010:

''Julie disappeared seven years before the first Claremont abduction ,'' Rachel said this week.

''The connection was mentioned by police , who said the case was being looked at in association with the Claremont Serial Killings.

''But the details of what was said during those conversations is not for us to say , it is up to the police."

''With advances in technology , we hope DNA can be obtained off cigarette filters that were found in Julie's car ,'' she said.

''They were from a type of cigarette we know Julie didn't smoke and it might prove to be the lead we need.''

During the Claremont murder investigations , it was reported that Julie had attended classes at the University with a man police said was their prime suspect.

''We did hear that but didn't think much of it ,'' Rachael said. ''She went through classes with hundreds of people , so i don't know if thats relevant."

Thoughts anyone?

- Info retrieved from http://www.crimecasefiles.com/

 

[aim2solve]

Also, on a Lateline segment in late 2009, the ABC presenter specifically mentions a LIGHT COLOURED STATION WAGON named by WA Police as the one last seen talking to CG on the highway.

The term "Station wagon" is appearing more and more in these articles. I wonder if the Karakatta victim could have confused a modified holden station wagon (maybe one used by a technician, say) with a "van" or "commercial vehicle" as she so mentioned.

 

[Parkie]

The most interesting thing is that the video has been available for 7 years and someone is now making a big deal out of it. Has everyone just come out from under a rock? Or has no one actually never watched that video before despite it being posted countless times in CSK threads?

The media has already seen that footage. So has the former SCS head, unless he was the laziest SCS head of all time.

Billy is is because there is one frame that barely anyone has seen. It is between one camera & another. Maybe there is another 7 seconds that was not shown to the public & they accidentally let one frame slip in. I think you`d probably agree with this.

 

[papertrail]

Well Bret Christian from the Post in Shenton Park Newspaper now knows of the single frame shown inside the Conti cause I emailed him about it. It is right at the 45 second mark on Flects You Tube Video. You have to pause & start/pause at 44 secs to be able to stop at the frame. Former SCS head has seen it. So it will be interesting what the media have to say about this, this week eh?

Has there been any communication from Bret with you after you emailed him the 'inside conti' frame? The ice machine frame is also at the 45second mark in the Flect 1.08 video. Can anyone make out the datestamp on the ice machine frame?

I am absolutely amazed that no one appears to have picked up this inside conti frame before I posted it.

 

[papertrail]

Totally agree with you here Bath. I recon after JR, the Dets would have regularly had an ale in a small group of 3 or 4 on Fri & Sat nights at the Conti. Not hard to spot them. They also would have parked up in say Laura Ave as well as by the railway parking near the Post Office on the corner. Laura Ave is pretty dark too.

That post office in LEURA Ave (cnr of Bayview) that has always been there. Was there a phone booth there?

 

[papertrail]

The most interesting thing is that the video has been available for 7 years and someone is now making a big deal out of it. Has everyone just come out from under a rock? Or has no one actually never watched that video before despite it being posted countless times in CSK threads?

The media has already seen that footage. So has the former SCS head, unless he was the laziest SCS head of all time.

Well it is a bit of a deal given the particular 'inside conti' frame did not appear on the copy of the footage released to the public. If the man in question was talking to Jane inside then that raises a whole lot of possibilities. It also appears he is using a mobile phone so did he 'offer' to phone her a taxi and then 'fake' phoning the taxi as part of his strategy? This could be why she hung around outside all that time; waiting for the taxi that was never going to appear. Perfect excuse then for him to appear (as the MM) and say to her 'hasn't that taxi arrived yet, how about I give you a lift home I'll go get my car'. If you look closely at the footage immediately after MM is gone, you will see there is a person wearing what appears to be dark coloured trousers walking towards Gugeri; in the footage this person is slightly obscured by the datestamp. This scenario supports the reason Jane kept looking towards Gugeri so intently because the taxi rank was there opposite the conti. Also just before she is no longer seen, a taxi appears to arrive (blurry vision of a car with light on top in area towards Stirling Highway) and a group of people get into it and you can see a taxi vehicle in the background; Jane also appears to lift her right arm at this stage. I've just about finished doing the frame work from the CIA doc, just doing the 1.08 vid to see if I can match up the frames on that to the CIA doc and compare datestamps.

When Jane is checking her watch, there is a car driving south on Bayview (it may be a hatchback). Can anyone make out the make and model? Could this have been MM because it fits the timeline pretty well, if he drove down Bayview, u-turned, waited for the taxi group to move-on and then pickup Jane. There is a flash of light on the pole Jane was leaning against which may well have been lights from an approaching vehicle.

 

[papertrail]

Also, on a Lateline segment in late 2009, the ABC presenter specifically mentions a LIGHT COLOURED STATION WAGON named by WA Police as the one last seen talking to CG on the highway.

The term "Station wagon" is appearing more and more in these articles. I wonder if the Karakatta victim could have confused a modified holden station wagon (maybe one used by a technician, say) with a "van" or "commercial vehicle" as she so mentioned.

However the vehicle the WA police included in the CIA documentary was a 4-door sedan.

 

[*Indigo*]

Hi All,
Long time listener first time caller (as they say)
This is a great forum with alot of intelligent discussion going on and great research.
I read all the big footy forum on the CSK and it was very interesting, I saw it was closed (does anyone know why btw?) it was great to find that alot of the posters there have moved the discussion here.

Just a quick observation in regards to Mystery Man.
Papertrail made an amazing screen grab from the CSI doco of the background shot with an identikit facial image of what we can assume to be a possible person of interest. Due to the angle it was filmed only the top portion of the face is showing, however I can definitely see that it could be a possible match for MM. Both have dark hair, you can tell from the back of MM's head he has quite a long face, and the darkness of his hair suggests he may have also dark eyebrows, maybe like the identikit image. Also although the haircut is not the same he could have changed his hair style.
Which brings the question, do they have an identikit image for MM?
Even if it is not what the police believe is MM this identikit portrait is really interesting and throws up a whole lot of questions, i.e. is this image from one of the victim's recollections? is the face a composite of a number of witness reports? Does he resemble anyone from the list of POI's so far?

Also of interest are the maps and information / print outs pinned to the board. The one that says 'the danger zone' are these newspaper clippings?

Major Kudos to Papertrail for finding this.
I hope its ok I have included the screen grab again here for reference -