Cindy Crosswaite

Dad recounts finding slain daughter

Megan Levy  With Paul Millar SMH  June 20, 2011

 

 

Father re-lives seeing murdered daughter

Victoria Police call for witnesses to the cold case murder of Cindy Crosswaite four years ago.

The family of murder victim Cindy Crossthwaite has joined homicide police to appeal for information about her death, four years after the single mother's body was found inside her home north-west of Melbourne.

The 41-year-old died of head injuries after being bashed with an unknown blunt object inside her Melton South home on June 20, 2007.
Her 13-month old son, Jonas, had been locked in a bedroom in the home and lay crying for hours before his mother's body was discovered.

Ms Crossthwaite's father Phillip discovered her body after a friend who had been trying to contact her raised the alarm.

Philip Crossthwaite choked back tears as he remembered the day he arrived at daughter's home and knew immediately that something was wrong.
The television set was blaring even though there was a young child in the house.
When he unlocked the door he was met by a scene of horror and quickly realised that his daughter, whose body was already cold, had been murdered.
"I knew immediately that she was not alive," Mr Crossthwaite said.
He then started searching for Jonas.
"I had to walk through the blood to go and find him," he said.
Ms Crossthwaite was last seen dropping her 10-year-old daughter and eight-year-old son off at Coburn Primary School in Richard Road, Melton South, just a couple of blocks from their home in Andrew Street, about 9am on the day of her death.
Police have been told that a dark-haired man in his 40s — 1.78 metres tall, tanned and with medium to stocky build and possible facial hair — was seen loitering in the area. Police say he had been seen in the area the previous morning.
Mr Crossthwaite has described his daughter as a "marvellous person", devoted mother and talented artist.
Inspector Potter appealed for anyone with information to come forward.
"Four years on, circumstances change and someone who may not have felt they could speak to police before may now be ready to talk," he said.
"The smallest piece of information can make the biggest difference to an investigation.
"We are trying to provide Cindy’s family with some answers about what happened on the day of her death.
"Four years is a long time to spend not knowing what has happened and it is absolutely tragic."
Anyone with information has been urged to phone Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or visit www.crimestoppers.com.au.

Claare MORRISON

A WEB of intrigue surrounds the death of 13-year-old Norlane girl Clare Morrison whose body was found washed up on Bells Beach in 1992. Hours before her grisly death, Clare spent a Friday night in Geelong’s mall and at Eastern Beach.
About 10.30pm Clare was seen at the city McDonald’s drunk. She was last seen walking in the mall towards
Moorabool St at midnight but what happened in the next 7.5 hours has frustrated and baffled police.
The young girl’s nearnaked body was found washed up on the shores of Bells Beach at 7.25am.
But what made the probe into Clare’s death even more difficult was that by the time she was found, a shark mauled her and the injuries to her throat, face and back of skull did not conclusively prove how she died.
Police said she was seen in a dark maroon or blue vehicle about 11.30pm with unknown males on the night she died.
Neither the car nor its occupants have been identified. Who took Clare to the beach? Why would someone want to kill her? Someone knows what happened but is holding on to a deep and dark secret.

Annette Maree Steward

Circumstances: ANNETTE Steward’s family should have been attending her 30th birthday – instead it was her funeral. Just two days shy of the mother-of-two’s milestone, she was found bashed, strangled and possibly raped inside her

Hope St

home in Geelong West.
She failed to turn up to work at the Winchester ammunition factory in Point Henry and a work colleague – and former flat mate – went to her home to check on her. He will never forget what he saw as he walked in at 1pm: Ms Steward naked and sprawled diagonally across her double bed. She was motionless – a plastic electrical cord wrapped around her neck – and covered in bruises. Police named her former lover as their top suspect. The pair had a sexual relationship before her death and were seen arguing two days before her killing. Ms Steward had complained to family and friends that she was being sexually harassed by a workmate.

____________________________________

Coroner names murder suspect
POLICE were tightlipped on whether they will charge a man today named by a coroner as the chief suspect in the murder of a Victorian woman 15 years ago.
Victorian Coroner Iain West today named Craig Cameron Rogers as the sole suspect in the 1992 murder of Roger's co-worker Annette Steward in her Geelong West home.

Victoria Police spokesman Senior Constable Adam West would not confirm whether police would now charge Rogers, but said investigations were continuing.

Ms Steward, 28, was found naked in the bedroom of her home with a plastic electric cord around her neck and head injuries on March 18, 1992.

In delivering his findings today, Mr West said suspicion surrounded the activities of Mr Rogers - who worked with Ms Steward at the Winchester Ammunition Factory at Point Henry - and the accounts he provided to investigators.

"Mr Rogers remains a person of interest to investigating police, despite his consistent denials of killing her," Mr West said.

On the last day Ms Steward attended work on March 16, 1992, she was angry and told colleagues she had argued with Mr Rogers.

Mr Rogers - who had known Ms Steward about two years - was also identified as the person who broke into her house about a week earlier, entering her bedroom and waking her from sleep.

Ms Steward had also complained to family and friends she was being sexually harassed by a co-worker.

Another man, Keith Pengelly, admitted to having an affair with Ms Steward and was co-operative with police about their relationship.

Mr Pengelly had visited Ms Steward at her home on March 16, 1992, with three friends.

But after extensive investigation, police found no evidence to link him to her murder.

Mr Rogers, however, was interviewed by detectives several times where he gave a number of false denials, Mr West said in his finding.

"But they established that he was far more involved with the deceased than he had previously led police to believe."

The victim's sisters, Jannette Path and Gillian Steward, and the victim's son Aaron Steward, were present at the hearing.

Outside the Victorian Coroner's Court, Ms Steward said the family welcomed the finding.

"It was everything we expected and it was good to hear it from the coroner," Ms Steward said.

"It confirms what police have been investigating."

Ms Steward said the family hoped the finding would shed more light on the unsolved murder.

"We do hope that someone will come forward with more evidence the police can use and one day resolve the case," she said.

"(If) someone has had a falling out or someone has said something years ago that hasn't meant anything then, but after the case now and the coroner giving his findings, it may trigger something that they do remember, and come forward and let the police know."

AAP

From: Herald Sun January 30, 2007 12:00AM

Karmein Chan

Personal Details

Reward: $300,000.

Status: Murder Unsolved

When Last Seen: on the 13th of April in 1991.

Occupation: Student

Age: 13

Gender: Female

Year of birth: 1979

Height:

Build:

Eyes:

Racial Appearance: Asian Australian

Circumstances: While Karmein's parents worked at their restaurant in Eltham, an individual abducted Karmein from their family home in Templestowe. During the kidnapping the abductor locked Karmein's sisters in another room. Before leaving, he spray painted anti-Asian slogans on a vehicle in their front yard. Police suspect that the purpose of the graffiti was to detract from the killer's real motive. Karmein's mother made an emotional plea on television for Karmein's return. Her badly decomposed body was found a year later in Melbourne's northern outskirts in Edgars Creek, Thomastown.

___________________________________

Mother marks 20 years since Karmein Chan's murder

13 Apr 11 @ 07:00am by Shaun Turton - Morningham Leader

 

• 
  Phyllis Lam
• 
  Karmein Chan

IN the absence of answers about her daughter’s murder, Phyllis Lam says faith, family and friends have provided the strength to carry on.
It has been 20 years since 13-year-old Karmein Chan was abducted while babysitting her two younger sisters at their Templestowe home.
Karmein is thought to have been the last of four girls serial child rapist Mr Cruel abducted in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Karmein, whose body was found in Thomastown, was the only one murdered. She had been shot in the head.
Ms Lam said her eldest daughter was smart, caring and funny.
“She had a soft heart, a sense of humour and was slim, tall and pretty,” Ms Lam said.
“She was intelligent, well that’s what her mother says, but anyway she was very honest.”
Opening up about what has kept her going all these years, Ms Lam said she still longed to find out what happened at her Serpells Rd home on April 13, 1991, but her faith in God had taught her patience and given her comfort.
“I want to know what happened 20 years ago in my family’s life. I’m still waiting” Ms Lam told the Leader.
“But I have faith and accept that God has different plans for different people.
“If you trust you have hope and if you have hope, you have peace.”
Ms Lam said her conversion from Buddhism to Christianity began when an old pastor came knocking after her daughter’s funeral.
She turned him away on that occasion, and every subsequent visit, until finally Ms Lam relented one cold and rainy night when the persistent priest arrived at her doorstep dripping wet.
“I told him ‘you can come in because of your old age but if you talk about Jesus I will kick you out’,” Ms Lam said.
Ms Lam said the pastor, Bill McFarlane, now Ms Lam’s godfather, earned the family’s trust.
And when the time came, he helped her confront the question looming since the tragedy struck.
“(I asked) why would Jesus take an innocent girl?” Ms Lam said.
“He said ‘why don’t you bring the girls to church on Sunday and find out for yourself’?”
Ms Lam has also drawn support from the customers of her restaurant in Eltham, her “second family in Australia”.
Her eccentric nature and food “cooked with love” has earned her a base of support in the community.
Pictures on her restaurant’s walls drawn by younger customers refer to Ms Lam as “paw paw” which is Chinese for grandmother.
When customers arrive to eat, she addresses them like lifelong friends. And in most cases they are.
Such is the case with Glenda Long, who has known Ms Lam since before Karmein was taken.
Mrs Long said Ms Lam was considered family by many customers.
“When my kids come in she loves them and when the grandchildren come in she’s all over them too,” Mrs Long said.
“She has built a family around herself here.
“She feels she can trust the people she has known for a long time.”
New suspects
POLICE announced in December that new suspects had been identified in their search for Mr Cruel.
The new leads were discovered as they reviewed information gathered during the original investigation which identified 27,000 suspects, received 10,000 tip-offs and checked 30,000 houses.
In December, Supt Doug Fryer said an arrest was not close but detectives would not stop until the “vile crime” had been solved.
There is still a $300,000 for information leading to a conviction.
Ms Lam said the police had not told her what the new information was but had assured her that the investigation would continue.
“They still contact me and don’t stop,” Ms Lam said.
“They care about the case.”
Fundraiser to honour dream
PHYLLIS Lam hopes to raise $20,000 at a fundraising lunch on Good Friday for the Royal Children’s Hospital.
Ms Lam said the event would honour her daughter Karmein’s dreams of becoming a doctor
The lunch, at Yings Restaurant in Eltham, follows more than a decade of Good Friday Appeal fundraising by Ms Lam.
Ms Lam has established the Karmein Chan Scholarship, which pays for doctors, nurses and health workers to undertake further training.
She said Karmein, who was treated for asthma at the children’s hospital, wanted to help isolated people by becoming a mobile doctor.
“Children are the future; they are the most important,” Ms Lam said.
Bookings: 9431 0088 or 9431 0188.

__________________________________

New clues in police hunt for 'Mr Cruel'

Greg Roberts and Edwina Scott  SMH.com.au December 14, 2010

The man dubbed Mr Cruel who murdered a 13-year-old schoolgirl in 1991 would have associated with people who could help, finally, to lock him up now, say police.

Victoria Police announced on Tuesday that new suspects had emerged this year and a fresh covert task force codenamed Apollo was established eight months ago to track down the Melbourne child killer, pedophile and rapist.
Mr Cruel struck fear into the hearts of families in Melbourne's suburbs and was believed to be responsible for at least four child kidnappings and sexual assaults from 1988 to 1991, including the murder of Karmein Chan in 1991.

Karmein, 13, was kidnapped from her home while babysitting her sisters on April 13, 1991. Her body was found with shotgun wounds to the head in Thomastown a year later.

Mr Cruel may have been a monster but did not necessarily look like one, police believe.
"There are members in our society that hold a key for us solving this investigation and certainly we would hope that they would come forward and provide that information," Superintendent Doug Fryer told reporters.
Detectives built a profile of a man aged between 35 and late 40s, slightly built, with sandy or ginger-coloured hair, clean shaven, softly spoken and "quite caring in his own monstrous way".
"The person who committed these crimes is in amongst our society or was at the time of them; he was associating with people and more than likely held a job down.
"So, there is someone out there who has got information we think that hasn't passed on as yet; there is also a $300,000 reward to assist in solving these horrific crimes.
"I don't think Victoria is ever going to forget this series of crimes; they were that horrendous."
Children who are believed to have all been victims of Mr Cruel told police he used terms such as "bozo", "worry wart" and "missy" before releasing them.
Victims reported hearing planes overhead during their abductions, which was matched up with flight paths around the suburb of Pascoe Vale and neighbouring areas in Melbourne's north.
Retired detective Colin McLaren, who led the original Spectrum task force investigation into Mr Cruel, said the case was the one that still lingered two decades later.
"He was very much like a man in the street, that was the most difficult thing about it," Mr McLaren said.
"We weren't looking for someone who was six foot six or someone who perhaps had a peculiar smell about him.
"He was just very normal.
"I probably don't know of any other more important case that I've worked on that still is unsolved."
About 15,000 people were interviewed as part of the first investigation.
Supt Fryer said more than 12,000 separate pieces of information had been reviewed and cross-referenced with new details as part of the investigation.
Police have not ruled out the possibility Mr Cruel had since fled the country, died or committed suicide.

© 2011 AAP

__________________________________

Karmein Chan Reward $100,000

1991 KARMEIN CHAN

$100,000 Reward Announced 1991

1991 Victoria Police

A reward is on offer for information about the abduction and murder of 13-year-old Karmein Chan in 1991. Karmein was abducted from her home in Templestowe on April 13, 1991 about 9.15pm.

While her parents were at work at a Chinese restaurant in Eltham, Karmein and her two younger sisters were confronted by a man in a balaclava.
He forced Karmein's sisters into a wardrobe before fleeing with Karmein.
Karmein's body was found at Edgars Creek, Thomastown, on April 9, 1992.
An autopsy revealed she had been shot.
Despite an exhaustive investigation led by detectives of the Spectrum Taskforce, no-one has been identified as Karmein's murderer - though her killer has been dubbed "Mr Cruel" by the media.
Police have checked more than 10,000 public tips, searched 30,000 homes and interviewed 27,000 people in relation to the Karmein Chan case and are hopeful someone in the community will have the essential piece of the puzzle which will help solve this crime.
Homicide Squad Detective Inspector Stephen Clark said this unsolved murder has been extremely devastating on the Chan family.
"We're hoping someone with that vital piece of information will come forward and help solve the Karmein Chan murder and give closure to the Chan family," Detective Inspector Clark said.
"We urge them to contact police," he said.
 Anyone with information in regards to the Karmein Chan murder is asked to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or visit

Helen McMAHON

13 February 1985

HELEN McMAHON (47)

Bashed to death on a beach at Rye, VIC.

JENNIFER RUTH TANNER

14 November 1984

JENNIFER RUTH TANNER (27)

Shot twice in the head with .22 calibre rifle at her home in Bonnie Doon, VIC. She had also been shot through both hands. Her husband Laurie found her body and the rifle between her legs. The initial police investigation determined that her death was a suicide and a 1985 inquest resulted in an open finding.

HELGA WAGNEGG

November 1984

HELGA WAGNEGG (30)

Last seen - at the home of notorious criminal Dennis Allen in Richmond, VIC. Her body was later found in the Yarra River. She had been a prostitute and drug addict.

SEANA TAPP

7 August 1984

MARGARET TAPP (35)

Murdered in their home in Ferntree Gully, VIC. Margaret had been bashed and strangled. Seana had been raped and strangled. The killer's semen was found on Seana's clothing. In July 2008 police arrested and charged 43 year old Russell John Gesah with the murders based on DNA evidence.
2 weeks later the charges were dropped when it was discovered that the DNA evidence was contaminated.
The killer's DNA still has not been matched.

 

MARGARET TAPP

8 August 1984

SEANA TAPP (9)

Murdered in their home in Ferntree Gully, VIC.
Margaret had been bashed and strangled. Seana had been raped and strangled.
The killer's semen was found on Seana's clothing. In July 2008 police arrested and charged 43 year old Russell John Gesah with the murders based on DNA evidence.
2 weeks later the charges were dropped when it was discovered that the DNA evidence was contaminated.
The killer's DNA still has not been matched.

 

JOY CARMEL SUMMERS

October 1981

JOY CARMEL SUMMERS (55)

Last seen - waiting for a bus in Frankston, VIC. Her body was found at Frankston on 22 November.

NARUMOL STEPHENSON

29 November 1980

NARUMOL STEPHENSON (34)

Last seen - in Brunswick, VIC. Her body was found at Tynong North on 3 February 1983.

ANN-MARIE SARGENT

6 October 1980

ANN-MARIE SARGENT (18)

Last seen - leaving her mother's home in Cranbourne, VIC, en route to nearby Dandenong. Her body was found at Tynong North on 6-7 December 1980, along with Bertha Miller and Catherine Headland.

CATHERINE LINDA HEADLAND

28 August 1980

CATHERINE LINDA HEADLAND

Age: 14

Circmstances: Catherine left her boyfriend's house at Berwick, VIC, to head to her job at nearby Narre Warren. Her body was found at Tynong North on 7 December 1980, along with Bertha Miller and Ann-Marie Sargent.

BERTHA MILLER

10 August 1980

BERTHA MILLER (73)

Last seen - leaving her home in Glen Iris, VIC en route to her church in Prahran. Her body was found at Tynong North on 6-7 December 1980, along with the bodies of Catherine Headland and Ann-Marie Sargent.

ALLISON ROOKE

30 May 1980

ALLISON ROOKE (59)

Last seen - waiting for a bus near her home in Frankston, VIC. Her body was found at Frankston North on 5 July.

Susan Bartlett

The January 10 1977 stabbing murders of Suzanne Armstrong, 28, and Susan Bartlett, 27, in their home in Easey St, Collingwood, shocked a nation in 1977. In the 1990's eight suspects were cleared by DNA testing. Additionally police recently deemed a series of handwritten letters naming the killer as a hoax.
Ms Armstrong was raped and stabbed 29 times, while Ms Bartlett was stabbed 55 times. Ms Armstrong's 16-month-old son, Gregory, was left unattended in his cot in the next room for two days before the murders were discovered.

Suzanne Armstrong

The January 10 1977 stabbing murders of Suzanne Armstrong, 28, and Susan Bartlett, 27, in their home in Easey St, Collingwood, shocked a nation in 1977. In the 1990's eight suspects were cleared by DNA testing. Additionally police recently deemed a series of handwritten letters naming the killer as a hoax.
Ms Armstrong was raped and stabbed 29 times, while Ms Bartlett was stabbed 55 times. Ms Armstrong's 16-month-old son, Gregory, was left unattended in his cot in the next room for two days before the murders were discovered.