The whoismrcruel.com team has joined forces with Melbourne Marvels for a new series of podcasts about the unsolved abduction and murder of Karmein Chan in 1991.
In each episode we will discuss contemporary media coverage of Karmein’s abduction, to see in real-time how the investigation unfolded over the days and weeks following the abduction, starting with the very first media conference Victoria Police held on the crime.
In episode 1 we discuss the confusion caused by the 5-year-old photograph of Karmein provided to the media, as well as the media frenzy to pin the crime on Mr Cruel and the incorrect claim that all abductions had occurred during school holidays.
In the second episode, we reveal some new information in this case, including striking similarities between Karmein’s abduction and previous abductions attributed to Mr Cruel, details about one of the Spectrum Taskforce’s top seven suspects and reports of a suspicious man seen curb-crawling near PLC in the weeks before the attack.
In episode 3 we discuss the heart-rending appeal by Phyllis Chan for the abductor to release her daughter. We explore the relationship between the Chan family and high-ranking members of the Victoria Police Force and the offer and rejection of a government reward.
In this special edition, Eamonn from Melbourne Marvels interviews eyewitness Dave, who describes his encounter with a gunman on the night of Karmein Chan’s abduction at Allan Reserve in Reservoir.
In this episode we hear directly from David and reflect on the significance of what he saw that night in April 1991. In particular we discuss:
- The proximity of the location where the encounter took place to high-voltage power lines, a house owned by bikies, the dance school believed to have been attended by Karmein Chan, houses with bathrooms matching the bathroom description given by Mr Cruel’s surviving victims, and the location where Karmein Chan’s remains were later found;
- The vehicle seen by David that night and its similarities to other suspicious vehicles seen by eyewitnesses in Thomastown and Templestowe;
- David’s description of the man he saw wearing a dark wig, overalls and a navy blue “spray jacket” and the similarities to Mr Cruel suspect Normal Leung Lee (pictured below)
In episode 4 we discuss the continuing media coverage of the Karmein Chan abduction from 17th to the 18th April 1991, as the 100-hour mark since her abduction is reached and passed without word from the kidnapper, including:
- a succession of appeals from senior police to the offender to release Karmein Chan and speculation about a reward;
- an attempted attack at knife-point on a woman in her Sandringham home, which is reminiscent of suspected attacks by Mr Cruel in Dec 1985;
- the press conference with Police Surgeon Dr David Wells, who examined earlier abduction victims Sharon Wills and Nicola Lynas, as predicted by the abductor.
In this special episode, Eamonn from Melbourne Marvels tracks down and interviews the man who witnessed a distinctive white Holden Commodore acting suspiciously near the site where Sharon Wills was released in December 1988. The witness publicly reveals new details on his encounter with the offender for the first time.
Episode 6 features:
- Appeals by Premier Joan Kirner to release Karmein.
- Victoria Police’s largest ever doorknock in Templestowe leads to alarming reports from neighbours of the Chans.
- The story of a local boy who was followed by a stranger in the days before the abduction.
- A car chase from the area where the Lower Plenty attack occurred to the Chan restaurant in Eltham
- Operation Spectrum is set up to catch ‘Mr Cruel’
- Phyllis Chan writes a letter to the offender (published in a Melbourne newspaper), referring to him as ‘Mr Kind’
In episode 7 we follow the story of Karmein’s abduction throughout the remainder of 1991, featuring:
- A series of possible copycat crimes including the abduction and rape a 7 year old girl in Mildura, the abduction and murder of Sheree Beasley in Rosebud and the attempted abduction of a 12 year old Vietnamese girl in St Albans.
- A public message sent by Phyllis Chan to Mr Cruel with an elaborate code that only Karmein could solve
- A series of creepy phone calls made to the Chans’ unlisted number including an extortion attempt by cop killer Peter Reid from a Pentridge Prison cell, silent calls on the birthdays of Phyllis and Karmein’s sister where only a crying child was heard in the background, and an obscene phone call made by a man from Bayswater.
- The revelation that the Spectrum Taskforce had published 1.4 million posters of 13 year old Karmein using a photograph from when she was 8 years old, and new leads in the case following the publication of more recent photos.
- Vic Police connect the dots with earlier abductions after reinterviewing previous possible ‘Mr Cruel’ victims including Nicola in the UK.
- The arrest of Melbourne University accounts worker Anthony John Byrne for peddling child abuse material.
Was that photo of norman lee shown to David? If so did he say thats the one?
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