2 days ago
Chilling new evidence in harrowing ‘Mr Cruel' investigation
Fresh details have emerged in the decades long hunt for 'Mr Cruel', the predator behind a series of shocking child rapes and the suspected murder of Melbourne schoolgirl Karmein Chan.
A police insider has revealed new details in the over 30-year hunt for 'Mr Cruel', the notorious child rapist and suspected murderer who terrorised the suburbs of Melbourne.
Associate Professor David Wells, who was a forensic physician with Victoria Police at the time of the attacks, told the Crime Insiders podcast he had personally collected crucial genetic evidence that could still be the key to unmasking Mr Cruel's true identity.
He also shared a chilling theory that Mr Cruel may have been a police or forensics expert.
Another clue David shared with the podcast was that Mr Cruel may have been living with a back injury, given the way he moved and positioned his victims.
Mr Cruel was infamous for leaving almost no forensic trace.
'He either held these children or washed them repeatedly so that any, for instance, trace DNA would be removed from their skin,' Wells said.
Wells told host Dr Liz Porter the meticulous cleanups pointed to a disturbing possibility.
'It got us thinking a little bit, is it one of us?'
'The level of sophistication of removing this evidence was such that it smacked of that.'
Wells says he still managed to find a genetic clue that could be the key to cracking the case.
'It's something that might allow his genetic make-up to be identified need someone to compare it with first,' Wells said.
In a shocking new theory, police also suspect the serial child rapist may have suffered a back injury, based on how he moved and positioned his victims.
Investigators even contacted the Medical Board, asking whether any doctors had patients matching the offender's description.
'This is a new area because you're asking doctors to divulge confidential argument is providing this information is likely to result in prevention of further very, very damaging acts of behaviour and although it might breach the confidentiality it is justified for the greater need of the public,' Wells said.
According to Wells, the medical profession was very supportive, and 'a considerable number' of people were reviewed.
In one eerie twist, Wells recalled being in a taxi when the driver used a phrase identical to one Mr Cruel was known for. He immediately alerted investigators.
'They rang me a couple of days later and said... we knocked on his [the taxi drivers] door and he said he immediately started sweating, became very agitated, so we took him back to the police station and interviewed him,'
'He had a very strong in the questioning process, he did admit to offences against children.'
Although he wasn't Mr Cruel, the taxi driver was charged and convicted.
In a rare glimpse behind the case's emotional toll, Wells recalled reuniting one young survivor with her family after she'd been missing for days, and who they believed to be dead.
'Everyone was in tears, myself included,' he said.
'They're one of the little highs you get. There's not a lot in this job.'
As for whether Mr Cruel will ever be unmasked, Wells is uncertain.
'He may have stopped this behaviour which...I don't know that he would.'
'He may have died, he may have moved to another region or he may be incapacitated in some way. But it's certainly a series of crimes that really did damage the innocence of a lot of people's lives.'
The investigation remains active. In April 2016, on the 25th anniversary of Karmein Chan's abduction and murder, Victoria Police increased the reward for information from $100,000 to $1 million.
