Revealed: What made the ‘poo shooter of Pyrmont’ do what she did
GRAPHIC VIDEO: Criminal psychologist Tim Watson-Munro says the bizarre case of Sydney’s ‘poo shooter of Pyrmont’ fits with a rare psychological condition he has seen previously.
NSW
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Why do people poo in public?
It can be for any number of reasons ranging from mental health issues, medical conditions to simple bad planning.
The issue hit the headlines on Friday when CCTV footage emerged of a blonde woman in activewear making a deposit at the rear of a Pyrmont bottle shop.
Just after 8am on Tuesday, she was captured walking down the alleyway off Miller St to the rear of the store where she dropped her pants and unloaded a sizeable streak across the middle of their driveway. The owners of the shop said similar deposits had been made at the rear of their store previously.
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She then pulled out two pieces of toilet paper before leaving the all three bits of evidence at the scene.
When questioned about it, the woman, who refused to identify herself said it was because of a medical condition.
“I’ve been incredibly ill,” she said after refusing to identify herself. “There is no way I can control it. I can’t plan for it.”
The shop’s manager Phil Pembroke was sceptical about the story because it happened out in the open and she made it down a 25m driveway to get to the scene of the crime.
“For me it’s a planned thing — I reckon she’s getting her kicks,” he said. “It’s like she wanted someone to find it,” Mr Pembroke said.
If that is the case, criminal psychologist Tim Watson-Munro said it fits with a rare psychological condition he has seen previously.
“For some people its’ a sexual thing they’re excited by the danger — It’s the high end of the spectrum for exhibitionism,” Mr Watson-Munro said. “For other people it can be anger. She might have a vendetta against the business.
“In this case, I think it’s exhibitionism: she’s taking toilet paper, so there’s a degree of planning and doing it under full view of a camera,” he said. “Anyone with irritable bowel syndrome or gastro would plan for it.
“If you’ve ever been in a situation where had to race to the brasco, you make sure it doesn’t happen again,” Mr Watson Munro said.
A 2012 US study of 221 male and female endurance athletes published in the National Library of Medicine Institutes of health found that running can increase a person’s need to defecate because of a combination of muscular movements and hormone surges.
Royal Melbourne Hospital’s director of gastroenterology Dr Geoff Hebbard told news.com.au earlier this year that certain physical activity and colonic motility were related.
“Vigorous exercise can have significant effect on the gut although that would usually be more than a jog around the block,” he explained.
When Mr Pembroke first found the mess he thought it was the work of a very large dog.
But when a clue in the form of soiled toilet paper was left at the scene, he and the owner checked the CCTV footage and got the shock of their lives.
Their camera captured the woman walking down the alleyway off Miller St to the rear of the store where she dropped her pants and unloaded a sizeable streak across the middle of their driveway.
She then pulled out two pieces of toilet paper before leaving the all three bits of evidence at the scene.
“We were gobsmacked,” Mr Pembroke said. “She didn’t fit the stereotype of someone who would do this — she’s a fit, attractive lady, not a junkie or a homeless person.
“We’re calling her ‘The Poo Shooter of Pyrmont,” he said.
According to Mr Pembroke, there have been a number of other deposits left at the back door in recent weeks.
“There have been at least two others and we think it is the same person because the marks and placement are basically the same,” he said.
“If you were a normal person who was absolutely stinging, you’d do it somewhere discreet,” he said.
“But she’s done it out in the middle of the driveway, in full view of the camera. She’s come with toilet paper, and made no effort to clean it up or hide it when there are bins right there.
“I initially thought it was a dog, but I looked at the size of it and thought ‘That’s one hell of a dog,” Mr Pembroke said.
On the earlier occasions, the shop’s owner, Jim Schwilk, said he didn’t sift through the hours of CCTV, figuring it would take too long.
But a stroke of fortune led them to check a one hour section of the tape on Tuesday.
“I left at a bit before 8am and there was nothing there,” Mr Schwilk said. “I came back about 9 (am) and there it was, so we knew there was only an hour of footage to go through.
Mr Pembroke said: “I was scooping it up with an empty beer case and Jim said ‘You’d better come and have a look at this’,” he said.
When contacted, leading criminal lawyer Paul McGirr said the woman could face a number of charges, including malicious damage or obscene conduct.
“Police would obviously need to investigate but it’s something that has the potential to wipe a clean criminal record if a court hands her a conviction,” Mr McGirr said.
For police to flush out the offender, a NSW Police spokeswoman said the victim would need to make an official complaint.
However, Mr Schwilk said he was not planning on reporting the matter, but would if it kept happening.
“Really, I don’t give a shit,” Mr Scwilk said. “I just want her to not do it again.”
The reasons for the woman’s conduct are still a mystery. That includes whether she has a psychological issue, a medical issue or even if a vigorous exercise session caused nature to call and left her stranded.
The incident has similarities to the Brisbane case of Andrew Douglas Macintosh who was fined $378 and made world headlines after he was caught on camera defecating on a on a unit block pathway in Greenslopes while on his morning run.
He was originally charged with public nuisance before the matter was downgraded to a fine.
A fed up resident hid in nearby bushes and snapped Macintosh in the act.
The incident resulted in Macintosh resigning from his role as a senior manager at one of Australia’s leading retirement village operators.
Last year, The Sunday Telegraph revealed the case of a Moss Vale woman who police dubbed “The Poo Bomber”.
The woman, who was not named because of mental health issues, was an alleged kleptomaniac who stole items from a number of retail stores and also left a deposit behind.
Experts believed the woman may have experienced such an adrenaline rush from the planning or the act of stealing that she defecated on the spot.
One of her alleged victims included Shop Pharmacy in Campbelltown Mall, where police documents said the woman “went into the squat position” and caused a “dysfunction in aisle three”, forcing the shop to close for an hour until it was cleaned up, court documents said.
The woman is due to face Moss Vale Local Court on August 20.
Last year in the US, Colorado Springs mother Cathy Buddle, spoke out after a mystery woman had been pooping on her doorstep at least once a week.
Ms Buddle spoke out after one of her kids opened the front door of their home and caught the defecator mid-squat.