Melbourne cold case: 1982 kidnapping and sexual assault still a mystery
It’s been nearly 40 years since a Nunawading teen accepted a man’s offer of a ride home from Flinders St Station, changing her life forever. The brutal attack she suffered has detectives renewing their call for leads.
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It’s the stuff of nightmares.
A teenage girl was kidnapped near Flinders Street station, driven to a lonely dirt road where she was blindfolded, gagged, sexually assaulted and had her life threatened.
She was abandoned in an area she didn’t know, and had to flag down a passing motorist for help.
This horrific incident happened almost 40 years ago, but no one has ever been arrested over it.
And detectives are refusing to let it rest, renewing their call for anyone with information about the attack to come forward.
On the morning it happened, Wednesday, March 24, 1982, the victim, a Nunawading girl then 17, had been with a group of friends near the station.
A man approached the group and spoke to one of the girls before he was told to go away.
When the victim later left her friends to catch a train home, she was approached by the same man, who said he would drive her.
The pair reportedly drove for an hour before the man stopped for petrol, then drove for another 20 minutes.
He then suddenly stopped the car on an unknown dirt road where he blindfolded and gagged her.
He drove to an unknown location and sexually assaulted her.
He then threatened to kill her before he fled in his car, leaving her on the ground.
She made her way to a nearby road and a young man and woman, who were passing in a car, stopped to help her.
They drove her back to the city, where she went to hospital and spoke to police.
Detectives are eager to speak to those two people who helped her to safety.
Sexual crimes squad detective Inspector Juliann Goldrick said the investigative team believed the pair had never spoken to police about the incident.
“We believe they could have information that is crucial to this investigation,” she said.
“We’re hopeful that this is the kind of incident the pair would remember — maybe it’s stuck in their mind for years and they’ve wondered what happened to the girl.”
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Insp Goldrick said any new information could be crucial in solving the mystery.
“Cold cases like these are incredibly complex, however when new information comes to hand it can often be the final missing piece of the puzzle,” she said.
Insp Goldrick said it was as important as ever to bring the man to justice.
“There is no doubt a brutal and opportunistic attack such as this has enduring effects on a victim, let alone a terrified 17-year-old girl,” she said.
Detectives would like to speak to anyone who has information about the incident.
Anyone with information should phone Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential crime report at crimestoppers.com.au