Cold cases, coward punches & violent murders: Infamous Goulburn Valley crimes revealed
From the Mr Stinky murders to the brutal rape of a mother in her own home, these are the crimes that have shaken the Goulburn Valley region since the 20th century.
Goulburn Valley
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It may be known for its stone fruit, water irrigation, Black Caviar and producing fine footballers but the Goulburn Valley also has a darker, criminal underbelly. Here’s some of the worst crimes that have rocked the region.
MR STINKY MURDERS SHEPPARTON TEENS
What was supposed to be a night of fun out on the town ended in tragedy for Shepparton teenagers Garry Heywood, 18, and Abina Madill, 16.
An innocent evening at a “Mod” concert and a late night drive in February 1966, become the stepping off point for one of Australia’s biggest manhunts for a killer who eluded police for 20 years.
Police chased fruitless leads for decades after the youths’ bodies were discovered in a field in Murchison East, two weeks after they vanished.
This was until a man was arrested in Albury in 1985 for exposing himself, and fingerprint analysis cracked the cold case.
The man they had been seeking for the Shepparton murders was also a serial rapist dubbed “Mr Stinky”, real name Raymond Edmunds.
The fluke discovery saw Mr Edmunds plead guilty to two counts of murder, three of rape and two of attempted rape and sentenced to two terms of life imprisonment.
NEVILLE MANSFIELD RAPES SHEPPARTON MOTHER
Neville Mansfield was jailed for 16 years for the brutal rape of a woman in her Shepparton home in 1993.
DNA evidence in 2007 led to a trial, where Mansfield was found guilty of charges including five counts of rape and four counts of unlawful imprisonment.
After entering the house, Mansfield grabbed the son in a headlock and held a knife to his throat before telling the mother: “Do as you are told or he will be hurt. I will slit his throat.”
The mother managed to persuade the intruder to release her son and he then demanded money, which the mother and the babysitter handed over.
The intruder ordered the family and the babysitter into the master bedroom where he told them to sit on the bed together and tell him their names. He then bound and gagged them.
When the babysitter complained about how tightly the intruder had tied her hands together, the intruder told the mother, “Tell grandma to shut up,” before asking the babysitter: “What is better, having your hands tied or having your throat slit?”
ROCCO IARIA GUNNED DOWN
It was a shock for mourners when a body was found on top of a woman’s coffin at the Pine Lodge Cemetery.
Rocco Iaria’s body was found when another woman’s grave was reopened for her husband’s burial in 1998.
He had been shot several times and his body wrapped in plastic and covered in lime.
Cemetery workers made the grim discovery seven years after Mr Iaria, then 20, went “to see a few people about a few things”.
He is believed to have been killed on or around September 6, 1991, when he was on bail awaiting trial over a $1m cash and jewellery robbery in Bendigo.
His co-accused was Vincent Lattore, who was a prime suspect in Mr Iaria’s murder.
Mr Lattore denies the accusations.
The murder remains unsolved.
RAYMOND GEORGE ALLEN MURDERED
Raymond George Allen’s body was never found and is believed to have been destroyed as evidence of a cold-blooded revenge killing.
Mr Allen was never seen again after Jamie Leslie Sumner lured the teenager to a supermarket in Mooroopna, near Shepparton, on April 25, 2005.
Sumner was convicted of his murder three years later and sentenced to 18 years.
The 29-year-old heroin addict claimed the killing was in the name of vengeance, believing the deceased had abused his brother.
The court heard Mr Sumner abducted the victim, subduing him with such force his jaw broke and stabbing him in the neck in a grisly killing that shook the Goulburn Valley.
SEBASTIANO FORMICA STABBED TO DEATH OUTSIDE A PUB
Mooroopna man Sebastiano ‘Sam’ Formica was fatally stabbed outside a Wyndham St pub in Shepparton, after a night out ended in tragedy.
Police believe Mr Formica, 38, was involved in a fight outside the Fontana Bar on January 22, 2006 in which he received the fatal wound.
The father-of-two and his group of friends are believed to have got into an affray with another group of men, in a fight that escalated down the road.
Despite police offering a $1m reward for information, the murder remains unsolved.
MICHELLE BUCKINGHAM COLD CASE SOLVED
It took 30-years for a terrible family secret to come to light, solving one of Shepparton’s most enduring cold cases.
Teenage Coles worker Michelle Buckingham was killed in 1983 and her body discovered in Kialla East just 16km out of the regional city.
It was the face of the teenager looking out from the pages of the local paper that caused a local man to crack, revealing to police his brother-in-law had confessed to the killing three decades ago.
The revelation put dog groomer Steven James Bradley away for 21 years for the murder.
Bradley had moved away from Shepparton shortly after the murder and was working as a dog groomer in Brisbane at the time of his arrest.
Michelle’s mother Elvira Buckingham had tragically passed away just five days before she could see justice for her daughter.
It was Detective Senior Sergeant Ron Iddles’ last case before he left the homicide squad to take a position as The Police Associate secretary.
Mr Iddles said it was the oldest case he had solved in his career.
CATS LEGEND COWARD PUNCHED
Former Geelong footy player and Shepparton man Paul Brown was left with a fractured skull and memory loss after he was the victim of a coward’s punch.
The footy player and trophy shop owner had intervened in an argument between a man and a woman on Vaughan St in Shepparton, where he sustained the blow.
Despite suffering a broken skull and brain bleed Mr Brown made a full recovery from the 2015 attack.
Assailant Mohammad Al Wahame was jailed in September 2016 for six years, with a non-parole period of four years, after pleading guilty to recklessly causing injury.
Al Wahame attempted to reduce his jail sentence after being diagnosed with a newly-diagnosed mental disability, but ultimately came up short.
BIANNCA EDMUNDS ORGANISES MURDER OF EX-PARTNER
Biannca Edmunds convinced husband Glen Cassidy to kill her ex-partner Michael Caposiena, because of a bitter child custody dispute with Mr Caposiena over a son they shared.
On March 12, 2016, Cassidy drove 170 kilometres from the regional Victorian city of Shepparton to Mr Caposiena’s home in Melbourne, leaving a cling-wrapped dinner of chicken schnitzel and peas in the front seat of his car.
Armed with a shotgun, Cassidy confronted Mr Caposiena at the front door of his Westmeadows house.
A struggle broke out, resulting in Mr Caposiena being shot in the head and Cassidy suffering fatal injuries after the victim stabbed him with a knife in self-defence.
Both men died, and Mr Caposiena’s new partner was also badly injured after being attacked by Cassidy.
Edmunds and Cassidy had only been married for two weeks when Cassidy carried out the murder.
Edmunds faced two trials, as the first trial the jury were unable to reach a verdict, but the second jury found her guilty.
Edmunds was sentenced to 26 years jail, with a non-parole period of 20 years.
SHEPPARTON FRUITERER BLACKMAILED RIVALS
Vincent Latorre, a feared mobster in the Shepparton region, blackmailed and extorted other produce growers in the Goulburn Valley region.
Latorre was part of an organised standover networking that operated in the iconic Goulburn Valley fruit industry.
Latorre was found guilty of blackmail, extortion and making threats to kill.
He received a term of eight years and three months and was ordered to pay $120,000 in compensation to some of his victims.
Latorre was recently seen at the scene of his late brother’s shooting, hugging and standing among a group of people.
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