Community rallies to help Brian and Carmel Russell stay in Frankston
Brian and Carmel Russell saw the worst of humanity when serial killer Paul Denyer murdered their daughter Natalie. Now they’re seeing the best as their community rallies to help them stay in Frankston.
South East
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A loving community has rallied around Brian and Carmel Russell, whose daughter Natalie was murdered by serial killer Paul Denyer, in their fight to stay in Frankston.
As the 26th anniversary of the 17-year-old’s killing approaches, the couple are in danger of having to leave the home they have lived in for 26 years — which is full of memories of Natalie.
But a gofundme appeal has already raised $10,000 for the struggling parents.
Mrs Russell, 75, said they loved the area and couldn’t bear the thought of leaving.
“Nat’s friends drop around to see us — they were so close,” she said.
Mr Russell, 77, said love and support from the Frankston community had sustained the couple.
After battling cancer, Mr Russell lost his business and was about to lose the family home — where Natalie’s possessions are kept and a Christmas tree planted in her memory thrives.
A family member then stepped in and bought the home so the Russells could stay there.
But that person is facing serious health issues, and needs to sell the house.
Mrs Russell recalled Natalie joking about the Christmas tree and dubbing it “anorexic” because it was so tiny when their daughter was still alive.
“When we came here Brian said we will plant it, and it didn’t stop (growing),” she said.
“Nat’s friends say ‘we know who is looking after the tree’.”
Natalie Russell, then 17, was the third victim of Denyer, who terrorised Frankston in 1993.
Elizabeth Stevens was murdered on her way home from the library on June 11.
A month later, Debbie Fream, who’d left her 12-day-old baby with a friend while she dashed out for milk, was abducted and killed.
Three weeks later, Year 12 student, Natalie, was brutally murdered on her way home from school.
Denyer was initially sentenced to life without parole but this was reduced to 30 years with the possibility of release on appeal, making him eligible for release in 2023, when he will be 51.
Carmel Russell remembered Natalie always being there for her friends.
“All her friends love her. If they were teary, Natalie would take them into her bedroom and they would come out with smiles,” she said.
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“Natalie would say ‘family problems’. They loved her because everything they said stayed with her.”
The Russells recalled Natalie describing the man later found to be her killer as a “weirdo” after Denyer murdered Elizabeth Stevens and Debbie Fream.
“I thought when he got her she would have said ‘this is the weirdo’ and she was the one to (help) catch him,” Mrs Russell said.
“The police said she struggled and put up a fight.”
Mrs Russell added: “It’s like yesterday — it never goes away. You learn to live with it.”
The ‘Help keep Brian & Carmel Russell in Frankston’ appeal hit its target of $10,000.
The Russells are looking at options including a rental in Frankston or whether an investor can buy their current house and let them stay in it.
To support the couple, visit gofundme.