Shirley May Collins murder: Swinburne University students investigate unsolved killing
It’s the chilling unsolved murder which keeps veteran homicide cop Ron Iddles awake at night — a teen girl’s mutilated body found on a Mt Martha property nearly 70 years ago. And a group of uni students could be about to bring her killer to justice.
South East
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A determined group of university students have turned detectives in a bid to crack a chilling 66-year-old unsolved murder.
The young cold case squad from Swinburne University is re-examining the 1953 brutal killing of teenager Shirley May Collins on the Mornington Peninsula.
Her mutilated body was discovered on September 13 on a Mt Martha driveway, the day after her 14th birthday.
The killer has never been found and now 25 policing, criminology and clinical psychology students led by Swinburne Forensic Archaeologist and Criminologist Dr Louise Steding are examining case notes and autopsy reports in the hope of reopening of the case.
This week they went to the scene of the body find, conducting re-enactments and interviews with people, including those who knew Ms Collins.
Frankston Theatre Group actors performed the re-enactment based on the exact transcripts of the original inquest.
Narelle Francis, a neighbour of the Collins family, shared her recollections with students.
Dr Steding said she would request case files from Victoria Police.
“We’ll work hard to hopefully uncover more leads to enable police to take a fresh look at the case. The local community has always wanted this terrible case solved,” she said.
“This poor girl was 14-years-old, and she had no one to speak for her.
“Father dead, mother abandoned her, foster parents for a short time, and then this happens. She didn’t have a chance from the start, and we hope that at least in death we can give her a chance at justice.
“That’s what means a lot to us.”
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Bachelor of Psychological student Sarah Miller, who travelled from remote NSW to be part of the investigation, said it was a “great opportunity” to test her and the other students’ knowledge in the field.
“I’m from a remote area so I don’t have a lot of people to speak to or interact with about this industry,” she said.
“What’s been really rewarding is listing to experts in the field to get a clearer understanding, and having people also interested in the area to bounce ideas with.
“As online students, these trips are important for networking, getting to know people in real life and meeting people already working in the field to get advice and to use our knowledge practically.”
Shirley May was abducted from a Melbourne station. It’s believed her killer bludgeoned the young girl to death with a lump of concrete.
Her foster mother raised the alarm after the young teen failed to arrive home from a party.
But Ms Collins never got to the party. A friend waiting for her at North Richmond station did not know the macabre reason she never arrived.
The investigation which followed the discovery of her body was described as “one of the largest and most intensive manhunts in the history” at the time.
Veteran Victoria Police homicide detective Ron Iddles told the Herald Sun in 2017 Ms Collins’ unsolved murder “kept him up at night”.
Cold case unit homicide detectives relaunched the investigation in 2012 after a suspect’s former carer handed over written notes she took from an elderly man detailing the deaths of Ms Collins and two other women.
The case remains a priority for police but sadly, 66 years on, Ms Collins’ brutal murder remains unsolved.