Victoria Police unable to eliminate seven Mr Cruel suspects
IT is 25 years next week since the child abducting murderer known as Mr Cruel kidnapped his last known victim.
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IT is 25 years next week since the child abducting murderer known as Mr Cruel kidnapped his last known victim.
Previously secret information about the still unsolved Mr Cruel attacks has been provided to the Herald Sun.
That information includes new details about the seven Mr Cruel suspects police were unable to eliminate.
A former Melbourne University lecturer is among those seven suspects.
The 75-year-old convicted sex offender last week admitted to the Herald Sun he knew police consider him to be the prime suspect.
But he denied being responsible for attacking an 11-year-old girl in her home in 1987, abducting Sharon Wills, 10, in 1988, kidnapping Nicola Lynas, 13 in 1990 and murdering Karmein Chan, 13.
The new Mr Cruel evidence is being revealed in a 10,000 word report at www.heraldsun.com.au and includes previously secret information about what Mr Cruel did to his victims and what he said to them.
Victoria Police formed the Spectrum taskforce four weeks after the April 13, 1991, abduction of Karmein Chan.
They did so because they believed the Chan case was the latest in a series of attacks committed by an unidentified man who the media dubbed Mr Cruel.
The 40-strong taskforce spent almost three years and $3.8 million chasing him.
It was disbanded in January 1994, without Mr Cruel being charged or positively identified.
Spectrum detectives interviewed more than 27,000 people and examined 30,000 houses suspected of being used by Mr Cruel to hide his victims.
They ended up with the seven Mr Cruel suspects they were unable to eliminate.
The Spectrum detectives created dossiers on each of the seven men, calling them the Sierra Files.
SEVEN SUSPECTS: MR CRUEL INTERACTIVE MAP
A small number of senior police in elite squads were then given access to the Sierra Files, with the instruction that if another child was abducted all seven should be arrested and questioned.
Their research suggested any of the seven could be Mr Cruel and all of them had the sick traits necessary to commit the type of horrendous crimes Mr Cruel was responsible for.
No details were ever made public about the seven Mr Cruel suspects — until now.
The Herald Sun recently obtained their names.
While it is not identifying them at the request of Victoria Police, it is revealing previously secret information about all seven.
Anybody with information about Mr Cruel, or any of the crimes attributed to him, should call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or provide information online through www.crimestoppersvic.com.au — a $300,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of Mr Cruel is still available.
The Herald Sun revealed on Wednesday that Victoria Police is expected to increase that reward to at least $1 million.