The remote Victorian towns where grisly crimes have taken place

Some of the most remote towns across the state have been the centre of grisly crimes, including a murder-suicide and the suspicious death of a toddler.

Some of the most remote areas in Victoria have been forced into the spotlight because of high-profile police investigations.

From a triple fatality in the southwest town of Kirkstall to a frenzied stabbing in the far west town of Casterton, there’s no denying that tragedy can strike anywhere.

Here are five gripping investigations that reveal the Victorian towns where evil lingers.

Kirkstall

Travis Cashmore shot two men before he was found dead at a property in Chamberlain St, Kirkstall.

The tiny southwest town of Kirkstall became the scene of a grisly triple fatal last month.

Witnesses said 45-year-old Travis Cashmore was highly agitated when he used a chainsaw to chop down his neighbour’s trees on July 22.

He then opened fire on local crime figure Kevin Knowles and his mate Benny Ray in a confrontation on Scotts North Rd.

Mr Cashmore returned to his Chamberlain St home and took his own life.

Moe

14-month-old Jaidyn Leskie disappeared from his Moe home in 1997.

Toddler Jaidyn Leskie disappeared from his Gippsland home of Moe in June 1997.

He was being babysat by his mother Bilynda Williams’ boyfriend, Greg Domaszewicz, at the time.

The 14-month-old’s battered body was found six months later, weighted with a crowbar in the freezing waters of Blue Rock dam, 30km north of Moe.

Mr Domaszewicz was charged with murder but was acquitted in a 1998 Supreme Court trial.

He has continued to deny any involvement in Jaidyn’s death.

He maintains that he left Jaidyn at home when he drove to pick up Ms Williams from the pub, but when they returned the boy had disappeared.

Nagambie

Adam Matthews was found dead in Nagambie near Shepparton.

Police retrieved the body of 25-year-old Adam Matthews from the Goulburn River near Chinaman’s Bridge Caravan Park in November 2000.

The day before residents of theNagambie caravan park noticed what they thought was rubbish tangled in a fallen tree, floating in the river.

But it was actually Mr Matthews’ body that had been wrapped in a blanket and weighted down with bricks.

A post-mortem examination revealed he had been violently assaulted.

Mr Matthews’ killer still remains on the run.

Kangaroo Flat

Matthew Johnston was fatally stabbed at his Kangaroo Flat home by his girlfriend Elise Walker on Christmas Eve, 2016.

A woman violently stabbed her boyfriend to death on Christmas Eve at his Kangaroo Flat property at Bendigo in 2016.

Elise Walker and Matthew Johnston started dating in 2013 but their relationship was marred by physical, psychological and emotional abuse.

On Christmas Eve, Ms Walker returned home and woke her boyfriend at 2pm.

The pair got into an argument over their Christmas plans and over three hours the fight escalated.

Several neighbours overheard the man and woman yelling, screaming and swearing at each other, as well as doors slamming.

A neighbour called police to report the “domestic” at 5.30pm after seeing a blood-soaked Ms Walker leaving the house.

Ms Walker appeared hysterical and was asking for others to call the ambulance while blood covered her arms, legs and clothes.

When police arrived they found the door open and Ms Walker sitting in the hallway with Mr Johnston lying on his back.

She was sentenced to a minimum of four years in jail.

Casterton

The main street of Casterton, 42km east of the South Australian border

Two men were killed in a frenzy stabbing attack after an ongoing feud led to a wild brawl at Casterton in Victoria’s west.

Aaron Jamie Ball stabbed his two neighbours, Toby Lynch and Raymond McCombe, to death in October 2011.

Mr Ball had warned neighbours before the fight, writing a letter to them about his violent temper.

He was sentenced to a minimum of 17 years in jail.

*They’re the locations which send a chill down the spine of every Victorian — the places where when you walk or drive past, you can’t help but remember the horror which transpired.

It may be Hoddle St, or the Westgate Bridge, or the Bourke St Mall or a random, remote dam in Winchelsea.

They are Victoria’s scars — the places which remind us of the pain of the past.

In a new Herald Sun series starting Monday our reporters will revisit these locations, telling their stories and providing readers with an interactive map to navigate.

In the first instalment we will revisit the locations of some of the state’s most enduring murder mysteries - a beach in Frankston, some creekside scrubland in Thomastown and a quiet, suburban street in Boronia among them.