Dear Rachelle investigation: Best friend Lisa’s raw diaries after Rachelle Childs’ murder

She was Rachelle Childs’ dearest friend, whose world shattered when she was murdered in 2001. But every tear Lisa has cried has been in lock-step with Rachelle’s family. Listen to the podcast, watch the video.

Lisa kept a diary during the “worst year” of her life.

Its pages ooze pain, anger and bewilderment.

Lisa had lost her best friend – Rachelle Childs – her “advocate” and hero” since the time the pair could walk.

Now, in the grief of the 23-year-old’s inexplicable killing in 2001, Lisa and the Childs family – Graham, Anne and Rachelle’s younger sister Kristy – would catch up for weekly dinners.

They would talk about the good – and the bad – with a love, connection and solidarity which will never dim.

Anne Childs called Lisa D3 – third daughter.

Lisa called Anne Ma2 – second mother.

The Childs’ mocked up an adoption certificate for Lisa, to show that she was part of their family.

Murdered woman Rachelle Childs with best friend Lisa on a trip to Queensland.

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Lisa’s memories have been enveloped with grief since Rachelle’s burning body was found on a lonely road in Gerroa, south of Sydney.

But her bond with the Childs family has only deepened.

The Childs’ were her second family “from the day I was born”.

“I loved their family dynamic,” Lisa says.

“I loved to just sit in their home, you know, and watch TV with them. And Christmas morning, I felt like I was on a winning ticket … they were a beautifully tight, gorgeous family. The love in that household, I just felt so welcomed all the time.”

Rachelle Childs and her best friend Lisa

Lisa and Rachelle Childs.

She and Rachelle were the same age. Each grew to be a de facto daughter to their neighbour’s parents.

They grew up in Glenfield, a then semi-rural suburb in south west Sydney.

The girls did dancing lessons together.

They would jump over the fence that separated their homes to splash in one another’s swimming pools.

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Before school, they’d visit their horses together, then meet up to do the same after school. They’d lie on the grass, stare at the sky, and wonder about their futures.

Rachelle protected Lisa from bullies. Rachelle would hold open barbed wire fences for Lisa’s escapes. Rachelle would then talk down her friend’s oppressors.

Rachelle Childs and her best friend Lisa.

As Lisa says of Rachelle, “every part of her heart was always in the right place”.

“I’m so grateful for her and for those memories because I can’t not smile,” she says.

“When I think about how blessed I was to get her and to have her in my life to navigate the good and the tough times.”

In Rachelle’s absence, Lisa is “big Sis”, and Kristy is “little Sis”. At some point, they got matching tattoos.

Lisa would do anything for Kristy – not that she has ever asked for help.

Kristy assumed the role of campaign head for family justice after her father passed away in 2021.

Graham, a model of stoicism, had absorbed the frustrations and disappointments on his family’s behalf.

He never doubted that they would find the truth; on his deathbed, Kristy promised him she would find Rachelle’s killer.

Lisa with her personal diary from 2001, the year her best friend Rachelle Childs was murdered. Picture: Justin Lloyd

A page from Lisa’s diary, a month after Rachelle’s burning remains were found on the side of a road in Gerroa.

A page of Lisa’s diary from after Rachelle was murdered.

At the time, a renewed NSW police push had ebbed.

The privations of Covid, such as limits on hospital visits, compounded the unfairness of Graham’s loss.

As Lisa said: “You just think to yourself, for f***’s sake, like how many cards are going to get dealt to Kristy and Anne?”

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Kristy spoke to the media on the anniversaries of Rachelle’s death.

She campaigned for rises in the police reward and urged NSW Police to double back on this or that aspect of the investigation.

“She’s just so tough, so brave, so competent, so smart, so capable of everything,” Lisa says.

“But if she ever broke, if there was ever a crack, I’d be there in a heartbeat.”

Anne Childs, Kristy Childs and Lisa, who is like a third daughter and sister to the Child's family. Picture: Supplied

A protracted coronial inquest into Rachelle’s death began in Sydney in 2006.

When Lisa was living overseas, Anne emailed detailed daily inquest updates to Lisa.

She shared the lighter moments in what was a bleak process.

The Childs family offered hugs and the gratitude to witnesses, including some of the persons of interest.

“I can’t tell you the amount of times we have laughed throughout this whole hearing … I know that doesn’t sound right but it was all so appropriate each time,” Anne wrote.

Of Kristy’s giving evidence, Anne wrote: “My precious baby was on the stand for two hours … you would have been quite proud as we were.”

Anne also expressed her need for a resolution; she was certain she would see the killer’s face during the inquest.

“Make sure you eyeball him every chance you get so much that his insides burn with pain,” Lisa wrote about an upcoming witness.

“I will be eyeballing (him), don’t you worry yr pretty lil head about that one!” Anne replied.

By the day of Rachelle’s 2001 funeral, Lisa had withered. In time, her weight would plummet and her study would suffer.

Inside Lisa’s diary she titled “The worst year of my life”.

A diary entry from Lisa where she reflects on it being the first Christmas after Rachelle’s murder.

In her 2001 diary, Lisa wrote an entry on the day before Christmas: “I hate the fact that her family have 2 sit there + pretend they’re enjoying Christmas knowing their chelle has been murdered + will never b there with them again. I am feeling pretty upset, just so numb at the moment.”

For more information about our investigation, visit dearachelle.com.au.

If you have any tips or confidential information, please contact investigative journalist Ashlea Hansen at [e-mail].

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Originally published as Dear Rachelle investigation: Best friend Lisa’s raw diaries after Rachelle Childs’ murder