Dear Rachelle investigation: New ‘line of inquiry’ in Rachelle’s cold case

The man police believe may have lured Rachelle Childs to her death with the promise of access to an exclusive Holden later showed off the same model of car at his home, it is claimed. Listen to podcast.

The man police believe may have lured Rachelle Childs to her death with the promise of access to an exclusive Holden later showed off the same model of car at his NSW south coast home, it is claimed.

About 18 months after Rachelle’s death in 2001, “Evelyn” started seeing Kevin Correll, Rachelle’s manager at Camden Holden, in what was doomed to be a short-term relationship.

Mr Correll took her to see his apartment in Warilla, south of Sydney.

The pair was walking towards the beach when Mr Correll urged her to come look at his “fancy” car.

He steered her to a carport, where a blue/silver Holden sat.

“You know what kind of car it is?” Mr Correll asked.

Evelyn now says: “For some reason, the name of the car always stuck with me because it was a really nice name … he said it was a Walkinshaw.”

Rachelle Childs was found murdered on June 7, 2001. Picture: Adam Yip

Rachelle’s body was found on fire nine hours after she left work on June 7, 2001, about 100km from where she was last seen.

A coronial inquest delivered an open finding in 2008. Mr Correll has always denied any involvement in Rachelle’s murder, has never been charged and this masthead is not suggesting he is guilty, only that her death should be reinvestigated.

ISTEN TO EPISODES 1-7 OF THE PODCAST BELOW:

The Dear Rachelle investigation recently revealed he separately stood trial for – and was acquitted of – multiple sexual assault charges on women in Sydney, in the ‘80s, under a different surname.

Rachelle Childs with a Holden VK Commodore. Picture: Supplied

In the days before Rachelle’s death, the vivacious 23-year-old had told friends and family that she would have the use of a Holden Special Vehicles VL SS Group A, known as a Walkinshaw, for the upcoming long weekend.

The car, she said, would be arriving at her Holden dealership workplace.

Her boss, Kevin Correll, had allowed Rachelle to take home cars from the used-car car yard.

Kevin Correll was Rachelle Childs’ boss. Picture: Julian Andrews

Former NSW Detective Inspector Mick Ashwood called Evelyn’s new information a “line of inquiry” into Rachelle’s death – and one that must be thoroughly investigated.

“You want to say, ‘how did they get this Walkinshaw?’” he said. “You don’t just interview the person. You interview family, friends, canvass people. Did you see this? Do you know him? These things are boring things, but they are critical. They must be done.”

Letters were sent by detectives to every registered owner of a Walkinshaw in Australia after her death, asking if they knew Mr Correll, or Rachelle, or if they owned a such a vehicle on the day Rachelle went missing.

But as the detectives pointed out at the time, their search did not include Commodore owners who had added body kits and other accessories to make their car look like a Walkinshaw.

The letter sent by the detectives to every registered owner of a Walkinshaw in Australia after Rachelle’s death.

Car mechanic Ben Hill was asked by the Dear Rachelle podcast about telling the difference between a real and fake Walkinshaw.

“It’s very difficult unless you are a trained expert or an obsessive collector,” he said. “If one drove past or pulled up in a car park, you wouldn’t be able to spot the difference.”

Counsel assisting the coroner at the inquest into Rachelle’s death, Peter Singleton, told the Dear Rachelle podcast: “It seems that no Walkinshaw was ever coming into the yard. And Rachelle had been completely misinformed.”

Of Evelyn’s 2002 claim, he said: “The Walkinshaw featured heavily in this inquest for various reasons, and it is a matter that should be followed up. Someone has got this information. They should be interviewed.”

Evelyn saw Mr Correll between November, 2002 and February, 2003.

She said he used four different cars during that time, including a black sports car and a Holden.

An image of a Walkinshaw car, which was called the ‘plastic pig’.

“Kevin had previously told me that his best friend owned a car yard, and I assumed that he was getting his cars from his friend,” Evelyn told police in 2007.

“During this time I was under the impression that Kevin was a psychologist, but I didn’t really know where he worked.”

Only 750 Walkys, which can now sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars, were manufactured.

The silver blue muscle machine was dubbed the “plastic pig” and soared in the motoring imagination in the so-called “bogan boom” of the 1990s.

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: New ‘line of inquiry’ in Rachelle’s cold case