‘I’ll find Mum’s killer’
One woman’s quest
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For 20 years Cheriekah Ramirez has been on a mission. While raising six children, the gung-ho Perth-based mother has been on a heartbreaking quest to track down who’s responsible for the death of her mother.
The 41-year-old has gone to great lengths to unravel the mystery behind her mum Mary Mccrystal’s death in July 1997, when she was found dead in the bedroom of her doublestorey home in the country town of Maffra, Victoria.
To arm herself with the skills and knowledge to challenge the authorities, Cheriekah went to university to study health sciences, pathology, forensic psychology, law, criminology and justice, all in a bid to reveal the truth – that her beloved mum was murdered.
SEEKING JUSTICE
After the grim discovery of her mum’s body, an investigation ensued and police concluded that Mary suffocated after collapsing while drunk.
But Cheriekah believes otherwise, and has since led her own investigation to bring Mary’s killer, or killers, to justice.
“I can’t bring Mum back, but I want to find out what happened to her,” she says.
“She was a loving and caring person. She lived for her children, but she’s been painted as someone totally different – she didn’t die in a drunken stupor, something terrible happened.”
Cheriekah has written to the coroner in Victoria asking for her mother’s death to be re-investigated, and has compiled a report highlighting new evidence and what she believes are discrepancies in the original investigation.
When police found Mary’s body in the upstairs apartment above her second-hand goods shop on the night of July 15, 1997, it was ruled an accident.
However, Cheriekah believes there was a web of anomalies that didn’t add up to her.
Mary was slumped on the floor, in a foetal position, wearing a woollen jumper and underwear. A trace of blood ran from her nose. Yet when Cheriekah spoke to someone who visited her mum at home that night they said Mary was wearing flannelette pyjamas.
Furthermore, when Cheriekah visited her mother’s home where she died, she found her blood-stained pyjamas hidden in a laundry basket with a bloody clump of hair around the neckline.
Neighbours also claimed to have heard yelling in the apartment that night.
“When I viewed Mum’s body, she had cuts and scrapes through her scalp and bruises all over her,” Cheriekah explains.
She suspects Mary was being drugged by a man who was taking financial advantage of her. He stalked Mary, forcing her to sign loan documents to finance his debts and seized her social security payments.
Just before she died, Mary confided in a few friends and family about the sinister goings-on. Concerned, she also sought help from police. But Mary’s claims were dismissed by the authorities with her alleged tormentor saying she was mentally unhinged.
LAST VISIT
Cheriekah says speaking out against this man may have cost Mary her life.
“Mum wasn’t in a good way when I’d visit her. She didn’t have a purse or bank card, and told me that a man was taking her money. He’d also get mum to sign business and financial documents that she didn’t understand. She tried to get away from him, but he’d find her. I think she was terrified,” says Cheriekah, remembering the last time she saw her mum.
Now she’s determined to force the Victorian coroner to reopen the case to get answers.
“I’ve cried myself to sleep for more than 20 years,” says Cheriekah.
“People have tried to shut me down and don’t want me to know what happened, but I won’t rest until Mum gets the justice she deserves.”
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