WHO WAS MR CRUEL?
IN THE 1980S, A KILLER STALKED MELBOURNE’S QUIET SUBURBS
In the 1980s and early ’90s, Australia was gripped by terror as a masked assailant prowled the streets, abducting, raping and even murdering children. The unnamed man stalked the quiet suburbs around Melbourne, targeting young girls. To many, he was a real-life bogeyman.
But no-one ever saw his face – police sketches only showed a balaclava.
Because of the way he terrorised his victims, the predator was nicknamed ‘Mr Cruel’. It was an apt moniker – and one of his first victims, 10-year-old Sharon Wills, would certainly agree.
Sharon was abducted by Mr Cruel from her home in
Melbourne’s Ringwood East in December, 1988. The masked intruder first entered the bedroom of Sharon’s parents, threatened them with a gun and tied them both up with copper wire.
He then took Sharon, blindfolded and gagged her, sparking a terrifying 18-hour ordeal for the little girl. She was found the next day dressed in garbage bags in Bayswater. Sharon told police she’d spent the last day shackled to a bed, blindfolded and assaulted by the masked monster.
He’d even gone to extreme lengths to cover his tracks and eliminate any forensic evidence – including washing his victim thoroughly, clipping her nails and brushing her teeth.
Mr Cruel then disappeared from the public conscience for several years – reappearing in July 1990 to commit an eerily similar crime.
The seasoned criminal broke into a home in Canterbury and tied and gagged a 13-year-old girl named Nicola Lynas. Placing tape over her eyes, he cut the phone lines in the house, searched for money and took Nicola to a nearby residence.
The girl was kept hostage and molested for 50 hours before she was released and left at a power station in Kew.
By now, Mr Cruel had a taste for blood. On April 13, 1991 – a man who police believe was Mr Cruel – abducted 13-yearold Karmein Chan, who went to the same school as Nicola.
The masked assailant wore a balaclava as he broke into the Chan home in Templestowe, before forcing Karmein’s two sisters into a wardrobe. He then disappeared into the night, taking Karmein with him.
But unlike Nicola and Sharon, poor Karmein was never found alive.
Her body was discovered a year later at Edgars Creek – she’d been shot three times.
Police were quick to link Karmein’s murder with the other two abductions and assaults. In 2016, Assistant Commissioner Stephen Fontana said Karmein was likely killed by her attacker because she was ‘feisty’ and may have seen his face. But just as quickly as Mr Cruel’s crimes started – they stopped.
There have been no arrests and Melbourne’s ‘bogeyman’ remains on the loose.
Mr Cruel’s modus operandi has been often compared to the Golden State Killer – also known as the East Area Rapist or Original Night Stalker – who murdered 12 people and raped 45 women between 1976 and 1986 in California.
Mr Cruel and the Golden State Killer, who California police believe to be 72-year-old former cop Joseph Deangelo, share many similarities. They broke into homes wearing masks and claimed they were there to rob the victims. Both would pause during their attacks for food or to ransack the house, and each perpetrator was painstakingly meticulous in the planning of their crimes.
And not long after the Golden State Killer ended his reign of terror, Mr Cruel emerged from the darkness.
If Mr Cruel was still alive, police believe he would be around 70. A $1 million reward remains on offer for any information regarding the murder of Karmein Chan.
Assistant Commissioner Fontana remains hopeful that one day – like in the case of Joseph Deangelo
– Mr Cruel would be brought to justice.
He said in 2016: “We have always thought someone would know and be close to him and know it was him.”