Casefile Archives 9: The Frankston Serial Killer

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“As case file continues into its 10th year,”

we're currently taking a very short break from new episodes. Brand new cases will be returning on May 23 for premium subscribers and May 30 for the regular feed. But in the meantime, we're continuing our special bonus series case file archives, a collection of releases

revisiting the earliest years of the show, along with previously unreleased premium episodes. Over the next three weeks, we'll be releasing two fully

re-recorded episodes from our first year of production,

along with one episode that was previously only available to Patreon and premium subscribers. Rest assured that these are additional bonus releases and will not replace our standard schedule. We will still be delivering the same number of new episodes

this year as we did last year.

“The case file archives is simply a way to mark the 10th year.”

Revisit some older episodes and share stories that newer listeners may not have heard before. For the re-release episodes, we fully edited, polished, re-recorded, and freshly produced them from start to finish to match our current production standards.

They are not complete re-rites. Our aim isn't to reshape the cases or alter

the original storytelling, but to preserve them as they were first

told while bringing them up to the level of production the show has today. Where appropriate updates have been added, but the core structure remains faithful to the originals. Because of this, these episodes may sound

a little different to our recent work.

“Today's re-release is the Frankenstein serial killer.”

Originally released as case 23 in June, 2016, the case was first presented as a two-part series with part one released on June 19, followed by part two, the following week. Thank you to everyone who has listened

and supported us over the years. Now here is the next episode from case file archives, the Frankenstein serial killer. Our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents. If you feel at any time you need support,

please contact your local crisis center. For suggested phone numbers for confidential support and for a more detailed list of content warnings, please see the show notes for this episode on your app, or on our website.

Frankenstein's city is a local government area in Victoria, located 40 kilometers south east of Melbourne. At the time of this episode's initial release, it had a population of about 135,000 people. Frankenstein's city incorporates many different suburbs,

including Frankenstein, Lang Warren, Frankenstein North, Seafood and others. All of the places you will hear about in this episode are part of the Frankenstein city area. Our story begins in February 1993 on Claude Street in Seafood,

where a local resident by the name of Donna Vainz was growing nervous. She lived in a unit there with her boyfriend Lars and her young infant, but lately Donna's home life had been disrupted by a series of prank phone calls. Lars worked as a pizza delivery driver,

meaning he was typically out at night, leaving Donna home alone with her baby. Feeling uncomfortable due to the calls she had been receiving, Donna decided to spend one particular February evening driving around with Lars while he worked,

rather than stay home alone. As it happened, Lars only had a short shift to that night, said they were back home within about an hour.

The first thing they saw when they walked inside

was Donna's cat on a land-room floor, dead. A picture of a naked woman had been placed on top of the cat, and written on a wall in the cat's blood, where the words, "Donna, you're dead."

The entire place had been ransacked.

“Drawers were pulled out, cupboards had been opened,”

and Donna's belongings were strewn everywhere. A knife had been used to slush and stub the walls and cabinets. The intruder had even done this in the nursery, slushing some of the baby's clothes. In the crib was another picture of a naked woman

stabbed through with a knife so viciously, had cut through to the crib below. In the bathroom, Donna's two kittens lay dead, both violently killed. Shaving cream had been used to write the names

Donna and Robin on the bathroom mirror.

“This message baffled Donna, as she didn't know anybody named Robin.”

Nor could she think of anybody who would so violently damage her home or harm her pet. Les wasn't her child's father, but the breakup with her ex-partner hadn't been that bad.

He'd never been violent towards her during the relationship,

and she couldn't believe he would start now. Police later questioned her ex and learned he had a solid alibi. Terrified, Donna left her unit immediately and moved in with her sister, Tricia veins. Tricia's neighbor, Julia, comforted Donna. She could empathize because she had just experienced a similar thing.

When Julia was recently away for a holiday, somebody had broken into her unit and slashed every photo that featured her across her throat.

“The dress she'd worn to her engagement party was cut up as well.”

Just like Donna, Julia had no enemies and could imagine who would be capable of such a thing. A young man who lived next door to Tricia reassured the two women that whoever was responsible was just a sicko, and he would look out for them. It wouldn't have seemed like it at the time, but in the coming months, Donna and Julia would learn how incredibly lucky they'd been.

Tasmania and local Elizabeth Stevens had been living in foster care since she was 14. After she turned 18, she decided to relocate to Victoria to move in with her anti-reader and Uncle Paul arriving in January 1993. They lived together in Patterson Avenue in the suburb of Lange Warren. Although Elizabeth was quiet and shy, she was also extremely friendly to anyone she met.

She was studying at Tafe in Frankenstein. For those not familiar with Tafe, it is similar to community or technical college in other parts of the world. As Elizabeth had grown up in Tasmania, she didn't have many friends in the Franken area and to note boyfriends. When she wasn't studying, she liked to spend her time reading and mainly hung out at home. On Friday, June 11, 1993, four months after Donna Vain's violent

break-in, Paul and Rita arrived home from work to find a note from Elizabeth on the kitchen bench. The note explained that she had gone to the Tafe library to study and would be back about 8pm.

Elizabeth always made sure to let Paul and Rita know where she was, so when it ticked over to 10pm

and Elizabeth still wasn't home, Paul and Rita panicked. Paul got in his car and started driving around the streets looking for his niece. Elizabeth didn't drive so she caught the bus to and from Tafe. Paul drove to Frankenstein Tafe then back to Cranbourne Road, Lange Warren, where Elizabeth's bus stop was located. It was only a short walk from the bus stop to Paul and Rita's house. Paul took the same route as the bus before expanding his search into surrounding streets.

He couldn't find any trace of Elizabeth. The weather didn't help, heavy rain and the gusts of wind significantly reduced Paul's visibility. The couple called the police who arrived at just after 1am. The officer who attended Sergeant Webster immediately had a feeling something wasn't right. There were the missing person reports where a young person had a lot of friends like to go out partying to go off with boyfriend or girlfriend or had trouble at home.

Then there were the missing person reports that were completely out of character. Elizabeth was reliable, well behaved and left a note letting her aunty and uncle know exactly

she wasn't the partying type. The police conducted their own search, though there wasn't much

“they could do at that time of morning. The Tafe and library were shot and the bus company had finished”

up for the night. There was nobody to go on question. After they looked for Elizabeth without success, they made a report and left instructions for their day-shift colleagues to follow up. The next day, a local man named Rod was down at Lloyd Park on Kremborn Frankston Road in Langwon. Lloyd Park is a large area surrounded by scrub and trees with playgrounds, barbecue facilities, a couple of sporting fields and vast across the areas. At night, it is a very quiet and isolated spot.

Rod's wife had sent him to Lloyd Park to find a small pine tree that could decorate for

their mid-year Christmas party. Rod walked along one of the tracks that weaved through the trees and

“scrub searching for a suitable tree. Instead, he discovered the body of Elizabeth Stevens.”

Police were called and set up a crime scene. A Elizabeth had been the victim of a frenzy to knife attack, multiple stab wounds and a crisscross pattern had been carved into her stomach. The killer had also stomped on her face, breaking her nose. A post-mortem would reveal that Elizabeth was choked on conscious prior to being stabbed. Although her top had been removed,

the bottom half of her clothing was intact. There was now evidence of sexual assault.

Lloyd Park was only a short walk from Elizabeth's bus stop. Police believed Elizabeth had caught the bus from Frankston Tafe, then disembarked at her usual stop, where she was attacked. The area was quiet and isolated at the best of times, but the previous nights howling wind and heavy rain would have prevented neighbors from hearing any screams. Paul and Rita's house actually backed on to Lloyd Park. When they spotted the flushing

lights and numerous police cars over their back fence, they knew before the police even knocked on their door that Elizabeth had been found. A forensic examination turned up almost nothing. It had rained all night and was still raining that day, removing any possible evidence. A search of the area did reveal one thing, a piece of the knife blade. The force of the attack had been so extreme that the killer's knife broke, but no prints or other evidence were found on

the blade. Elizabeth's bag and the top half of her clothing were found nearby. Both were soaking wet, with all possible evidence washed away. As well as there being zero forensic evidence, nothing useful came from the police's extensive witness interviews. No disgruntled ex-boyfriends, no troubles at home, no issues at Tafe. One theory was that maybe Elizabeth had accepted a ride from somebody to escape the bad weather.

Every student who attended Elizabeth's Tafe was checked out. Some names that popped up raised a few eyebrows based on prior criminal history, but they were eventually eliminated from the investigation. Police set up a roadblock near Elizabeth's bus stop and displayed a mannequin

“dressed like her, but this didn't help jog any one's memory. The bus driver couldn't remember”

Elizabeth and nor could the librarians. Appeals for other passengers on the bus to come forward didn't produce any other witnesses. Police also issued public appeals on newspaper from pages and nightly news bulletins. They received more than 1,000 tip-offs, though unfortunately none amounted to anything. Nothing came out of an extensive door knock of every house in the area either. No forensic evidence, no witnesses, no suspects,

no leads at all. Four weeks later on Thursday, July 8, 1993, 41-year-old Rosa Tafe got off a train at Seafood Station. It was 5.50 pm. A short distance from the station was Seafood North Reserve, similar to nearby Lloyd Park, though not nearly as big. It had a grass reserve

Rosa walked along railway parade which took her past Seafood North Reserve. She noticed the

“man standing next to the park's toilet block but didn't think much of it. Although it was dark,”

there were other people in the area. Passengers who had disembarked the same train as Rosa were still back in the car park and there was the odd car driving past. As Rosa passed to the man, he quickly ran up behind her, covered her mouth and forced her to the ground. He dragged her from the footpath, down past the toilet block, then into the grass reserve area. The attack was quick, it was dark, nobody saw a thing. Rosa kicked and struggled trying to break

free from her attacker but she couldn't. Pressing something up against her head, he told her

he would blow her head off if she didn't stop fighting. But Rosa could tell he wasn't holding

“a gun. The object felt wooden. Rosa stopped struggling and her attacker relaxed, thinking the”

thread of the gun had worked. Rosa seized her opportunity and ran. She ran straight out onto the road, screaming as loudly as she could. Her attacker didn't follow. He fled in the opposite direction through the reserve and sporting fields. A driver stopped and gave Rosa a lift home, then Rosa reported the attempted deduction to the police. Her right leg was badly grazed,

her clothing had been ripped and some of her hair had been poured out. She described her attacker as

male 18 to 20 years old wearing a black jacket and a beanie. He was approximately 180 centimeters tall or just under six feet, with a round face and blue eyes. Police took her statement, filled out a report, and sent it to detectives to have a look at. Elsewhere that same night, just a short distance away in C-Fid's Canonal Avenue, a woman named Debbie Frame was at home. Debbie was 22 years old and had just given birth to a son who was

only 12 days old. Her boyfriend was at work and Debbie was cooking dinner for a long-term mutual friend of theirs named Russell. Russell hadn't seen Debbie since her child's birth and both were looking forward to the catch-up. Debbie was making an omelet when she realized that there was no milk. She told Russell she had the duck out to the shops but it would only take two minutes if that. Her son was asleep so Debbie would leave him at home. It was 7pm when Debbie left the house.

Russell occupied himself by watching TV. As two minutes turned to 10 and 10 turned to 20, he grew concerned. Where was Debbie? She said she'd only be two minutes. Russell didn't live in the area so he wasn't sure which shop Debbie had gone to. Besides, he couldn't go out to look for her as that would mean leaving her baby home alone. After an hour had gone by, he called the police and the local hospital to see if there'd been any

accidents in the area. There hadn't been. He then called Debbie's boyfriend Gary Blair who arranged to leave work early. He also called one of Debbie's friends who would come over to watch the baby. Gary and Russell then went out looking for Debbie. Gary directed Russell to the local shop where Debbie would have gone and they drove around the surrounding streets. There was no trace of her or her

car which was a grain-ness and pulsar. The two men decided to drive to Frankston Police Station to report Debbie missing. They sat anxiously throughout the night waiting to hear from Debbie or from the police with some information but they didn't hear anything. It was as if Debbie had vanished.

“Police visited all of the local shops but nobody could remember serving Debbie.”

It didn't take detectives long to link Debbie's disappearance to the attack on Rosa Toth which had happened in the same area just one hour earlier. Debbie lived a right near canon oak train station the next stop after seafood station where Rosa was attacked. The two locations were just two kilometers apart.

Stevens was found. Even without the link to those other two attacks Debbie frames

“disappearance was treated as sinister from the start. She'd had dinner cooking and a guest waiting”

and she left her 12-day old son at home. A search of nearby canon oak creek was organized. Divers were called into scour the water while the surrounding thick bush and scrub were also searched. Nothing was found. This time an appeal to the public did reveal some interesting information. Several people came forward to report they'd seen a great pulsar the same car

as Debbie's driving erratically. It was swirving and flashing its high beams at passing cars.

Had Debbie been trying to signal for help. The next day, Friday, a detective who was out dealing with an unrelated case happened to drive past a great pulsar parked outside a Christian

“center on Madden Street in seafood, just two kilometers from where Debbie had gone missing the”

night before. A wear of Debbie's case and the car she'd been driving, the detective turned around to check out the pulsar. It was Debbie's. The front passenger side door was unlocked and there was a dent in the center of the bonnet. The damage looked recent. Debbie's boyfriend Gary confirmed the car hadn't been damaged prior to Debbie's disappearance. A forensic examination was quickly arranged and traces of Debbie's blood were found. Something else that stood out was the driver's seat.

It was pushed right back. Debbie was short so there was no way she would have had the seat back that far. It certainly looked like fell play, but police had to keep an open mind.

“Four days later on Monday, July 12, a farmer named Fred was out working on his farm on Taylor's”

road in Caram Downs. Caram Downs lies east of seafood and about a 15-minute drive from where Debbie had gone missing. Taylor's road itself was quiet and isolated, surrounded by farmland. Although it was part of the Franken area, it seemed like it was in the middle of nowhere. And that afternoon, Fred was driving around checking his fence line to make sure there were no holes or other damage that livestock could escape through. Underneath a couple of large

phone leaves by his fence line along Taylor's road, Fred saw what he thought was a pile of dump rubbish. As he drew closer, he started smurking. It was a mannequin. One of his neighbors was playing a trick on him. Good one, he thought. As he got closer still, he froze. Just that morning, Fred had read a newspaper article about the disappearance of Debbie Fring. In that moment, Fred knew that he'd found her. Police arrived and set up a crime scene. The case was

very similar to that of Elizabeth Stevens. Debbie had been the victim of a frenzy to knife attack. There were no signs of sexual assault and a post-mortem would reveal she had been strangled as well. Debbie had numerous defensive wounds on her arms and hands, and just as with the Elizabeth Stevens scene, not a shred of forensic evidence was found. Case file will be back shortly. Thank you for supporting us by listening to this episode

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The recent attacks were linked to the unsolved murders of two other women that had previously

“occurred in the area. The first was Sarah McDermott who went missing from Canada”

train station three years earlier in 1990. Bloodstains were found next to her vehicle as well as

drag marks. To this day, Sarah's body has never been found. However, a coroner ruled she met with

foul play. A $1 million reward has been offered for information that helps solve her case. You can listen to our Case file present series about Sarah's case titled "Searching for Sarah McDermott." The other victim was Michelle Brown, who was found murdered in Frankenstein in 1992. There's also a million dollar reward on offer for her case, which is now believed to have no connection to the Frankenstein serial killer. To avoid confusion, I won't mention these two

cases again. Their inclusion here is to give an idea of what was happening at the time and what the

“media was reporting. Despite the uncertainty as to whether Sarah and Michelle's cases were linked”

to the 1993 attacks, whispers about a murderer in Frankenstein were no longer whispers.

There was a serial killer on a loose who had killed at least two women and tried to kill a third.

Newspapers ran panic headlines, police warned women to avoid traveling solo or going to their vehicles alone, especially at night and in quiet spots. Detectives conducted a search for anyone in the Frankenstein area with a history of violent attacks against women. 500 names were spattered of the computer. That list was eventually narrowed down to 30 who were checked out more thoroughly. All were eventually cleared.

Detectives also sought the help of a fellow officer who had spent 14 months training in criminal

“profiling at the FBI Academy in Quanticoat. He put together a profile which suggested that the”

killer was a male who had acted out on a strong fantasy that had been building up inside him for years.

He was likely unemployed, but if he was employed he would hold a menial job. The killer lived in and was very familiar with the Frankenstein area. He would be aged between 18 and 24, was average looking and would live alone. Based on the location of the attacks and the spot where Debbie's car was found, the profile unlocked out an area on the map that he believed the killer lived in. As the killer had obviously driven Debbie's car from the crime scene at

Taylor's road, then dumped it on Madden Street in seafood, there was thought that he lived somewhere in that area. Not too close, but not too far either. As was the case with any profile, it was only a guide and could apply to many people. Detectives were encouraged not to discount anyone just because they didn't fit the profile. The constant new cycle about a serial killer on the loose meant that local residents were living in fear. The Frankenstein area had been a

quiet, friendly place. Now people cast suspicious eyes everywhere they went, wondering, is that person the killer? Some started changing their habits while others put their houses on the market so they could move away entirely. But there was a problem trying to sell houses. Nobody wanted to move into the Frankenstein area. Property sales dried up and rental homes remained vacant. People started bombing themselves with hockey sticks and cricket bats.

Women carried oven cleaner in their handbags to spray in the eyes of any attacker. Enrollments in self-defense classes skyrocketed. In response to the public's panic, police commenced operation ray assurance. The Frankenstein area was flooded with extra police. It was a high visibility operation designed to make the public feel safe, but also to deter further attacks. On Friday, July 30, just three weeks after the murder of Debbie Freeman, a postal worker was

delivering mail on her motorbike along Sky Road in Frankenstein. Sky Road is only a short distance from the other crime scenes. All of which were within an 8-kilometer radius. At about 230pm, the postal worker noticed a rusty yellow Toyota Corona without number plates parked near the

get from Sky Road to Frankenstein north. A high wire fence boarded either side with overgrown trees,

“thick scrub and grass pushed up against it. The bike track was quiet and isolated and wasn't”

visible from the road. You couldn't see it from the golf course either due to the trees and heavy scrub between them. As the postal worker observed at the old Toyota parked by the track's entrance, she noticed a man with their chubby face sitting in the driver's seat. He wore a dark colored cap and was gazing down Sky Road. As she rode past, the man slouched down in his seat as if he didn't want to be seen. There was something off about the man. Given the news about a violent

serial killer stalking the streets of Frankenstein, the postal worker decided to report him

to the police. She poured into the driveway of a nearby home and knocked on the front door asking to use their phone. As she did so, she noticed the school girl walking along Sky Road

“towards the bike track. The girl was 17-year-old Natalie Russell, a year 12 student at John Paul”

College, a Catholic High School located just off Sky Road. Natalie had finished the day with a free period, so she'd left early to go home and study for upcoming exams. Two days earlier, the principle of John Paul College warned students at a school assembly to avoid shortcut home, including the nearby bike track. But plenty of kids had ignored the caution and the track remained in use. At this time, however, Natalie was the only student headed there

due to her early finish. It was a much quicker way for her to walk home to Frankenstein North. As Natalie walked up Sky Road, she was being watched through a pair of binoculars. Realizing where she was headed, the man stopped watching her. He got out of the car,

“ran up the bike track and waited. A short time later, Natalie walked past the now-wempty yellow”

Toyota and made her way on to the track. Police responded to the postal workers call about a suspicious male in the Toyota. But, when they arrived, there was nobody in the car. They'd all knocked some nearby houses, though didn't learn anything useful. When a call for a armed robbery came over the radio, the officers had to leave and respond to that. By this time, school had finished for the day, and students were now starting to flood the

streets heading off in various directions. A few other kids ventured onto the bike track. One noticed a shoe lying in the middle of the track right next to a hole in the fence that led into the trees and scrub. Another noticed a man walking hurriedly towards him. Fear gripped the child, then quickly passed when the man kept a walking without saying anything, keeping his head down and his hands shoved in his pockets. At 8 p.m. that night,

Natalie Russell's family called Frankston Police Station to report her missing.

Natalie was always home before dark, and she made sure to call her parents to let them know

where she was. She was a good kid, quiet, and well behaved with the close circle of friends. She'd never run off before. Needless to say, the report was treated with great urgency. Police questioned Natalie's parents and alert about the bike track that she used to walk home. A search of the track was quickly arranged. Several holes had been cut along the wire fence that flanked the track. It was through the third hole deep into the scrub and

of trees that they found Natalie's body. She had been the victim of a frenzy to knife attack and sustained numerous defensive injuries. There was no sign of sexual assault. There was no question her murder was related to those of Elizabeth Stevens and Debbie Freeman. A search of the crime scene and a forensic examination was postponed until the next day. Police didn't want the risk losing any evidence in the poor light.

Organizing flood lighting in the area would only increase the amount of foot traffic in turn, increasing the chances of a contaminated crime scene. Their decision proved to be a wise one. Unlike the two previous cases, the side of Natalie Russell's

whole had been cut. The cut in the fence could be matched to a tool owned by the suspect

“if one was ever identified. A small piece of skin was located in one of Natalie's wounds which”

seemed foreign. The pathologist believed the killer may have cut himself in the attack. About 10 small dark hairs that did not belong to Natalie were found in her hand. She had ripped some of the killer's hair out. Two leather straps with blood on them were also found at the scene. While police were waiting for test results to come back, they linked the postal workers report about the suspicious mail to the attack on Natalie Russell.

So, who was the man in the Toyota Corona?

When police had responded to the postal workers call, there was nobody in the car

and the car had no number plates. However, there was a registration sticker fixed to the windscreen and the police who attended had recorded those registration details.

“Detectives ran a check and found the vehicle belonged to a man who they'd run into before.”

He'd recently been spotted sitting in his car alone at night in a nearby car park, prompting police to approach and speak to him. His name was Paul Charles Daniel. Paul Daniel was born on April 14, 1972, making him 21 years old.

He was a middle child with four brothers and one sister.

Paul was average looking and overweight with a baby face, clean cut and quietly spoken. His parents were Anthony and Marine Daniel who moved to Australia from the United Kingdom in 1965. They believed in Sydney and Adelaide before settling in Melbourne. Paul didn't mix well with the other kids at school. He struggled academically,

“had low self-esteem, and other students tended to stay away from him, leaving him isolated.”

From a young age, he showed a complete lack of emotion about pretty much everything. At the age of 11, Paul cut the throat of his sister's teddy bear. When confronted about it, he just smirked. Around the same time, his family's pet cat was found hanging in a tree with its throat slashed. Paul blamed the neighbours, but he's oughta brother noticed the blood on Paul's pocket knife.

At 13, he was arrested for stealing a car. He ended up getting a caution for that because he was a juvenile. At 15, he was charged with assault on a fellow student. Paul was also caught staring through the window at one of his brothers' girlfriends while she was underressing. He had an interest in knives and he liked going on long walks by himself in the middle

of the night. Paul worked a number of manual jobs, but was fired from all of them, either for dishonesty or for being lazy. He met his girlfriend Sharon while working at a grocery store, one of seven jobs he was sacked from. Sharon was described by some as being somewhat controlling, demanding to know where Paul was at all times. She was often opinionated and could at times be rude and outspoken,

whereas Paul was generally more reserved and softly spoken. He had very few friends, mainly associating with just his family and Sharon. Earlier in 1993, before fear had gripped Frankston, Paul applied to join the police force, but failed the physical due to being overweight. He knew the Frankston area well, having lived there most of his life.

He'd spent much of his teenage years smoking cannabis with his brothers at Lloyd Park, where Elizabeth Stevens was found, and, along Taylor's road, where Debbie Freeman was found. Detectives paid a visit to Paul's Frankston North unit on the afternoon of Saturday, July 31, the day after Natalie Russell was killed. They found Daniel at home with his girlfriend Sharon. The couple invited the detectives into their small, messy and barely furnished home.

The detectives asked to Daniel all of the usual background questions. Then they got down to business, asking him where he had been and what he had done the day before. Daniel explained that he'd woken up at about 7.30 a.m.

Next, he drove around to visit a few car records in search of a spare wheel for his old toyota corona.

“After finding one, Daniel returned home, worked on his car for a bit,”

then went to a different car record to look for a new speed-o cable. While he was out, he visited his mother, but she wasn't home, so he had a coffee with her boyfriend instead. During the journey home, Daniel's car overheated and he had to pull over. He topped the vehicle's water up, then went for a quick walk while waiting for the radiator to

cool down. Returning to the car, he successfully started it up, only for it to overheat again a

short distance later. Daniel pulled over on Sky Road, checked under the bonnet and noticed a hose had come loose. He needed a screwdriver, so he closed the bonnet and walked home to get one,

“also filling his water bottles up so he could top up the radiator again.”

That was his explanation for being on Sky Road. Detective's asked why he didn't go to a nearby house to ask for water and a screwdriver.

Daniel replied, "I don't like going into other people's houses.

When queried why he didn't go to the nearby golf course instead, then you replied, I didn't think of that." Daniel had a number of scratches on his fingers, including some deeper cuts on his middle finger and thumb. He explained to these away as being caused by the work he'd been doing on his car.

“When detective's asked what he'd been doing three weeks earlier on the night”

Debbie Frame went missing, Daniel surprised them by specifically recalling that it was a Thursday night. They were even more surprised when he said he'd been at Canoncal Railway Station, just around the corner from where Debbie had gone missing. Daniel had just placed himself at the scene of two murders. Case file will be back shortly. Thank you for supporting us by listening to this episode

with Sponsile. Thank you for listening to this episode's ads. By supporting our sponsors, you support Case file to continue to deliver quality content. Instead of wondering why they were asking him all these questions, Daniel sat back casually and answered everything almost as if he was enjoying the experience.

He was calm and relaxed, barely batting an eyelid. He agreed to participate in a more formal interview. Daniel was taken to Frankenstein Police Station where he was interviewed by Sergeant Rod Wilson and senior Constable Mark Wolf from the Homicide Squad. The interview commenced at 9.20pm on Saturday July 31. It was recorded on video. The detectives advised Daniel that he didn't have to say anything and that he also had the right

to speak to a lawyer. Daniel said he didn't want to exercise either right and he was happy to talk. They went back over the story he told at his unit in painstaking detail. There were contradictory tricks and the times weren't matching up. The explanation he gave for his injuries didn't make much sense either. All we'd like to do is if you could just run through starting with yesterday morning.

I got up in the morning about 28, 7, 30, 20 to 8.

temperature gauge started going right up to high.

So I just pulled over the inside drive right here. Right across the road, you know, golf course and that there. So I pulled up there, I checked under the car, didn't bother. Fan at the hose could come loose. When we saw it down at your flat this afternoon, I noticed a number of cuts on your fingers. You just put your hands flat on the desk here so that it can just run up here. This injury here is a long sort of a cut. Just explain how you got that injury and when you got that injury.

I got it yesterday and I was going to go on the car. What the hell you're saying it? Good.

Well, the fan spins this way. So if I'm staying in the front of the car,

like here, it spins that way. The alternator sits there and there's some wires running down underneath one of the radiator. There's a wide top, which is for a wide that I just recently put on. And that's the main one that's put the hand down there called the fans.

“What did you have it running at that stage when you were checking the radiator?”

How does it work out on the car? Denny's story wasn't holding up under scrutiny. Detectives asked him more questions about Debbie Frame. Denny is stuck with these stories, placing himself at Canon or train station at roughly the same time and just around the corner from where Debbie went missing. Not only that, it had been the one night Paul didn't pick up his girlfriend Sharon from work. Something he usually

did without fail. Amazingly, Denny told detectives that he was out walking in the heavy rain on the night Elizabeth Stevens was murdered. He walked from his place to his mum's place, then to Sharon's mum's place supposedly looking for a spare car battery. The area he said he was walking, laying Warren right near Lloyd Park. Instead of giving himself an alibi, Denny was repeatedly placing himself at the scene of each murder. "It's today. The car was parked opposite

the location where the body of Natalie Russell was found. On the night that Debbie freed disappeared, you walked over to Canon or railway station. It's the train and walk back. And on the night Elizabeth Stevens disappeared, you walked in a very close proximity Lloyd Park on your way to pick up this battery. Do you think that's fairly common to Denny? He's in all the circumstances. Are you responsible for the deaths of any

of these women? When detectives asked specifically about Natalie Russell's murder, Denny had denied any involvement, but he said he was aware of what happened because he'd

“driven past the scene. "Are you aware that the girl was found murdered in Frankenstein?”

Today makes out a day. When did you first become aware of that?"

Well, I saw some police cars and everything when I was driving up Skorrod this morning and SDS workers. So you saw SDS workers not live in Skorrod? Yeah, and they had some white tape across the Yorkway. You saw he saw me? Yeah, I saw you. I saw uh, they were going. And that was what were you doing when you saw that? What were you going on, what were you doing?

Oh, we were going to the record. He was then asked if he knew anything about the victims or how they died. Denny replied, "Elisabeth Stevens had her throat cut and the other girl Debbie Fring had multiple stab wounds or something to her body and upper body. Up here." Denny appointed to the exact spot where Debbie's wounds were. Detective Wilson pounced, "Why did you indicate the exact area?"

“Denny. I was just pointing, that's all. But why did you point there?”

It was just a lucky guess. When detectives asked if he would provide his fingerprints and samples of his blood and hair, Denny agreed, but he started to look very uncomfortable. The detectives paused the interview for a coffee break and to wait for an officer to come and collect the samples. During the break, Denny went to the toilet.

The officer who escorted him there was Detective Darono Locklin, who hadn't participated in the

The conversation then moved to DNA. Denny wanted to know why they wanted his blood and hair, wondering if they'd found something

“at the scene. And if so, how long would it take to match?”

Detective Olochlin said that he couldn't answer those questions. He would have to ask, Detective Wilson. Denny was silent for a short period of time, before looking at Olochlin and saying, "Okay, I killed all three of them." Olochlin immediately alerted Detective Wilson, and the interview recommenced. This time Olochlin joined in, as Paul seemed to have taken a liking to him.

Some of the audio you're about to hear has been taken from the interview, and some of it was taken from a walkthrough of the crime scenes completed after the interview.

First, they talked about the murder of Elizabeth Stevens.

“What sort of feeling can you personally describe it, where you had this feeling?”

Just one. Just wanted to kill. Denny also admitted to the attack on Rosa Toth. The detective asked him, "What did you plan to do with Rosa?" Denny replied, "I was just going to drag her in the park and kill her."

That's all. He went on the say that after Rosa ran away, he caught the train one stop from seafood to Cananook. Not long after getting off the train, he saw Debbie Freeman exiting her car at the shop. "Well, caused you to select her as if at that time, just that guy feeling." Denny had then described killing Debbie before detailing what happened after.

"I'm dragged to her bed of majoring into the trees and wish her life gets to feed." "And I break off two branches off of nearest trees, or maybe I'll go back in the car or even. I adjusted the seat to match my height, she was lots smaller than me. I hit a back and met Mr. "Why does a met Mr.?" "Wasn't too close, wasn't too far from home."

He buried Debbie Freeman's purse along the bark track where he later attacked Natalie Russell. Denny later dug up the purse for police when they did a walk-through of the crime scenes. When asked why he killed Debbie Freeman, his reply was, "I just wanted to." Dennyer then detailed the murder of Natalie Russell.

"Sign layers in this before, now I've always wanted to kill."

"It seems familiar."

“"So it's about four days, but I think stalking me for a few years, in the face of her."”

"It's way for that opportunity, way for this side." After the murder, Dennyer walked back down the track towards his car and saw the police there checking it out. He casually continued out of the track and headed down Sky Road, away from the police. As you can hear from the interviews, Dennyer displayed a zero-all motion and a zero-remorse.

That never changed, and he never said he was sorry.

Dennyer just repeated that he had always wanted to kill and was waiting for the right opportunity. While the interview was taking place, other police officers were searching Dennyer's unit. They found a hat with blood on it, a large homemade knife and a long cord with two knots tied at each end. The cord looked as though it had hair on it. In his car, they found the fake gun he had made, as well as another large knife and a pair of pliers.

They were later able to confirm that the pliers had been used to cut the holes in the black track fence. Each pair of pliers leaves a distinctive mark, much like a fingerprint.

vandalized and her cat's killed. A death rat was also written in blood across her wall.

“Dennyer then learned that her sister Trisha's neighbor had experienced a similarly terrifying break-in.”

Every photo in her house that featured her had been slashed across the throat. The two women were comforted by a male neighbor of Trisha's who called the person responsible as psycho and promise to look out for them. Well, that neighbor was Paul Dennyer. He lived next door to Trisha veins and admitted to both of the break-ins. Dennyer had met Donna through Trisha and found out that she was home alone most night.

Dennyer openly confessed that he had gone to Donna's flat with the intention of murdering her. But when she wasn't there, he killed her cats instead. He said he had done so because he hated Donna and Trisha.

Dennyer never explained why he hated them.

“They weren't the only women Dennyer hated.”

When one of the detectives asked the Dennyer why all of these victims were female, Dennyer replied, "I just hate them. Is that particular girls or is that women in general the detective asked?" "General," said Dennyer. Donna had been left so terrified by her break-in that she moved out of her unit and in with her

sister Trisha. Not realizing she had moved next door to the person responsible. When Dennyer was arrested, Trisha told reporters, "He was the nicest and most considerate person I ever met. I could not believe it when I heard the news. I still find it difficult to accept. He was cool, calm, and collected.

“He seemed quiet and subdued and often kept himself."”

Another of Paul's neighbors agreed. "I just can't believe that the charges have been laid against him. He seemed the nicest of people." Paul Dennyer was charged with the murders of Elizabeth Stevens, Debbie Freeman and Natalie Russell, as well as the abduction of Rosa Toth.

He pleaded guilty and never attempted to fight the charges.

While awaiting sentencing, he was visited by many doctors and psychologists who were looking for answers. What they found was that Paul Dennyer was a rare breed of serial killer who murdered his victims at random without motive, simply because he had always wanted to. He had always wanted to kill and claimed he could no longer suppress the urge. Dennyer was able to describe his crimes without a flicker of emotion.

Experts found him to be extremely emotionally disturbed, but not legally insane. He was diagnosed as having a sadistic personality disorder, demonstrated by a steady pattern of cruel, demeaning, and aggressive behavior since early adulthood. He appeared amused by the psychological and physical suffering he inflicted on his victims. Dennyer mentioned that his favorite movie was a 1987 horror film called The Stepfather,

which had given him the idea to slash his victim's throats. He thought it seemed effective. Dennyer claimed that one of his brothers had sexually abused him when he was younger, but this was strongly denied by his family. Paul Dennyer was sentenced in Melbourne's Supreme Court on Monday, December 20, 1993.

He was given three life sentences with no parole period. The judge described Dennyer as a danger to society, for which nothing could be done. Dennyer showed no remorse, and he's only regret appeared to be the fact he was arrested. 11 days later, Paul Dennyer lodged an appeal against his sentence on the grounds that it was excessive. He argued that the sentencing judge should have given him a minimum term of imprisonment.

The appeal was heard in the Supreme Court in July 1994. Three judges came to a majority verdict of two to one, overruling the trial judges decision not to issue a minimum term. They granted Paul Dennyer a non-parallel period of 30 years, meaning he could have been released in 2023 when he was 51 years old.

reoffend." That's my promise to God, as well as to the people of Melbourne.

“While in prison Dennyer began saying that he now identified as a woman and began going by the”

name Paula instead of Paul. He claimed that he's gender dysphoria had led him to hate women

and ultimately resulted in him committing crimes against them. He applied to have access to make up

and other beauty products as well as hormone therapy and to gender reassignment surgery. All of those requests were denied. Prison authorities, victims families, and trans-gender advocates have all expressed doubts about the sincerity of Dennyer's claims. One prison officer said Dennyer's supposed transition was sudden and merely of ruse to gain access

“to certain benefits. By 2022, Dennyer had reverted back to using the name "Paul" and identifying”

as male. In 2023, seven years after this episode was originally released, crime author Vicky Betraytis released an 11-part podcast series titled The Frangston Murders with Case File Presents. The series uncovered new material about the infamous case and featured interviews with other women who were stalked by Paul Dennyer as well as a victim's family members, prison guards, and detectives who worked on the case. That same year, Paul Dennyer

became eligible for parole. He submitted an application to the adult parole board of Victoria,

“which was rejected. When Natalie Russell's father Brian received the news, he felt a sense of relief”

telling the ABC, it was a terrific outcome as far as I'm concerned. Debbie Freeman's son, Jake, who was just 12 days old when his mother was murdered, told the age newspaper that Dennyer

was not someone who should ever be released. "He has done nothing to deserve it. He will never

change, and they must keep him inside." Despite his initial parole application being rejected, Dennyer remained eligible to apply again and again. Each time, the victim's families would be forced to prepare submissions, relive the trauma, and face the possibility that he could one day be released. In direct response, the Victorian government passed new laws in late 2023, allowing the parole board to impose a no return date for certain life sentence prisoners,

including Dennyer. The laws were developed in consultation with the family of Natalie Russell, Dennyer's final victim, and were dubbed "Natslaw." It's like having a tremendous weight lifted

off us, Brian Russell told the ABC, where tickled pink knowing that Dennyer will never be allowed

to apply for parole again, and there's no hope of him ever getting out of jail. It's something we've been working towards for the last 30 years. When this started, Dennyer was knocked back on parole, but six months down the track, he could have applied again, and would have to go through it all once more. Now, that will never happen, and it won't happen in other cases either.

The loss of Natalie is something we live with every day. We don't need the added pressure of knowing her murderer could be free at any time. (upbeat music)