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The First Incident
In Melbourne, Australia, a man feigning a robbery, subdued two parents and their son. Then, revealing his true plan, he made his way into the bedroom of their 11 year old daughter. Over the next few hours, he sexually assaulted this little girl while drowning out her screams with a radio, even stopping to make himself a snack in the kitchen. After hours of torture, he bathed her to get rid of all forensic evidence and left without a trace, taking some classic records from the house with him. -
The Start of the Second Incident
An article appeared in the Melbourne tabloid which detailed the story of a house fire that occurred at the home of the Wills family on July 5th in the outer eastern suburb of Ringwood. Accompanying the article was a photograph by Karl Jahn of the 4 girls and Mrs Wills holding up the cause of the blaze, a faulty electric blanket. Sharon is pictured on the far left of the photograph standing on a bottom bunk bed. This is when investigators think Mr. Cruel first caught sight of his next victim. -
The First Abduction
Mr Cruel broke into the Wills' house, again feigning a robbery. After tying up the Wills, he went after their eldest daughter, Sharon. He blindfolded and gagged the ten year old girl and whisked her out of the house without a trace. Roughly fifteen minutes later, John Wills and his wife were able to make it out of their restraints, only to discover that their eldest daughter was missing. -
Sharon Wills Returns
After an agonizing 18 hours, Sharon is found on the street by a concerned woman and reunited with her family. She tells police she was sexually assaulted and gives all the details she remembers from her abduction. Again, Mr. Cruel has left no evidence and police are still stumped. -
The Abduction of Nicola Lynas
She was kidnapped at the age of 13 from her home in Canterbury. The assailant broke into her home and forced her chartered accountant’s parents into paying ransoms in exchange for their daughter’s release. By this time, Mr Cruel was a known serial killer, and this incident struck fear into the people of Australia. -
Nicola is Returned
Approximately 50 hours later, she was found outside an electricity station in Kew, only a short distance from her home. She was able to give investigators crucial information about the criminal. He was about five foot eight with reddish brown hair, and she even gave them a description of the house and vehicle she was abducted in. -
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Operation Spectrum
One of the largest manhunts in Australian history, Operation Spectrum was a multi-million dollar undertaking that consumed tens of thousands of man hours, along with many thousands of more volunteer hours. Offering a $300,000 reward for any information leading to the capture of Mr. Cruel, the safe return of Karmein Chan was of the utmost priority. -
The Last Documented Abduction
In Templestowe Melbourne, 13 year old Karmein Chan was babysitting her two sisters. At roughly 8:40pm, her two younger sisters went into the kitchen to grab some food, and were met by Mr Cruel. After forcing them into Karmein's closest and securing it by putting a bed in front of it, he made his way out of the house with her. She was never seen alive again. -
Tragedy
Almost exactly one year after her disappearance, Karmein's remains were found. Through an autopsy, they discovered she had been shot in the head three times, execution style.
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Cases Remain Unsolved
After opening the case back up in 2010, taskforce Apollo was launched in hopes that the newer technology could bring an answer to the disturbing cases. Apollo spent six months reviewing hundreds of thousands of pages of evidence gathered by Operation Spectrum and transferring them into an electronic format. Investigators have yet to find the perpetrator.
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Robert Keith Knight
In 2013, a man named Robert Keith Knight who was a youth worker and school volunteer was detained. He had been arrested on two separate occasions and convicted for sexual assault on minors. He had actually been on a watch list and was a strong suspect during the rampage of Mr. Cruel, but was never convicted due to lack of evidence. In 1996 he was charged with abducting and sexually assaulting two 12-year-old girls, in 1980 and in 1996.