В конце 1980-х и начале 1990-х годов Мельбурн охватил страх, когда неизвестный в маске начал врываться в пригородные дома и похищать маленьких детей. Нападения были особенно жестокими, за что нападавший получил прозвище «Mr. Cruel» («Мистер Круэл») — «Мистер Жестокий».
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| Police searching for clues in the hunt for Mr. Cruel |
The hunt for Mr Cruel was always going to be hard because he put his knowledge of forensic evidence to good use by meticulously cleaning up after his crimes.
It was made that much harder by sloppy police work.
Commander David Sprague, the former head of the Victoria Police Operation Spectrum taskforce set up to catch Mr Cruel, was not impressed by what he found on arriving at Karmein Chan's home within hours of her being abducted by Mr Cruel in 1991.
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| David Sprague, then head of Operation Spectrum, with a poster of Mr Cruel victims Sharon Wills, Nicola Lynas and Karmein Chan. |
UPDATE 12/04/12
Up to 20 men were suspected of being Mr Cruel, and one prime suspect still lives.
Are Police closing in on Mr Cruel, a Killer and serial paedophile?
Police searching for clues in the hunt for Mr Cruel.
In the final of our three-part special into Mr Cruel, Keith Moor asks what we know about a man who is the monster hiding in the shadows. THERE was a glimmer of hope in 2010 when a new Mr Cruel suspect was nominated and a task-force formed to investigate what seemed like strong information.
While the new information was from a reliable source — and the suspect nominated may end up being charged with other offences — the task-force has now ruled him out of being the long sought after Mr Cruel.
