An Outside Look on the Mr. Cruel
It’s been almost twenty two years since the most notorious child predator in the history of Victorian crime struck. Abducting and murdering a young girl named Karmein Chan from her home in Templestowe in front of her siblings. Despite dozens of suspects and countless hours of manpower dedicated to apprehending this individual, he has never been brought to justice. His victims have never been given a final measure of closure in the form of justice and the security knowing that he will never be able to harm anyone ever again.
This series first came to my attention when I was still in high school and I saw a documentary on the case. What helped garner my interest was that it all occurred so close to home. I live in a suburb that is almost a fifteen minute drive from where Nicola Lynas was abducted and returned. I also had friends who lived less than five minutes from the house Sharon Wills was taken from. This series of crimes struck at the heart of the world’s most liveable city as crimes of such magnitude are almost unheard of in Melbourne.
Who was he? What did he do? Where is he now? Why did he murder Karmein? These questions have not only baffled investigators over the years but anyone who lived through this ordeal. Through my research in this case I have developed numerous theories about this offender, all due to the phantom like nature of this offender. There are numerous theories about the suspect over the years that range from a school teacher to someone working in the medical field. All have merit as all the known attacks occurred during school holidays and the way he cleaned his victims before returning them required knowledge well above that of the general population.
Upon the conclusion of my research into this case and using the limited information available to the public, I feel that the theory of a school-related worker may be the most probable outcome. Sure it does not take a genius to know when school holidays are on but if two of the victims attended the same school then surely there is more to it than an astronomical coincidence. I’m no expert in the fields of criminology or psychology but a predator like this would surely of targeted specific victims. Each attack was prepared and conducted with military-like precision. According to Police reports he even knew the victims names in at least one of the cases.
He spent minimal time in the house and was never seen by witnesses as he removed one of the victims from the scene. During each offence he took those present by complete surprise as none were alerted to his presence when he entered the scene. Therefore it is highly likely that such a meticulous individual not only surveyed his targets in the time leading up to his eventual attack but had some form of prior contact. Someone employed at a school in a role where he would have interacted with his victims and access to their personal information to determine their home address.
From there he would have examined the home in order to establish the routine of the residents and how he could carry out his crime successfully. One can only assume he conducted thorough surveillance on the home to establish the routines of the parents and their children. He would examine the exterior of the house to establish his points of entry and exit. The Karmein Chan case may also suggest that he would make an attempt to enter the home beforehand to examine the interior of the property.
Approximately two weeks prior to Karmein’s abduction, A tradesman knocked on the door of the Chan home claiming to be looking for work. I cannot ascertain whether or not he was allowed to enter the property however for the the sake of this article I will assume that he did. He managed to confront the girls on their way to the kitchen and force them back into a bedroom where he was able to contain them and abduct Karmein. I would speculate that he adopted such approaches in entering the property prior to his assault but at a time where nobody was home and successfully avoided leaving any indication of his presence.
The method in which he carried out his crimes may suggest that he had some form of tactical training. Perhaps he had some form of law enforcement or military experience where he learned those skills. As an academic however he could have simply studied the relevant topics thoroughly to the point he had supreme confidence in his ability to apply these tactics while engaging his series of crimes. In their reports on each event, Police would note that each assault was likely carried out with strategic precision as there was never a trace left behind.
Personally, I struggle to believe that he could have been successful in each attempt without some form of prior application of such tactics. Of course I may differ in that I’ve always learned things best by finding a practical use for the subject at hand. However being able to enter someone’s property, particularly when there is proper security installed without leaving so much as a bread crumb for investigators to follow.
Maybe I am wrong, after all many serial offenders are extremely intelligent people. It would be impossible to have eluded detection for so many years without some significant degree of intelligence and control over their insidious urges. Despite the numerous suspect Victoria Police claim to have, there is a shroud of mystery that befalls this case and it may never go away…
I will never be one to promote conspiracy theories or seek to bring myself attention through controversy however my next claim I feel may prove controversial to some. The second and third victims, Nicola Lynas and Karmein Chan both attended Presbyterian Ladies College in the suburb of Burwood. Yes, like I have previously stated that this could just be an astronomical coincidence. Still in the Nicola Lynas case he made her go into her wardrobe and take her school uniform.
Was this part of the man’s twisted fantasy? Sadly we may never know. Still I cannot help but feel compelled to believe that this was the indeed part of such a warped mind. Somehow he would have seen her wearing her uniform and from then on began on a dark path of formulating a twisted fantasy that culminated in Nicola’s abduction. I do not know if he made a similar demand to Karmein during her abduction but the mere fact they went to the school is too hard to ignore.
Perhaps he wasn’t a teacher but there was surely some connection. Maybe a janitor, administrator or even a volunteer worker in some capacity. In doing so he would have exploited his position into accessing the student records to learn everything he needed to about his future victims. This would be the prelude to his well documented preparation for the eventual abduction.
Now more than a decade later, there are more questions than ever. What seems to be a trademark of Police across Australia in playing their cards close to their chest by revealing only small portions of information about the overall case and their suspects which I often feel reduces the ability of the public to assist with the case. However I’m sure their reasons are perfectly sound but if much of the information available now was released closer to the times of the crimes then perhaps I would not be writing this piece now.
Maybe one day we will have the answers we seek and closure for his victims and their families. Perhaps we will finally unmask the possibly the most notorious child predator in the history of Victoria. The sad and terrifying reality is that it may take his return into the public eye before enough interest and memories are triggered amongst the public to reveal his long sought identity. Until then we must put our faith in the ongoing efforts of Victoria Police and hope that they can put a name to the masked menace that was Mr. Cruel…