|
Perth, |
|
Could Dixie be the Claremont killer?
|
||
|
Sex killer Mark Dixie could have killed all over Australia and may even turn out to be the Claremont serial killer - but gaps in comparing DNA evidence have made it hard to find out. Robin Napper, a former British detective superintendent brought to Australia to introduce the use of DNA technology, said there was still no way to compare DNA samples between most Australian states. A huge backlog in carrying out DNA testing still exists in WA. Last weekend in England, Dixie (37), a former chef, who lived in Claremont during the 1990s, was convicted of the brutal stabbing murder and rape of 18-year-old model Sally Anne Bowmen as she walked to her front gate. He was caught when DNA he left in the victim was compared with a sample taken after he was arrested for a pub fight. He was sentenced to 34 years' jail. A former Leederville woman, who travelled to Dixie's trial to give evidence against him, said she was stabbed and raped by him while he lived here. She was a 20-year-old economics student at the time. Dixie's DNA was found on the Leederville student. "Dixie had to leave our shores in order to be caught," Mr Napper said. British police said that, given Dixie's shocking record of sexual violence from the age of 14, it was highly likely that he had committed similar crimes while he lived in Australia. Obsessed with violent sex, he had more than 20 convictions. While living in Dunsborough under the name Shane Turner in 1999 - the year after the last Claremont killing - he was convicted after jumping naked from behind a bush and making obscene suggestions to a woman jogger. He was traced through his car number and deported. British superintendent Stuart Cundy said outside the court after Dixie's conviction: "I am sure Dixie killed someone while he was in Australia. "The problem is pinning it down. There are a lot of people who go missing." But because most states have only just signed up to a DNA data sharing scheme, there was no way of matching crime scene DNA between states. It has been a seven-year battle to get all states to sign. A huge backlog of DNA tests also slows down the tracking of criminals, although the most serious crimes are given priority. A 15-year-old boy charged with rape spent eight months in jail before DNA testing last year showed that fluid samples taken from the complainant belonged to another teenager. The trial went ahead some months later, and the 15-year-old was freed by the jury. Mr Napper said there might be a reluctance to test the tens of thousands of less urgent cases. "Perhaps it's the fear that too many Andrew Mallards will fall out of the cupboard," he said. Mr Mallard spent 12 years in jail for the murder of Mosman Park jeweller Pamela Lawrence. Police now believe British backpacker Simon Rochford was the murderer. Mr Rochford killed himself in Albany prison, where he was serving a sentence for the murder of his girlfriend, after it was made public that he was being investigated for the Lawrence murder. WA police say they have ruled out Mark Dixie as the Claremont killer because he was unlikely to have been in WA when the woman thought to be the first victim, Sarah Spiers, went missing. Her body has not been found. But he was here from March 1996 to April 1999, during which time the other two victims, Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon, whose bodies were discovered in bush north and south of Perth, went missing. Mr Napper said there was no guarantee the three were killed by the same person. For years police focussed their attention on a Cottesloe public servant, Dixie used a knife to stab his two known victims. A Brisbane author has claimed in a book that Miss Rimmer and Miss Glennon were attacked with knives. Police refuse to confirm or deny this claim. At the time the women went missing from Claremont's entertainment precinct, police said they were looking for a plausible person who induced them to get into a motor vehicle. Dixie has been described as charming and personable. He has not co-operated with police under questioning. British police have praised the cooperation of WA police in the Dixie case. But they have criticised them for deporting Dixie without trying to prosecute him for the Leederville attack or investigating his background further. Dozens of unsolved murders of women, sex attacks and missing women have been recorded for the time Dixie was in Perth. Police have said they cannot rule him out of many of them. Mr Napper will give a lecture on serial killers at the University of WA next week. Serial Killers, a look inside the mind of serial killers, will be held between 7.30 and 9pm on Wednesday, March 5, in the social sciences lecture theatre. A police officer for 31 years, Mr Napper has been involved in many hundreds of serious crime investigations. He was seconded to Australia in 1998 as a detective- superintendent with the New South Wales Police. During his time there he was instrumental in introducing DNA technology across Australia, and was a consultant for both federal and state governments. He has also advised Singapore, Thailand and Middle Eastern countries on the implementation of DNA. In 2001, he joined UWA to set up the forensic centre. He has lectured in many countries around the world on policing issues, and is consulted today by many agencies in complex homicide investigations. "I have interviewed many of these types of people, and have some unique video footage of them describing their crimes," he said. "We abhor what they do to fellow human beings, but at the same time are attracted to the evil dark side of their natures. "The really troubling side is they live comfortably amongst the people they eventually kill, and sometimes the unmasking stuns people around them (including wives and families). "In particular, I will discuss the case of Dennis Rader, the BTK (Bind Torture Kill) murderer, who was captured in 2005 in Kansas, USA. Anyone interested in attending should ring 6488 2433 to register or find out more information. |
||
|
|
||
|
< PREVIOUS - HOME - NEXT> |
||
|
Copyright © 1996 - 2009 Post Newspapers Pty Ltd. All rights reserved. |
||