Greenough family massacre
The Greenough Family Massacre refers to the axe murders of Karen MacKenzie, 31, and her three children, Daniel 16, Amara, 7, & Katrina, 5, at their remote rural property in Greenough, Western Australia, 400 km north of Perth, on February 21, 1993 [1], by William Patrick Mitchell.
Investigation
Police and forensics scoured the murder scene collecting evidence but it would be a frustrating five weeks before they finally arrested farm hand Bill Mitchell, a friend, of Karen MacKenzie. She had recently rejected his advances.
Apparently, Mitchell had been spending the day getting high on a mixture of cannabis, alcohol and amphetamines. The first sign of trouble began with the sound of a car arriving at Karen MacKenzie's house. Daniel went out to see who it was and was confronted by Mitchell. Mitchell, wielding an axe, killed Daniel and headed for the house. There he found Karen asleep in the lounge room. After attacking her with an axe and killing her, he raped her. Amara and Katrina were fast asleep in their bedrooms, oblivious to the mayhem outside, when Mitchell turned his attention on them[2].
Trial
According to Crime Investigation Australia, a judge ruled that the exact way in which Daniel, Amara and Katrina were killed to be sealed.[3] In fact the crime has been called "One of the worst crimes in Western Australia" and details of the murders were withheld from the public as they were deemed too gruesome and horrific. The case was so heinous that "cries for the return of the death penalty could be heard echoing around the State"[2].
Mitchell pleaded guilty to four counts of willful murder, and four of sexual assault. [1] A hand lotion used by the killer was a key piece of evidence used to catch the killer. Mitchell was convicted of the murders in 1995 at the age of 24 and sentenced to four consecutive terms of life imprisonment, with a non-parole period of 20 years.
Due to the public outcry at the sentence, a Crown appeal ordered his non-parole period revoked. Despite a series of Supreme and High Court appeals (including a ruling that Mitchell never be released) another appeal overturned that decision and reinstated his 20-year non-parole period. If a current review of his non-parole period is unsuccessful, he will be eligible for parole in 2013.
References
- ^ a b Nicole Cox (2007-05-19). "Throw away the prison keys". Sunday Times. Retrieved 2009-01-11. Cite error: The named reference "throwawaykey" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ a b "Greenough Family Massacre" [1] Retrieved on 2009-07-04
- ^ CIA: The Greenough Family Massacre | Crime & Investigation Network