Allison Rooke

60 year old

Allison Rooke was a 60-year-old widow who lived in a red brick flat on Hannah Street, Frankston North.

On Friday the 30th of May 1980, Allison was experiencing car trouble, so she ditched the car and decided to catch a bus along the Frankston-Dandenong Road instead. Allison had to go grocery shopping and visit the real estate agent to pay a bill. About 11:00 am she was seen by neighbours leaving her flat, walking towards the bus stop on Frankston-Dandenong Road. Allison never placed her grocery order and didn’t make it to the real estate agent. The bus driver working the route that day couldn’t recall picking Allison up.

On Saturday the 5th of July 1980, five weeks later, a man walking his dogs found Allison’s body partially hidden by scrubland, on McClelland Drive in Frankston.

Joy Carmel Summers

55 year old

Joy Summers was a 55-year-old widow who lived only 1km away from Allison Rooke’s flat, although they didn’t know each other. Joy lived on Norfolk Crescent, Frankston North.

Every Friday she went shopping with her friend William Cotter. But on Friday the 9th of October 1981, William had a few medical appointments booked, so he couldn’t go. Joy didn’t like shopping alone, but she decided to catch a bus from Frankston-Dandenong Road into Frankston to buy some meat on her own anyway. She was seen by neighbours outside her home at 1:00 pm heading to the bus stop, which was only 100 metres away at the intersection of Chile Street and Frankston-Dandenong Road.

Joy was last seen at the bus stop at 1:20 pm. The bus driver couldn’t recall picking her up and she never placed her order at the butchers.

6 weeks later, on Sunday the 22nd of November 1981, at about 11 am, a man collecting firewood found Joy’s naked body hidden in thick scrub in bushland near the intersection of Skye Road and McClelland Drive Frankston North, only about 3km away from where Allison Rooke’s body was located. Like Allison’s body, Joy was covered, but not buried.

Bertha Miller

75 year old

Bertha Miller was 75 years old and living with her brother-in-law William Ross on Kardinia Street, Glen Iris.

At 10:15 am on Sunday the 10th of August 1980, Bertha called out to her brother in law William, who was in the shower. She told him she was off to church, she would be home late, and not to wait for her to have lunch.

In order to get to the church, Bertha caught the tram from High Street, Glen Iris. Her good friend Jessie Moore lived nearby in Burke Road. For the previous ten years, Bertha and Jessie caught the same tram to church every Sunday. The 10:47 am along High Street. Bertha boarded at the terminus and Jessie joined her shortly after at the Burke Road stop. When Jessie got on the tram that day, Bertha was nowhere to be found.

Bertha was last seen by a shopkeeper making the 400-metre walk to the tram stop.

Her body was found together with the body of Ann-Marie Sargent on Saturday 6th of December 1980 by a local garage owner and his friend, 2 kilometres north of the Princess Highway at Tynong North, along Brew Road. Catherine’s body was found 15 metres away on the next day.

Catherine Headland

14 year old

Catherine Headland was 14 years old. She had moved to Australia from England with her family in 1966 when she was just one. She lived with her mother and older brother in Allan Street, Berwick.

Catherine worked part-time on weekends at the Coles supermarket in the local Fountain Gate shopping centre. Thursday the 28th of August 1980, during the school holidays, was to be Catherine’s first mid-week shift. She didn’t start work until 12 midday, but she left home at 9:30 am to visit her boyfriend John Mcmanus. John lived on High Street, Berwick, about a 1-mile walk. John had a number of other friends visiting and they watched TV and listened to records.

At 11:10 am Catherine left John’s house and walked to the bus stop at the corner of Manuka Road and High Street, where she planned to catch the 11:20 am bus to work.

Catherine never made it. She was never seen again.

Her body was found on Sunday 7th of December 1980 in the same area as bodies of Bertha Miller and Ann-Marie Sargent, 2 kilometres north of the Princess Highway at Tynong North, along Brew Road.

Ann-Marie Sargent

18 year old

Ann-Marie Sargent was 18 years old. She lived with family friends on Railway Road in the outer south-eastern suburb of Melbourne called Cranbourne.

Ann-Marie was unemployed and struggling to find a career. On the 6th of October 1980, Ann-Marie visited her mother on Cranbourne Drive. When she left she said she was headed to the nearby suburb of Dandenong, to the Commonwealth Employment Service office or CES, to collect an unemployment cheque. She told her mother that she would be returning later in the day to collect some clothing.

Ann-Marie made it to the CES. She lodged a form there. But after she left the office, she was never seen again.

Her body was found together with the body of Bertha Miller on Saturday 6th of December 1980 by a local garage owner and his friend, 2 kilometres off the Princess Highway and Tynong North, along Brew Road. Catherine’s body was found 15 metres away on the next day.

Narumol Stephenson

34 year old

Narumol Stephenson was 34 years old. She was born in Thailand. She married Victorian dairy farmer Wayne Stephenson in Thailand in 1978, before moving to Australia in August 1979. Wayne and Narumol lived on a farm in Deans Marsh, 134 km south west of Melbourne.

On the 28th of November 1980, they visited Melbourne with another couple to see a concert. The next day, on the 29th of November, they all visited another friend in Park Street, Brunswick, around 18km away in the inner north of Melbourne. When they got there, Narumol was upset and refused to get out of the car and go up into the flat. Wayne Stephenson and the other couple went into the flat where they drunk wine and coffee. Wayne came down at least three times to check on Narumol. The second time he found her walking down the street. The third time he found her talking Thai to a man in a car, the man had a European accent. After this third check, Wayne sat with his wife in their car until it was nearly dawn. Then he walked upstairs and fell asleep. Narumol remained in the car, still refusing to enter the flat.

Shortly after 6 am, Wayne Stephenson walked back downstairs to see his wife, but she wasn’t there. The car was still there, but Narumol was missing.

Her body was found on Thursday the 3rd of February 1983 by a teacher and former AFL footballer Barry Davis near the bush track along the Princess Highway in Tynong North.