tali Posted April 15, 2008 #1 Share Posted April 15, 2008 The Greenough Family Massacre refers to the murders of Karen MacKenzie, 31 and her three children, Daniel 16, Amara 7 & Katrina 5 at their remote rural property in Greenough, Western Australia on February 21, 1993 [1] . As mentioned on Crime Investigation Australia the exact way of how Daniel and Amara died were deemed to be kept secret and ruled that the details never ever be revealed to the public and to this day remain a secret.[2] It took police 5 or more weeks to catch their murderer William Patrick Mitchell who was convicted of the murders in 1993 at the age of 24 and sentenced to life imprisonment, with a non-parole period of 20 years. The above is from various sources- i'm just puzzled as i have never come across such an embargo in a crime case, i assume it is too disturbing and horrific- although Jack The Ripper's depravities were hardly kept from the public . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldTimeRadio Posted April 16, 2008 #2 Share Posted April 16, 2008 Back in the days of the Jack the Ripper slaughters Scotland Yard vowed that the death-chamber photographs of Mary Jane Kelly would remained sealed away forever, but today they are freely available not only in books but on many Internet sites. What bothers me most about the Australian case, however, is that a murderer whose crimes were so disgusting that the police still refuse to reveal their bloody details may be released at the relatively young age of 44 - just 15 years from now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tali Posted April 16, 2008 Author #3 Share Posted April 16, 2008 Back in the days of the Jack the Ripper slaughters Scotland Yard vowed that the death-chamber photographs of Mary Jane Kelly would remained sealed away forever, but today they are freely available not only in books but on many Internet sites. What bothers me most about the Australian case, however, is that a murderer whose crimes were so disgusting that the police still refuse to reveal their bloody details may be released at the relatively young age of 44 - just 15 years from now. Yes i agree with you on the kids glove approach to the killers "punishment"-its because he would no "longer pose a danger"- this is completely irrelevant - what matters is punishment and justice only- not the killers lack of future threat to public 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ASOP Posted April 16, 2008 #4 Share Posted April 16, 2008 I cant find anything on this "Greenough Family" anyone have any luck? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ASOP Posted April 16, 2008 #5 Share Posted April 16, 2008 He killed them with an axe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tali Posted April 21, 2008 Author #6 Share Posted April 21, 2008 I cant find anything on this "Greenough Family" anyone have any luck? Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ASOP Posted April 22, 2008 #7 Share Posted April 22, 2008 Thanks. Im not sure I really want to know the full details of what he did to those little girls. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinderfinrella Posted May 1, 2008 #8 Share Posted May 1, 2008 I dont see why they would keep it a secret unless the family were a lot deeper into something bad and they did not want the family's secret to get out... I dont know I mean maybe it was they were going to try and catch the killer by not making the murders public so that way he would not be as popular and he would get sloppy and mess up and get caught easier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
louie Posted May 4, 2008 #9 Share Posted May 4, 2008 Why is the cause of death being kept a secret. it should be made public so people know what that guy really did and they make sure he stays in prison. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walkingdead Posted May 5, 2008 #10 Share Posted May 5, 2008 (edited) i saw this on crime investigation australia. Daniel, the oldest child, went outside to see who had come to their house so late and when he realised who it was he went over to welcome him. at this point he was murdered with an axe in the front yard of their property. the rest of the family was asleep inside the house. the a****** then entered the house and murdered and raped karen, the single mother, then he went to the little girls bedrooms and murdered them while they slept. from what i can understand karen was a friend of his but when she refused his advances to take it further he started being weird. they were at a party not long before the murders and he tried again and she knocked him back and she was off laughing and talking to other guys there and this seems to have set him off as a pyscho. i totally agree that a non parole period of 20 years is not long enough. he murdered 4 people he should never see daylight again imo. Edited May 5, 2008 by alwayssearching Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
black dahlia 83 Posted May 5, 2008 #11 Share Posted May 5, 2008 I definately agree with what you said alwaysseatching. To murder kids in their beds shows a clear lack of conscience. Just because you get rebuffed from a chick doesn't mean you go and slaughter the entire family. Apparently he was using amphetemines, which I'm sure the defence used as an excuse to show that he wasn't in his right mind at the time. Hopefully the Western Australian government vehemently oppose his release when his non parole period is up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radian Posted May 5, 2008 #12 Share Posted May 5, 2008 however the murders were taken place, I don't see it likely being any worse than what's seen across US media everyday.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elfstone810 Posted May 5, 2008 #13 Share Posted May 5, 2008 may be released at the relatively young age of 44 - just 15 years from now Try just FIVE years from now. He was sentenced in 1993. The twenty-year non-parole period will be up in 2013. Hopefully he won't be released then! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilovemitch310590 Posted October 20, 2008 #14 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Try just FIVE years from now. He was sentenced in 1993. The twenty-year non-parole period will be up in 2013. Hopefully he won't be released then! actually its ook police 5 or more weeks to catch their murderer William Patrick Mitchell who was convicted of the murders in 1995 at the age of 24 and sentenced to life imprisonment, with a non-parole period of 20 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conspiracybeliever Posted October 20, 2008 #15 Share Posted October 20, 2008 OMG I just googled the pictures of this Mary Jane Kelly. That's horrible! They should never release something like that to the public. I almost got sick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katya Posted October 20, 2008 #16 Share Posted October 20, 2008 There's lots of reason police don't release details, especially while a crime is still being investigated. Perhaps they think he had a partner, and would need key details in a confession to convict him, such as how many wounds or in what fashion they were inflicted, etc. Whatever it is, I almost hope they don't. Details could be disrespectful to the dead, such as perhaps Karen MacKenzie was naked or otherwise exposed. I personally wouldn't want to have my dead, naked, mutilated body roaming the media. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conspiracybeliever Posted October 20, 2008 #17 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Right? That picture of Mary Jane Kelly freaked me out. I wouldn't want anyone seeing me like that. Maybe that's why they didn't release the pictures right away. Due to close relatives still being alive. I wouldn't want to see anyone I love like that. That would scar me for the rest of my life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldTimeRadio Posted October 29, 2008 #18 Share Posted October 29, 2008 (edited) OMG I just googled the pictures of this Mary Jane Kelly. That's horrible! They should never release something like that to the public. I almost got sick. Sorry, I really should have posted a greater warning. Whenever I hear somebody suggested as a Ripper suspect who lived down to the 1940s or even the 1950s those photographs give the lie to their theories. Nobody who could do that to a woman, or to anybody else for that matter, was ever again mentally stable enough to move unnoticed through polite society, certainly not for an additional 50 or 60 years. Edited October 29, 2008 by OldTimeRadio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roggon Posted April 9, 2009 #19 Share Posted April 9, 2009 I saw this barbaric act in "Crime Investigation Australia" last night (April 8). My heart bled for the 3 young children and their mother. What puzzled me is that, the penalty for the crime was a mere 20 years!! by 2013, the murderer will be eligible for parole!! In malaysia, that b****** would have been charged under 302 of the penal code and since the prosecution had proven the case beyond reasonable doubt, we would have sent him to hell by hanging!! Nevertheless, I fully respect the Law of Australia. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godsnmbr1 Posted April 9, 2009 #20 Share Posted April 9, 2009 Sorry, I really should have posted a greater warning. Whenever I hear somebody suggested as a Ripper suspect who lived down to the 1940s or even the 1950s those photographs give the lie to their theories. Nobody who could do that to a woman, or to anybody else for that matter, was ever again mentally stable enough to move unnoticed through polite society, certainly not for an additional 50 or 60 years. I think you'd be very surprised. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MirrorImage Posted April 10, 2009 #21 Share Posted April 10, 2009 however the murders were taken place, I don't see it likely being any worse than what's seen across US media everyday.. No kidding. From an American point of view I can see no reason for them not to release the information, unless they feel 1) he might not be the right guy or 2) there was some one else involved and releasing details might keep them from finding out who. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldTimeRadio Posted April 11, 2009 #22 Share Posted April 11, 2009 I think you'd be very surprised. You're right. I would be very surprised. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollyDolly Posted April 14, 2009 #23 Share Posted April 14, 2009 No kidding. From an American point of view I can see no reason for them not to release the information, unless they feel 1) he might not be the right guy or 2) there was some one else involved and releasing details might keep them from finding out who. Yes it's possible he didn't act alone, or maybe out of concern for still living relatives they are not releasing details. A couple of you have mentioned the crime scene photos of Mary Kelly, the Rippers last known victim.I saw a book on crime scene photos at Borders Book Store. These are old crime scene photos, many which were taken in the 1930s and 40s in the US. Now, I don't think a book like that should be sold in a public book store to the general public. To publish and sell it to police academies and universities for police and foresic studies fine. Student swould get an idea of what kind of crime scenes they might encounter today, which may be similar to past ones, as well as how to tell what has taken place and what clues could they gather that caused the crime scene,etc. I donot think though such photos should be available to the general public as there are so many sickos out there. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sallymoo Posted October 24, 2013 #24 Share Posted October 24, 2013 I lived not far from Greenough when these murders happened. I also new a police officer who attended the crime scene it was so horrific that he has left police force and is still dealing with this. what happened to those children I still can not grasp. I hope this low life slowly rots in jail.thankgod he will never walk the streets again. after he murdered this family he was living in a house behind my sisters house where she had 3 small girls it really gives me the creeps. I drive past the Greenough house often and still feel a darkness about the house. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timewarrior Posted January 8, 2015 #25 Share Posted January 8, 2015 This is the Timewarrior speaking. . . Parole has apparently been denied. . . http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-10-21/attorney-general-refuses-to-release-axe-murderer-on-parole/5035260 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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