City Homicide (2007) s03e12 Episode Script

No jobs have come in, have they? Nah, quiet week for killers.
Morning, boys and girls.
This is Detective Senior Constable Oakley.
Missing Persons.
Victoria.
Hi.
Detective Oakley is on temporary secondment to us.
She believes she may have turned up a series of homicides, possibly linked.
So Missing Persons have hand-balled them to us so that our necks are in the noose, not theirs.
Oakley.
Thank you, sir.
I was reviewing files and I spotted a possible link between a group of missing women.
What kind of link? They all disappeared at one-year intervals, same month each year.
Different ages and types but all between 1 8 and 27, all quite attractive.
And you think they've been murdered, bodies disposed of? And never found, yes.
It's not just a bizarre set of coincidences? I don't think so.
But at this stage, multiple murder is just a theory? So we need to pull together some evidence, right? Oakley will give you everything she has.
I want a result on this either way ASAP.
I don't want a whole bunch of new cases.
So how long has this been going on? I mean, how many potential victims? We have a serial killer out there.
So there's one gap of two years here between victims three and six.
So you think the gap represents a couple of women who haven't been reported? Y es.
Got to acknowledge the rest of the pattern.
Two unreported.
Loners? Possibly.
Were they all loners? No.
Family circumstances vary, so do social circle, affluence, parts of the State.
The very randomness is probably the reason why nobody put it together before.
These women have literally disappeared.
I've checked all of the interstate databases trying to find even one of them.
No go! No driver's licences, credit cards, leases, utility bills, passports? Nothing.
I wish I had found something.
Then we wouldn't all be here talking serial killer, would we? You say they disappeared suddenly? Two of them just didn't turn up for meetings.
One was with an old friend.
The other with her parole officer.
Several of them were reported missing by their families.
Individual reports all in the files.
None of them even took anything with them from their homes, not even the kind of stuff you can just toss in the car.
And that's the other key link.
Their cars? All missing? No trace? Not re-registered? It looks like a multiple offender to me.
You'll only get so much off databases.
You need to build a profile of a suspect or suspects by getting to know the victim.
Talk to their families, find out what you can, everything you can - their social circles, hangouts, friends, what they enjoyed doing, everything.
Make one a focus.
Best shot - most recent victim.
Moira Watkins.
Joyner, Freeman, you start there.
What about me, sir? No, you're a resource, Detective.
You stay here, assist with background.
Alright,chop-chop.
Moira Watkins has a brother.
Start there.
No, I didn't report her missing.
Why not, Mr Watkins? I didn't think she WAS missing.
Her landlady was the one who reported it.
Wanted the rent, I suppose.
So you and Moira weren't close, then? No.
Look, I have to get back to the office, so They know we're talking to you.
They told us where to find you.
What about your parents? Did she stay in touch with them? Not unless she went to seances.
Our family wasn't what you'd call close.
Mum and Dad didn't get on with us kids.
That usually pushes the kids closer together.
Not me and Moira.
When Mum and Dad died, we sold the house, paid off the mortgage and went our separate ways, each with half of what was left, which wasn't a lot.
And you've not been in contact since? The odd phone call.
I wouldn't even have known she'd disappeared if Missing Persons hadn't of called asking questions.
That doesn't disprove anything.
What doesn't? Matt and Jen have turned up three families that have actually heard from the alleged victims sometime after they went missing.
Which means Victoria's serial killer theory is looking a bit thin.
They're not alleged victims, they're all missing.
Question is, are they dead? What do you think's happened to them? So, what, these three were held for a month and then allowed to make phone calls to their families and then killed? Two months between disappearance and phone call, in one case.
These contacts do punch some big holes in your theory, Victoria.
- What if Victoria's right? 1 0 women.
- 1 1.
I think we just filled in one of the holes.
Another victim - number five.
She fits the second blank year.
Patricia Symonds, same general type, same circumstances, same month.
It can't have been the same month as the others.
I would have picked up on it.
She disappeared the same month as the others but she was only reported a month later.
And the man who reported her missing, he was a work mate, Greg Prince.
He still works at Bader and McCain, a stockbroking firm in the city.
Y es, eight years ago.
I was a senior broker back then.
I'm a partner now.
Congratulations.
What did Ms Symonds do? Well, she was just a gofer, really.
She came in delivering sandwiches.
Lovely girl.
Bubbly.
She, er,charmed the pants off a floor captain and landed herself a better job.
And then? Well, nothing much.
She never really opened up to anyone, just went home to her little apartment every night.
How do you now it was little? Oh, well, you know.
I assume.
Hmm.
You reported her missing, so she obviously opened up a lot more to you.
Little apartment, little phone bills, we can check.
Did you know most people who report missing persons turn out to be the ones who made them disappear? I didn't do that.
OK.
We were sleeping together.
Look, I'm not proud of it.
I was engaged at the time.
Anyone find out about the affair? God, no.
How long were you seeing her? A couple of months.
Until she didn't turn up to work one day.
What did you do? Well, I rang.
A lot of times over that week.
You can check.
Did you go to her apartment, sir? There was no point.
I didn't have a key.
Yeah, right.
It all gets too serious once they try and give you a key.
I rang the police, reported it! A month after she disappeared.
Why did you wait so long? Because I thought she could turn up any day! How was she the last time you saw her, before she disappeared? I didn't see her.
I spoke to her on the phone.
Her car had broken down again.
She had this old rusty bomb that kept giving up on her.
She wanted me to come pick her up.
I couldn't.
Work or fiancee? I was having dinner with my fiancee.
That was the Friday evening.
On the Monday, Patricia didn't turn up to work.
The rest you know.
How did you go? Good call on the vehicle breakdowns.
There's more broken-down cars? Want your seat? No, no.
You're fine, you're fine.
Victim number three, last seen waiting for a tow truck.
A tow truck? Yep.
And victim number seven, she rang her brother, she was supposed to have dinner with him but her car had broken down, so she said she'd be late and she never showed up.
So what are we looking at here, roadside assist? Mechanic, towie.
That'd explain why the cars go missing as well as the women, wouldn't it? Someone will take you home and you'll see that it Is right Someone will take you home and you'll see that it Is right My heart Isn't confetti My heart Have to get to uni, then home.
Put the oven on a timer to cook my dinner.
Ready for when you get back, eh? I won't be popular if I burn the place down.
The road is long enough Cabs at peak hour? Forget it.
You know, I can give you a lift if you like.
Really? Sure.
My heart Isn't confetti Sorry about the mess.
This is really good of you.
Thanks.
Not a bother.
The last one .
.
that wont be the last.
No.
This isn't over.
Oh, if I lose this time Oh, no I'll wake and I'll hide in the dark.
Moira Watkins, victim number 1 2.
Now, we've gone back through her credit history and found a monthly charge that fell on the date of her disappearance.
Car bill? Massage.
Moira rang and cancelled her last appointment.
No-one's seen her since.
So why did she cancel? Because her car had broken down.
.
.
had broken down.
Same with this woman, Rebecca Powers.
She was last seen by her personal trainer who was nearby when her client's car got towed.
So that's 4 out of 1 1 with car problems.
- So far.
- It's gotta be worth checking out.
Name's Peta Sharpe.
Trains clients before work in Phoenix Park, right about now.
Alright, Mattie,come on, get her to take a look at your abs, give you some tips.
Hey, do you wanna come along? We're done backgrounding now, aren't we? She was my second-last client.
At the gym? Yes.
I had another session with the final client, then when I was leaving, Rebecca was still in the car park.
There was a tow truck.
Her car had broken down.
So she'd called for the tow truck? No, it was just passing, she said.
What did he look like? Did you get a look at him? Not really.
He was busy at the truck and it was dark.
It's an outside car park, not very well-lit.
General impression? Hehe was just a towie.
Sorry.
It's been years.
How was Ms Powers gonna get home? I offered to give her a lift but she said the guy had already offered to drop her off.
What's happened to her? Is there anything else you can remember from that night that might help us? I do remember the name of the towing company.
It made me smile at the time.
Pullman's Towing.
Club tatts, Mr Pullman? Why don't you read 'em and find out? Want a closer look? Wanna take a closer look at the inside of a cell? BT, DT, mate.
Yeah? Well, we've been there and done that too, mate.
We checked your record.
Yeah.
Well, you know I haven't been inside for years and I quit scamming when I got out, alright? But you haven't really quit, have you? I mean, you run a towing company.
Hey, my books are clean.
You wanna read them too, eh? We want to ask you some questions about your operations here, you and your employees.
What you want and what you get, eh, Love? I'm busy.
We can get a warrant, sir.
Do it the hard way.
Yeah, good.
Great.
Be a change to see you bastards get off your arse and do some work.
Why don't you piss off and get into it? Why don't you watch your mouth? Why don't you shove it up your arse, you poofter? In other words, you have nothing to say to us? Yeah.
About this or anything else, so rack off.
We'll be back with that warrant.
Yeah? Make sure you come back by yourself.
Got a tattoo to show you you won't forget in a hurry.
Sir? Si.
Got one more question.
No, leave it.
We'll get the warrant.
Jarvis.
I'll go.
Sorry, sir, what was that? You're breaking up.
Victoria? No, Look, she'd done the background checks so she came with us, that's all.
Mr Pullman.
Now, if you don't give us the information we requested, I won't come back with a warrant - I will come back with that gun, and I will use it to blow your brains out.
Are we clear? Now, do you wanna talk to us? Do you wanna talk to us?! Yeah.
Good.
Cooperation.
We like that.
Mr Pullman has kindly agreed to attend for interview.
I got a contract with an automobile association.
They get called out to broken-down cars, then they pass them on to me.
And you make sure it's picked up? Yeah.
You go to call-outs yourself, Mr Pullman? Used to.
Not any more.
When was the last time? Five or six years ago.
I just run the radio in there.
Call-outs are too hard.
How many drivers? Those four, I already told you.
All these names and contact details still current, sir? Yes.
These women, any of them, do you recognise them? No.
Keep looking.
Look, what's this all about? Keep looking.
Have you looked closely at all these photographs? Y es.
You recognise any of them? Look, I told you I don't, alright? Look, I'm sorry, I can't help you.
OK, thank you very much for your help.
And thank you for your cooperation in providing us with access to all materials related to your business.
Interview terminated at 8:06pm.
You're free to go, sir.
I'll show you out.
What happened to these women? What happened to your face? Walked into a hoist.
Clumsy, not paying attention.
How did Harvey Pullman get that bruise on his cheek? Like he said, I guess he's clumsy.
Did you assault him, Simon? Me assault him? Mattie, do I look that stupid? I threatened him with an audit of his books.
It's worked before.
He's gotta have something shonky to hide.
Not just bad tatts either.
He's scared of you.
It's because he turned nasty and he went for me.
And I put him on his back.
And I gave him the whole "Now you're looking at assault police" routine, and that is why he decided to cooperate.
It's true.
I saw it, the whole thing.
Happened exactly the way he says.
Hi.
Hi.
Thought you might wanna talk.
Yeah? About what? About what happened to Harvey Pullman.
I really did see the whole thing.
You didn't see him going for me.
You saw me overreacting.
I saw the whole thing, Simon.
It's OK, I'm not here to heavy you about it.
It's not some kind of threat.
Threats don't usually come with a nice red, do they? You like Merlot? Turn it off.
So, why did you go for Pullman? Just lost it with the prick.
There's only so much crap you can take from morons like that.
I guess I'd just taken enough, that's all.
Fair enough.
So why didn't you dob me in? That's easy.
You don't dog.
Rule number one, right? I thought you were right, anyway.
Garbage piles too high, you sometimes gotta run the bulldozer over it.
Mate, we're outta here.
What's happened? Peta Sharpe, the fitness trainer, called in.
She's remembered something about the driver of the Pullman tow truck.
When he was driving off, he waved at her and he had a scarred right hand.
A burn or scald.
Alright,could help.
Yeah, this hand.
I remember him.
That was eight or nine years ago.
I don't even have tax papers that go back that far.
We're not worried about your tax, Mr Pullman.
This driver with the scar, what else can you tell us? Wasn't just a scar.
It was like it had been cooked or something.
Skin grafts? Yeah.
It looked pretty raw to me.
What was his name? I already told you.
I don't know.
It was Norman something.
Why did this Norman-something leave? He just didn't show up.
He didn't collect his pay or nothing, eh.
Why not? No idea.
He was just gone.
One of the other drivers reckoned they'd seen his truck the day before he didn't show up, he was pulled over by a cop car.
Any idea where? Sid might know.
He still works for me.
Look, I didn't trust that bastard anyway.
Always thought he was ripping me off, doing cash jobs and not putting it through the business.
Look, his name was VoooVoodal Du Duval? Yeah, that's it, Norman Duval.
Bastard.
The other towie was sure he saw this Duval guy's truck on Kincaid Street? He remembers the bowls club, apparently.
OK.
These are the running sheets for all the patrols covering this area.
OK, here we go.
Duval, Norman, incident report.
Wasn't charged and there's nothing else on his sheet.
"Complained of sexual assault.
" Complainant? Complainant.
Natalie Barbara Stroud.
Try this number.
You were hard to track down, Ms Stroud.
Moved about a bit? I'm settled now.
You're pretty good with those guys.
Seem to be.
Look, I really don't think I can help you with any of this.
It's been years since I made that complaint.
I've put it all behind me.
I actually don't really remember that much anyway.
Things like that tend to be hard to forget.
We have a record of your complaint.
And a driver's licence photo of your attacker might refresh your memory.
I don't wanna see it.
Ms Stroud, we believe you had a very lucky escape.
We believe the man who tried to assault you may have attacked a lot more women, possibly killed them.
We believe he may do it again.
Please don't make me do this.
I don't think you have forgotten.
I think you'd like to forget.
This isn't fair.
I've tried to forget.
So try to remember.
We need anything you can give us on this guy.
No matter how upsetting it may be.
How dare you put me through this We need you to dredge it all up! And, Look, I am sorry, but we need to stop this guy before he attacks someone else.
You were very lucky.
We understand how scared you must be, thinking about him again.
Not just him.
He's not the reason I dropped the complaint.
What do you mean, Natalie? It was because of her A woman came round to my house.
She threatened me.
She was horrible, even nastier than him.
She said if I didn't drop it, she'd sort me out.
Shesaid She what? What did she say? She said if I didn't drop it, keep my mouth shut .
.
she'd cut my tits off and eat them while I watched.
And then she'd kill me.
Natalie Stroud got lucky.
The police pulled over the tow truck because of a broken tail-light.
She got out, screaming, made the complaint.
And that's what the other towie saw.
Then later the woman threatened her, Natalie withdrew the complaint, moved on, disappeared, counted herself lucky.
She did do a pretty solid face-fit for us.
This is the woman who attacked her.
Norman Duval's lover, accomplice, we don't know.
Most likely a sexual relationship.
Run the name Duval for her.
Already happening, sir.
OK, so, Norman Duval uses Pullman's tow truck business to pick up young women.
Probably owns his own truck now, operating as an independent.
There's no record of him anywhere.
The address on the licence is long out of date.
He's probably operating the truck illegally.
Or he just takes it out for the hunt.
Why do they do it as a pair? Is it a dominant-submission thing? Well, that's usual when it's paired killers.
But in some cases, the couple will feed off each other.
Aroused by their partner's violent sexual behaviour? Exactly.
So, the idea is they need sadistic violence to get their rocks off? And that pleasure, it builds through anticipation.
The regular annual event.
The thrill of the hunt.
Cruising, targeting and taking.
And finally, the domination.
The acting out of those sadistic sexual fantasies.
And, of course, the eventual elimination.
There's no more intimate moment to share with a person than death.
Murders like these are the expression of a highly intense sadistic pleasure.
You are gonna find that these women have been horribly brutalised before they were murdered.
So she indulges her man.
She lets him play out these pleasures until she gets jealous.
And then she gets him to kill them.
Or she does it herself.
At least now we know how he hunts them.
We need to locate his truck.
That'll lead us to him.
We may not have to.
The births, deaths, marriages check took us to a Peggy Barkham.
Three years prior to Natalie Stroud's abduction, Peggy Barkham was arrested for assault.
She got off on good behaviour.
She's now Peggy Duval, Norman's wife.
Is this her? This is the woman that threatened you? Yeah.
Natalie, she came to your home.
How did she find you? I don't know.
I assumed it was from the complaint.
Police don't release that kind of information.
In the days before the attempt to abduct you, did anything unusual happen? Unusual? It was a long time ago.
A sense of anyone following you? Any intruders? Anyone checking you out, your car? No.
Any odd phone calls? Checking me out? Er, no.
Not unless you count those annoying market research calls.
I got one of them.
Do you remember what the call was about? Eating habits, I think.
It was a Health Department study.
I remember I hung up halfway through because it went on too long.
Marital status, eating habits, persona .
.
personal details.
Your phone number, it's listed? Yeah.
Was the caller a woman? Yes, she Oh, God.
It was her, wasn't it? Come on.
Market research.
The victims aren't random, she chooses them.
She doesn't take part in the hunt but she chooses the target.
So no-one under either name that year? OK.
Thanks for your help.
'Bye.
I AM holding, dickhead.
Ma'am.
Mapplethorpe, Jarvis has briefed me in between my meetings.
I've got about a 20-minute break.
Any more progress? Yeah.
We're checking with market research companies.
The wife, Peggy, worked with one nine years ago.
We traced her via the Health Department.
We think they're still working that way, that she's still doing telephone surveys.
You do? Barkham? How long ago? Yeah.
OK, I'm gonna need an address.
Guys, here we go.
She's working under her maiden name.
They're getting me an address.
We're in position.
Secure around the back.
Copy.
All teams standing by.
On our cue.
It's the police.
Open up! Norman Duval, this is the police.
Open the door! Police! Stay where you are! Go, go, go.
Police! Don't move! Don't move! Stay where you are! Get back! Police! Don't move! Get on the ground! Don't move! Don't move! Police! Don't move! Get off me! What are you doing to him? - Leave him alone! - Stay down on the ground! Leave him alone! .
.
in relation to a number of murders.
Hands behind your back.
Leave him alone! Leave him alone! Peg! Shut up! Leave him alone! Peg! Come on! You can't do this without a warrant, mate.
I'll have you for this.
You want a warrant? There's a copy, alright? Matt.
It's OK.
It's OK, you're safe, you're safe.
It's OK.
Put this on you.
It's OK.
I'm gonna take this blanket off you, OK? It's OK.
It's OK, you're safe.
It's OK.
You're safe.
There you go, there you go, there you go.
She's amazing.
She wants to do the rape kit and then talk to us.
Nick and Jen are bringing her in now.
You need to talk to her before you interview the Duvals.
Why? We've got plenty of evidence to work with.
Not for murder.
Abduction, unlawful detainment and rape, yes, but not murder.
No bodies.
What about the locks of hair? Circumstantial.
Proves the women were there.
Doesn't prove murder.
The more you have to take into that interview, the more you're gonna get out of it.
What can she give us? The dynamic.
We need to know how it worked inside that room - the way that they feed off each other.
Maybe we can use that to break them down, turn them against each other.
One saved.
Not much a of a victory.
We'll take this at your pace, Belinda.
Whenever you need a break, just say.
I just wanna get this over with.
My sister's gonna take me home when we're done.
Can you tell us exactly what happened? He raped me while she watched.
"This would be the first of many, " he said.
First of many.
Would you like a couple of minutes? No.
It stunk.
That bed.
That blanket.
Him.
How involved was she? She was egging him on.
Laughing.
What happened when you were first put in the room? She tied me to the bed when I woke up.
Then brushed my hair and cut a piece out of it.
So she waited till you were awake to tie you up? Y es.
And she was the one that cut your hair? Y es.
And, umput on the make-up All over my face, Like a clown.
To make me pretty, she said.
But .
.
when he wasn't around .
.
she'd come in and slap me .
.
tell me not to .
get used to it around here .
.
to stay away from her man.
Like I had a choice.
It was like she was Jealous.
She resented you for taking away his affections.
He gets engrossed and she gets jealous.
You've been formally identified by your victim.
You and your wife.
What do you say about that? Nothing.
You were caught at the house with Ms Graves tied to the bed.
She was still alive, though, wasn't she? But you killed the others, didn't you? I I didn't kill anyone.
What makes you think I killed them? So, how does Peggy feel about the other women? - What other women? - Oh,come on, Peggy! They're all there on the blanket, aren't they? Traces of them.
Tell us about the blanket.
What about it? It's filthy.
And the mattress.
What, Norman makes you keep it that way, does he? They're trophies too? Stains and all.
Normie doesn't make me do anything.
His trophies.
He just can't let go of his old flames, can he? He even keeps a lock of their hair.
Keeping their hair was a mistake.
We can go back to the families, get samples for comparison.
The IDs will be positive.
So what? Some girls were at my house and maybe we had sex.
Doesn't prove I raped 'em.
And it definitely doesn't prove I killed 'em! We will prove what happened because Peggy will sell you out to save herself.
Mmm, no, she won't.
Peggy loves me.
A LOT.
Are these the women you raped? I already told you, it wasn't rape.
They liked it rough.
Which ones did he like, Peggy? Which ones were his favourites? Shut up.
What were their names? Can you even remember? Remember? They don't even care.
Look at 'em.
She does.
She cares.
It's not as sexual for her.
It's a form of narcissism.
She has to get rid of the threat.
She's a pretty one.
Blonde, nice hair.
She's young too.
Did he fall for her? He doesn't love them, he loves me.
I'm his wife.
But you're obviously not enough.
It's once a year, h I give him what he needs all the rest of the time.
So why do you get rid of them, Norman? Were they too much trouble? Do they start complaining? Crying? No.
No, I told you I didn't kill them.
You kill them, Peggy, when he starts to like them too much.
He probably preferred them to you.
That's a lie.
So, what happened? She get rid of them before you were finished with them? These were your girls, mate.
These were your girls and she took 'em away! I had to, didn't l? They weren't good enough for him.
Always crying, always snivelling, ssss They were nothing.
Jeez, you must have been dirty when you found out what happened.
These girls, they would do anything that you wanted.
You had total control over them.
But then you couldn't even control your own wife.
Could you, eh? Hey, I controlled her, alright?! Made her clean it up.
She killed them, she buried them.
Some of them were strong - fought, scratched, bit.
Begged.
People will do almost anything to stay alive.
So she got rid of all of them? Yeah.
Nah.
No, hang on.
No, no, no, no, no, no.
There was one who got away years ago.
Little cow took a piece out of Peggy's arm.
Served her right.
See that? She bit me.
Ran off.
Bitch was the only one who ever got away from the house, though.
There were these spuds on the stove, right? She did this, eh? She didn't go to the police? Oh, mate, if she did, we were long gone.
The one that got away, her name.
I can't remember.
No.
She was a pretty little thing, though.
Her name! Gail.
Gail Keenan.
Ma'am.
Morning.
What is it? The Duvals were being held over for further questioning.
We were setting up to interview them, I called down to have them sent up and somebody's already signed them out for a re-enactment.
You were nowhere near ready for that, were you? No, ma'am! So who signed them out? It's OK.
I emptied it.
Five weeks they had me.
Five weeks.
How did you escape? I threw the boiling water at him and .
.
I ran through the bushes till I found a road.
I was scared she'd come after me, find me, so I ran across the paddock half-naked.
I got lost.
Hid until it was day.
And then? I found a farm and called the police.
But I couldn't tell them .
.
where I'd been held or who they were.
They looked for them, though? They found the house after a few days but it was empty, they'd gone.
I moved away, tried to get on with my life.
Changed my name.
Even tried getting married.
That didn't work.
I joined the police force to take back control of my life.
So you ended up in Missing Persons? Caught this case.
All those missing women.
And I realised that the similarities applied to me as well.
Why did you kill them, Victoria? We had them.
They confessed.
They gave us the location of the bodies.
You didn't have to do this.
You know.
You understand.
Garbage piles up, eventually you gotta mow it down.
Good result.
Side by side we stick together To uphold the Magpies name Come on, mate, what did she mean? "You know.
You understand.
" Mowing down the garbage.
What's that all about? I think she sees me as a .
.
kindred spirit.
And are you? I probably do need some time out.
Get my head together.