Number of victims: 7
Date of murders: 1976 - 1977
Method of murder: Strangulation
Location: Truro, South Australia
Between December 1976 and February 1977, seven young women went missing from the streets of Truro, South Australia. The police were at a loss as to the disappearances and the women’s whereabouts remained a mystery until April 1978 when a mushroom hunter discovered human remains in a field. A police search turned up more remains, subsequently identified as Veronica Knight, 18, and Sylvia Pittman, 16, two of the missing.
As the police appealed to the public for information, a female caller suggested that they speak to a man named James Miller. Miller was tracked down and brought in for questioning. Under interrogation, he told a incredible story.
Miller said that the murders had been committed by a friend of his, Christopher Worrell, who had since been killed in a car crash. He admitted to being present at the time of the murders, but denied participating in them. He had no interest in the women, he said, because he was gay.
According to Miller, he had acted as driver, chauffeuring Worrell around the Truro area looking for women. If one of the women agreed to go with them, he’d drive to a remote spot. Worrell would then tell him to “take a walk.” When he returned the victim would be dead. Seven young women had died in this way in the space of just three months and Worrell would have carried on killing had he not been killed himself.
With Worrell not around to face the music, James Miller was tried with seven counts of murder and sentenced to life in prison. He died there of cancer in October 2008.
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