Sarah MacDiarmid | |
|---|---|
| Born | 15 November 1966 |
| Disappeared | 11 July 1990 (aged 23) Kananook railway station, Victoria, Australia |
| Status | Missing for 34 years, 6 months and 21 days |
Sarah MacDiarmid (born 15 November 1966) was a 23-year-old Scottish-Australian woman who disappeared from Kananook railway station in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia on 11 July 1990. [1] She is presumed murdered, although no trace of her body has ever been found. [1]
MacDiarmid, who emigrated with her family in 1987 from the Scottish Highlands to Australia, [2] had been playing tennis after work with two friends at what was then known as Flinders Park in Batman Avenue, East Melbourne, before walking to Richmond station, where they found that they had just missed a Frankston line train. [3] They caught a train to Caulfield, then changed to a Frankston service. MacDiarmid's friends disembarked this train at Bonbeach while she remained, continuing on to Kananook station where her vehicle was parked. [3] She was last seen getting off the train and heading for the poorly lit car park at approximately 10:20 p.m. [1] At around 11pm, MacDiarmid's family grow concern when she hasn't arrived home yet. At 1am, MacDiarmid's brother, Alisdair, goes to Kananook railway station to wait for the last train at 1:15 am, Sarah is not on the train. He finds her car in the car park with the doors and boot locked.
Police suspected that MacDiarmid had been assaulted, based on bloodstains found beside her red 1978 Honda Civic abandoned in the station car park, [3] and drag marks leading into the bushes. A cigarette lighter belonging to MacDiarmid was discovered on the ground, but no trace of her was ever found. Later, witnesses said MacDiarmid got off the train and crossed the footbridge to the car park, where some people heard a woman shouting, "Give me back my keys!". [4] An extensive 21-day air, sea and land search, involving more than 250 police, produced no results.
In May 2006, an inquest held by coroner Ian West, [2] found MacDiarmid "had met her death as a result of foul play but the exact circumstances were unknown". [5]
An initial state government reward of $50,000 was increased after an additional $75,000 was offered by an anonymous benefactor. [2] That was increased to $1 million in 2004 [5] and remains current. [6]
In 2011, convicted serial killer Paul Denyer was interviewed by police and denied any involvement in MacDiarmid's disappearance. [7] Denyer stated to the interviewer, Detective Ron Iddles that he was "sick of being accused of murder", and later wrote to Iddles, thanking him for informing the public of him not being involved in the matter.
In May 2014, News Corp Australia claimed police investigators considered convicted serial killer Bandali Debs to be a suspect in the case. [6] Fairfax Media quoted a "senior police source" who said "it was 'common practice' for homicide investigators to examine links between unsolved murders and known offenders". [6] A Victoria Police spokesperson declined to comment to Fairfax Media as MacDiarmid's disappearance was an "active" case. [6]
The cold case was featured in the first episode of the Australian psychic TV series Sensing Murder , which aired on Network Ten in September 2004. [8] The psychics used by this programme opined that MacDiarmid had been murdered and her body thrown into a now-closed rubbish dump on the Mornington Peninsula.
In 2010, marking the 20th anniversary of MacDiarmid's disappearance, her family and friends visited Kananook railway station to leave wreaths at a memorial established there. [9] Her family also announced they had created a website Not Alone which was 'designed to help other families who find themselves in a position similar to them'. [9] Police used the anniversary to issue a new call for information on the case with Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Dannye Moloney stating:
You do not close the books on these sorts of crimes... History proves that if you continue to communicate with the people out there, in Victoria, in Australia, in the world in some cases, that piece of information, that key will come forward and we'll solve it. [9]
In 2021, a nine part Australian crime podcast named Searching for Sarah Macdiarmid was released. [10] Hosted and written by author Vikki Petraitis, the podcast focuses on the backstory of MacDiarmid, her disappearance, and the subsequent investigation.
Frankston is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Located 54 km (34 mi) south-east of the Melbourne city centre via the Monash Freeway and EastLink, it is in the local government area of the City of Frankston and serves as its administrative and activity centres.
Carrum railway station is a commuter railway station on the Frankston line, which is part of the Melbourne railway network. It serves the south-eastern suburb of Carrum, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Carrum station is an elevated premium station, featuring an island platform. It opened on 1 August 1882, with the current station provided in 2020.
Kananook railway station is a commuter railway station on the Frankston line, which is part of the Melbourne railway network. It serves the south-eastern suburb of Seaford, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Kananook station is a ground level unstaffed station, featuring an island platform. It opened on 25 August 1975, with the current station provided in 2007.
Frankston railway station is a commuter railway station and the terminus of the Frankston line and diesel-hauled services on the Stony Point line, all part of the Melbourne railway network. It serves the south-eastern suburb of Frankston, in Melbourne, Australia and neighboring suburbs. Opening on 1 August 1882, features two side platforms, a terminus platform at Platform 1 and having Platform 2 for the terminus platform at the northern end of the platform and the Stony Point line services at the southern end. Its current form was constructed and completed in 2018.
The Claremont serial killings is the name given by the media to a case involving the disappearance of an Australian woman, aged 18, and the killings of two others, aged 23 and 27, in 1996–1997. After attending night spots in Claremont, Perth, Western Australia, all three women disappeared in similar circumstances leading police to suspect that an unidentified serial killer was the offender. The case was described as the state's biggest, longest running, and most expensive investigation.
This is a timeline of major crimes in Australia.
Forensic Investigators: Australia's True Crimes is an Australian television show hosted by Lisa McCune which aired on the Seven Network. It aired for three seasons from 2004 to 2006.
The Sharpe family murders refer to an Australian 2004 double murder.
Paul Charles Denyer is an Australian serial killer currently serving three consecutive sentences of life imprisonment with a non-parole period of 30 years for the murders of three young women in Melbourne, in 1993. Denyer became known in the media as the Frankston Serial Killer as his crimes occurred in the neighbouring suburbs of Frankston.
Jane Elisa Thurgood-Dove was the victim of a murder in Niddrie, Victoria, Australia in 1997. On 6 November 1997, she was confronted in the driveway of her suburban Melbourne home and shot repeatedly as her three young children, aged 3, 5 and 10, cowered inside her car.
Vikki Petraitis is an Australian true crime author, podcaster, and educator known for her investigative works on crime and justice. Overall, her work has contributed to raising public awareness of crime and justice issues in Australia. She is based in Melbourne, Victoria.
Brett Peter Cowan is an Australian murderer and serial child rapist. He was convicted of the murder of Daniel Morcombe, a 13-year-old boy who disappeared from the Sunshine Coast on 7 December 2003. His abduction led to an eight-year investigation involving various suspects. As a result of these investigations, Cowan led undercover police to a potential burial site. He was charged with the murder that same month, and Morcombe's remains were discovered days later on 17 August. Cowan was sentenced to life imprisonment, on 13 March 2014 in a trial that attracted worldwide attention. Cowan had two previous convictions for sexually abusing children, the earliest dating back to 1987.
Bandali Michael Debs is an Australian convicted serial killer currently serving four consecutive terms of life imprisonment plus 27 years for the murder of two Victoria Police officers in August 1998 and for the 1997 murder of teenager Kristy Harty. Debs was detained at HM Prison Barwon in Victoria. On 12 December 2011, Debs was convicted of the April 1995 shooting murder of New South Wales sex worker Donna Ann Hicks. He is portrayed by Australian actor Greg Stone in the telemovie Underbelly Files: Tell Them Lucifer was Here.
Gillian Meagher was a 29-year-old Irish woman living in Australia who was raped and murdered while walking home from a pub in Brunswick, an inner suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, in the early hours of 22 September 2012.
Ronald William Iddles is an Australian former police detective. His conviction rate was 99% and he was dubbed "Australia's greatest detective". After a career spanning some 43 years investigating serious crime, he took up the role of Secretary of the Police Association of Victoria between 2014 and 2016. He retired in 2016, but he was lured out of retirement the following year and is currently Victoria's inaugural Community Safety Trustee.
Cheryl Gene Grimmer was a three-year-old Australian toddler who was kidnapped from Fairy Meadow Beach in Wollongong, New South Wales, in January 1970. She had been in the shower block at the beach when witnesses claim a man took her and ran off.
Eurydice Jane Dixon was an Australian comedian and actress who performed regularly at comedy venues in Melbourne, Victoria. She was found murdered at Melbourne's Princes Park on 13 June 2018; her death was the subject of much media attention.
Michele Brown was a 25 year old woman who was found deceased behind a gun shop in Frankston on 14 March 1992. Her cause of death has not been determined, however she is presumed to have been murdered. There is a A$1 million reward for information leading to the arrest of her killer.
Robyn Jane Lindholm, born in Melbourne on 8 March 1973, is a former stripper, and suspected serial killer. She has been convicted of murdering two former boyfriends, and is a person of interest in the case of Shari Davison, an exotic dancer who disappeared in 1995. She will be eligible for parole in 2049, at the age of 76.