Current Julie Cutler - Murder - 1988 - Cottesloe WA *To the Coroner

[BFew]

Inquest into the Suspected death of Julie CUTLER

https://www.coronerscourt.wa.gov.au/_files/Inquest_2023/CUTLER, Julie Leanne.pdf (49 pages)
'[2023] WACOR 19
JURISDICTION : CORONER'S COURT OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA
ACT : CORONERS ACT 1996
CORONER : SARAH HELEN LINTON, DEPUTY STATE CORONER HEARD :
3 - 4 NOVEMBER 2022 DELIVERED : 6 APRIL 2023
FILE NO/S : CORC 830 of 2019
DECEASED : CUTLER, JULIE LEANNE'

 

[Kurve]

If we're going with a very short time span between Julie's last sighting and her car being placed in the ocean, then whatever transpired might possibly only occurred between her work and her home then.

IMO the shorter time span but that's still around five or six hours from the time Julie left the Parmelia and dawn. I think that's plenty of time if you have a set of wheels, hers.

 

[petedavo]

I think there is a small possibility her body may have gone out to sea. If the weather was rough ( metic ? ) then the tow may have taken it out.

Though all the other scenarios are possible.

My first thought when I first heard about it in the media in 1988 was just someone driving her car into the ocean and her being swept out to sea. Until I saw later media stories that mentioned other suspicious events. But IMO it's still a possibility that it was an accident during an insurance fraud attempt or a suicide, and other other events explainable and or unconnected.
Other people suggested that hoons could've found her car abandoned (after she had already been abducted) and put it in the ocean, but surely by now they should've come forward to clear themselves from any involvement in Julie's actual disappearance. Or maybe Julie came back to find hoons had put her car in the ocean and she went it to try and retrieve her stuff, only to be washed out to sea. The problem is that there's many possibilities. I've looked at scenarios specifically to include the 3 things that her family assert might be connected, the wallet, the other car, the bag of clothes and I also include the phone call to the journalist, and tried to find anything that fit which would include all of them. The road raging cop, would certainly have the means to stalk her, pit her car and return her wallet, but not the phone call. A gang of criminals (like David Everett's) would have the means and skills. The motive for a ransom was lacking, until I found articles from the 1970's in Trove about the nickel scam, when searching her surname, but it was still a stretch that this scenario would fit without some other circumstantial evidence. Then it came, when a bloke by the name of Vernon Sillich killed his parents, and I found that his father was a cop and worked on the very same nickel scam case in the 1970's. So now I'm just looking for evidence that Vernon knew David Everett who the year before Julie's disappearance had returned from Burma, or any other criminals with a history of kidnapping, to firm up this theory enough to go to the police with it. Other scenarios are obviously possible, but these two, the road raging cop and the kidnap for ransom / mistaken identity scenarios are the only ones that I've found with any evidence to substantiate them as theoretically plausible.

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[Kurve]

I don't think this case is related to the CSK. It's more likely planned, and had either a getaway car already at Cottesloe or an accomplice in another car. The only other alternative I think would be if the perpetrator lived or worked nearby Cottesloe beach and had somewhere to hold her or her body for later disposal or for other reasons. Unless he was very lucky and a shark took her, which is probably a stretch. What's your thoughts?

It won't surprise me if it was BRE. You might know PD, wasn't his father working out of the Cottesloe Telstra Exchange? There might have been cars/vans kept there and keys hanging up somewhere. And I recall hearing MACRO were in there for some time post arrest, inspecting the comms pit.

Suspect a strong connection to Cottesloe. Second wife's family had a restaurant just up the road as well.

 

[Kurve]

Then it came, when a bloke by the name of Vernon Sillich killed his parents, and I found that his father was a cop and worked on the very same nickel scam case in the 1970's. So now I'm just looking for evidence that Vernon knew David Everett who the year before Julie's disappearance had returned from Burma, or any other criminals with a history of kidnapping, to firm up this theory enough to go to the police with it.

Might Silich be looking to make some sort of a deal for early release about now? (Looks biker to me even though it says 'drove taxis', does he have biker connections? Lisa Govan.)

Very interesting theory PD.

 

[GreyCrow]

My first thought when I first heard about it in the media in 1988 was just someone driving her car into the ocean and her being swept out to sea. Until I saw later media stories that mentioned other suspicious events. But IMO it's still a possibility that it was an accident during an insurance fraud attempt or a suicide, and other other events explainable and or unconnected.
Other people suggested that hoons could've found her car abandoned (after she had already been abducted) and put it in the ocean, but surely by now they should've come forward to clear themselves from any involvement in Julie's actual disappearance. Or maybe Julie came back to find hoons had put her car in the ocean and she went it to try and retrieve her stuff, only to be washed out to sea. The problem is that there's many possibilities. I've looked at scenarios specifically to include the 3 things that her family assert might be connected, the wallet, the other car, the bag of clothes and I also include the phone call to the journalist, and tried to find anything that fit which would include all of them. The road raging cop, would certainly have the means to stalk her, pit her car and return her wallet, but not the phone call. A gang of criminals (like David Everett's) would have the means and skills. The motive for a ransom was lacking, until I found articles from the 1970's in Trove about the nickel scam, when searching her surname, but it was still a stretch that this scenario would fit without some other circumstantial evidence. Then it came, when a bloke by the name of Vernon Sillich killed his parents, and I found that his father was a cop and worked on the very same nickel scam case in the 1970's. So now I'm just looking for evidence that Vernon knew David Everett who the year before Julie's disappearance had returned from Burma, or any other criminals with a history of kidnapping, to firm up this theory enough to go to the police with it. Other scenarios are obviously possible, but these two, the road raging cop and the kidnap for ransom / mistaken identity scenarios are the only ones that I've found with any evidence to substantiate them as theoretically plausible.

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Solid Post.

I first came across it here and everybody saying she was murdered. In taking a step back I asked myself why just that? I can see the possibility of murder and your scenarios are good.

I think its a good lesson for cold cases. Dont accept the findings of others until it matches yours. I do Family History and I never accept an online tree until I check it myself.

I shall follow your solid posting with interest

 

[petedavo]

Might Silich be looking to make some sort of a deal for early release about now? (Looks biker to me even though it says 'drove taxis', does he have biker connections? Lisa Govan.)

Very interesting theory PD.

I'd doubt it. He still claims to of been sleep walking when he put on his steel caps and romper stomped on his old Dad's head and then killed his Mom. Although he lost that appeal.

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[petedavo]

Solid Post.

I first came across it here and everybody saying she was murdered. In taking a step back I asked myself why just that? I can see the possibility of murder and your scenarios are good.

I think its a good lesson for cold cases. Dont accept the findings of others until it matches yours. I do Family History and I never accept an online tree until I check it myself.

I shall follow your solid posting with interest

You'll have to keep in mind that I've limited myself to look for evidence of patterns to specifically match the 3 things that Julie Cutler's family wanted investigated. All of them might turn out to be irrelevant to her disappearance. There hasn't been anything reported in the CSK case that's similar, however I bear in mind that when that comes to trial evidence might emerge to suggest otherwise.

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[petedavo]

It won't surprise me if it was BRE. You might know PD, wasn't his father working out of the Cottesloe Telstra Exchange? There might have been cars/vans kept there and keys hanging up somewhere. And I recall hearing MACRO were in there for some time post arrest, inspecting the comms pit.

Suspect a strong connection to Cottesloe. Second wife's family had a restaurant just up the road as well.

Might well be. But I've only looked for POIs that might fit the 3 specific things that Julie Cutler's family wanted investigated, plus I threw in the female calling the journalist. For this reason alone I ignored the accused in the CSK case when I couldn't find anything like those things in the CSK MO as published in MSM.

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[Kurve]

Might well be. But I've only looked for POIs that might fit the 3 specific things that Julie Cutler's family wanted investigated, plus I threw in the female calling the journalist. For this reason alone I ignored the accused in the CSK case when I couldn't find anything like those things in the CSK MO as published in MSM.

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That's fair, agree.

What were those three things? The guy who tried to run her off the road in an earlier incident, whether she made it home .. I can't remember the other.

Early mention of a couple seen talking to Julie after she left the Parmelia, that was interesting but the police haven't mentioned it again since the media blitz. I figured they must have found them.

 

[FTY1]

Thanks got it. Captures from the news video. https://www.9news.com.au/national/2...to-solve-daughter-julie-cutler-murder-mystery

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Thanks got it. Captures from the news video. https://www.9news.com.au/national/2...to-solve-daughter-julie-cutler-murder-mystery

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Thanks for these pictures. I never noticed the headlights when looking at the videos.

One of the things that struck me that most of these pictures when we look at them, we are seeing them the wrong way up. When the car was found in the water it was found upside down. For the headlights about 1/3 full of sand does this mean that was the level at which the fiat was sunken into the sand or does the sand include part of the salt in the water. This would be from the flattened line (the bonnet and boot line).

The seat damage that occurred indicates the depth the fiat was in the water. The seats were thoroughly soaked by the looks of the damage.

The photo on the beach also indicates that the car has sunk in the wet sand (not the water) to the depth of the radius of the wheels.

Everytime, I look at these pictures something new is found.

 

[petedavo]

That's fair, agree.

What were those three things? The guy who tried to run her off the road in an earlier incident, whether she made it home .. I can't remember the other.

Early mention of a couple seen talking to Julie after she left the Parmelia, that was interesting but the police haven't mentioned it again since the media blitz. I figured they must have found them.

"Ms Cutler’s sister wants three parts of her sister’s disappearance reinvestigated — a break-in at her Fremantle home shortly before she disappeared, her complaint a man had tried to force her car off Stirling Highway and a question of whether she made it home the night she disappeared because her wallet was found at her house."
https://thewest.com.au/news/wa/julies-father-wants-an-end-to-familys-pain-ng-b88342268z

There's more detail on these things in other MSM reports, which I can't find right now, but anyhow I wanted to find a realistic possibility that fitted these, and the further I explored a kidnap for ransom scenario, which I honestly didn't expect to go far and was based upon a hunch from what Roger said in an early interview, and the more I looked into it, I started finding evidence that actually supported it.
ie; the cigarette butts that weren't Julie's brand; the couple that never came forward; the clothes in the arcade; the phone call to the journalist; Roger fronting MSM early on asking that whoever had Julie return her; the articles in Trove about the nickel court case including an article that suggest that shares were traded under names of family members of the bloke being prosecuted; finding someone by the same name as Julie working near Cottesloe married to the person in the trove article; the return of David Everett a year prior: Detective Silich's involvement in cases of various big time frauds, the mint swindle and his son's criminality; the original 1972 judgement detailing the Judge's thoughts on a financial windfall going missing from the Supreme Court filing. If it was an attempt at kidnapping for ransom, and they thought they had the wrong Julie, what would they have done with her?


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[Kurve]

One of the things that struck me that most of these pictures when we look at them, we are seeing them the wrong way up. When the car was found in the water it was found upside down. For the headlights about 1/3 full of sand does this mean that was the level at which the fiat was sunken into the sand or does the sand include part of the salt in the water.

It's really hard to tell what damage was done to car pulling it back in. If it was heading towards the beach nose first upside down at any point that might account for some of the sand in the headlights. Or it turned a few times in the surf over the three days.

I can't tell either if those tyres went flat, that might account for some sink in the sand on the beach. Either way though, it suggests imo that the car went straight over the wall into the sea or it travelled on hard packed wet sand for only a very short distance before going in.

 

[petedavo]

It's really hard to tell what damage was done to car pulling it back in. If it was heading towards the beach nose first upside down at any point that might account for some of the sand in the headlights. Or it turned a few times in the surf over the three days.

I can't tell either if those tyres went flat, that might account for some sink in the sand on the beach. Either way though, it suggests imo that the car went straight over the wall into the sea or the car travelled on hard packed wet sand for only a very short time before going in.

The car is the enigma in this. IMO the clues to be gleaned come from the why, more so than what the physical evidence says of the how. I'll explain my reasoning.
The questions that the car raises in my mind are; why dump it at the most popular urban beach in Western Australia, when there's far better ways to hide a car; thus I wonder if it was done for display, publicity or notoriety? I look at the pictures of Julie's Fiat trying the find the message that the perpetrator was trying to convey. If there was one. Did they hate the car for some reason? Was the car more important to Julie than the perpetrator? Can we see anything in the pictures to unravel the message? Was this act a proof of abduction message of a would be ransom demand? Or is there no message? A senseless spur of the moment act, or a tragic accident? What can we see to narrow the possibilities? Anything?

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[Kurve]

The questions that the car raises in my mind are; why dump it at the most popular urban beach in Western Australia, when there's far better ways to hide a car; thus I wonder if it was done for display, publicity or notoriety?

Agree there's better or safer ways to get rid of or hide a car but easier and faster? Could have set it on fire for a more spectacular display and done the same job on the evidence but probably would have been seen pretty fast. Burn it in the bush, how do you get home if you're alone?

Fuel? If Julie was anything like me at that age I was always running on empty, might not have been enough fuel in it to take it anywhere else.

In the summing up though, it was pretty efficient. From the entrance of the service road to it going into the sea probably took no more than five or six seconds. All it took on the offenders part was audacity, confidence in ability or desperation, and a complete lack of regard for destruction of property.

 

[GreyCrow]

I admit I have missed the references but not knowing the area I am lost and pictures dont really help. Did the car get launched or driven into the sea?

If it got launched then anybody inside might have struggled to free themselves if the car hit hard. If the car was driven in as far as possible then I can see a person escaping ( if they so chose)

 

[Sorbet Bliss]

The car is the enigma in this. IMO the clues to be gleaned come from the why, more so than what the physical evidence says of the how. I'll explain my reasoning.
The questions that the car raises in my mind are; why dump it at the most popular urban beach in Western Australia, when there's far better ways to hide a car; thus I wonder if it was done for display, publicity or notoriety? I look at the pictures of Julie's Fiat trying the find the message that the perpetrator was trying to convey. If there was one. Did they hate the car for some reason? Was the car more important to Julie than the perpetrator? Can we see anything in the pictures to unravel the message? Was this act a proof of abduction message of a would be ransom demand? Or is there no message? A senseless spur of the moment act, or a tragic accident? What can we see to narrow the possibilities? Anything?

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I've sensed some kind of message in this.
Exactly. Why dump a vehicle at one of WA's most popular beaches if not to be found?
Was it a staged attempt to make it look like a suicide? A fatal accident?

On the flip side of this;
If we accept that the woman who called the West Australian newspaper claiming to be Julie was involved then why make that call if it was a staged attempt?

Less likely scenario but one that should probably be considered is maybe dumping of the fiat wasn't actually part of the plan?
Did something go wrong?
Was the phone call an attempt to cover tracks?



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[FTY1]

I've sensed some kind of message in this.
Exactly. Why dump a vehicle at one of WA's most popular beaches if not to be found?
Was it a staged attempt to make it look like a suicide? A fatal accident?

On the flip side of this;
If we accept that the woman who called the West Australian newspaper claiming to be Julie was involved then why make that call if it was a staged attempt?

Less likely scenario but one that should probably be considered is maybe dumping of the fiat wasn't actually part of the plan?
Did something go wrong?
Was the phone call an attempt to cover tracks?



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Maybe 2 scenarios with the phone call, perhaps it was some way of indicating proof of life if there was a kidnapping even though no one who knew Julie heard the voice.

Secondly perhaps like the Birnies, victims were made to call/write to their loved ones indicating that they were okay and not to worry. Perhaps to delay the investigation.

 

[Sorbet Bliss]

Maybe 2 scenarios with the phone call, perhaps it was some way of indicating proof of life if there was a kidnapping even though no one who knew Julie heard the voice.

Secondly perhaps like the Birnies, victims were made to call/write to their loved ones indicating that they were okay and not to worry. Perhaps to delay the investigation.

Agree entirely with both scenarios.






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[Kurve]

I admit I have missed the references but not knowing the area I am lost and pictures dont really help. Did the car get launched or driven into the sea?

If it got launched then anybody inside might have struggled to free themselves if the car hit hard. If the car was driven in as far as possible then I can see a person escaping ( if they so chose)

It had to go over a wall that holds the sea back when the swell is big. So straight down the service road and it just plops over the edge basically and falls down onto the sand or in this case into the water because the waves were lapping the edges of the retainer wall. If the car went off to the SIDE of the retainer wall there is less of a drop down and the car MIGHT have had to drive over a bit of sand before it hit the sea.

 

[Kurve]

I admit I have missed the references but not knowing the area I am lost and pictures dont really help. Did the car get launched or driven into the sea?

If it got launched then anybody inside might have struggled to free themselves if the car hit hard. If the car was driven in as far as possible then I can see a person escaping ( if they so chose)

I think this pic might help. The red is the service road and where (as the cops recently confirmed) the car entered the beach. The skinny red line is how it might have got in going off the protruding shelf without having to go over much/or any sand. The fat red line is if it went in a straighter direction. The straighter direction has it lined up with the reef it was found on. But I think either way and it might still have ended up lodged on top of the reef.

This pic shows quite a bit of sand but the night Julie's car went in, the water was right up to the retainer wall.

 

[petedavo]

I wish we had an exact timeline of events so we knew what order events occurred.

For instance;
Incident on Stirling Hwy
Break in at her residence
Depart work
Couple laves Parmelia
Julie departs in Fiat turning East
Car placed in Ocean
Flatmate rings father wondering where Julie is. Found Julie's wallet.
Car found in ocean
Bag of clothes found at Kebab shop but not handed in for a year
Julie's Uncle interviewed at beach searching with Julie's father who's come down from Kalgoorlie.
Press conference where Julie's dad asks whoever is holding her to let her go
Phone call by a woman to a journalist claiming to be Julie asking to be left alone

I'm only guessing here. This order would fit 1 of my theories, but a change in order might fit another.

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[FTY1]

Her dad says he think it was a Monday while he says it was after a long weekend I wonder whether he meant that the flat mate had a long weekend so came home on the Monday. In hospitality that is normally a good day to have off or sometimes restaurants are closed then.



Crimestoppers says "about 11.45am on Wednesday 22 June 1988, Miss Cutler’s car was located several metres off the shore-line at Cottesloe Beach by a swimmer."

One thing I never noticed before was the function finished at 12.30am which was the same time she was seen leaving.
"It is believed that around 180 people attended this function until around 12.30am on Monday 20 June 1988."

https://www.crimestopperswa.com.au/...ous-julie-leanne-cutler-perth-wa-20-jun-1988/

 

[Kurve]

Was this act a proof of abduction message of a would be ransom demand? Or is there no message?

Just a thought PD but imo dumping the car in the surf may not have been part of any preplanning? Getting the car successfully into the water via the service road most other nights would be dicey at best as the car would have to go over quite a bit of sand before it reached the waters edge. Probs get bogged. We've seen how loose that sand appears to be when the water peels back.

It was the unusual conditions at Cott (see thesis by metic ) that had the car swamped. A very big swell that couldn't be relied upon to occur or anticipated in any preplanning to get rid of the car? imo.

 

[one eyed spy]

Finding out whether the car was in gear or not would go along way in eliminating scenarios surrounding the disposal of the car at least.
If it was found in neutral it may have nothing to do with her actual disappearance at all.
If it was in gear, we'd know it was definitely put there on purpose regardless of who may have done that. I can't see a sky larker being so committed as to drive into the sea.

 

[Kurve]

Finding out whether the car was in gear or not would go along way in eliminating scenarios surrounding the disposal of the car at least.
If it was found in neutral it may have nothing to do with her actual disappearance at all.
If it was in gear, we'd know it was definitely put there on purpose regardless of who may have done that. I can't see a sky larker being so committed as to drive into the sea.

Keys were in the ignition and turned on possibly to stop the steering from locking as the offender/s ran along beside guiding it through the open window until it got too fast then let it go .. or the open window was a safety measure for one to get out of the car if the door wouldn't open. Agree, it would be really handy to know what gear it was in.