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Has anyone read the Satin Man?

I have just finished it and having gown up and lived in Glenelg and surrounding suburbs all my life it was certainly a very eery read? There were lots of peddies hanging out in seaside toilets this was well known in my circles, after nearly every weekend in summer someone at school would have a story to tell about someone at the beach propositioning / staring etc.
 
Flash of power said:
Has anyone read the Satin Man?

I have just finished it and having gown up and lived in Glenelg and surrounding suburbs all my life it was certainly a very eery read? There were lots of peddies hanging out in seaside toilets this was well known in my circles, after nearly every weekend in summer someone at school would have a story to tell about someone at the beach propositioning / staring etc.
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I haven't read it but I definitely want to. Absolutely no doubt the rock spiders hung around the toilets and back in 1966 von Einem was one of them. A couple of people I know [ child victims of abuse by wealthy pedos ] have been following this for decades and the gist of what they say is that Phipps was known to them and the police for a very long time. They have both picked some holes in the book but agree that it is pretty good. I will read it myself before I pass judgement.
 
I couldn't put it down, it was just so close to home in more ways than one.

Everything talked about in the book happened in and around the immediate vicinity of where I grew up and used to ride my bike and muck around care free with my mates. The old bowling alley, colley reserve, the beach etc I was probably there daily in summer, maybe even the day they disappeared and I was the same age as the middle girl, still sends shivers down my spine.

I know someone that is now living in the house in question, she has always said it has a weird feel to it, and then she found out why that might be the case.
 

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I was 8 going on 9 and I still remember that day and the subsequent search . You must feel almost touched by it all and perhaps a little lucky . I can't wait to get a copy now.
 
I do think that it could of been me, although I was usually there with other mates or the older brother and mainly on bikes, so didn't need for a lift home, which the Beaumont kids needed. A couple of boys might have been a bit harder to lure away than a couple of girls and small boy too.

Interesting place Glenelg back then, Ronald Biggs was also a local for a while.
 
Please correct me if I'm way off the mark here.....but as it is such a mystery with all sorts of theories, something has crept into my mind as I've got older, (I was only a kid at the time) that has never been mentioned.....Child abuse whether general or sexual was never mentioned at all back then....it was always kept so quiet, that majority of people wouldn't have known it existed. We certainly didn't.

Is it possible the kids were harmed by their own parents?...I believe they moved house not long after, something I could never ever have done in case they found their way home.

Was the house and yards searched? I suppose they were, but I have wondered.

....just a left-field thought in a mystery that really upset me at the time and has remained to this day. Like everyone, I hope they find the answer eventually.
 
MacMum said:
Please correct me if I'm way off the mark here.....but as it is such a mystery with all sorts of theories, something has crept into my mind as I've got older, (I was only a kid at the time) that has never been mentioned.....Child abuse whether general or sexual was never mentioned at all back then....it was always kept so quiet, that majority of people wouldn't have known it existed. We certainly didn't.

Is it possible the kids were harmed by their own parents?...I believe they moved house not long after, something I could never ever have done in case they found their way home.

Was the house and yards searched?

....just a left-field thought in a mystery that really upset me at the time and has remained to this day. Like everyone, I hope they find the answer eventually.
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I don't believe they sold the house shortly after at all, I think you are incorrect there, and they still both live in the local area although they eventually separated. The parents' character was never in doubt from what I understand and they came under a lot of scrutiny.

You are right on the sexual abuse thing though, never spoken about back then, and I don't think it was a focus of the investigation into the missing kids in the early days either.

I think once the family murders started happening and it was clear there was an evil peddie ring operating that the theory started to gain momentum, in the public's eyes at least.
 
Ok, thanks for that...I also was of the belief the parents have now passed away....but you people are closer to it all than me, so I take your response on board. It has been such a terrible mystery, particularly for you guys who were of the same age and hanging around the same areas.

There certainly seemed to have been some despicable creeps over there for awhile. cheers
 
You are right on the sexual abuse thing though, never spoken about back then, and I don't think it was a focus of the investigation into the missing kids in the early days either.

I think once the family murders started happening and it was clear there was an evil peddie ring operating that the theory started to gain momentum, in the public's eyes at least.[/QUOTE]

I was in the Police Force in the 60s and the 'activities' of a range people were known to Police. I recall reading a report from the Vice Squad which had conducted a lengthy 'survey' of persons active in the Memorial Drive/Torrens area. As I was junior 'dogs body' (prior to being sworn is a cop) in a Superintendent's office. I know it was widely circulated within various sections. NO, I will NOT divulge names!!

In relation to the so called 'family' murders, after I'd left the Force, I was related (by marriage) to one of the Truro victims. By coincidence, the lead Detective was my 'senior' patrol partner when I was sworn in. A top bloke.

Police charged one of the so called 'family' with murder but he was acquitted. It's been mentioned in previous posts the Police were supposedly less than diligent in their enquiries with the 'family' murders but I strongly dispute that. My 'by marriage relations' were very good friends with Don Dunstan who regularly visited their home for parties, bbqs etc, so if they had any concerns re the police, they would have no hesitation in making the appropriate contact.

Some families from the Truro girls and 'family' murders formed a strong support group.

I know the Police who conducted the cold case reviews and they are blokes you definitely want on your side - quality and thorough - no BS. I see one is still in the Homicide Squad.

While reminiscing a little re the '60s, it was often spoken of in the broader community how many things in SA were influenced by the Catholic Church and or the Freemasons.

How true any of that is true remains anyone's guess.............speculation and hearsay remain just that.

I suppose this all comes back to speculation on what the Police did or supposedly didn't do in any of those investigations. DNA was unheard of in those days.

There are many cases where Police believe they know exactly who has committed a crime but unless there is a definitive chain of evidence - that's all it remains - a belief - until further evidence comes to light.
 
There was a documentary on either C2 or SBS a few years back, where a very strong case was made against a particularly evil bastard ( now in prison in Victoria ), who was in Adelaide when the Beaumont kids disappeared, in Sydney when two girls were r*ped and murdered at Wanda beach, in Melbourne when a boy was taken from St Kilda beach, ( the boy's older sister got away ), and also in Adelaide when two girls disappeared from Adelaide oval.

He was apparently found guilty of another child murder committed on the outskirts of Melbourne, that child's body was found in a storm drain, and I believe that is the murder he was imprisoned for.

According to the documentary, police believe evidence connecting him to other crimes was destroyed by his mother not long after he was arrested.

He was into sailing small boats, and the doco suggested the Beaumont kids were taken from Glenelg beach via that method.
 
A few months back, on the facebook page of my old school, it was noted by posters of a story in the Advertiser about a diary recovered by police, that was kept by a teacher who is now deceased. Now this teacher was a definite 'same sex' character who had been in an incident years ago, where he was tied up in his residence and robbed. Apparently there is a detailed history of incidents involving the family and the lawyer in the freezer incident
 
1954 said:
There was a documentary on either C2 or SBS a few years back, where a very strong case was made against a particularly evil bastard ( now in prison in Victoria ), who was in Adelaide when the Beaumont kids disappeared, in Sydney when two girls were r*ped and murdered at Wanda beach, in Melbourne when a boy was taken from St Kilda beach, ( the boy's older sister got away ), and also in Adelaide when two girls disappeared from Adelaide oval.

He was apparently found guilty of another child murder committed on the outskirts of Melbourne, that child's body was found in a storm drain, and I believe that is the murder he was imprisoned for.

According to the documentary, police believe evidence connecting him to other crimes was destroyed by his mother not long after he was arrested.

He was into sailing small boats, and the doco suggested the Beaumont kids were taken from Glenelg beach via that method.
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Wasn't that the bloke who was in the Navy?
 

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MacMum said:
Please correct me if I'm way off the mark here.....but as it is such a mystery with all sorts of theories, something has crept into my mind as I've got older, (I was only a kid at the time) that has never been mentioned.....Child abuse whether general or sexual was never mentioned at all back then....it was always kept so quiet, that majority of people wouldn't have known it existed. We certainly didn't.

Is it possible the kids were harmed by their own parents?...I believe they moved house not long after, something I could never ever have done in case they found their way home.

Was the house and yards searched? I suppose they were, but I have wondered.

....just a left-field thought in a mystery that really upset me at the time and has remained to this day. Like everyone, I hope they find the answer eventually.
Click to expand...
They didn't sell the house straight away, it was many years before they did. When asked why they didn't move Nancy Beaumont's comment was, "what if the kids come home one day and we aren't here?" (or words to that effect). The parents were completely broken by what happened (naturally) and the marriage never survived but there was never any talk of either of the parents being involved. When they searched the Castalloy factory recently the police were with the parents to provide them with updates but nothing was fount

I have read a lot on the subject and been some contact with Alan Whiticker (the author) and I think Phipps is a strong lead, why they never dug at the spot indicated and dug nearby I will never understand.
 
1954 said:
Yes that's him, they interviewed a couple blokes who had served with him, and one of them said something along the lines of not being surprised when he was found guilty of murdering a child.
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He (Derek Percy) recently died of cancer and they did DNA tests on him to try to eliminate or confirm whether he was involved in the Wanda Beach murders, but they have never mentioned the results so one can only assume there was no match or it was inconclusive.
 
docks said:
They didn't sell the house straight away, it was many years before they did. When asked why they didn't move Nancy Beaumont's comment was, "what if the kids come home one day and we aren't here?" (or words to that effect). The parents were completely broken by what happened (naturally) and the marriage never survived but there was never any talk of either of the parents being involved. When they searched the Castalloy factory recently the police were with the parents to provide them with updates but nothing was fount

I have read a lot on the subject and been some contact with Alan Whiticker (the author) and I think Phipps is a strong lead, why they never dug at the spot indicated and dug nearby I will never understand.
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The spot indicated at Castalloy was searched using ground penetrating radar first which showed nothing however an adjacent spot showed some potential and was subsequently excavated with no result.
 
But with
Killer Power said:
The spot indicated at Castalloy was searched using ground penetrating radar first which showed nothing however an adjacent spot showed some potential and was subsequently excavated with no result.
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I understand the radar showed nothing, but the fact that the radar used is does not always give an accurate indication, why, with all the equipment there you would dig another spot which was within metres is beyond me. You can see on Google Radar the area where the boys/men indicated they dug and it would have put it to rest once and for all.
 
docks said:
He (Derek Percy) recently died of cancer and they did DNA tests on him to try to eliminate or confirm whether he was involved in the Wanda Beach murders, but they have never mentioned the results so one can only assume there was no match or it was inconclusive.
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The Wanda beach murders took place in 1965 (I think ), I didn't realise they took/kept DNA samples from victims then.
 
1954 said:
The Wanda beach murders took place in 1965 (I think ), I didn't realise they took/kept DNA samples from victims then.
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They keep samples of everything, and since DNA profiling became a science, quite a few cold case crimes have been solved by investigating stored evidence
 
I_Dont_Care said:
They keep samples of everything, and since DNA profiling became a science, quite a few cold case crimes have been solved by investigating stored evidence
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I just looked up the Wanda beach murders, in February 2012 NSW cold case investigators said they had found weak male DNA on a pair of jeans worn by one of the girls.
They went on to say that current DNA technology was unable to provide a match, but they were hopeful improved technology would provide a breakthrough.

Derek Percy who was in the area at the time remains a major suspect in those murders.
 
1954 said:
I just looked up the Wanda beach murders, in February 2012 NSW cold case investigators said they had found weak male DNA on a pair of jeans worn by one of the girls.
They went on to say that current DNA technology was unable to provide a match, but they were hopeful improved technology would provide a breakthrough.

Derek Percy who was in the area at the time remains a major suspect in those murders.
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Damn it!!. I wish I'd kept all those Police (only) Gazettes which had all those investigations. Bogle/Chandler in Tassie, Graeme Thorne (NSW) case where he was kidnapped after his parents won yester years equivalent of today's XLotto - and a squillion more.

I didn't need to keep the report of the detailed description of a 1960s hanging at Adelaide Gaol.

Strangely enough, in my latter years as a livestock buyer, I was often on the station where the murder took place.

A small but even stranger world...............

BTW, being a (trained) cynic or perhaps born that way, I trust absolutely nothing I read/hear/see in the media.:)
 
Rexie J said:
Damn it!!. I wish I'd kept all those Police (only) Gazettes which had all those investigations. Bogle/Chandler in Tassie, Graeme Thorne (NSW) case where he was kidnapped after his parents won yester years equivalent of today's XLotto - and a squillion more.

I didn't need to keep the report of the detailed description of a 1960s hanging at Adelaide Gaol.

Strangely enough, in my latter years as a livestock buyer, I was often on the station where the murder took place.

A small but even stranger world...............

BTW, being a (trained) cynic or perhaps born that way, I trust absolutely nothing I read/hear/see in the media.:)
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` the station where the murder took place ' - Glen Sabre Valance?
The last man hanged in South Australia.
 
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Derek Percy was only 17 in 1966 and lived interstate. He doesn't match any of the descriptions given at the time or any other time since. Any suggestion that he was even in Adelaide is pure speculation based on his ' I might have ' answers he gave in prison . The person or people who took the Beaumonts had local knowledge and a car at their disposal as well as assistance from others. A real sleeper in this is Dieter Pfennig who emigrated to Australia in 1965. It fits his MO to a tee, he was local and he was 20 at the time.
 
Bogle/Chandler murders were in Sydney...

...although there is now speculation as to whether they were actually murdered or just gassed from gasses coming from the river beside where they were having their little...er um... get together;)

It was 1963, they didn't know too much about natural gasses back then.
 
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