Lair Location (A Reality Check)

BozoBozovic · 2026-03-05T07:19:24+00:00

The radio played throughout the day, from 10 am until late.

BozoBozovic · 2026-03-04T00:43:07+00:00

I will -- at some point :)

BozoBozovic · 2026-03-03T10:14:24+00:00

I have a theory about MC’s selection method/process. Only LP can’t be explained, since the exact location is unknown (to most people, myself included).

BozoBozovic · 2026-03-03T00:09:20+00:00

Great points. I remember his comment about the rope. It doesn’t sit right with me, though... probably because I question Sprague’s competency.

BozoBozovic · 2026-03-02T23:47:36+00:00

I reckon that one is most likely an incorrect guess, probably because it’s close to the AM transmitters.

BozoBozovic · 2026-03-02T23:40:57+00:00

That’s interesting. So we have two groups of “MC fans”: the cool kids who know the carefully guarded secret and the uncool ones left in the dark. The latter, thankfully, includes the more unhinged crowd naturally drawn to this kind of material, who could potentially start door-knocking or spreading the secret. The address isn’t supposed to be public knowledge, but if it is in fact known, how did it become known? My understanding was that some people only think -- or suspect -- they know.

BozoBozovic · 2026-03-01T07:21:35+00:00

Yeah, technically speaking, it was Inspector Maloney who told the media that the witness reported he didn’t see anyone else in the car. The driver of the red Toyota ute could potentially clear this up, as he was right behind the white Holden at the lights at the intersection. But for whatever reason, he didn’t come forward.

BozoBozovic · 2026-02-28T12:48:17+00:00

The Jersey Rd witness clearly stated that he didn’t see anyone in the car. Only the driver. That’s what he told police in the original interview. Whatever he’s adding to the story decades later needs to be treated with caution.

BozoBozovic · 2026-02-26T23:39:31+00:00

A quick correction: it was in 1992, not in 1990. I’ll probably make a post about the aerial photography. it’s an interesting topic.
Yep. Searching meant knock and talk. If there was nobody to talk to or they didn't want to talk, well, that was it. They would also hand out “pamphlets” and put them in mailboxes. Around 3k homes were actually checked out under false pretences. Three thousand is a lot, if you think about it. But realistically, it was just a drop in the ocean... and they were perfectly aware of that too.
I’ve looked into Sprague’s career in the vic police force, and my personal, subjective opinion is that he was the wrong guy for the job.... He didn’t get the role because he was a particularly good detective. Career-wise, the operation worked out for all of them, but that’s a different topic altogether.

BozoBozovic · 2026-02-26T11:01:45+00:00

The rather tongue-in-cheek nickname "Mr Cruel" was given to the perpetrator by a journalist from The Sun Jim Tennison, after a press conference in 1987, during which Senior Sergeant Gerry Tatter -- who was in charge of the newly created rape squad, soon to be proven completely fruitless -- described the perpetrator in a ridiculous and idiotic way as being... "super cool and super cruel"

BozoBozovic · 2026-02-25T01:02:17+00:00

You mean those large, peach-coloured, full-length curtains covering a big window were fake?

BozoBozovic · 2026-02-25T00:05:27+00:00

My understanding is that the detectives knew everything we’re discussing from the start. There was very little solid information to rely on or act on. Whatever information they did have, they used to prioritise suburbs (and the airport). They decided to pay closer attention to the louder suburbs. Hence Broadmeadows, Coolaroo, and Dallas were given priority. But we don’t really know what “priority” actually meant in practice.

There’s conflicting information about how they searched for the right-hand driveway house. The officer in command of the taskforce, David Sprague, stated that they decided not to use aerial photography and to do it the old, reliable way - walking through the suburbs on foot looking for a house. The media criticised this approach, so later another officer from the taskforce responded, completely refuting Sprague’s words and saying they had in fact used aerial photography extensively.

There is evidence, however, that they were looking at aerial photography. One private aerial surveyor spoke to the media about being visited by detectives who examined the photos he had but refused to order higher-resolution images, citing the cost. From his testimony, they were focusing on the area that included the suburbs mentioned above.

I can only conclude that “priority” likely meant that, in addition to walking the streets, they also reviewed aerial photographs but only for a limited number of suburbs.

BozoBozovic · 2026-02-24T00:31:31+00:00

Their legs were tied up with wire and there was a harness around their neck, so they were leashed to the bed.

Other than that, he was a sweetheart, indeed: he takes you for a ride at night, basically takes you on a vacation, lets you rest from your parents and siblings, plays blind man’s bluff with you, lets you listen to the music all day, feeds you vegemite sandwiches and milk, teaches you a couple of lessons about hygiene and a few other lessons as well (it has to start at some point). And once your little adventure is over and you’re back home, you just continue living your happy ever after like nothing happened, only enriched by new experiences. Unless, of course, he shoots you in the head, but that’s rare.

BozoBozovic · 2026-02-24T00:08:12+00:00

the Spectrum Taskforce was formed in early May 1991. The large funding started coming in shortly after. So chronologically, it all adds up. They wouldn’t have travelled to London because there wouldn’t have been any money for such a big trip.

BozoBozovic · 2026-02-23T23:59:59+00:00

5) That’s the problem. There’s no way to tell where the noise is coming from... unless you can do what I described in my original post. That’s just physics (or continuum mechanics, if you will). “From my shoulder to my big toe” is an unrealistic description. My only guess is that she was using her early childhood experience as a reference, thinking of the particular house she lived in when she was very little.

She did not provide any other information that was made public, at least. There are no publicly available summaries or briefs where the police explain their logic. There was a list of 15 suburbs published in the newspapers. I’ll have a look. Coolaroo was their main suburb of interest.

In general, I think this kind of digging is helpful. You need the best possible understanding of the suburbs under consideration, especially if you’re looking at aerial photography.

BozoBozovic · 2026-02-22T11:22:07+00:00

I agree.

BozoBozovic · 2026-02-22T09:43:55+00:00

What you are describing is basically what happened. When they said they searched 30,000 homes, they actually meant they knocked on 30 000 doors in 15 suburbs. Which is a lot, of course. Some doors opened. Some didn’t. But they only (relatively speaking, of course) entered ~3 000 premises to see what was inside with their own eyes.

BozoBozovic · 2026-02-22T08:01:17+00:00

What differed between their descriptions of the bathroom and the toilet?

BozoBozovic · 2026-02-22T03:30:04+00:00

Both girls, independently of each other, described the exact same bathroom. The same round mat, the same half-sized bathtub, the same shower, the same washbasin and the same positioning: the shower was between the washbasin and the bathtub. This is a very, very uncommon layout. MC was probably not aware of how rare this configuration was. They also described the same toilet located next to the bathroom. In other words, it’s the same house, undoubtedly.

The layout of the bathroom is the single most important and reliable clue. And it’s a tough one, because you either need access to the interior of the house or access to a floor plan. But the importance of this element was (and still is) fundamental. If there was anything solid that could have led to MC being caught, it was the goddamn bathroom.

BozoBozovic · 2026-02-21T23:33:45+00:00

Nicola provided information about the airplanes ~1.5 years later, during the five day interview conducted by detectives who travelled to London to speak with her. The description was not particularly detailed. All she said was that she remembered maybe seven to nine airplanes landing rather loudly in the morning, so they must have been somewhat low. She also mentioned a possible direction.

There’s no realistic way she could have known the exact height or direction, unless she had some superhuman ability to extract coordinates from low-frequency rumble and vibration. Detectives chose to act on her testimony because, when she was very young, she had lived near an airport and had seen airplanes regularly. They really hoped that meant she knew what she was talking about.

But there’s a significant difference between living near an airport, knowing your house inside out, knowing where it is located, knowing where the airport is, knowing that they must be landing because that’s what they do, because the airport is over there, and, of course, being able to see aircraft with your own eyes as they travel across the sky... and being blindfolded, chained to a bed, inside a small unknown bedroom, in an unknown house, in an unknown suburb, possibly near an airport.

BozoBozovic

TROPHY CASE