I heard a gunshot
There is a nagging question about the location of Karmein remains. Why did the offender risk travelling the distance of 25 km across suburbia with Karmein? He could have taken her to a closer, more remote location - Ruffey Creek down the end of Church Rd is within minutes of the Chans' house. The offender's motive was certainly to abduct Karmein from her home but from that point it is not known if his intention was rape or murder or both. Regardless of what he intended to do after the abduction the same question applies - Why was he in Thomastown? On the night that Karmein was abducted a young man claims he was walking along near Elizabeth St . Reservoir the night Karmein Chan when he heard a gunshot, upon looking for the source of the noise he noticed a man on Edgar creek standing by a ute . He believes the man saw him and waved his gun in the air . This is his personal account :
The Witness
“Mr. Cruel is in the papers again today . It's been 20 years since the abduction, oh sorry, since the body was found of Karmein chan. She was the last victim, they suspect of Mr. Cruel. This is where I come in. Around the time of her disappearance I lived in Coburg. I didn't have a car and the nearest shop to my house opened about 8 o’clock in the morning and I had no milk and with a child under about one year of age I had to have milk first thing in the morning, sometimes 6.30 - 7.00 o’clock. I had to have milk otherwise this kid is going to scream. I decided to take a walk from Elizabeth St, Coburg where I was living at the time and I was going to Henty St and Gilbert Rd, this was my destination for one of the 7-Eleven’s I lived near. I lived in between two, both were at the same distance but I just happened to go that way that night. This was the night of the Karmien Chan disappearance, this was the night she was taken. I made out at about 11 o’clock at night. I don't know the exact time but I know it was around 11 because I thought I could get to this store and back to my home within about an hour and be in bed maybe just after 12pm. It's about a 20 minute walk but you know screwing around in the store and what not, I didn't know what time I would get back.
On my way to the store I cut through a creek area, you have to walk up a big hill to get to the shop. I was putting it off until the end of my journey. I was looking towards the creek as I took my route along Elizabeth St, up Jenkins St, then down. I don't know the name of that road, heading towards Henty St and Gilbert Rd. Walking along the street I hear a crack, a gunshot. I didnt hear any gunshots before this and I didn't hear any gunshots after this. Apparently, Karmein Chan had three bullets to the head, however when I looked up I saw a ute, relative to that era. I saw a man standing there looking like he was possibly wearing overalls and then what looked like a spray jacket on the top. He had his back turned to me with his gun raised up in the air. It was almost like he saw me coming and set the gun off to let me know he was there. It was enough to frighten the shit out of me so I took off, up what I think is Kingsley Road which goes up to Gilbert Rd. Then I walked along to Henty St where the 7-Eleven was.
I didn't think much of this until the next day when Karmein Chan was all over the news and it came to me that I may have seen her killer or her abductor, abductor and killer I should say. It went out of my mind again until a year or two later when Karmein Chan’s body turned up in Thomastown behind the electric plant. By this time I had moved from Elizabeth St in Coburg, and now I am just going to flick through the blocks, I moved to to High St, I ended up living on High St, not far from Mahoneys Rd in Thomastown and that's were her body was found, Thomastown Terminal Station. The cops set up a caravan and I went and told them what I’d seen on that night. It’s just strange, these two places are only about, no shit, under 10 minutes from where I saw the shooting that night to where the body was found is under 10 minutes. Yeah, just my little story about Mr. Cruel. What I saw. Do I have a suspect? No, Do I think I know someone to look at ? yes.
Other victims of this bloke, or who they think he took other girls from, other victims of this bloke said he must have lived in a flight because they heard a lot of planes. Well, I know that because I know that area because I lived under it all my life, the first twenty years anyway”
https://youtu.be/yXH6hO3NX88?si=vThkc837IARku3Yz
Phylis Chan has stated publicly that her daughter was feisty so it is highly plausible that Mr. Cruel was transporting Karmein back to this detention house . The same house he had taken Sharon and Nicola . Karmein may have caused him trouble or recognised his face and he had to act quickly. Where do you go in a heavily populated suburban area ? He seems to know the area well, he knows there’s a place at the end of the street - Edgar Creek . If the witness account is correct then he may have shot her at the creek end of Elizabeth st/Carrington Rd and moved the body to Thomastown electrical station after the fact. It makes perfect sense if he suspected that he had been seen or that it could bring too much attention, so close to his detention house.
It could just be a coincidence that Alf Gay (https://www.mrcruel.blog/mr-cruel/the-good-crook) had a relative living on Carrington Rd, Reservoir ? The witness literally walked past this premises on his way to 7-Eleven when he heard the gunshot and saw the man by the Ute on Edgar Creek. Carrington Rd runs directly into Edgar Creek at the location the witness saw the man wielding his gun in the air the night Karmein was abducted. Alf’s relative was a textile worker, born 30 November 1923 and passed away on 20 June 1990. It is also to note that the witness mentions the high level of plane noise in this area which is also a highly relevant to this case .