[Part 2 of 2]*** Content Warning: Sexual assault, gun violence, child victims ***By mid-1963, The Night Caller’s reign of terror had altered Perth forever, and he still remained at large and unidentified. Following another execution-style slaying in Perth’s wealthy western suburbs, investigators set a trap that would expose his identity as Eric Edgar Cooke. Cooke’s capture would ultimately lead to the unravelling of countless terrible secrets…---Narration – Anonymous HostResearch & writing – Erin MunroCreative direction – Milly RasoProduction and music – Mike MigasMusic – Andrew D.B. JoslynSign up for Casefile Premium:Apple PremiumSpotify PremiumPatreonFor all credits and sources, please visit https://casefilepodcast.com/case-307-the-night-caller-part-2 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Chapter 1: What happened on the night of Shirley MacLeod's murder?
Saturday August 10 1963 was a stormy winter's night in Perth, with heavy rain and thunder. But Carl and Wendy Dowd were heading out anyway to go to a party just a kilometre from their home in Dalkeith. The suburb was just south of Netherlands, which had been upended by the Australia Day shootings six months earlier. The initial panic after that event had somewhat calmed down by now,
Even though the shooter hadn't been apprehended, the fact that there hadn't been any shootings since meant that locals had started to relax ever so slightly. Carl and Wendy had hired a second-year university student to babysit their eight-month-old while they were out. Shirley MacLeod was a diligent science major who was filling in for her friend, the Dowd's usual sitter.
She had won a scholarship to attend university and her plan was to become a social worker. There are so many people who need help, she had once told her father. Shirley had been devastated by the murder of her friend John Sturkey in the Australia Day shootings. They had shared some of the same uni lectures. Carl and Wendy felt confident leaving their baby in Shirley's care.
She was a kind, conscientious girl who'd brought her textbooks with her. As the baby was sleeping, Shirley was hoping to get some study done. The Dowds said goodbye, then headed out to their party. It was 2am when they arrived home, happy and in high spirits after a fun night out.
Wendy went straight to the bedroom to check on the baby, while Carl headed to the lounge room where Shirley had been sitting when they left. The lounge was well lit and warm, as Shirley had the heater running. A teacup and saucer sat on the coffee table, and the turntable was spinning with a record that had long since finished playing.
Shirley's shoes sat neatly on the floor while she sat on a small couch, her head slumped. Carl assumed she must have dozed off while studying, as she was still holding a pen and notepad. Then Carl noticed that Shirley's clothes and face were covered in blood. Clearly visible in her forehead was a bullet hole. She had been shot and killed with a .22 caliber rifle.
As Carl Dowd was struck by the shocking realisation that Shirley MacLeod had been murdered, he was gripped by the terrifying fear that the killer might still be in the house. He raced to the bedroom where Wendy was tending to their eight-month-old son. He was awake and smiling, clearly unharmed. Carl told Wendy what had happened before quietly phoning the police.
The Dowd family remained barricaded in the bedroom until help arrived. While the case couldn't be definitively linked to the killing spree in late January, investigating officers had their suspicions. The victims in all of the murders were random and had been targeted in homes. All had been killed with a single shot to the forehead from a .22 caliber weapon.
Perth was still scarred by the Australia Day massacre and the sudden re-emergence of the shooter sent the city into a new wave of panic. The killer was dubbed the Netherlands Monster. Young women stopped taking on jobs and people opted to stay at home with their families rather than go out at night. Shirley's murder became the police department's top priority.
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Chapter 2: How did the police link the crimes to Eric Edgar Cooke?
The couple kept a little fishing boat down there, which they would check on and they'd also stop to chat to neighbours they met along the way. On this particular Friday, they turned left upon reaching the river and walked up towards Canning Bridge. As they ambled along, they noticed that one of the trees along the path had several limbs snapped off.
Car tracks were visible in the ground leading towards it. The couple wondered if there had been an accident and whether the driver had been hurt. After walking about 500 metres along the riverbank, William and Cecilia turned left at Rookwood Street to make a loop home. Pale pink native wildflowers were growing in abundance all along the street and Cecilia decided to pick some.
As she reached up to take a sprig, something on the ground slipped and brushed Cecilia's knee. It was the butt of a rifle. Shocked, Cecilia pushed the firearm back under the bush before telling William, There's a rifle here. After taking a look for himself, William suggested they take it home to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands.
As neither of them held gun licences, Cecilia opposed this plan. Instead, when they got home, she reported the discovery to the police. It was a 22-gauge Winchester rifle, different from the Lithgow single-shot rifle used in the Australia Day shootings. Still, it was worth investigating. Officers searched the entirety of Rookwood Street but didn't find a single cartridge.
However, the rifle was still loaded with a single bullet. When police test-fired the weapon, they found that the copper-nosed bullet had the same markings as the one taken from Shirley MacLeod's body. They had found the weapon used by her killer. It turned out that the rifle was registered to a former Olympic swimmer named Garrick Agnew. Garrick had spent the last month and a half overseas.
When he'd returned home just a few days earlier, he'd discovered that his Winchester rifle was missing from the bedroom cupboard where he kept it. Nothing else had been taken from the home, including a second rifle that was stored in another room. Garrick had reported the rifle stolen on Tuesday August 13.
Police were interested in the way that the rifle had been left in the bush on Rookwood Street. It hadn't been carelessly discarded somewhere, as though the killer was tossing it aside permanently. Instead, it had been hidden inside thick vegetation, something that someone might do if they planned to retrieve it at a later date.
Investigators took another rifle back to the bush where Cecilia Keener had found it and tied it there tightly with fishing line. Police requested permission from the residents of the house opposite to set up a 24-hour-a-day lookout in their backyard, which spanned an entire block. That way, the bush with the rifle could be kept under constant surveillance.
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Chapter 3: What was Eric Edgar Cooke's early criminal history?
The residents gave their permission and agreed not to tell anyone about the top-secret operation. A trap to catch the killer was set. Now, all the police had to do was wait. Over the next two weeks, police kept a 24-hour-a-day surveillance running in the property opposite the rifle, with at least one officer remaining on the lookout at all times.
It was a particularly cold and wet winter, which made their job even more difficult. After a fortnight passed with no sign of the shooter, investigators decided they needed to do something to lure him back to his weapon.
With the cooperation of local reporters, an article had been planted in multiple newspapers that stated police working the Shirley MacLeod case would turn their attention to the suburb of Mount Pleasant by the end of the coming week. On the morning of Saturday August 31, one of Perth's papers ran a story about how police would be fingerprinting Mount Pleasant residents very soon.
That night, Constable Bill Hawker was on surveillance duty in Rookwood Street. It was cool and slightly overcast, a pleasant change from the near-constant rain of the past two weeks, and Bill wondered if the killer would finally be spooked enough to try retrieving his rifle. He took up his post at 6pm alongside a colleague named Peter Skehan.
Several hours later, Constable Hawker was keeping watch alone while Constable Scan rested inside a tent set up for the officers in the backyard across from the trap. Constable Hawker could hear music from a nearby pub and occasionally couples would stroll along Rookwood Street on their way home from a night out, but so far, no one had taken any interest in the trap.
At 1.15 every night, the streetlights on Rookwood Street went out. If the killer decided to return for his rifle, he would most likely do so after that time when the street was at its darkest. When the lights switched off like clockwork, Constable Hawker braced himself and stared even more intently at the dark street in front of him.
Suddenly, a grey-blue Holden sedan appeared and slowly pulled up at the curb opposite the trap. The road was steep, so Constable Walker could only see the top of the car. His initial response was to wonder if it was a couple looking for a quiet spot to spend time together. But then the driver's side door partly opened, with the person behind the wheel holding it ajar.
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Chapter 4: How did Eric Edgar Cooke's personal life influence his criminal activities?
Several moments passed, then the door opened more widely. A man got out and stood still in the car's doorway. Almost certain that he was looking at their suspect, Constable Hawker rushed to the tent to wake his colleague. They had to act quickly, the rifle was tied to the bush and the killer would surely flee if he went to retrieve it and discovered the trap.
nor did they want the killer to be armed by the time they were able to reach him. Constable Hawker leapt over the property's fence, closely followed by Constable Skeen. Crouching down in front of the bush was a man wearing a heavy overcoat. As he heard the sound of the police officer's footsteps running towards him, he turned around to face them.
The two police officers grabbed the man in the overcoat, who struggled against them. Constable Hawker pulled out a set of handcuffs and cuffed the man's wrists, then used a second set of cuffs to secure the man to a fence. The suspect mumbled incomprehensibly in a muffled voice as he was arrested.
In clearer light, the officers could see that he carried a small pencil torch and was wearing a pair of women's leather gloves. He had short dark hair, a broad nose, and a notable scar on his mouth from surgery to repair a cleft lip palate. A search revealed that he was carrying a pair of women's underpants in one of his pockets and a newspaper clipping in another.
He had scribbled some addresses and phone numbers on the clipping. Constables Walker and Skehan called for backup and the suspect was transferred to police headquarters for questioning. He was quickly identified as 32-year-old Eric Edgar Cook, a man who was already very well known to Western Australia police. Casefile will be back shortly.
Thank you for supporting us by listening to this episode's sponsors. Thank you for listening to this episode's ads. By supporting our sponsors, you support Casefile to continue to deliver quality content. On Friday October 15 1948, Cook had committed his first break-in at the age of 17. He forced his way into a flat in Perth's CBD while its resident was out and stole a torch and a small clock.
He also opened several bottles of wine and poured them all over the resident's clothing. When police later attended the crime scene, they found Cook's fingerprints all over the empty bottles. Though they didn't match anyone in the system, they added the prints to their files. A few weeks later, Cook broke into another home.
Angry after he found nothing he wanted to steal, he trashed the property by pulling all of the clothing from the wardrobes and cutting it with a knife. He also slashed some bedding and a pillow before taking chocolate from the fridge and feeding it to the couple's pet goldfish. His final act was to start a fire in the living room.
The resident returned to find his flat in flames and although firefighters were able to save the home, the damage cost almost $20,000 in today's money. Two weeks later, Cook broke into another home and stole 20 shillings, an engagement ring, a watch and a fountain pen. He later tossed the jury out of fear of being caught.
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Chapter 5: How did Eric Edgar Cooke confess to his crimes?
They married in November of that year and settled in the inner eastern suburb of Rivervale. Less than two years later, the couple already had two sons. But Cook's new law-abiding image and family man lifestyle didn't put a stop to his criminal activities. In 1953, he broke into the home of some fellow church members and stole from them.
His fingerprints led to his arrest and he was placed on a good behaviour bond. In September 1955, two months after the birth of his second son, Cook had set his sights on another woman. When he found out she was playing in a hockey tournament two hours south of Perth in Bunbury, he stole a car to stalk her there.
Cook rolled the car along the way, suffering a broken sternum plus face and knee injuries. The incident led to him being charged with assuming control of a motor vehicle. Cook was sentenced to two years hard labour for the theft as well as an additional six months for breaking his good behaviour bond.
His young wife Sally had to raise their two children alone as a single parent, but still made sure to visit Cook in prison. She stood by her husband throughout his incarceration. He was back with his family by Christmas 1956. Following Eric Edgar Cook's second release, he appeared to mostly stick to the straight and narrow, focusing on working hard to support his growing family.
He and Sally would eventually go on to have five more children, giving them a total of seven, four boys and three girls. On Monday January 25 1960, Cook's reputation was tarnished once again when he was arrested for loitering in a park in Lathlane, one of Perth's inner-eastern suburbs. He was sentenced to a month's incarceration in Fremantle Prison.
While there, police questioned him about a horrific murder that had been committed the previous month, the brutal killing of 22-year-old heiress and socialite Gillian Brewer. During Cook's break-ins, he was known to steal women's underwear and masturbate with it. This deviant criminal history led police to label him a, quote, sexo and wonder if he could be behind the young woman's murder.
Cook denied having anything to do with the crime, claiming he was home at the time, and his wife Sally supported this alibi. After that, Cook was still occasionally cited by the police for peeping Tom and minor theft offences, but they never suspected him of murder.
Not until more than three and a half years later, in the early hours of Sunday September 1 1963, when he went to the suburb of Mount Pleasant to collect the rifle used to kill university student Shirley MacLeod. Following Cook's arrest, he was transferred to the Criminal Investigation Branch headquarters.
He was chatty with the officers, readily admitting that he'd broken into some homes that night in the wealthy western suburbs of Claremont, Peppermint Grove and Mossman Park. He said he'd stolen more than £22 in cash from those properties. Cook explained that he'd spotted the rifle a few days earlier while he'd been driving down Rookwood Street in his work truck.
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Chapter 6: What were the details of Eric Edgar Cooke's confession and his other crimes?
Over the following days, they spent hours and hours with Cook, questioning him about his other crimes. Just as he'd initially done when arrested, Cook openly admitted to breaking into homes throughout the western suburbs, but denied anything to do with the other murders.
On the morning of Tuesday September 3, three officers took Cook on a tour past the Netherlands and Cottesloe addresses where John Sturkey, George Wormsley and Brian Weir had been shot. Cook's uncomfortable body language left no doubt in the officers' minds that he was responsible. When they stopped for lunch at a pub, one of the investigators stated,
Cookie, you're going to hang, there's no two ways about that. You'll go to the gallows as a bloody coward for the way you shot those people. Your wife and your kids are going to be reading history about you as a cowardly mongrel who went to the gallows without letting the people know exactly what you've done. So, what are you going to do, Cookie? Go there like that?
Or go there like a bloody gentleman? With that, Cook indicated that he was ready to make another confession. He took the officers on another tour through Perth, this time explaining everything he'd done on Saturday January 26. A police photographer accompanied them, snapping pictures at each location.
First, Cook guided the group to a home in the suburb of South Perth, where he'd stolen a cream and yellow Holden from. The vehicle had been parked in the garage with the keys in the ignition, a common practice in Perth at the time. Cook used the car as his means of transport on the night in question, then returned it to the garage after.
The car's owner hadn't even realised it had been taken, let alone used in the notorious crime spree. The Winchester single-shot rifle Cook used on Australia Day was also stolen. He'd found it in a wardrobe while robbing a home in Cottesloe. It had taken the owner five months to realise it was missing as he rarely used it.
It was only when police were asking all gun owners to hand over their rifles for examination that he discovered it was gone. Cook took the officers through his actions at each separate crime scene, explaining how he'd attacked each victim. He'd first set his sights on Rowena Reeves and Nicholas August, who he spotted in a parked car.
Cook had initially intended to observe them as a peeping Tom, but then he felt another urge come over him. It was then that this power came over me, Cook explained. It wasn't an impulse, it was stronger than an impulse. It was, it was as though I was God, and it was like a mantle or like a cloud came over me, and I must, I must use that.
He fired at Rowena and Nicholas, injuring them as they sped away. He then broke into Brian Weir and John Sturkey's respective homes and shot them in their beds. Finally, Cook rang the doorbell of George Wormsley's home and shot him as he answered it. All of the victims were random. Cook described his mood as follows.
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