Mr Cruel

Status:

Open

Jurisdiction:

victoria-police

Missing From:

Melbourne, Victoria

Reward:

up to $1,000,000

via Victoria Police

Not from STC, Conditions and restrictions apply

Summary:

Mr Cruel is an Australian serial child rapist who attacked three girls in the northern and eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, in the late 1980s and early 1990s and is the prime suspect in the 1991 abduction and murder of a fourth girl, Karmein Chan. Mr. Cruel has never been identified, and his three confirmed attacks and the suspected murder remain unsolved cold cases. The fugitive remains unidentified and at large.

Vital Statistics

Circumstances of Offense:

On 22 August 1987 in Lower Plenty, a man wearing a balaclava broke into a family home at 4:00 am, armed with a knife and a handgun. He tied the hands and feet of both parents, and locked them in a wardrobe. He tied their seven-year-old son to a bed and sexually assaulted the 11-year-old daughter. On 27 December 1988 in Ringwood, he broke into a family home through the back door at about 5:20 am, wearing a balaclava and armed with a handgun. He bound and gagged the parents, and demanded money. He then grabbed their 10-year-old daughter, put tape over her eyes and a ball gag in her mouth, and abducted her. She was released eighteen hours later on the grounds of Bayswater High School. On 3 July 1990 in Canterbury, he broke into a family home at 11:30 pm, armed with a knife and a gun, and wearing a balaclava. He tied and gagged 13-year-old Nicola Lynas, placed tape over her eyes, disabled the phones, and searched for money. He then drove her to another house and molested her for fifty hours before releasing her at a power sub-station in the suburb of Kew. On 13 April 1991 in Templestowe, a man wearing a balaclava broke into a family home at about 8:40 pm, armed with a knife. He abducted 13-year-old Karmein Chan, who went to the same school as the Canterbury victim.

Additional Details:

On April 9, 1992, four days short of the first anniversary of Karmein's abduction a man walking along Edgars Creek, Thomastown spotted what looked like a human skull and notified the Thomaston police. Forensic's confirmed that it belonged to Karmein and that she had been shot in the head three times. Investigators believe Karmein may have been killed by Mr Cruel because she had either seen her abductor's face, or because he feared the child could identify him. Police established the Spectrum Task Force in May 1991, dedicated to catching Mr Cruel. The task force searched 30,000 homes and interviewed 27,000 suspects over the attacks, at a cost of A$3.8 million. The task force was disbanded in January 1994. In April 2016, twenty-five years after the death of Chan, Victoria Police increased the reward for information that leads to the perpetrator's arrest and conviction, from A$100,000 to A$1,000,000. Police describe him as a highly intelligent and meticulous planner who conducted surveillance of his intended victims, made sure not to leave forensic traces at the crime scene, and to keep his identity concealed by means of covering his face. Police believe he may be responsible for around a dozen attacks on children across Melbourne, and could still be alive.

Case Last Updated:

Jul 27, 2026