Extraordinary tip leads WA Police to home potentially used in rape and torture of woman 36 years ago

Detectives investigating a horrifying sex attack 36 years ago in which a woman was abducted, held captive and sexually and physically assaulted have received fresh information that has led to a Belmont house being identified as the possible scene of the crime. In what lead investigator Det-Sgt Anthony Higgins described as a “critical” breakthrough in the historic case, a call to Crime Stoppers recently has opened up significant new lines of inquiry — causing police to zero in on the home on Lapage Street. Police now want to speak to anyone who lived on the street in April 1987 when the attack occurred, particularly those who lived close to the end of the cul-de-sac at the time. The major development comes just two months after The West Australian revealed details of the attack for the first time, and how the then 20-year-old woman was locked in a room and subjected to days of abuse after being snatched from a city bar by a man and a woman. While the case has eerie similarities to the crimes of serial killer couple David and Catherine Birnie, the pair have been ruled out as suspects because they were caught and put behind bars five months earlier. Det-Sgt Higgins said the bombshell call to police was crucial to identifying new lines of inquiry, adding the information detailed was “consistent” with what the victim had told officers. “And as a result of that, we’ve now identified a possible location of interest to the investigation, which is a house near the cul-de-sac in Lapage Street in Belmont,” he said. “There’s a lot of features of that house that is consistent with (the victim’s description) which gives me the feeling that we are on the right track — we’ve identified the potential scene of where this has happened.” Det-Sgt Higgins said police are currently trawling through historic property ownership records to determine who was living at the address at the time. Police have also spoken to new witnesses. “We have opened up other lines of inquiry with witnesses to speak to, which has taken place and that information is being corroborated by the victim and her story,” the detective said. A composite image of the female suspect created with the help of the victim, who has said she remembers the face “like it was yesterday”, has also been updated. The image now includes the hairstyle the woman is believed to have had at the time. As earlier revealed, police believe the victim had been at a bar on the corner of Lord Street and Newcastle Street when she met the male and female suspects, who appeared to be in company with each other and were playing pool together. The victim says the pair offered to buy her a drink, which she accepted, and drank half of, before next remembering waking up in the back seat of a car with the man sitting next to her and the woman behind the wheel. She has told police that she remembers being driven over a bridge, or possibly two bridges and that the journey took 10-15 minutes from the city. That description is consistent with the location of the house of interest, Det-Sgt Higgins said. The woman was then locked in a room in the house for a “number of days” where Det-Sgt Higgins said the woman was “brutally” assaulted by the female, sexually assaulted by the male — and potentially other males as well. After several days, fearing she would be killed if she did not make an escape, the woman was able to break free from the house through an unlocked window before running, naked, for her life. Her escape route involved jumping fences and “zigzagging” from the address. The woman then came across a parked van — and a man she credits with saving her life. She jumped into the van to hide from her attackers and recalls seeing empty milk crates. The van driver gave the woman a shirt to cover herself and drove her home to the Leederville area. “That person is pretty much a hero to the victim. He’s saved her from further abuse and helped her get back to a safe place,” Det-Sgt Higgins said in March. After the victim was driven home, she told her housemate about the ordeal and attended the Sexual Assault Resource Centre for an examination. She had injuries “pretty much head to toe, front and back”, including to her genital regions, indicating an assault. The woman says she reported the case to police at the time, however, there is no record of that report. That could potentially be attributed to record-keeping practices at the time. A couple of months after the kidnapping, the victim had a serious car accident and was left dealing with her injuries. But she courageously came forward last year after finally feeling capable of reliving her trauma. Det-Sgt Higgins is calling for anyone with information about the case, who lived on Lapage Street in April 1987, or who recognises the woman in the composite image, to call Crime Stoppers immediately. “They should provide us as much information as they can as to who lived in that street, what did they see, was there anything they identified as criminal offences or anything they were concerned about?” he said. “And just try to explain to us what houses were identified as constantly having issues at, and that will help us to narrow down the type of people we are looking at. “If they recognise the image (of the woman suspect) and can tell us who it is, that would be fantastic.” The woman is described as being 35-40 years old at the time, with a solid build. She was wearing a white tank top, tight jeans and boots. Det-Sgt Higgins said the fresh leads had given police renewed hope the case could be solved. “Solveability has definitely increased ... but the information we have is only intelligence ... solving the case is one thing, but getting enough to charge someone, getting a prima facie case and then proving that beyond a reasonable doubt — we are still a long way away from that,” he said. “But with the public’s assistance, we can progress that forward and as long as we keep moving forward on this, the solveability increases.” The detective added: “We want to solve every case and every victim deserves that closure.” “Just because it’s 36 years old — it doesn’t mean we can’t solve it,” he said. Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000