Holiday from hell: Aussie murder suspect dies on sleazy Thai escape
Prime suspect in 2001 cold case takes secrets to the grave in mystery death abroad
He dodged justice for more than two decades but the Aussie man long suspected of murdering a young Sydney woman has finally met his end on a murky getaway in Thailand.
Kevin Steven Correll, accused serial rapist and prime suspect in the brutal 2001 killing of car saleswoman Rachelle Childs, was found dead at 10.30am, Thursday, July 18, while on holiday in Thailand.
The 69 year old’s body was discovered last week in Patong, Phuket, a beach resort town known more for ping-pong shows and party hostels than criminal closure. Thai police say the circumstances around his death remain “a mystery.”
He was never charged over Childs’ death, but detectives had long believed he was the man who killed the 23 year old and dumped her partially burned body in remote bushland near Gerroa, 130km south of Sydney.
Back in June 2001, the young woman’s naked body was found doused in unleaded petrol in what police believed was a failed attempt to destroy DNA evidence. She had likely been smothered or strangled.
Despite glaring red flags, Correll escaped justice and the Childs family have now been robbed of a courtroom reckoning, The Daily Mail reported.
One family member said bluntly: “Not sorry he’s gone, just sorry that Rachelle’s family aren’t going to get the justice they so deserve.”
His estranged daughter Jazz, who learned of her father’s death via her brother, said: “I feel sad for his many victims.”
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed it is offering consular assistance to Correll’s relatives in Australia.
The original investigation into Childs’ murder was marred by a series of blunders by local police, including the loss of crucial CCTV footage and contamination of DNA evidence.
Footage from a petrol station where Rachelle was seen with a man, believed to be her killer, mysteriously vanished. DNA found on a bedsheet in her car was compromised by an officer who mishandled it.
To make matters worse, police failed to properly obtain her phone records and neglected to interview all potential witnesses at the Bargo Hotel, the last place she was known to be heading before her death.
Rachelle had told colleagues she was meeting someone there, but never said who. That night, she phoned her sister for a brief chat, the last contact anyone had with her.
Later, a passing motorist reported seeing her 1978 Holden Commodore parked near where her body was found. Another witness spotted the car’s boot open around 11pm, with one person standing and another lying on the ground nearby.
Correll, who was Childs’ boss at Camden Holden where they both worked, claimed he had been visiting his partner in Campbelltown that evening, but his alibi was never confirmed.
Correll’s name had surfaced in courtrooms before, and not just in connection with Rachelle’s murder.
In the 1980s, police were called to a scene after hearing a woman’s screams. They found Correll with his trousers down. The woman alleged rape. He was charged but a jury found him not guilty.
Three other women came forward with similar allegations, including one who said Correll threatened her with a knife and vowed to kill her children. Again, none of the cases led to a conviction, a fact some put down to the victim-blaming culture of the time.
Despite the troubling trail of accusations, and being one of the last people to see Rachelle alive, Correll was interviewed by police three times but never charged.
When he died, Correll had reportedly been in a long-distance relationship with a Thai woman for around three months. Whether she was travelling with him in Patong remains unclear.
His death may close the book on his own life, but for the Childs family and others who accuse him of vile acts, it has slammed the door on justice forever.
Latest Thailand News
Follow The Thaiger on Google News: