Latest news with #RachelleChilds
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Prime suspect in horrific cold case murder of 23-year-old woman is mysteriously found dead in Thailand
The suspected killer of a young woman whose partially burned body was found in bushland in NSW more than 20 years ago has been found dead in Thailand. Accused serial rapist and murderer Kevin Steven Correll, 69, died while on holiday in the South East Asian country last week. Correll was identified by police as the most likely to have killed 23-year-old car saleswoman Rachelle Childs on June 8 in 2001. Police did not charge anyone over her murder after the early investigation was repeatedly botched. Ms Child's body was found dumped in bushland in Gerroa, south of Sydney, about 100km away from her home. Unleaded petrol had been poured over her face and other parts of her body in what had been an apparent attempt to hide DNA evidence. She was found partially undressed and was likely either smothered or strangled to death. Authorities in Thailand have said the details surrounding the death of Correll remain a mystery. A member of Correll's family said police turned up to his son Mitchell's house to inform them an autopsy that was already underway. 'Not sorry he's gone just sorry that Rachelle's family aren't going to get the justice that they so deserve,' they told the Daily Telegraph. His estranged daughter, Jazz, found out her father was dead after speaking to her brother on the phone Saturday. 'I feel sad for his many victims,' she told the publication. Consular assistance is being provided to Correll's family in Australia, a DFAT spokesman confirmed. Many believe the initial police investigation into Ms Child's death had been thoroughly mishandled by local police before they handed it off to homicide detectives. Local police lost a crucial piece of CCTV footage which showed Ms Childs with what could have been her murderer at a petrol station on the night of her death. Other mistakes by the police unit included one officer who contaminated DNA found on a bedsheet in her car and others who did not collect her phone records properly. Correll was Ms Child's boss at the used car dealership, Camden Holden, where they both worked when she died. He was voluntarily questioned on three occasions by police regarding her death but detectives were unable to gather enough evidence to convict him. This is despite the fact that his alibi for the night of Ms Child's death could not be corroborated. Correll had previously been in court accused of rape. In once incident in the 1980s a woman's screams attracted police, who found him with his pants down, and she told them she was being assaulted. Correll was charged but a jury found him not guilty later in court. He had three other women also accused him of rape in separate incidents but was found not guilty in court. In the 1980s personal attacks against alleged victims in the witness box over their clothing or dating history was common. Another of his accusers said he had threatened her with a knife and threatened to kill her children. Correll was one of the last people to see Ms Childs alive when she left work the day before her death. Other employees recalled her telling them she was going to meet up with someone at the Bargo Hotel that evening but she did not say who it was. There was no CCTV inside the hotel and police did not manage to question everyone who was there on that night. After the meet Ms Childs rang her sister for a brief chat which was the last anybody ever heard from her. A motorist who was driving along the road where Ms Childs was found recalled to police having seen a 1978 Holden Commodore matching the description of the one she owned. The car was parked off the highway about 200m away from where Ms Childs was found the following day around 10.20pm on June 7. Another witness recalled seeing the car later with its boot open in the same location at 11pm. They told police there had been one person standing up next to the car while a second person was lying on the ground. Correll's alibi was that he drove from Camden to Campbelltown to meet his partner on June 7. He had been in a three-month long-distance relationship with a Thai woman when he died.
Courier-Mail
02-07-2025
- Courier-Mail
Rachelle Childs podcast reaches 3 million downloads as petition for police reward increase grows
Don't miss out on the headlines from Dear Rachelle. Followed categories will be added to My News. More than three million people have now downloaded the multimedia investigation into the murder of Rachelle Childs, a cold case which continues to haunt her family and friends 24 years on. And her sister is not stopping in her quest for justice, as a petition to increase the reward to $500,000 to find her killer is gathering momentum online. Rachelle's sister Kristy, who launched the petition told signatories: 'This is a personal plea to increase the reward for information leading to a conviction in her case to $500,000. It's been over two decades since we lost Rachelle and justice has yet to be served.' She told this masthead: 'We haven't achieved a raise in the reward yet, despite campaigning for years. 'We feel an increase in the reward is justified and warranted.' Rachelle Childs in a picture taken at her 21st birthday party. Kristy said they feel the reward increase 'may help to encourage the public to come forward with perhaps some information that they have held back for personal reasons'. 'We also think that considering other cases with rewards of $500,000, $750,000 and even $1 million, Rachelle's case having a $200,000 reward is not equitable or fair.' The petition comes as the Dear Rachelle podcast has dominated the podcast charts in Australia and has ranked highly in the UK and New Zealand, as it reinvestigates evidence from the cold case with the help of Rachelle's family and ex-detectives. For more information about our investigation, exclusive photos and video, visit LISTEN TO THE DEAR RACHELLE PODCAST BELOW: When hearing the news of the podcast reaching three million downloads, Kristy said: 'Three million people listening to Chelle's story, talking about her case, and supporting the investigation is just mind blowing. 'We are so thankful, heartened and incredibly grateful. 'We just hope that all this incredible hard work and support from the public leads to a conviction and a very lengthy sentence. Murdered Bargo woman Rachelle Childs whose burning body was found at Gerroa on Thursday June 8, 2001. 'That is the only reason why we are doing this.' Rachelle, 23, was murdered, set on fire and left on the side of a lonely highway near Gerroa, on the NSW south coast, in June 2001. There was a lengthy police investigation at the time, but it was marred with incompetence and ultimately failed to identify the killer. As a result, Rachelle's case ended up languishing at the back of police unsolved homicide files. Journalist Ashlea Hanson talking to former detective Damien Loone about the case. Picture: Julian Andrews The podcast team at News Corp has been working with Rachelle's family and ex-detectives to reinvestigate long-forgotten evidence, along with the alibi of the chief suspect – her former boss Kevin Steven Correll, who has consistently denied murdering Rachelle and has never been charged. He says that he has always co-operated with police by supplying his DNA and answering all their questions. Mr Correll and Rachelle sold used cars at Camden Holden when she died. What Rachelle and the rest of the community probably didn't know was that he was previously acquitted of four sexual assaults under his birth name, Kevin Cornwall. Past allegations aside, it's possible Mr Correll was one of the last people to see Rachelle alive when she left work for the last time on June 7, before she that night, a number of motorists saw a car that matched the description of Rachelle's prized Commodore along the highway between her home in Bargo and Gerroa, where her body was uncovered. If you have any tips or confidential information, please contact investigative journalist Ashlea Hansen at dearrachelle@ You can also join our Dear Rachelle podcast Facebook group. Originally published as Rachelle Childs podcast reaches 3 million downloads as petition for police reward increase grows
News.com.au
02-07-2025
- News.com.au
Rachelle Childs podcast reaches 3 million downloads as petition for police reward increase grows
More than three million people have now downloaded the multimedia investigation into the murder of Rachelle Childs, a cold case which continues to haunt her family and friends 24 years on. And her sister is not stopping in her quest for justice, as a petition to increase the reward to $500,000 to find her killer is gathering momentum online. Rachelle's sister Kristy, who launched the petition told signatories: 'This is a personal plea to increase the reward for information leading to a conviction in her case to $500,000. It's been over two decades since we lost Rachelle and justice has yet to be served.' She told this masthead: 'We haven't achieved a raise in the reward yet, despite campaigning for years. 'We feel an increase in the reward is justified and warranted.' Kristy said they feel the reward increase 'may help to encourage the public to come forward with perhaps some information that they have held back for personal reasons'. 'We also think that considering other cases with rewards of $500,000, $750,000 and even $1 million, Rachelle's case having a $200,000 reward is not equitable or fair.' The petition comes as the Dear Rachelle podcast has dominated the podcast charts in Australia and has ranked highly in the UK and New Zealand, as it reinvestigates evidence from the cold case with the help of Rachelle's family and ex-detectives. LISTEN TO THE DEAR RACHELLE PODCAST BELOW: When hearing the news of the podcast reaching three million downloads, Kristy said: 'Three million people listening to Chelle's story, talking about her case, and supporting the investigation is just mind blowing. 'We are so thankful, heartened and incredibly grateful. 'We just hope that all this incredible hard work and support from the public leads to a conviction and a very lengthy sentence. 'That is the only reason why we are doing this.' Rachelle, 23, was murdered, set on fire and left on the side of a lonely highway near Gerroa, on the NSW south coast, in June 2001. There was a lengthy police investigation at the time, but it was marred with incompetence and ultimately failed to identify the killer. As a result, Rachelle's case ended up languishing at the back of police unsolved homicide files. The podcast team at News Corp has been working with Rachelle's family and ex-detectives to reinvestigate long-forgotten evidence, along with the alibi of the chief suspect – her former boss Kevin Steven Correll, who has consistently denied murdering Rachelle and has never been charged. He says that he has always co-operated with police by supplying his DNA and answering all their questions. Mr Correll and Rachelle sold used cars at Camden Holden when she died. What Rachelle and the rest of the community probably didn't know was that he was previously acquitted of four sexual assaults under his birth name, Kevin Cornwall. Past allegations aside, it's possible Mr Correll was one of the last people to see Rachelle alive when she left work for the last time on June 7, before she that night, a number of motorists saw a car that matched the description of Rachelle's prized Commodore along the highway between her home in Bargo and Gerroa, where her body was uncovered.
Mercury
02-07-2025
- Mercury
Rachelle Childs podcast reaches 3 million downloads as petition for police reward increase grows
More than three million people have now downloaded the multimedia investigation into the murder of Rachelle Childs, a cold case which continues to haunt her family and friends 24 years on. And her sister is not stopping in her quest for justice, as a petition to increase the reward to $500,000 to find her killer is gathering momentum online. Rachelle's sister Kristy, who launched the petition told signatories: 'This is a personal plea to increase the reward for information leading to a conviction in her case to $500,000. It's been over two decades since we lost Rachelle and justice has yet to be served.' She told this masthead: 'We haven't achieved a raise in the reward yet, despite campaigning for years. 'We feel an increase in the reward is justified and warranted.' Rachelle Childs in a picture taken at her 21st birthday party. Kristy said they feel the reward increase 'may help to encourage the public to come forward with perhaps some information that they have held back for personal reasons'. 'We also think that considering other cases with rewards of $500,000, $750,000 and even $1 million, Rachelle's case having a $200,000 reward is not equitable or fair.' The petition comes as the Dear Rachelle podcast has dominated the podcast charts in Australia and has ranked highly in the UK and New Zealand, as it reinvestigates evidence from the cold case with the help of Rachelle's family and ex-detectives. For more information about our investigation, exclusive photos and video, visit LISTEN TO THE DEAR RACHELLE PODCAST BELOW: When hearing the news of the podcast reaching three million downloads, Kristy said: 'Three million people listening to Chelle's story, talking about her case, and supporting the investigation is just mind blowing. 'We are so thankful, heartened and incredibly grateful. 'We just hope that all this incredible hard work and support from the public leads to a conviction and a very lengthy sentence. Murdered Bargo woman Rachelle Childs whose burning body was found at Gerroa on Thursday June 8, 2001. 'That is the only reason why we are doing this.' Rachelle, 23, was murdered, set on fire and left on the side of a lonely highway near Gerroa, on the NSW south coast, in June 2001. There was a lengthy police investigation at the time, but it was marred with incompetence and ultimately failed to identify the killer. As a result, Rachelle's case ended up languishing at the back of police unsolved homicide files. Journalist Ashlea Hanson talking to former detective Damien Loone about the case. Picture: Julian Andrews The podcast team at News Corp has been working with Rachelle's family and ex-detectives to reinvestigate long-forgotten evidence, along with the alibi of the chief suspect – her former boss Kevin Steven Correll, who has consistently denied murdering Rachelle and has never been charged. He says that he has always co-operated with police by supplying his DNA and answering all their questions. Mr Correll and Rachelle sold used cars at Camden Holden when she died. What Rachelle and the rest of the community probably didn't know was that he was previously acquitted of four sexual assaults under his birth name, Kevin Cornwall. Past allegations aside, it's possible Mr Correll was one of the last people to see Rachelle alive when she left work for the last time on June 7, before she that night, a number of motorists saw a car that matched the description of Rachelle's prized Commodore along the highway between her home in Bargo and Gerroa, where her body was uncovered. If you have any tips or confidential information, please contact investigative journalist Ashlea Hansen at dearrachelle@ You can also join our Dear Rachelle podcast Facebook group. Originally published as Rachelle Childs podcast reaches 3 million downloads as petition for police reward increase grows
Daily Telegraph
12-06-2025
- Daily Telegraph
My father Kevin Part 2
The most dangerous thing Rachelle could have done is reject him. That's the belief of Jazz, the daughter of a key suspect in the murder of Rachelle Childs. 'If Rachelle had rejected him or mocked him, or if it was known. She had rejected him, that would have infuriated him,' Jazz says. Her father, Kevin Steven Corell, considers himself 'forensically intelligent' after watching criminal procedural television programmes like SVU. It was a conversation about who had started a rumour about bikies' involvement in Rachelle's murder that led Jazz to believe her father was capable of murder. 'Between the time she passed away and the time I fell pregnant with my son I had cut my dad from my life and told him I believed he did it.' (killed Rachelle) Dear Rachelle is hosted and investigated by journalist Ashlea Hansen, who teams up with retired detective and cold case specialist Damian Loone, and Rachelle's sister Kristy. Dear Rachelle is a podcast by True Crime Australia. Kevin Correll has never been charged in relation to the murder of Rachelle Childs, and strenuously denies any involvement. You're hearing this episode three weeks early with your News Corp Australia subscription. It also grants you exclusive access to videos, interactive evidence, behind the scenes and extras. Visit for more.
