19 Apr 1952 - "So Long Pal, They're Gonna Give Me A Face Lift!" (original) (raw)
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Sat 19 Apr 1952 - Mirror (Perth, WA : 1921 - 1956)
Page 8 - "So Long Pal, They're Gonna Give Me A Face Lift!"
"So Long Pal, They're Gonna Give Me A Face Lift!"
Few can forget Edward Leonski's
vicious trio of women-slayings in
Melbourne during the darkest days of
Brutal senselessness of them blacken
him as a human beast, infatuated with
the power in his burly body.
No sound motive was ever offered for
his crimes. They were at the time inex-
plicable and without reason.
My conclusion is that his motive was merely
to show off how strong he was, to himself,
his victims and a puzzled public.
Guinea and had firm foot-
holds in the Solomons. But
equipment was being rush-
Melbourne, being Austral-
sprung up to house thous-
ands of American service-
uniformed. At nights Aus-
tralian and US servicemen
streets, singing, laughing
good, but there is always
rape, manslaughter — even
the streets. Trams, trains
and buses, normally packed
dows were securely locked.
female staffs home by car
them walk the dark streets.
lying face down in the wet
yellow mud of an air raid
trench not far from a big
apparently motiveless. But
what really had Melbourne
earlier, a woman had been
house, and 6 days prior to
been throttled to death in
the doorway of a suburban
that all 3 were killed by
one person, obviously with
of each victim was ripped
off, no sexual assault had
taken place. This was the
a slim attractive blond who
11 p.m., leaving at 2 a.m.
to catch an all-night tram
on his way to work at the
Bleak House hotel in Vic-
toria-ave, Albert Park. At
a street corner, he stopped
in the middle of the road,
woman's body huddled in a
back, her legs folded gro-
rived 5 minutes later, and
beaten and strangled. Her
she was bleeding from the
She had been dead 4 hours.
ing identification as Ivy
McLeod. and £1/13/3. Lat-
nothing during, the early
American soldier the night
Mrs. McLeod died, He ask-
ed her to go skating with
him. When she refused, he
going to kill a girl tonight.
It might as well be you."
attracted a passerby, and
Now the case had slightly
tion that the killer was an
American soldier, but his
description fitted thousands
9 the killer struck again.
pianist, Pauline Thompson,
he arrived. He hurried to
Lane Just off Flinders-st.
torch and was horrified to
Police doctors ascertain-
strangled about 4 a.m. only
similar to the first murder,
former WA girl, left home
at 7 p.m. that night with
along Park-st. near Royal
slit trench in a small park
and strangled in a similar
nercely with her assailant,
dragged to the trench and
it is strange that no sound
was heard at the time the
killing took place 8.30 p.m.
partolled up and down the
footpath a few yards from
the murder spot all night
discovery, the killer was
night, an American soldier
came from under the fence
of the little park, covered
Detectives went to the CO
parade for clothes inspec-
special interest to one Pte.
overalls hanging on a line.
Leonskt's steel bed frame.
He reported his discovery