The prime suspect in the unsolved 2001 murder of 23-year-old Rachelle Childs has been found dead while vacationing in Thailand, bringing a tragic case one step closer to closure, but not justice.
Kevin Steven Correll, 69, was considered the lead suspect in the brutal killing, which shocked the small Australian town of Gerroa more than two decades ago. He died last week in the resort town of Pa Tong, the Daily Mail reports.
Thai authorities have released few details about the circumstances of his death, and the cause remains unclear.
Childs’ body was discovered on June 8, 2001, dumped in bushland roughly 100 kilometres south of Sydney, per the New South Wales Police. Her corpse had been partially burned, with unleaded petrol poured over her face and other parts of her body, in what investigators believed was a failed attempt to destroy DNA evidence.
Police suspect she was either smothered or strangled to death. She was also found partially undressed.
The murder investigation was marred by missteps early on, and despite Correll being questioned multiple times, no one was ever charged.
Police lost a key piece of surveillance footage believed to show Childs with her killer at a gas station on the night she died. Investigators also failed to properly collect her phone records and contaminated DNA evidence found on a bedsheet, the Dear Rachelle podcast explained.
Correll, who was Childs’ boss at the Camden Holden used car dealership where she worked, was among the last people to see her alive. Colleagues said she had mentioned plans to meet someone at the Bargo Hotel that evening but didn’t specify who.
Police never identified all patrons present that night, and the hotel had no surveillance inside.
A short phone call to her sister after the hotel visit was the last time anyone heard from Childs. The next morning, a motorist spotted her car (a 1978 Holden Commodore) parked just 200 metres from where her body would later be found. Another witness reported seeing the same car later that night with its boot open and a person standing beside it, while another figure appeared to be lying on the ground.
Correll claimed he had travelled from Camden to Campbelltown to meet his partner on June 7, but his alibi could never be confirmed.
He had a history of serious allegations. In the 1980s, police reportedly found him half undressed after responding to screams from a woman who said she was being assaulted. Although charged, he was acquitted.
Three other women later accused him of rape in separate incidents; he was also found not guilty in each case, The Sun reports.
Correll’s sudden death has closed the door on any future prosecution, leaving Childs’ family without justice. A relative of Correll’s told The Daily Telegraph: “Not sorry he’s gone, just sorry that Rachelle’s family aren’t going to get the justice they so deserve.”
His daughter Jazz added: “I feel sad for his many victims.”