Malcolm Joseph Clarke

Background

Malcolm Joseph Thomas Clarke was 51 years old. His date of birth was 16-1-1955. He had been a boarder at the Northcote home in Melbourne where six-year-old Bonny Clarke was murdered in 1982. Bonny Clarke was not related to Clarke.

Clarke had also been investigated for other unsolved sex attacks.

The offence

Clarke was found guilty of murdering Bonny Clarke, aged six, in her bedroom. The murder took place in Northcote (Melbourne) in 1982, at the Westbourne Grove, Northcote home on December 20, 1982. Bonny Clarke was sexually assaulted, smothered with a pillow, and stabbed in the chest. A stab wound through the little girl's lung was described. Her body appeared “To have been wiped down”.

The jury was told Clarke admitted the crime to undercover detectives in June 2001, saying he was heavily intoxicated when he murdered Bonny. He made further admissions in a formal homicide squad interview later the same day, but later claimed he was innocent and that the statements made earlier were false.

Clarke had previously been convicted of the manslaughter of a 22-year-old woman in June 1980, and for the stabbing and rape of a woman in Brunswick in August 1983.

Investigation

In 1984, a coroner found Bonny Clark was killed by an unknown assailant.

In 1999, Melbourne mother Kylie ward read that Victorian police were setting up a special cold cases unit and telephoned police. She explained she suspected a boarder who had lodged with Bonnie and her mother Marion Clarke in the months before the murder. Kylie Ward thought she knew who did it and described being able to “distinctly remember this man because he gave me the creeps”. She recalled: “She [Bonnie] was very cautious of him and was always avoiding him. She told me he was really creepy and he kept looking at her”. She said: “When I started going through the file, I had to immerse myself in it and try to make the links and establish who the players were - from the deceased, to the family, the friends, the boarders, to everything, and get a full appreciation of the file,” Detective Senior Constable Day told INSIDECRIME. She also recalled: “After going through the file, I couldn't establish how the boarder had been eliminated from the original investigation, and I couldn't establish at first who the boarder was”. Detective Senior Constable Day discovered the name “Mal” and then finally the name “Clarke”. He began sifting through the Criminal Records Branch for all offenders with the surname Clarke, with or without “e”.

A Joe Clarke was found with a job listed as “assistant projectionist”. Joe Clarke had been jailed for the sexual assault of a mother in her home and the mutilation murder of 32-year-old dancer Theresa Verity Crowe. Detective Senior Constable Day found that Mal Clarke and Joe Clarke were the same person. It took another year to gather enough evidence before Clarke was brought in.

Detective Senior Constable Tim Day led the reinvestigation from the homicide squad’s cold case unit, beginning in 2001.

Her mother Marion Clarke (later Wishart) had been the lead suspect for the murder until homicide squad cold case unit reinvestigated in 2001.

Arrest and confession

Police arrested Clarke on June 6, 2002. Clarke confessed to Bonny’s murder to Detective Senior Constable Day and Detective Senior Sergeant Ron Iddles. Clarke told them: “God knows why I went around to that place and whatever happened, it happened,”. He also said: “And whwn I came to my senses, I realised Bonnie was deceased. I was as drunk as a Mallee bull and I shit myself. I think I might have had a knife with me”.

Clarke later pleaded not guilty after the confession.

Trial

A Supreme Court jury found Clarke guilty of murdering Bonny Clarke in June 2004. Clarke was found guilty on 16-6-2004 in the VIC Supreme Court. The sentencing took place on December 31, 2004. Clarke was in jail awaiting sentence.

Sentencing

Justice Murray Kellam sentenced Clarke to life imprisonment with a non-parole period of 25 years on December 31, 2004. The sentence included 940 days Clarke had already spent in custody.

During sentencing, Justice Murray Kellam described Clarke as a “serious, violent sexual offender” who concealed his “evil and monstrous crime” against Bonny Clarke for 20 years. The judge said: “Those who commit outrageous crimes against children must know that no matter how long it takes before the are brought to justice they will suffer severe consequences,” he said. Justice Kellam stated: “Clarke used his knowledge of the house to get to Bonny and said his intoxication did not prevent him from climbing the back fence and entering and leaving the house without detection,” Justice Kellam said. The judge said: “The murder of a young child in such circumstances is a vile crime,” Justice Kellam said. He added: “For over two decades the matter of (Bonny's) death has certainly haunted her parents. “In particular, her mother has had to live with the suspicion held by some police that she was guilty of the crime.”

Justice Kellam took into account Clarke’s good behaviour since his release in 1992 on earlier convictions, his age, health problems including migraines and hypertension, and the “crushing effect” of a life sentence. The judge said the sentence must reflect a specific deterrent and retribution for the murder.

Clarke showed no emotion as the sentence was passed. Clarke wore a navy blue suit and stood hunched and red-faced in the dock.

Outcome

Clarke was found guilty of murdering Bonny Clarke, a six-year-old girl, and was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum non-parole period of 25 years.

Aftermath

Bonny’s mother Marion Wishart left the court and did not speak to journalists at the time. Marion Wishart later described being accused as “prime suspect for 20 years” and said: “To be accused of such a horrendous crime was awful,”. She said: “I had to live with being a suspect for 20 years,”. She said: “It wasn't until Bonny's murder was re-investigated by homicide squad cold case unit Detective Tim Day in 2001 that I stopped being the prime suspect. I still have no idea why police would ever think I could do something so terrible to my own daughter. “Wrongly accusing me of it enabled Malcolm Clarke to avoid capture for 20 years and kept him free to offend again.” She said she felt: “So please, please, if you have any information that might help police catch such people, or have been attacked and not reported it, then come forward. “Clarke wasn't stopped early enough, but at least he is off the street now. The community is safe from him at last.”

Marion Wishart had previously said she was asked not to be photographed and: “I just want to sink into obscurity and get on with my life,”. She also said: “I appeal to anybody with any information, any suspicion, any theory -- now matter how insignificant it might seem -- to come forward and give it to police. “Doing so might lead to an arrest and stop that person offending again.”

Bonny’s father Denis said he was satisfied with the sentence and said he was relieved the saga over his daughter’s murder was at an end. Denis Clarke told AAP: “My oath it is,”. He also said: “This is the best present I've ever had.” He said: “There's no such thing as closure,” and: “Mr Clarke said nothing could replace his daughter's life.”

Timeline

• 1979 — Malcolm Joseph Clarke met Theresa Verity Crowe.
• June 19, 1980 — Clarke killed Theresa Verity Crowe, aged 22, in her flat after proposing hours earlier.
• January 1982 — Clarke began boarding with Marion Clarke and her daughter Bonny, in their Northcote home.
• December 21, 1982 — Clarke killed Bonny Clarke, 6, in her bed.
• August 1983 — Clarke raped a neighbour in her Brunswick home and threatened to harm her five-year-old daughter.
• September 1983 — Clarke was charged with murder after police investigating the Brunswick rape linked him to Theresa Crowe’s killing.
• February 29, 1984 — A coroner found Bonny Clark was killed by an unknown assailant.
• July 23, 1984 — Clarke was found guilty of the manslaughter of Theresa Crowe.
• December 13, 1984 — Clarke was convicted of rape and sentenced to a minimum 11 years’ jail.
• 1992 — Clarke was released.
• 1994-2002 — Clarke volunteered as a guard on “Puffing Billy” tourist train.
• 1999 — Kylie Ward suspected Clarke and contacted police after reading about a cold cases unit.
• 2001 — Police began reinvestigating Bonny Clarke’s murder; Marion Wishart was the lead suspect until the cold case unit reinvestigated.
• June 6, 2002 — Clarke was arrested and confessed Bonnie’s murder to Detective Senior Constable Tim Day and Detective Senior Sergeant Ron Iddles.
• June 2004 — A Supreme Court jury convicted Clarke of Bonny’s murder.
• 16-6-2004 — Clarke was found guilty in the VIC Supreme Court.
• December 31, 2004 — Clarke was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum 25 years.