The Mysterious Death of Phoebe Handsjuk

On December 2, 2010, the body of Phoebe Handsjuk, a 24-year-old Australian woman, was found at the bottom of a garbage chute.  Handsjuk’s death was ruled a suicide by the local coroner, despite suspicion on her much older lover, Antony Hampel. 

Antony Hampel, aka Ant, drove his Range Rover into the Balencea building’s basement car park at 6:05 p.m., using his security fob to open the gate.  Having been out early at the gym at 8:15 a.m., Hampel left the home around 9:00 a.m. for a busy day at his events company in Richmond, interspersed with meetings off site.

Using his personal key fob, which only gave Hampel access to the access where he lived, took the lift and let himself into his twelfth-floor apartment.  Unable to remember if he locked the front door upon arriving, he was greeted by his American Staffordshire bull terrier, Yoshi.  Yoshi didn’t show shame for the mess he made pulling cushions from the couch and general chaos.  Ant disliked messes, but allowed Yoshi the latitude in an avuncular way.

Upon entering the apartment, there was no sign of Hampel’s flatmate and partner, Handsjuk.  

Hampel and Handsjuk’s relationship was in the rocky stage with Handsjuk threatening to on again/off again moves, as well as Handsjuk’s abuse of alcohol.  Handsjuk often disappeared, spending time with, in Hampel’s opinion, “low-lifes”, tearful returns, and prescription drugs to help Handsjuk sleep it off and begin soon.

Hampel noticed Handsjuk’s keys and handbag on the kitchen counter, which was weird because, while you could leave Balencea without keys, you couldn’t get back in.  Hampel wondered where Handsjuk could have gone without her handbag.

The kitchen counter also had strange Post-it notes with weird scribbles, and they were new because the cleaner had wiped the benches down the previous day.  Heading into the bedroom, Hampel found what appeared to be a “shrine” consisting of a photo of himself and Handsjuk, a photo of Handsjuk cat, along with notes with ramblings Handsjuk writes when she’s drunk and don’t make sense.  Candles were burning and Handsjuk hair-straightening tongs were lying on the floor plugged into a socket in the bathroom. 

Forty minutes after Hampel arrive home, Handsjuk father, Len, called her iPhone.  Len and Ant have different recollections of that night.  According to Len’s memory of numbers from his phone bill, Ant answered the call on Handsjuk iPhone but didn’t’ hear Len call the phone, instead calling him at 6: 52 p.m. thinking Handsjuk went to see Len.

Len called Phoebe because she had arranged for the three of them to meet at her favorite restaurant, the “Golden Triangle,” for Len’s birthday two days earlier, to find out when they were supposed to meet.

After telling Len that Phoebe wasn’t home, Len became worried when he and several family members received a strange text from Phoebe’s iPhone:

“Hi family, I am in bed and about to sleep and when I WAKE I will transform into the most incredible human bein you’ve ever seen … (not), I will go to hospital.  It’s safer there and I hear the special tonight is tomato soup … Delicious!  Nutritious!  I love you all very much but not enough to send an individual text.  Sorry about that, but time is sleep and I must b on my way … … Merrily, merrily, merrily.  Life is but a dream. Xo”

Handsjuk sent the message to Len, Ant, her boss, Michelle Silvana, her mother, Natalie, her brothers Tom and Nik, her grandmother, Jeanette Campbell, and Natalie’s partner, Russell Marriott.

Natalie received the message while boarding the plane in Alice Springs flying home after a nine-week stint working in the Western Desert.  Concerned, she called her mother, Jeannette, in Mallacoota, a coastal township in eastern Victoria, checking on Phoebe.

Jeannette called Ant at 10:35 a.m. checking on Phoebe.  Claiming he hadn’t seen the message, Ant said Phoebe was sleeping peacefully and would check on her later as his office was near their home.  Jeannette sent Natalie a text reassuring her, via Ant, that Phoebe was okay.  When Natalie arrived in Melbourne, she texted Phoebe to call her when she woke up.

Worried about Phoebe, Len urged Ant to report her missing, but Ant, not keen on the idea told Len that they don’t do anything for 48 hours and was positive she’d be home before then.

Len, a psychiatrist, called his son, Tom, from his car outside his office after work, asking Tom to call friend who might know where Phoebe may be.

Len then called Natalie, who told him she still hadn’t heard from Phoebe.  Reassured by Jeannette’s texts, she was preoccupied by preparations of Nik’s eighteenth birthday party the next day.

Natalie called a few of Phoebe’s friends, including Brendan (Bren) Hession.  Bren claimed he hadn’t seen Phoebe since Monday night when they went for a drink together, mentioning that Phoebe had been a bender.

Len decided not to drive to St. Kilda Road to look for Phoebe, and went home to have some tea and change for dinner.

At Balencea, Ant ordered from the Golden Triangle a delivery for one.  After 8:00 p.m., the delivery boy was buzzed to the twelfth floor.  The delivery boy told Ant that police cars, ambulance were in the building, which was rare at Balencea.  After the delivery boy left, Ant approached a detective asking him what was going on.  Acting Senior Sergeant, Andrew Healey, told Ant a woman’s body as found in the rubbish compactor room.

Ant asked if it might be his girlfriend, since she was missing.  Ant told the police officer that he’d been at work all day but kept checking on her every few hours on the home phone because Phoebe’s phone was broken.  He went to tell the officer that Phoebe was depressed and taking medication.  Ant went on to claim that he had made several calls after arriving home to locate her, but said he usually returned home by herself.  He also said that Phoebe left several Post-it notes, but no clues where she could have gone.  The officer asked about any distinguishing features, to which Ant told him about a tattoo on Phoebe’s right wrist that matched his wrist and a stud in her upper lip.  The officer told Ant to find a recent photo, then viewed photos of the body from another officer.

After Healey followed Ant to the apartment, Ant confirmed Phoebe had a tattoo on her stomach.  Based on the photo of Phoebe, he matched facial features of the dead girl in the rubbish room.  The detective, with no reception in the apartment, left leaving Ant, later returning with another detective to search the apartment and the surrounding area.

Noting several things of interest, like broken glass, blood on the floor, the Post-it notes left by Phoebe, and the dog ripping up a cushion.  Ant, too depressed to see the body, as detectives continued searching Level 12 and the outside area.  They found blood on the twelfth-level refuse room of the rubbish chute as well as a spot of blood on the door handle.

Left alone again, Ant called his mother Suzanne Owen and stepfather Robert.  Ant never called his father, retired judge George Hampel, and stepmother, Justice Felicity Hampel, as they were out of town.

Ant called Len to tell him Phoebe was dead, suggesting Len call her brothers and come to Balencea.  Len, in shock, called his son, Tom, who left his girlfriend’s home in East Malvern, unaware of what was happening.

Len tried to call Natalie who didn’t answer.  Natalie later called after noticing two missed calls from Len, who confirmed that Phoebe as dead.  Then Len called Phoebe’s mother, Jeannette  to come soon.  After Jeannette arrived at Clifton Hill, she was told by Natalie that Phoebe was dead.  Closer to Phoebe than anyone, Jeannette was devastated.  She showed Natalie a text from Ant after asking him how they were:

“Thx Marm, she is sleeping beauty right now and not the beast she was!  Resting well n I’ve explained now is the time to heal, then when she feels OK we’ll work out a plan.”

With no plan to work out, Phoebe’s family was left to nurse their sorrow at Clifton Hill, waiting for further news.

The scene at Balencea was a chaotic one since Beth Ozuup’s frantic Triple-O call.

The emergency dispatch service, Intergraph, allocated the job to South Melbourne Police Unit 303, the afternoon shift van, at 7:14 p.m., and the shift supervisor’s car, Unit 251, attended.  South Melbourne is close to St. Kilda Road, so the building saw the first team of police—Acting Senior Sergeant Healey, Detective Senior Constable Paul Thomas, Senior Constable Justin O’Brien, Constable Clare Hocking, and Sergeant Graeme Forster, the shift supervisor.

They were met by Beth who gave them the keys to the rubbish room.

Telling the officers she couldn’t go in the rubbish room, she was comforted by female residents who saw Beth’s distress, looking after her in the office until her sister, Baau arrived.  After Banu took Beth home, police told them not to worry, but that the girl committed suicide by putting herself down the rubbish chute.  Eric Giammario and Tony Basile, the managers of the company of the apartments, arrived soon after police around 7:15 and 7:30 p.m.  Never going to the compactor room, but instead, Eric went to the office and immediately saw how upset Beth was.  He noticed a “distraught” Ant Hampel come in with police, who asked for a room to do the interview.

Eric, trying to be helpful, thought the security cameras might help police, but knew they’d have to act fast because of trouble with the CCTV.  The looping time for recording was too short and the machine was recording over the top of new tapes.

Seven minutes after the ambulance arrived around 7:20 p.m., the foyer  and small corridor to the rubbish compactor room was already chaotic.

Kristie Cooke, a paramedic focused on a doorway along the corridor where a body was visible.  But a police guarded the door telling Cooke that it was crime scene and she couldn’t enter.  From the doorway, Cooke noticed a female lying on her back with cuts to her right thigh and hip and her right foot in an unnatural position, leading Cooke to believe the female had a fractured ankle.  She also saw the body have generalized cyanosis (a bluish tinge), no spontaneous respirations and appeared deceased.

Cooke, not happy that medically trained personnel was allowed to assist in helping the female, checking to see if she was still warm or even see if the girl was indeed dead.  Crimescene specialists were the first to enter the room after it was declared a crime scene.  Crimescene investigators revealed that according to blood trails, Phoebe survived the fall and apparently crawled around looking for a way out of the room.

Lin Family Murders

The Lin family murders were the July 18, 2009 killings in North Epping, New South Wales, Australia, of newsagency proprietor Min Lin; his wife, Yun Lin; their sons, Henry and Terry; and Yun Lin’s sister, Irene Lin.  The family was bludgeoned to death.  Min Lin’s sister Kathy discovered the bodies.  Jun “Brenda” Lin, 15, was the only member of the immediate family to survive the incident as she was on a school trip in New Caledonia with Cheltenham Girls High School at the time.

On May 5, 2011, Lian Bin “Robert” Xie – Kathy’s husband – was arrested and charged with the murders.  After several misstarts and abandoned trial, the third ended I December 2015 with a hung jury.  Xie was later granted bail.  A retrial was held in 2016, with a jury finding Xie guilty of the murders by a majority verdict on January 12, 2017.

A funeral was held for the family at Sydney Olympic Park, New South Wales on August 8, 2009.

Lin Family Murders

Location:  North Epping, New South Wales, Australia

Date:  July 18, 2009

Attack Type:  Mass murder

Weapons:  Hammer-like object

Deaths:  5 (Min Lin, Yun Lin, Irene Lin, Henry Lin, Terry Lin)

Perpetrator:  Lian Bin “Robert” Xie

Murders

In the early hours of July 18m 2009 in North Epping, New South Wales, newsagent proprietor Min Lin, age 45; his wife, Yun Lin, 43; their sons, Henry (12) and Terry (9); and Yun Lin’s sister Irene Lin, 39, ere bludgeoned to death.  Kathy Lin, sister of Min Lin, and her husband Lian Bin “Robert” Xie discovered the bodies when they went to the house at around 9:00 A.M. to see why the newsagency run by the Lin family was not open.  After arriving, entering via the unlocked front door, going upstairs and seeing the bloodied rooms and battered bodies, Kathy called 000 for an ambulance and struggled to explain what she had seen to the dispatcher.  While waiting for the police, Xie left Kathy at the scene to pick up Min Lin’s and Kathy Lin’s parents, who lived in Merrylands.  Police and paramedics quickly arrived at the scene, but the victims were clearly beyond help.

Investigation

Police investigators noted the blood spatter from the floor to ceiling, and the faces of the victims were so disfigured that forensics had to be used to identify them.  There was no evidence of a break-in (indication the use of a key).  Nothing had been ransacked or stolen.  It was clear that the killer had known the layout of the house, the location of the circuit breaker, and that Brenda was not home (given the fact that the attacker did not enter her room).  Forensics also determined that the killings had been started with a hammer-like object, alleged at trial to have been bought from a $2 store, and four of the five victims had signs of asphyxia.  24 bloody shoe prints were also evident, determined to be around US-size 8.5 to 10.5, indicating a lone attacker.

Brenda Lin, then 15, was the only member of the immediate family to survive.  She was on a year-10 French school trip in New Caledonia with Cheltenham Girls High School at the time, and learnt of the murders via Facebook.  After the murders, Xie and Kathy Lin became her legal guardians, and they resumed operation of the successful newsagent business.  Brenda Lin later said that she had been sexually abused by Xie during the period.

A month after the attack, Strike Force Norburn was set-up to coordinate the investigation.  In May 2010 the NSW Crime Commission told Kathy Lin about the discovery of shoe prints that may match an ASICS sneaker.  Subsequently, a 6-month-long covert police surveillance video showed Xie cutting up a size 9.5 ASICS sneakers box and flushing it down a toilet.  It was also found that Xie cleaned up his garage on the morning of the murders.  Forensics searched his home and found a stain on the floor of the garage, which the Crown prosecutor alleged was blood.  Later analysis of “stain 91” by Cybergenetics in Pittsburgh, USA revealed it to contain DNA from four of the five victims.

Trials

Just after 9:00 A.M. on May 5, 2011, Xie (then 47) was arrested without incident at his home in North Epping, following an extensive investigation, and on December 19, 2012, he was committed for trial.  Xie’s trial had been scheduled to begin September 2013.  DNA tests on some evidence were in the process of being completed.  Regarding motive, it was revealed that Xie had been an ENT doctor in China before migrating to Melbourne in 2006, and had made an unsuccessful attempt to open a restaurant in Melbourne before relocating to Sydney.  He had felt slighted by his loss of status and face when compared to his successful in-laws.  He was also attracted sexually to his niece, Brenda Lin.

On July 22, 2013, The Supreme Court delayed the trial until March 17, 2014.  This was agreed between the prosecution and the defence, although the newspaper reports were not able to comment on the reasons for the delay.  On May 20 and May 21, 2014, in the Supreme Court of New South Wales, Min Lin’s and Kathy Lin’s father, Yang Fei Lin, described his horror at learning that the five family members were dead.

The second trial for the murders began in August 2014, but was abandoned again shortly thereafter in September due to health issues of the trial judge.

 The third trial commenced in February 2015.  Xie, who had been refused bail ahead of the trial, pleaded not guilty.  Robert Xie’s defence lawyers argued that the injuries inflicted upon the family members indicated that the murders were committed by more than one person.  On December 1, 2015, after a 9-month trial and 11 days of deliberation, two separate notes from the jury of 12 indicated they were unable to reach a verdict.  An agreement still could not be reached after a direction from presiding Justice Elizabeth Fullerton indicating that she would accept a majority verdict of 11 to 1.  Fullerton formally discharged the jury on December 1.  The date for a retrial was initially undecided, but then conformed for August 2016.  Xie was granted bail on December 8, 2015. 

The final trial commenced in Sydney in June 2016.  As in the previous trial, the jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict, and Justice Fullerton advised a majority (11 to 1) verdict would be accepted by the court.  On January 12, 2017, a jury found Xie guilty of five counts of murder.  Xie was sentenced on February 13, 2017 to five consecutive life sentences in prison without possibility of parole.

Freeman Family Murders

The Freeman family murders took place in Salisbury Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania on February 26, 1995.  Together with their cousin, Nelson “Ben” Birdwell III, Bryan and David Freeman killed their parents, Brenda and Dennis Freeman, and their 11-year-old brother, Erik Freeman.  For several years the brothers had been embracing neo-Nazi culture, though this had escalated in the months before the killings, with them going so far as to tattoo Nazi slogans on their foreheads.  At the time of the murders, Bryan was 17 years old and David was 16.  Both brothers and their cousin were given life sentences without the possibility of parole, though none of the three were convicted in the murder of Erik Freeman.  It was reported in 2014 that those sentences would be upheld, despite the recent Supreme Court ruling that mandatory life-without-parole sentences were unconstitutional for juveniles convicted of murder.

Freeman Family Murders

Location:  Salisbury Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, U.S.

Date:  February 26, 1995

Attack Type:  Triple murder

Weapons:  Knife, aluminum, baseball bat, wooden pick axe handle

Deaths:  3

Victims:  Dennis Freeman, Brenda Freeman, Erik Freeman

Perpetrators:  Bryan Freeman, David Freeman, Ben Birdwell

References

1.  Admitted kier Bryan Freeman proclaims innocence in mom’s death, The Morning Call.  January 18, 2006.

2.  Police suspect skinhead brothers killed family, The Item.  March 1, 1995.

3.  Conversation with convicted killer Bryan Freeman, WFMZ.  February 25, 2015.

4.  2 of 3 skinheads held in murders start to talk, The Baltimore Sun.  March 29, 1995.

5.  Inmate Locator, Pennsylvania Department of Corrections.

6.  Younger Freeman brother to be tried as an adult for murder in family slaying, Observer-Reporter.  September 7, 1995.

7.  2 Skinhead Brothers Charged With Killing Family Members, The New York Times.  March 3, 1995.

8.  One family’s nightmare, Newsweek.  March 13, 1995.

9.  Life sentences will stand for Salisbury Township’s Freeman brothers who killed parents, Leigh Valley Live.  April 1, 2014.

10.  Freeman brothers remorseful 20 years after murdering their parents, The Morning Call.  February 28, 2015.

11.  Decade after murders, are we safer?, The Morning Call.  February 27, 2005.

12.  Neo-Nazi brothers accused of killing parents, The Independent.  March 3, 1995.

13.  Skinhead Says He Was Unaware Of Accusations Against Freemans, The Morning Call.  March 4, 1995.

14.  Birdwell Faces Trial in Freeman Killings, The Morning Call.  September 22, 1995.

15.  Birdwell To Serve Life In Prison For Murder Birdwell Guilty Of Killing Uncle Verdict Doesn’t Answer The Question Of Who Killed Erik, The Morning Call.  April 27, 1996.

16.  Skinhead given life in prison, pleads guilty to killing mother, Beaver County Times.  December 8, 1995.

17.  Bryan Freeman, one of the ‘Berserker’ brothers, gets new sentencing date, The Morning Call.  April 27, 1996.

18.  Trial Drove Families Apart Verdict Doesn’t End Families’ Grief, Questions, The Morning Call.  April 27, 1996.

19.  Conversation with convicted killer Bryan Freeman, One News Page.  February 24, 2015.

20.  Neo-Nazi Brother to Get New Sentence in Parents’ 1995 Killings, NBC Philadelphia.  March 15, 2016.

21.  Blood Brothers:  The despicable bond between Bryan and David Freeman, The Lineup.

22.  Top 10 Most Evil Kids in History, WatchMojo.com.  December 14, 2015.

23.  IMDb (May 12, 2014).  “Killer Kids:  Allentown Massacre & the Copycat”.  LMN.

The Survivor Tale of Jennifer Morey

How do you save your life when your worst nightmare comes true and your being attacked?  What do you do to protect yourself?  For one woman, Jennifer Morey, she did everything in her power to save her life and survived.

Bayou Park Apartment

In Houston, Texas, in 1995, a young lawyer, Jennifer Morey, lived alone in an apartment complex.  It looked like a safe place to live, but all that would change the night of April 15 at the local Ale House, after one of Morey’s friends drove her home to her Bayou Park Apartment on Memorial Drive.

Around the Clock Security

The biggest feature that attracted Morey to rent an apartment at Bayou Park Apartment Complex, was the 24-hour protection, which included an on-site security guard.  It made her feel safe.  But she would be proven wrong!

Was It A Bad Dream?

After returning home on Friday night, Jennifer deadbolted her door and did her usual hygiene before going to bed.  around 4 A.M., she woke to the feeling of someone on top of her holding her body and pressing something against her neck.

Awoken By Horror

At first believing it was dream, Jennifer woke to the horror that she was going to be raped.  Desperately trying to push the intruder off, she realized the intruder was holding  a knife to her neck.

Fighting For Her Life

Fighting for her life during the struggle, Morey screamed at her assailant not to hurt her.  they were so loud she woke up 15 of her neighbors in other apartments—not one calling 911.

He Knew Who She Was

As the intruder slashed the right side of her face during the assault, he used her name saying, “Jennifer, shut the hell up!” giving Morey the impression he knew her but she didn’t recognize the intruder.

Horrific Crime

The attacker slashed Morey’s throat from her right ear moving several inches down her neck, leaving a wound deep enough to look like a second mouth.  Blood was pouring all over Morey’s bed and the intruder.

Throwing Her In the Bathroom

With no more strength to fight back, the assailant pulled Morey by her blond hair off the bed and into the bathroom, shutting the door.  He told her if she came out, he would kill her!

Saving Her Own Life

Afraid he’d come back, Morey sat against the bathroom door, sliding down to the floor with the remainder of her strength, her feet pressed against the bathtub to keep the door shut.  Covered in her own blood, she remained silent.

The Room Was Filled With Silence

During the attack, the apartment was filled with noise and sounds from her struggle, no one came to help after Morey’s cries.  Now all Morey heard was the deafening sound of a zipper as the intruder zipped up his pants, hoping he was leaving.

Gathering Her Strength

After what seemed like hours, Morey gathered managed to gain enough courage to leave the bathroom, afraid she would bleed to death if she didn’t.  With blood still on her hands, she attempted to grip the doorknob, but because she was wedged against the door, it was jammed.

Laughter Amongst A Nightmare

Realizing she fought off a would-be killer, Morey realized she was going to bleed to death because she couldn’t open a door that didn’t have a lock.  Finally able to open the door, Morey fumbled for the lights in the hallway, flipping the switch.

Calling For Help

Searching for the phone, Morey found the line dead.  Morey managed to call 811 after finding her cell phone and dispatcher Richard Beckett answered the call.  His first shift as an emergency dispatcher, Everett tried to keep calm after Morey told him her story.

Keeping Her On The Line

As Beckett told her she was going fine, he asked her if she cut anywhere else?  Morey told him that all she knew was her neck.  Beckett instructed her to check her body while placing a clean towel over her neck.  Seeming like forever, Everett kept Morey on the line.  After 10 minutes, Morey told Everett that someone was knocking on her door.

There Was Someone At Her Door

After asking who was at the door, the man told Morey he was Bryan Gibson, security.  Beckett’s gut instincts kicked in advising Morey not to open the door, knowing that neither police nor paramedics had contacted the building’s security guard.  The man could be her attacker.  Morey listened to Beckett.

Bryan Gibson

Police arrived at Morey’s apartment that morning to find Bryan Gibson, 26m the Pinkerton security guard, who was just at Morey’s door, bleeding from a cut on his right hand.  Gibson told police that he was attacked when the intruder jumped from Morey’s second-floor balcony apartment.  Gibson told them he wrestled with the intruder before he fled to a nearby field.

Pinkerton Security Guard

When one of the officers shined a flashlight across the field, the grass showed no footprints.  When police searched Morey’s apartment, they found a knife, a man’s underwear covered in blood, and a Pinkerton security cap.  As police searched Gibson, he was missing his cap and wearing no underwear.  Instead of coming to help Morey, Gibson was more likely returning to get his possessions and possibly kill Morey.

Criminal Record

Gibson was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to 20 years in prison.  Morey felt Pinkerton Security should never have allowed Gibson employment.  Gibson received numerous complaints during his three years of employment despite his criminal record.

He Should Have Been Behind Bars

Morey filed a lawsuit against Pinkerton Security while researching learned Gibson wasn’t the first Pinkerton guard with felonies.  Texas records showed between 1991 and 1995, 130 Pinkerton guards had felonies.  Morey says of her attacker, Gibson:  “I think he was a sexual criminal who put into a situation like a kid in a candy shop…And that he used that opportunity to pick his favorite flavor of candy.”

A New Life

Unable to live in her Bayou Park Apartment, Morey moved two weeks later to the Woodlands with her mother, who rarely left her side.  Morey was paranoid and afraid of everything.  Recovered from her traumatic ordeal, Morey is a successful lawyer with her own practice.   Eventually meeting and marrying her husband a few years later, Beckett, the 911 dispatcher was at her wedding, remaining close friends.