The prime suspect in the brutal cold-case murder of a 23-year-old woman whose body was discovered burned has mysteriously died.
Alleged serial rapist and murderer Kevin Steven Correll, 69, was previously identified as the most likely suspect in Rachelle Childs’ murder in 2001.
The lead suspect in the cold case that has perplexed investigators for more than two decades died while on vacation in Pa Tong, Thailand, last week.
Tragic Rachelle’s body was discovered dumped in bushland in Gerroa, just south of Sydney, Australia, about 100 kilometers from her home, on June 8.
Her corpse had been partially burned, which police believe was an attempt to destroy DNA evidence.
As part of the heinous attack on the sleepy town of Gerroa, unleaded petrol was sprayed on her face and other parts of her body.
She was also partially naked, and police suspect the depraved killer smothered or strangled her to death.
Cops failed to charge anyone with her murder after making early investigation mistakes that left the case unsolved for several years.
Thai authorities said details about Correll’s death were scarce, and his sudden death remained a mystery.
A member of Correll’s family stated that police had already arrived at his son Mitchell’s home to inform them that an autopsy was underway.
The family member told The Daily Telegraph, “I’m not sorry he’s gone, but I’m sorry Rachelle’s family won’t get the justice they deserve.”
His estranged daughter, Jazz, said she only learned of her father’s death after speaking with her brother on Saturday.
She told the newspaper, “I feel sad for his many victims.”
The botched police investigation into Rachelle’s murder is widely considered to have been severely mishandled.
Local cops lost a critical piece of CCTV evidence that was thought to show Rachelle with her killer at a gas station on the night she died.
Another police officer contaminated DNA discovered on a bedsheet, and others failed to properly collect her phone records.
Correll was Rachelle’s boss at the used car dealership Camden Holden, where they both worked at the time of her horrific death.
He was voluntarily interviewed by police three times about her death, but detectives were never able to gather enough evidence to convict him.
This was despite the fact that his alibi for the night Rachelle died could never be confirmed or corroborated.
Correll had already been accused of rape.
In the 1980s, police heard a woman screaming and rushed to the scene, where they discovered Correll half naked.
The woman reported that she was being assaulted, and despite being charged, Correll was later found not guilty.
Three other women accused Correll of rape on three different occasions, but he was found not guilty in court.
Correll was one of the last people to see Rachelle alive, as she left work the day before her death.
Rachelle told coworkers that she was going to meet someone at the Bargo Hotel that evening, but she didn’t say who.
The hotel had no CCTV inside, and cops never questioned anyone who was there that night.
Rachelle called her sister after the hotel meeting for a brief conversation, which was the last time anyone heard from her.
A motorist who was driving on the road where Rachelle was discovered told police he saw a 1978 Holden Commodore that matched the description of the vehicle she owned.
The car was parked off the highway, about 200 metres from where Rachelle was discovered the next morning, on June 8.
A separate witness reported seeing the car later with its boot mysteriously open in the same location at 11 p.m.
And they claimed that there was one person standing next to the vehicle and another lying on the ground.
Correll’s alibi stated that he drove from Camden to Campbelltown to meet his partner on June 7.
