Has anyone else out there noticed a distinct lack of available spare time lately, or is it just me? I have so wanted to have the time to tell you all about the last few months, but it seems that every time I have a few spare minutes to snatch someone else beats me to them.
I'll get there though, in dribs and drabs. There's heaps to tell, so I've decided to break it all down and post a bit every now and then, as time permits. There will be an entry at some stage about the housing shortage around these parts at the moment... not to mention a 'special' entry about my (not) favourite bunch of real estate fools (but don't get me started on that one just yet). There's another couple of 'issues' that I'd like to have my say on too... current affairs, stupid governments, boring stuff like that. And I'll make an entry that will basically be just a general chat about what we've been up to, such as the fact that we still don't have a house and are presently camped (literally... tents and all) in our good friend's back yard. I've also got a heap of photos that I want to share. I've been accompanying my baby on a few work trips, so I have heaps of touristy-type shots of our neighbouring cities. Don't forget the nature shots... birds, birds galore, trees, vistas, sunsets and sunrises... you name it, I've probably got something to show you.
And so brings me to today's entry... a 'good news' kind of story that has been a hot topic of discussion of late, especially around these parts... the death of serial killer Leonard John Fraser. Now, normally I wouldn't rejoice in the death of a fellow human being, but this man was not human, in my eyes. The only sadness I felt when I heard of Fraser's death was the pang of regret that he hadn't been made to suffer more. Turst me, he deserved a lot more suffering before he was given death. He was evil personified, this man... the moment he died our world became a little more comfortable for the rest of us, even if we didn't all know it at the time. There will be many who will have sighed in relief when they read the headlines, just as I did. However, in cases like these, a natural death just doesn't seem to fit properly.
Now before I go much further, a bit of background. I was quite close to this case in a number of ways..
Firstly, this man lived in a block of units on the corner of the street where we lived. He moved in shortly before we moved out of that particular address, but I remember when he and his young girlfriend moved in. She was quite obviously intellectually impaired, and he was extremely loud and manipulative. Most of the time when she was with him she looked scared... like a rabbit in the headlights, so to speak... and at the time I suspected him of abusing her. This is why I remember so well.
Secondly, this man's final victim, Keyra Steinhardt was a 9-year-old girl who attended the same school as my kids. She was the same age as my son, and her classroom was next to his. I remember her as a smiley-faced, well mannered little girl who we regularly passed on the way to school. At the time of her abduction, rape and murder I felt the sorrow of her passing, saw the reactions of her friends and schoolmates, teachers, neighbours and felt the disgusted rage that filled every other decent resident of the area... and I'm ashamed to admit that I also felt an immense relief that it hadn't been one of my children. If I hadn't been so adamant that I drive my kids to and from school every day, they would have walked an almost identical path to young Keyra. And if we hadn't moved from the street in which he lived, we would have had to walk past his front door every time we wanted to go to the corner shop.
Thirdly, being a resident of the area in which his victims went missing, and being that I have always been concerned about violent criminals in the community, I made it my business to find out about this man and his crimes. I have some certain connections and I actually found out a lot more than I really wanted to... some of it so bad that it's been deemed never to be released to the general public. I won't do you all the injustice of forcing brutal facts upon you, but some of what I heard made me sick. At one murder scene the walls were splattered from floor to ceiling with the victim's blood... and this was by no means the worst by far. You'll just have to believe me when I say that this man was more monster than human. I'm glad that he's dead... it's justice, in a way... I guess.
This is one of those rare cases in which I believe capital punishment should most definately be used without hesitation. There was no mistaken identity here. Fraser was a psychopath who admitted to several murders and there is speculation about several other missing women. He has been jailed several times for violent crimes, including rape and abuse. Hard evidence, such as DNA, semen and blood samples have proven without a doubt that there was no mistake... and just in case anyone was still left wondering... he had been able to give police detailed descriptions of the locations in which he had dumped some of the bodies. There was no mistake. Leonard John Fraser was a predator whose crimes had been steadily increasing in severity before police arrested him. He deserved to die.
To those of his victims who remain... and there are lots out there that you wouldn't even think about... I wish you all the best. I hope you can rest a little easier now that he's gone.
And just in case there is a 'God'... thank you, Lord, for ridding us of this particular plague on humanity... but what the hell took you so long? And when are you going to start on all the rest of them??
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• Saturday 6 January 2007 - Untitled Comment