Ep 71 - The Butcher of Wollongong, and Jessie Donker




Dead Bodies Podcast show

Summary: The murder of David O’Hearn in Wollongong in 1998 was described by season police as the most gruesome they had ever come across, with body parts strewn around the house. Within days, former Mayor Frank Arkell was also killed, and then Mark Valera - known as the Butcher of Wollongong - confessed. Jessie Donker suffered at the hands of her violent partner for years, until she could take it no longer, and she aimed her car at Richard Powell and killed him. The sentencing judge - at times wiping away tears - described her case as one that required mercy.