FOR five years, a masked child killer dubbed “Mr Cruel” terrorised the suburbs of Melbourne.
Mr Cruel, whose identity is still unknown 40 years later, assaulted at least four young girls in the late 1980s and early 1990s – abducting three and killing one.
During his reign of terror, Mr Cruel broke into homes in Melbourne at night armed with a knife and handgun.
The mask-clad killer tied up parents and siblings – and snatched girls as young as 11, who he held for up to 50 hours.
He allegedly forced his victims to wash and carefully brush their teeth and fed them meals – even while they were being abused.