It's October 1986, Perth, Western Australia.

Over a five week period, five women would go missing. Four of them would be murdered, but the fifth

would be able to escape and a shocking story of kidnapping, rape and murder would be

uncovered. This is the story of David and Catherine Bernie, serial killers.

Hi, I'm your host Campbell, grab a beer and pull up a deck chair.

This is True Crime Island, another True Crime Podcast.

So, before I get into the gruesome bits, I'd better warn those that get triggered by rape and murder that this episode may trigger you.

In saying that, first I'll give you some background of the two main

characters in this shocking tale. First cab off the rank is David Bernie born 16th of February 1951 to a scrawny

hunchback stuttering father John and a lazy alcoholic pathetic mother Margaret at Wattle Grove about half hour

drive southwest of Perth Western Australia.

He would end up as the eldest of six children in a dysfunctional

unkempt and filthy home. In fact, before his parents were married,

the local Baptist minister had concerns about the marrying,

describing John Birney as a man of very small stature and of unattractive appearance, and Margaret as a woman known for her filthy mouth, coarse

manner and would put out to the local taxi drivers for cab fare. The minister was known to have said,

Only tragedy can come from this.

The second main character in the story is Catherine Harrison born 23rd of May

1951 to Harold and Dorine Harrison. When she was only two years old her mother died giving birth to her brother, who died a couple of days after that.

As her father couldn't cope, Catherine was sent to live with her maternal grandparents.

Eventually, when she was 10 years old, and after a bitter custody dispute,

Catherine's father would gain sole custody of her.

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