Missing Boronia teenager Siriyakorn 'Bung' Siriboon. Source: Supplied
Robert Keith Knight, questioned over the 2011 disappearance of Siriyakorn ''Bung'' Siriboon, has committed suicide in prison. Source: Herald Sun
A MAN who was questioned over the 2011 kidnapping and murder of missing schoolgirl Siriyakorn "Bung" Siriboon has died behind bars.
Robert Keith Knight, 62, committed suicide in the Melbourne Remand Centre by jumping from the upper tier of his prison unit late on Tuesday or early on Wednesday.
He was due to face court yesterday on charges of possessing almost 10,000 images of child sex abuse.
Police sources said Knight - who had previously been imprisoned for 15 years for the abduction and rape of two schoolgirls - had been a suspect in the disappearance of 13-year-old Bung as she walked to school.
But police said last night he was no longer a suspect.
A special taskforce was set up to investigate the disappearance of Bung, who was last seen within 130m of her school gates in Boronia in June 2011.
Knight was released from prison on March 12, 2009, and had been living in Ferntree Gully - just 3km from where Bung vanished.
Police say Knight began offending six days after release.
"He was out of prison, living in the immediate area. He had done almost exactly the same previously to similar-aged girls. It fits his MO (modus operandi) perfectly," a source close to the investigation said.
Bung was 130m from home from kidnapper struck
The former Scout and youth leader, a registered sex offender, was spoken to by police but initially ruled out, one source said.
"He gave police an alibi which checked out ... that meant he couldn't have done it, wasn't in the area," a source said.
"Taskforce Puma was then set up and re-examined all the evidence, and the alibi was discredited.
"He was our top suspect."
But police spokeswoman Leonie Johnson said last night: "Robert Knight was not being treated as a suspect in the disappearance of Bung at the time of his death."
Boronia Source: Herald Sun
Knight was arrested and charged on October 19 last year over 9686 child sex abuse images, and other matters that the Herald Sun cannot disclose for legal reasons.
He had been held on remand since that time, refusing to leave his cell to attend court on several occasions.
Knight was due to appear before Ringwood Magistrates' Court yesterday.
Torment of empty seat at the table
He had not been considered a suicide risk.
There are no suspicious circumstances surrounding his death.
In 1996, Knight held a knife to a 12-year-old girl's throat as she walked home from school in Blairgowrie, put a bag over her head, and shoved her in a 4x4 vehicle.
The girl was taken to a house where she was forced to wear lingerie, was drugged and over 18 hours repeatedly raped and sexually assaulted. Knight videoed the vile acts.
She was then driven to a secondary school, given $5 and told not to look back.
The case was linked to another in 1980, when a young girl was walking a short distance in front of her family on a beach in Sorrento when a man jumped out, put a bag over her head and pushed her into his car.
Fred Pattison and Vanidda Siriyakorn, parents of Bung (inset). Picture: Tony Gough Source: No Source
She was driven to a secluded area, where sexually explicit photos of her were taken, before she was dropped nearby, given $2 and told not to look back.
The former confectionery worker denied the allegations when confronted by police, but later admitted it to his then third wife, who went straight to police.
It was discovered his family had a nearby holiday house.
Knight eventually pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 15 years' jail with a minimum of 11 1/2. He was described as a sociopath with no remorse for his crimes.
Bung's last known movements
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét