| Greenough family massacre | |
| Location: | Greenough, Western Australia |
| Coordinates: | -28.9069°N 114.7106°W |
| Date: | 21/22 February 1993[1] [2] [3] [4] |
| Time: | 3am |
| Type: | Mass murder/Axe murder |
| Fatalities: | 4 Karen MacKenzie (31) Daniel (16) Amara (7) Katrina (5) |
| Perp: | William Patrick Mitchell |
| Weapons: | Axe |
The Greenough family massacre was the axe murders of Karen MacKenzie (31) and her three children, Daniel (16), Amara (7), and Katrina (5), at their remote rural property in Greenough, Western Australia, on 21 February 1993.[1] They were killed by farm hand William Patrick Mitchell, an acquaintance of MacKenzie. Details of the murders were withheld from the public as they were considered too horrific. The case led to calls for the reintroduction of the death penalty.
On the Sunday evening before the crime, Mitchell had been spending the day getting high and partying on a mixture of cannabis, alcohol, and amphetamines. The following Monday morning at around 03:00 AM, sixteen-year-old Daniel, who was still awake, heard the sound of a car approaching the MacKenzie home. His sisters and mother (aged 5, 7, and 31, respectively) were all sleeping at the time. A man (Mitchell) parked the vehicle, casually exited and began walking towards the home. Curious as to who could be visiting at such an unusual hour, Daniel switched a kitchen light on, which Mitchell noted from outside. The boy walked outside and attempted to greet Mitchell; not receiving any response, nor realising that the man was brandishing a tomahawk-style axe, Daniel's life was suddenly and violently cut short by Mitchell in cold blood, with several strikes of his axe. The teen would subsequently be the first victim discovered by family friends, face-down on the dirt drive.
Mitchell then headed into the house, where he found MacKenzie fast asleep in the lounge room. He began attacking her in a similar fashion, killing her with multiple blows from the axe. He then went to the bathroom and retrieved a tube of lotion and a plastic bag to place over MacKenzie's head before raping her lifeless body. The 31-year-old mother would be the second victim discovered by investigators, after son Daniel. Young Amara and Katrina were still asleep in their bedrooms when Mitchell turned his attention to them, callously taking their lives in an equally horrific manner. It was said that the younger two children were sleeping when they were killed, and their lives ended relatively quickly.[5]
Police and forensic investigators scoured the murder scene and collected evidence. A search party fanned-out in waves, beginning at the property, into the surrounding bush and scrubland in an attempt to locate any evidence or means of identifying those responsible, an effort which lasted seven days.[6] In the meantime, the funeral for the four victims, which was attended by Mitchell, was held on 5 March 1993. It would be a further five weeks before Mitchell, an acquaintance of MacKenzie, was arrested on either 28 or 29 March.[7]
Mitchell pleaded guilty to four counts of wilful murder and four counts of sexual assault. A hand lotion used by the killer was a key piece of evidence. Mitchell was convicted of the murders in 1995 at the age of 24 and was sentenced to four concurrent terms of life imprisonment, with a non-parole period of 20 years. According to the television series Crime Investigation Australia, a judge ruled that the exact way in which Daniel, Amara, and Katrina were killed was to be sealed.[4]
Mitchell is currently incarcerated in Bunbury Regional Prison in Western Australia. Due to a public outcry against the sentence, a Crown appeal ordered the non-parole period to be revoked. There followed a series of Supreme and High Court appeals, including a ruling that Mitchell would never be released. An appeal overturned the non-release ruling and reinstated his 20-year non-parole period, and he consequently became eligible for parole in 2013, with a three-year review in 2016. In September 2013, Mitchell was refused parole. Attorney General Michael Mischin stated that his decision to refuse parole was based upon the gravity of the crime and the safety of the community.[8] He became eligible for parole again in October 2016, and was refused parole again.[9] [10] As required by statute, his next review by the board was due in September 2019. In 2018 due to new McGowan government law which delays parole consideration for mass murderers and serial killers for a period of 6 years, Mitchell was no longer eligible for parole in 2019.