As the midweek workday was wrapping up on Wednesday, November 11 1987, staff were closing stores and filtering out of offices throughout Ipswich, an inland, urban region on the western edge of Brisbane in Queensland: Australia. At 5:30 pm, 24-year-old retail assistant Cheryl Mortimer finished her shift at the Target department store located in the Booval Fair Shopping Centre.

After business hours, activity around the centre had died down significantly and very few people were still around. The adjacent car park, which was usually packed with cars, was now quiet and near deserted. Cheryl collected her vehicle and drove towards the parking lot exit, where her attention was drawn to an unassuming middle-aged woman with short hair and a frumpy physique. The woman was flagging Cheryl down, indicating she needed directions. Cheryl pulled over to assist.

As the two women interacted, a younger-looking, slim man, seemingly sprang out of nowhere and rushed at Cheryl, placing a knife to her throat. The man cut his own hand with the knife accidentally, leaving his bloody fingerprint smeared on the window of Cheryl’s car. The attack came to an abrupt halt when one of Cheryl’s colleagues appeared and approached the scene, causing the man and woman to flee in a white Holden Kingswood station wagon.

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Our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents. If you feel at anytime you need support, please contact your local crisis centre. Some suggestions for confidential support for men, women and children:

AUSTRALIA:

Lifeline Crisis Support: 13 11 14

Beyond Blue: Depression and anxiety support: 1300 22 46 36

Rape & Domestic Violence Services: 1800 737 732

Men's Line: 1300 78 99 78

Headspace: Youth Mental Health Foundation: see headspace.org.au for your local centre

USA:

Distress &  Lifeline: 1800 273 8255

Crisis Text Line: text HOME to 741 741

Domestic Violence Helpline: 1800 799 7233

Victim Connect: support for victims of crime: 855 484 2846

MTC program: maketheconnection.net/resources/spread-the-word

UK:

Mind: mental health support: 0300 123 3393

SANE: mental health support: 0300 304 7000

Samaritans support network: 116 123

National Stalking Helpline: 0808 802 0300

CANADA:

For a list of Canadian crisis centres: https://thelifelinecanada.ca/help/call/

NEW ZEALAND:

Lifeline: 0800 543354

Depression Helpline: 0800 111 757 (Text 4202)

CREDITS

NARRATION:

Episode narrated by the Anonymous Host

EPISODE:

This episode of Casefile was researched and written by Eileen Ormsby, whose latest book The Darkest Web – Drugs, Death and Destroyed Lives: The Inside Story of the Internet’s Evil Twin is available now!

MUSIC:

‘Flatline intro’ and ‘Come play with me’ intro and outro www.dl-sounds.com

All other music and audio clean up performed by Mike Migas and Andrew Joslyn 

OTHER:

Logo design by Paulina Szymanska

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