It’s Australia Day 1963, in the middle of a hot summer in Perth. A couple are sitting in a car, kissing and talking, in the beachside suburb of Cottesloe. They feel safe. It’s a safe neighbourhood in a safe city, and the night is still and empty. That is until the female notices, at around 2:40am, something outside the car window. It’s a man. Watching them. She alerts her male companion to the figure … who they realise is holding a rifle. They spring to action, trying to drive away as fast as they can. The man shoots at them, and she instinctively puts up her hand. She is injured, but the two escape alive.

By the next morning, Perth wakes up to the news that five people have been shot, with three dead. It was a killing spree unlike anything Perth had ever seen. But that wouldn’t be the extent of Eric Edgar Cooke’s crimes. And while he killed innocent civilians, there were two men in prison, serving time for murders they had not committed. 

CREDITS

Guest: Tom Meadmore, Director of the Stan Original Documentary Series ‘After The Night’ 

Host: Jessie Stephens

Audio Producer: Ian Camilleri 

Executive Producer: Zoe Ferguson

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