LADY KILLER
Ellen Connolly and Candy Sutton
Interview by: Marianne Delacourt
Ellen Connolly and Candy Sutton are the authors of “Lady Killer” – the story of how conman Bruce Burrell kidnapped and murdered rich women for their money.
Ellen is a former Sydney Morning Herald journalist who now freelances for The Guardian, the SMH, and a variety of magazines, including Marie Claire.
Candy is a former Sun Herald journalist who also freelances for newspapers and magazines.
Both followed the case of Bruce Burrell from the beginning, as journalists, reporting on the disappearance of Kerry Whelan. “Lady Killer” won the 2010 Davitt Award for True Crime.
Here, Marianne discusses with the authors the trials and tribulations of writing a true crime – particularly as a collaboration.
Marianne: You’re both respected journalists with busy careers. What made you decide to embark on this book about Bruce Burrell? What so captured you about the story?
Ellen and Candy: We felt that this story needed to be told.
Sydney mother-of-three Kerry Whelan, and elderly widow, Dot Davis, had disappeared without a trace, and the main suspect, Bruce Burrell, remained a free man.
As journalists working for major Sydney newspapers, we found ourselves covering the inquest into their deaths, and came to know well the grieving families, and also the detective leading the investigation, Dennis Bray.
We also witnessed the bravado and arrogance of Bruce Burrell who, despite the mounting evidence, was certain he was going to get away with his crimes.
Marianne: How did you go about finding your sources?
Candy and Ellen: Our first point of call was Kerry Whelan’s husband, Bernie, to ascertain whether he would be willing to contribute to the book and help us in our research. Once Bernie gave his full We also tracked down numerous witnesses who gave evidence in court, as well as friends and family of Kerry Whelan and Dottie Davis. Candy also spent some time in the Goulburn region, digging up Burrell’s background, and we managed to track down his ex-wife.
Marianne: Did you have any unsettling moments when you were doing your
research?
Ellen and Candy: A few: Each of us had chased Bruce Burrell, at his place of work, or at the house at which he was staying in between court cases. Candy staked out his house three times and Ellen confronted him at the house following the hung jury decision in his first trial for Kerry’s murder, and he set his dog on her.
Also, Detective Inspector Bruce Couch, who led the search for Kerry Whelan and in earlier times had discovered the bodies of the backpackers (Ivan Milat’s victims). It was a lonely, eerie place strewn with the remnants of an old gold rush humpy community. When the Whelans and the members of the Davis family revisited Bungonia, we were there. It was an emotional moment.
Marianne: Did you uncover any new material about the crime?
Ellen and Candy: Yes. We unearthed a lot of material about Burrell’s past which cemented our view (and that of forensic psychiatrists) that he was a psychopath, starting off as a conman, rising to car thief and then murderer.
We uncovered evidence of police suspicions that Burrell may have killed a third person, an elderly man. Unfortunately, this was following publication, but if we get a chance to rewrite a new edition, or perhaps write a TV script of Lady Killer, we will certainly include it!
Marianne: Could you briefly describe the writing method you worked to with your collaboration?
Ellen and Candy: We drew up an outline of the book, a chapter list. We then selected which ones we wanted to write, based on where our individual strengths and knowledge lay in respect of all the story’s parts. We were mindful of not splitting the writing into two halves. We wanted the book to flow in one voice. So, lots of emailing and periodically getting together for a glass of wine to read each other’s work, and chat.
Marianne: Having done this once, would you do it again?
Ellen and Candy: In the right circumstances, yes. Putting the book together was an enormous challenge, involving many hours of work.
Each of us had full time jobs, and Lady Killer took over our lives for quite a while. That said, it was rewarding to have completed it and to lay down the facts for the people involved, the families, the police and crown prosecuting team.
Lady Killer
ISBN: 9781741751635
Published by: Allen and Unwin
