Christine Mann, a former Dapto schoolgirl, recalls a terrifying encounter with a man she believes was the key suspect in the 1966 murder of Wilhelmina Kruger. The incident occurred just weeks before the brutal killing in Wollongong's Piccadilly Arcade.
The Chilling Encounter
In January 1966, 15-year-old Christine Mann was walking her German shepherd along Cleveland Road near Dapto High School during the summer holidays. The area was rural and deserted, with no students or passersby. She noticed a man parked in a distinctive cream-coloured ute near the creek where she often walked her dog. He stared at her intensely, giving her a feeling of dread.
"He was just staring at me. He gave me the heebie-jeebies," Mann recalled. When she started walking home, he followed her in the vehicle, stopping ahead of her. She believes her dog may have deterred him from approaching. She took refuge in the school grounds, but he remained. Eventually, she ran home and noted down the number plate, though the paper has since been lost.
Recognition of the Ute
On February 23, 1966, Mann saw the front page of the Illawarra Mercury, which featured a drawing of the suspect's ute based on witness descriptions. The vehicle was described as nearly 20 years old, hand-painted cream with rust showing through, and a homemade wooden canopy over the tray. Mann immediately recognised it. "As soon as that car picture came up in the Mercury, I recognised it straight away, it was definitely 100 per cent that creamy ute," she said.
She also recalled the driver: a European-looking man with darkish skin, wearing a brown hat. A witness in the Kruger case described the suspect as having "a horrible appearance," a description Mann echoes. "He just bore holes in me with his eyes - he was just horrible," she said. "I still remember him and here I am 75 years old now. I've never forgotten him."
Reporting the Sighting
Mann reported her encounter to a retired police officer, who promised to follow up, but she never heard anything further. She remains convinced she had a lucky escape. "But I've never forgotten it - I had a lucky escape," she said.
The murder of Wilhelmina Kruger on January 29, 1966, remains unsolved. The distinctive ute, with its unique wooden canopy, was a key piece of evidence, but despite the drawing and Mann's account, the killer was never caught.
