12 Oct 2015

Australian who admitted 3 murders has NZ link

6:52 am on 12 October 2015

A former Australian navy sailor who went on a murderous spree may be responsible for crimes in New Zealand a decade ago.

Richard Dorrough

Richard Dorrough Photo: AFP

Australian man, Richard Dorrough, committed suicide in August last year.

But when the police searched his home in Perth they made a shocking discovery, a suicide note confessing to three murders, but not naming the victims.

Australian police believe they have identified two of them, but the third remains a mystery.

He had been acquitted of the 1998 murder of Rachael Campbell in Sydney, and in 1997 he was the last person known to have seen Sara-Lee Davey in Broome.

Police have asked for help tracking his movements around Australia and New Zealand.

Journalist Grant Taylor from the West Australian newspaper said the note had prompted police on both sides of the Tasman to review their missing persons files.

He said Mr Dorrough lived in New Zealand in 2006 working as a dive instructor in Auckland.

"His third victim could very easily be a New Zealand citizen, somebody who went missing, somebody's who's actually an unsolved murder case, perhaps a case that no one even knew about, a young traveller, someone like that."