Melbourne schoolgirl killer Les Camilleri linked to murder of 13yo Glenroy girl Prue Bir

Jenny Bird with a picture of her daughter Prue, aged 13, who disappeared in 1992.

BEGA schoolgirl killer Les Camilleri has emerged as the prime suspect in one of Melbourne's most disturbing cold case murders.

The sinister Camilleri is under scrutiny over the baffling 1992 disappearance of 13-year-old Glenroy girl Prue Bird, the Herald Sun reports.

Camilleri is already serving two life sentences for the murder of Lauren Barry, 14, and Nichole Collins, 16, in 1997.

He and an accomplice abducted the girls in southern NSW, raped them and murdered them by a creek in Victoria's east.

The investigation into the killing of Prue Bird was first thought to be linked to the Russell St police bombings or a notorious armed robber who was friendly with her family.

But Camilleri is now in the sights of the homicide squad.

Investigators have been trying to piece together Camilleri's movements in the period when Prue vanished.

She was last seen alive preparing lunch in the kitchen of her mother's Justin Avenue house on February 2, 1992.

A family friend who had been packing boxes in a garage returned to find the front door open and the television on.

Earlier this year, police publicly appealed for anyone who knew of Camilleri's whereabouts or could place him in Melbourne in the 1990s to come forward, but did not specify why.

A $500,000 reward is in place for anyone able to help find Prue's killer.

Victoria Police would not comment on any link between Camilleri and the Bird case.

"The investigation into the murder of Prue Bird remains unsolved, and police urge any person with information in relation to the homicide to contact CrimeStoppers," a police statement said.

In 1999, Supreme Court judge Frank Vincent sentenced Camilleri to life in jail with no minimum term.

"Through your own acts, you have forfeited your right to ever walk among us again," Justice Vincent said.

Now 39, Camilleri is serving his term in the state's most secure jail, Barwon Prison, near Geelong.

His accomplice, Lindsay Beckett, was sentenced to life in jail with a minimum of 35 years before he can be considered for parole.

One of the early theories after Prue disappeared was that her death was linked to the Russell St police bombings of 1986.

Her grandmother was a long-time partner of convicted armed robber Paul Hetzel, who turned Crown witness against four men accused of the bombing.

At one stage, police also examined whether a sexually twisted armed robber, who had spent time with the family, was responsible.

That man, known at one stage as Bank Enemy Number One, had sexually assaulted a relative of Prue's.

SOURCE: www.dailytelegraph.com.au

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