John Cribb
Encyclopedia
John Ernest Cribb is an Australia
n triple murderer from Sydney, New South Wales, currently serving three consecutive sentences of life imprisonment
plus 45 years for the rape
and murder
of Valda Connell and the murder of her children Sally and Damien and numerous other offences at Swansea
on 11 August 1978.
In August 1978, Cribb was on parole after having served six years of a nine-year sentence for armed robbery. He broke into the Connells' Baulkham Hills home and when he came out at about 3pm, Valda Connell, 39, had just come home in her car with two of her six children, Sally, 10, and Damien, 4. Cribb kidnapped them and drove north. He later rang Valda's husband, Paul, from a phonebox and said he had been having an affair with Valda, who had now run away with him to Queensland. Police originally believed Cribb's story, despite its implausibility; the Connells were a strong church-going family, and said the rosary every night.
They heard nothing until they were on their way to church on Sunday morning; Paul Connell and his other children learned the bodies of Valda, Sally and Damien had been found in a car boot near Swansea. Cribb had raped Valda and then killed her children and her with a knife, later being arrested after a ten-hour siege.
After his arrest, Cribb was placed in a ward for the criminally insane at Morisset Hospital, from where he escaped with convicted armed robber William Munday, who was serving a 28 year sentence. Before they were recaptured, they had committed a string of armed robberies, and had kidnapped two 17-year-old schoolgirls from outside the Hakoah Club in Bondi, taken them to a hotel, and held them hostage, repeatedly sexually assaulting them over a 35 hour period; Cribb later sent the girls Christmas cards from prison.
Cribb applied for a non-parole period to be set in 1993. The application was heard by Justice Peter Newman. Cribb had become a Christian in 1982, and several psychiatrists and psychologists reported he was a reformed character, as did a number of Christian ministers, prison visitors (Cribb married one of his visitors, who was now gravely ill) and prison officers. One Christian minister said Cribb would work with him if he got out of jail.
However, a letter Cribb had written to the court came to light, claiming he had not raped Valda at all, and that the murders had been "instigated" by her refusal to admit Sally was his daughter. Justice Newman found these claims to be "grotesque lies" that contradicted the claim Cribb had reformed, and represented "an attempt to manipulate a situation where the prisoner might obtain his release" and a "lack of contrition". They indicated that "well-meaning persons from the community who have supported his application have probably been duped by the applicant's claims of reformation", and Newman dismissed the application.
Cribb withdrew a second application for a non-parole period to be set in 2008, and it is expected that Cribb will die in custody.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n triple murderer from Sydney, New South Wales, currently serving three consecutive sentences of life imprisonment
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
plus 45 years for the rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
and murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
of Valda Connell and the murder of her children Sally and Damien and numerous other offences at Swansea
Swansea, New South Wales
Swansea is a locality and commercial centre at the entrance to Lake Macquarie from the Pacific Ocean in New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the City of Lake Macquarie local government area....
on 11 August 1978.
In August 1978, Cribb was on parole after having served six years of a nine-year sentence for armed robbery. He broke into the Connells' Baulkham Hills home and when he came out at about 3pm, Valda Connell, 39, had just come home in her car with two of her six children, Sally, 10, and Damien, 4. Cribb kidnapped them and drove north. He later rang Valda's husband, Paul, from a phonebox and said he had been having an affair with Valda, who had now run away with him to Queensland. Police originally believed Cribb's story, despite its implausibility; the Connells were a strong church-going family, and said the rosary every night.
They heard nothing until they were on their way to church on Sunday morning; Paul Connell and his other children learned the bodies of Valda, Sally and Damien had been found in a car boot near Swansea. Cribb had raped Valda and then killed her children and her with a knife, later being arrested after a ten-hour siege.
After his arrest, Cribb was placed in a ward for the criminally insane at Morisset Hospital, from where he escaped with convicted armed robber William Munday, who was serving a 28 year sentence. Before they were recaptured, they had committed a string of armed robberies, and had kidnapped two 17-year-old schoolgirls from outside the Hakoah Club in Bondi, taken them to a hotel, and held them hostage, repeatedly sexually assaulting them over a 35 hour period; Cribb later sent the girls Christmas cards from prison.
Cribb applied for a non-parole period to be set in 1993. The application was heard by Justice Peter Newman. Cribb had become a Christian in 1982, and several psychiatrists and psychologists reported he was a reformed character, as did a number of Christian ministers, prison visitors (Cribb married one of his visitors, who was now gravely ill) and prison officers. One Christian minister said Cribb would work with him if he got out of jail.
However, a letter Cribb had written to the court came to light, claiming he had not raped Valda at all, and that the murders had been "instigated" by her refusal to admit Sally was his daughter. Justice Newman found these claims to be "grotesque lies" that contradicted the claim Cribb had reformed, and represented "an attempt to manipulate a situation where the prisoner might obtain his release" and a "lack of contrition". They indicated that "well-meaning persons from the community who have supported his application have probably been duped by the applicant's claims of reformation", and Newman dismissed the application.
Cribb withdrew a second application for a non-parole period to be set in 2008, and it is expected that Cribb will die in custody.