In 1974, Rodney Cameron "lost it" and embarked on a crime spree murdering first a woman with whom he had previously worked, then a motorist who'd given him a lift, assuming his identity and stealing his car.
Cameron was a former small time criminal who had married and apparently turned over a new leaf, but his life had disintegrated in short order. He had raped his first victim, and robbed her, leaving what one commentator took – probably correctly – to be deliberate clues in his wake.
His second victim, Francesco Ciliberto, had been killed with similar callousness and also apparently on a whim. Cameron may have committed a double murder shortly, but his intended victim and her daughter managed to break away from him.
Convicted of the murder of Florence Jackson, he was sentenced to life imprisonment and released after ten years, a remarkably short time, but he was not to taste one day of freedom, being tried for and convicted of the second murder. He was not tried for the third crime, the abduction of a mother and her young daughter.
In spite of his being a double murderer, some daffy woman married him, not the usual death row groupie type, but someone he had known for a long time. For some bizarre reason, Cameron was released in 1990 after a further 6 years. Then he decided to go hunting for further victims, this time through a late night lonely hearts radio programme.
His next victim was beaten savagely and strangled in the same manner as the first, although not raped. Contacting his wife, he arranged to give himself up to the police.
Cameron pleaded not guilty to this shocking murder, but his two previous murders were introduced as similar fact evidence due to their striking similarity. He was duly convicted, and was later changed with the murder of an elderly Sydney widow from 1974, although this charge would be dropped.
He has though continued to bait the police from his prison cell. The consensus appears to be that as long as he remains there, that is his prerogative.
This documentary includes interviews with the men who helped put him behind bars, and some fairly graphic reconstructions.