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Allen & Unwin, July 2006
Reviewed by Sally Roddom
True Crime
In this non-fiction novel Paula Doneman tells the story of Leonard Fraser,
and asks whether he is Australia’s worst serial killer.
Nine-year-old Keyra Steinhardt was bashed, raped and murdered in broad
daylight as she walked home from her school in Rockhampton, Australia.
Leonard Fraser was arrested for her murder and is now serving four
indefinite life sentences for this crime and others, in a violent criminal
history that goes back thirty years. He is deemed unable to be
rehabilitated.
THINGS A KILLER WOULD KNOW by journalist Paula Doneman covers Fraser’s
life story, concentrating on the Keyra Steinhardt murder, the crime that
finally brings him down. He is a very unpleasant man. People who have
dealt with him are reluctant to talk about him. It took Doneman five years
to even get one of Fraser’s family members to talk about him, and then
they had to be anonymous. What is it about Fraser that causes so much
fear? His criminal record began in 1966 with a stealing charge, and
quickly escalated to assaults, aggravated assaults, rape and, finally,
three counts of murder and one of manslaughter. As a child Fraser was
aggressive, uncontrollable and a pathological liar. He was generally
mistrusted by the communities he lived in, and he moved around a lot. This
background information is brought out by Doneman in a well-written, easy
to read and fascinating true story.
Aug 2006 review originally published on Murder & Mayhem
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