Join the author in her four-year investigation into the life and death of Norma Rhys McLeod in 1920s Melbourne, Australia. Examine the case files, meet family members and modern-day experts, exploring themes of class, corruption, secrecy and abuse. Take a glimpse into the researcher’s personal journey and her growing connection to Norma. It’s a journey of hope, loss, remembrance and resilience … <br /><br />The case … On 9 September 1929, in the wealthy suburb of Toorak, 29 year old Norma McLeod was found unconscious on her bed. A pair of damp men’s underpants lay across her forehead. Dying at 5pm that day, an autopsy revealed a seven-inch crack in the back of her skull caused by blunt force trauma to the head. Despite huge press and public attention, an inquest returned an open verdict. The mystery remains unsolved. But that doesn’t mean we stop asking questions. Someone ‘out there’ may hold a valuable piece of the puzzle. Maybe that someone is you …
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Emma Curtin. Fractured Silence
Dedicated to ..
Prologue
Introduction. A promise of sensational developments
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Chapter One. Setting the scene: a tragic day’s events
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Chapter Two. Norma’s world: Toorak in the 1920s
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Chapter Three. A tragic accident?
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Chapter Four. Pathology and burglary
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Chapter Five. A destroying demon and a new theory
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Chapter Six. The inquest: disappointed hopes
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Chapter Seven. Refocusing the lens on Asmodeus
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Chapter Eight. Edith and Norma: out of the shadows
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Chapter Nine. A brother under suspicion
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Chapter Ten. Assumption of innocence: the other parent
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Chapter Eleven. Stones left unturned? Incompetence or collusion?
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Chapter Twelve. Reviewing the clues
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Chapter Thirteen. A fatal family drama?
____________________. Scenario 1: An over-protective mother?
____________________. Scenario 2: A controlling father’s tough love?
Epilogue. Life after Norma: what happened to the McLeods?
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Appendix One. Investigating the police investigators
Sources. Introduction
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Epilogue
Appendix One
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How did I get here? To be honest, I’m not sure. I had no plan, no steely ambition to sit down and write a book on true crime. I was happy in my own little world; a mother, a wife, a freelance editor and writer. Norma’s story evolved organically. It started as a brief glimpse at a newspaper headline –“Found on bed with garment over head. Extensive wounds”. It resulted in a four year journey, this book, plus a podcast and website called ‘Murder Archives’: (https://murderarchives.com.au).
Along the way, I’ve got to know Norma (the ‘victim’), met some fascinating people, made some new friends, learnt how to channel grief into project work, and discovered so much about myself (some good, some not).
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On examination, Dr Davis found that Norma’s breathing was now “stertorous” (noisy and laboured), she still had no corneal reflex, and there was marked bulging of her right eye, which was quite black. Davis said he could feel a pond fracture (a shallow, round, depressed fracture) over her eye.
Just after Dr Davis’ arrival, Norman McLeod apparently returned from the city. He said “When I opened the door – I opened it with my latch-key – my wife met me and said in a very dazed manner ‘Oh daddy, something dreadful has occurred to our dear Norma. When I came home this afternoon I found her on the bed unconscious’”. Edith took Norman’s hat and led him into Norma’s bedroom, where he saw Dr Davis. Also in the room was Norma’s cousin Trixie Williams, as well as Dr James Perrins Major. Trixie was 34 years old and a trained nurse, a graduate of the Melbourne Hospital. Dr Major, or Jimmy to his friends, was well known to the McLeods and the Williams families. He’d been present at the death of Trixie’s sister, Octavia ‘Poppy’ Williams, in 1927 and had signed the death certificate. He would, four years after Norma’s death, marry Trixie Williams. It was perhaps Trixie who’d called Jimmy on that dreadful September day, maybe to seek his expert opinion, as well as his comfort.
