William "The Mutilator" Macdonald

A Jealous Lover?

There was no way that William MacDonald wouldn't read about this murder in the paper. The following day it was all over the front pages of the evening press. They called it the work of a maniac. They dubbed the maniac "the Mutilator."

William MacDonald

The press weren't allowed to print the full extent of Alfred Greenfield's injuries, but the rumors spread like wildfire. The press did say that he had been violently stabbed at least thirty times and certain parts of his anatomy were found in the harbor by police divers who were searching for the murder weapon.

However, the police were at a loss to come up with the slightest motive why anyone would want to murder a harmless vagrant, let alone cut off his genitals and throw them in the harbor.

Initially police believed that they would have the case solved in no time. The mutilation suggested that it could be a murder of passion, perhaps inspired by jealousy, and it seemed likely that if any man could do that to another man in a fit of jealous rage, then it would only be a matter of time before the woman involved came forward in fear of her own life.

But no such woman came forward and although police conducted an extensive investigation, they found nothing. The New South Wales Government offered a reward of £1,000 ($2000) for information leading to the arrest of the elusive killer.

And, as is the Australian way, it didn't take long for the sick jokes about the mysterious Mutilator to emerge; "They caught the Mutilator at the airport yesterday. He was looking for Ansett's (a local airline) hangars (hangers)", and "To find that bloke's body parts in the harbour they had to send down four (fore) skin divers" were just a couple of the many that kept Sydney amused.