Perfect Victim
A chilling account of a bizarre and callous murder
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4.5 • 38 Ratings
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- $18.99
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- $18.99
Publisher Description
One night in March 1999, fifteen-year-old dance student Rachel Elizabeth Barber vanished. No one could have guessed that she had become another girl's 'perfect' victim. Happy. Beautiful. Talented. She had everything her killer could want.
Perceived by crime experts everywhere as one of the most bizarre homicides they had encountered, Perfect Victim recounts two stories: Rachel's mother Elizabeth Southall tells of her family's heart-rendering experience – how they lived through unimaginable tragedy, going to extraordinary lengths to prove their daughter wasn't a runaway. Criminal court reporter Megan Norris provides another side of the picture; the analysis, the astonishment of professionals when faced with the killer's weird and unsettling letters, and the police proceedings that led, eventually, to the Rachel Barber case being solved.
Confronting and compelling, this is an incredible story about a callous and calculated crime.
Also available from Foxtel Movies as 'In Her Skin' starring Guy Pearce, Miranda Otto and Sam Neill.
Customer Reviews
A Witnessing to Truth
Thank you Elizabeth and Megan.
This book shows the power of people witnessing to truth. We often think of witnessing as something which only happens in a court room. It was reading Elizabeth’s struggles to have a victim impact statement read publicly in court that highlighted to me the power that the media (including books) has to be a complementary presence to the courtroom when it comes to bearing public witness.
The balanced truth-seeking and -telling that are found in these pages is culturally and personally affirming and valuable. The central position of Rachel and her family, while honestly and compassionately trying to understand her murderer, give this book strength and authenticity.
On Fathers Day
I have just read On Fathers Day by Megan Norris. Amazing book. Highly recommend it.