Child killer Dante Arthurs stalked up to 12 girls

CHILD killer Dante Arthurs was stalking up to a dozen girls shortly before he murdered eight-year-old Sofia Rodriguez-Urrutia Shu in Canning Vale last year.

Only now can it be revealed that just days after Sophia's murder on June 26, 2006, The Sunday Times interviewed the parents of sisters - then aged 11 and 13 - whose names were on a hit list compiled by Arthurs.

Two days after the then 21-year-old Arthur's arrest on June 27, police visited a Huntingdale family with the chilling news that their daughters' names and other details were on the list.

The police visit led to the frightening revelation that Arthurs had already phoned the girls' grand-uncle, asking if he knew where the girls lived.

"The police showed us a bit of paper with all the addresses on and everything,'' the girls' mother, who wished to remain anonymous, said.

"He (Arthurs) had both of our girls' names, (their) uncles and cousins' names, phone numbers and addresses where he'd tried hunting them down.

"My husband went around to his uncle's house and saw him and he told him he'd had a call for the girls there. The uncle had spoken to (Arthurs), but had no idea (who he was).

"He got pretty close. We're in Huntingdale and they're in Gosnells _ one suburb away.

"It's bad enough trying to take one child away from any family: what were his plans _ trying to take two away from one family? That's just sick.''

During Arthurs' sentencing on Wednesday, prosecutor Sam Vandongen told the WA Supreme Court police had found photographs and details of potential child victims during a raid on his home.

"There was a bag with documents containing photographs and details of a number of young girls and female clothing in small sizes,'' Mr Vandongen said.

Arthurs had collected ages, addresses and directions to their homes. The bag also contained gloves, handcuffs, packing tape, a rope and a small knife.

Judge John McKechnie sentenced Arthurs to life in prison with a minimum of 13 years.

But it also emerged during sentencing that he had been let off another child sex assault in 2003 by a bungled police investigation.

On Thursday, Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan admitted police "may have blood on their hands'' after Arthurs went on to kill Sofia.

"If the cops had done their job properly, that little girl would probably still be alive,'' the Huntingdale mother said of Arthurs' first arrest.

"A friend of ours, her friend's daughter, was also on the list _ that's three girls we know of.

"It's taken all this time for them to let the public know about these other girls' names.

"They showed us a pile of girls' names. We saw photos.

"They were all under 15 and each girl had their own file.

"He had all the girls' details. Some were in his own handwriting.''

The mother said both her daughters had been models, so she suspected that was how Arthurs had found them.

"They've both done modelling and their photos were plastered everywhere,'' she said.

"They won't even do any of that now _ they won't do anything. They don't go out hardly any more and if they do, they go out with a big group.

"Just three weeks ago, my youngest burst into tears on her way to school and wouldn't go. She goes, `I can't walk to school, I'm scared _ it feels like someone's watching me'.

"They're petrified. They're still doing it really hard. In the past few months they've even dreamed of him.

"My oldest ... saw (Arthurs) on the news the other night and goes, `I don't want to know about it _ leave me alone!', and shut herself in her room, bawled her eyes out and didn't talk to anyone all night.''

Though both girls received psychological counselling after being told they were targets, they still suffer nightmares 18 months on.

The mother said it had torn the family apart. ``When the police spoke to my (eldest) daughter she just cracked. She lost it. She broke down and cried,'' she said.

The father said: ``It felt like someone had ripped my heart straight out of me.

"When they showed me those names on that piece of paper I couldn't talk to them _ every time I spoke, I cried. My daughters could have been raped or killed.''


as posted on PerthNow