Eric Edgar Cooke
Eric Edgar Cooke | |
|---|---|
| Born | 25 February 1931 Perth, Australia |
| Died | 26 October 1964 (aged 33) Fremantle Prison, Australia |
| Other names |
|
| Criminal status | Executed by hanging |
| Spouse | Sarah Lavin (m. 1953) |
| Children | 7 |
| Convictions | Wilful murder Arson (4 counts) Breaking and entering (7 counts) Theft (3 counts) |
| Criminal penalty | Death |
| Details | |
| Victims | 8 |
Span of crimes | 1959–1963 |
| Country | Australia |
| State | Western Australia |
Date apprehended | 1 September 1963 |
Eric Edgar Cooke (25 February 1931 – 26 October 1964), nicknamed the Night Caller and later the Nedlands Monster, was an Australian serial killer who terrorised the city of Perth, Western Australia, from September 1958 to August 1963. Cooke committed at least 20 violent crimes, eight of which resulted in deaths.
Following a four-year killing spree, Cooke was eventually arrested and made extensive admissions to his crimes, including two of which Darryl Beamish and John Button had been wrongfully convicted. In the Supreme Court of Western Australia the jury rejected an insanity defence and he was convicted of wilful murder. Cooke was sentenced to death and hanged at Fremantle Prison. He was the last person to be executed in Western Australia.