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Freaky Friday Files: The Mysterious Case of The Brownout Strangler (TW: Graphic Information)

Updated: Sep 22

Kia Ora friends! Happy Fri-yay! I haven't had a Freaky Friday post in a while, so I thought today would be kinda fitting. Also, exciting news - my blog is finally monetized wahoo! I feel very proud of myself for monetizing this space of mine and can't wait to share with you more interesting things, my travels, and more lifestyle guru tips! I'll also share ways to make passive income when I've learned a bit more about these non-traditional career vibes.


The start of 2024 has been super wild so far and I can't wait to show you my journey for this year and new things happening soon. But I just want to say, thank you to my readers, you mean a lot, thank you to the universe for looking after Luke and me, and thank you to anyone who supports us along the way. I've also added a "buy me a coffee" to my blog so if you want to support me that way you can also do so (it would be much appreciated and will go towards all the coffees Luke's bought me). Also, if you want a fabulous digital print of mine that you can do absolutely anything with - sell it off as an NFT, have a cool desktop or mobile wallpaper, or just to put into a digital frame for decor, you can buy one of my digital prints in my shop "here". Please DM if you would like a physical print and we can organise something. But the smallest acts will help my freelance journey for sure. I'm also thinking of adding some of my Canva Designs for purchase, so let me know if you'd like to see some of those on here in the comments below!


I'd also appreciate it if you subscribed to my YouTube channel "here" - I'd love to make that a success and plan to make regular videos in 2024 as that was one of my goals. I know it's not the best but I think I'm someone who works hard and is super dedicated. I'm also someone who continually works at improving herself and whatever she does. I know I'm awkward AF and not always the best on camera, but perfection takes practice and I think it's kinda cool to be authentic and a lil bit awks so ya know.






Anyway, now that we got that little bit of life update out of the way! Let's get into our Freaky Friday files. I think this would make a good YT video, but I also don't want to have to make a particular video for every single blog post I write + writing comes more naturally to me and I'm thinking of writing a book. I legit have no idea what about but it's an idea. Okie Okie I know, I've gone off on a tangent again. So for today's post, we're going to be exploring "The Brownout Strangler" - one of Melbourne's creepiest stories. Also, I want to put a trigger warning here because some of the information discussed can be quite graphic.


So let's begin, by introducing who this guy was (because the crime was solved - it wasn't an unsolved mystery - although that would be way creepier for sure). Eddie Leonski (1917 - 1942) was an American (US) army soldier AND serial k*ller whose most notable crimes were the murder of three women in Melbourne, Australia.


Quick side note, what's the definition of a serial killer? And why aren't they as prominent as they used to be? So, when I did my honours year at university, there was a small 10,000 research component to prepare you for going on to Masters and PhD level stuff and I wrote all about the reasons why New Zealand doesn't have serial k*llers so I feel like this is kind of an area of expertise for me for some sorts. Anyway, the definition of a serial k*ller is that they have to be someone who murders 3 or more victims, with the murders being far apart - often taking place for longer than a month, and there is something in common with each murder. For example, someone could target the same time of victim (often s*x workers) or using the same techniques each time someone is murdered (i.e., the same weapon). Remember that show on Netflix that was about serial k*llers and how the FBI didn't know what to term them until the 1970s? Mindhunter! That's the show. Unfortunately, it got cancelled but it was a good show and although not all of it is accurate, it does paint a pretty good picture of how they learned about serial k*llers and their motifs. It's also important to note here that usually serial k*llers are found a lot later in their career (not the right word but you get what I mean) and often they'll get bored and confess to their crimes really later in life. My own theory as to why we don't see these types of people in contemporary society is because, well, technology. There are so many more cameras and security about - it's a lot easier to track people's crimes and much faster to catch them - so there's not enough time to become a serial k*ller. I also think that there could be some out there still and we just haven't found them yet (because we find them later in their careers/life).


Anyway, back to Eddie Leonski. In the 1940s, it was wartime and that meant US soldiers were stationed in Australia and Eddie Leonski just happened to be one stationed in Melbourne at the time. There were 15,000 other troops alongside him. According to his colleagues, Eddie was a bit different and not all that meets the eye. All the pictures I can find of him are just him smiling like you would in a photo - it's only an eerie photo because I know what he did. Eddie's colleages referred to him as a "drunk", a "show-off", and often would partake in prolonged periods of violence. Eddie also had a strange obsession with women's voices. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to find any information on his upbringing but I did manage to find a little bit. I'm going to put these in bullet points b/c I don't want to spend too much time on them:

  • Eddie had a troubling upbringing. He was the 6th child of Russian-Jewish immigrants and his father was drunkenly abusive

  • Eddie grew up in New Jersey, USA

  • Eddie's mother would sing him to sleep and comfort him following the physical abuse and often scholars believe this is where his obsession with women's voices began

  • Other scholars say that Eddie saw women in two different lights (the Madonna or the wh*re)

  • Eddie was also a boxer, bodybuilder, and an alcoholic

  • Allegedly, Eddie had a violent record before arriving in Melbourne


The Crimes!


Ivy McLeod


Three months after Eddie had arrived in Melbourne, his first victim, Ivy Mcleod, was strangled to death. I also wish they had more information on the victims because when discussing true crime, it's so important to give them agency. Apparently, the streets of Melbourne at this time were very dimly lit at night, so this was a prime time for a serial k*ller to strike. Eddie targeted women on their way home. Ivy, who had just separated from her husband at the time had been to see some friends and was waiting for a tram in Albert Park at 2:30 am. Eddie had been in the pub, drinking. The pair crossed paths and ultimately, this led to Ivy's strangulation and death. She was left half-n*ked in front of a shop for bystanders to find the next day.


Pauline Thompson


A mere six days following the passing of Ivy, Eddie striked again. This time, Pauline Thompson was met with her fatal demise. Pauline Thompson was a singer from Bendigo and was visiting Melbourne to perform for army troops. May 9th, Pauline and Eddie met. They shared a few drinks together, some gin squashes (dw, I have no idea what that drink is either - a lemon squash with gin it it or a pub squash?) Or maybe it was just some gin and tonics. Either way, it wasn't going to lead to a good night for either party. Eddie dropped Pauline home and she may have gone in for a kiss (or just gotten too close to Eddie in general). Anyway, this led to Eddie wrapping his hands around her throat and strangling her. Pauline was left up against her front door, in the same way that Ivy was left in front of a shop window. I believe this crime made headlines at the time in Australia. I also have a feeling this may have led to a bit of a moral panic against Americans because some people had seen Pauline out drinking with a few US soldiers the night before her demise and this meant that the soldiers were being watched a lot more carefully.


Gladys Hosking


May 18th 1942. Gladys Hosking was the next target. She was 40 years of age. She was also strangled and her body, left in the same way as the others. I can't find a heap of information on Gladys, but I do know she was working home from her job at the Chemist Library at Melbourne University. There was also a witness to this crime who stated they saw Gladys be approached by a handsome American man asking for directions, out of breath and covered in mud (so I think anyone with an empathetic nature would have wanted to assist).


An Almost Crime


Eddie, now in the prime of his serial k*ller career, attempted to strike again. A woman was walking home, opened her front gate and Eddie tried to grab her. Fortunately, for this almost-victim, her uncle was waiting for her and scared Eddie off. Unfortunately, for Eddie, both this woman and her uncle saw his face.


Identification took place and all evidence lined up against Eddie. He was taken into custody and confessed to everything. He was intelligent enough to know that there was no way he could lie his way out of this one. It was May 22nd 1942 and even though there was tension between America and Australia, Australian was allowed to conduct trial. Eddie advised that the reason for his crimes were to do with the women's voices (meaning that he wanted to ch*ke their voices out of them and have them for himself). Disgusting.


Eddie couldn't plead insanity even though lawyers argued his family's history of mental illness. The jury declared him sane and Eddie was sentenced to execution. Eddie was h*nged on the 2nd of November 1942, outside Pentridge Prison. He was 24 years old. I wonder whether his ghost still haunts Pentridge - I've only been past there once but the revamp of it is pre cool.


Apparently, Eddie kept his cool and showed no signs of remorse leading up to his passing. He was dubbed "The Brownout-Strangler" due to Melbourne's wartime status of low lighting (because it was wartime and they wanted to keep the city with low lighting.


Writer Ian W. Shaw wrote a whole book on these murders titled "Murder at Dusk: How US soldier and smiling psychopath Eddie Leonski terrorised wartime Melbourne". There are also a bunch of YouTube videos you can watch on this true crime, but here's one that I think you will like without a lot of bias. Maybe I will do my own one day.



Thank you so much for reading! Let me know in the comments if what Freaky Friday Files you'd like to see in the future! And as always, let me know your thoughts on what Eddie's motivations were for his crime.


My heart goes out to the victim's families.

Much love,

Ash


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