HORRIBLE MAN: Sinister Secrets and Truths Untold:
The Portland Hair Salon Murders

by Leonie Wallace

It is one of Australia’s worst unsolved crimes. The seaside regional centre of Portland in Victoria’s South West unwittingly played host to a disturbing double homicide.

On a Friday afternoon as the wind-down to the weekend begins, two women are held hostage in a hairdressing salon, known as the Old London Coiffure. Inside the historic bluestone corner building, overlooking a busy T-junction, a callous killer is holding two middle-aged grandmothers captive.

Hairdresser Claire Acocks (49) and her client, Margaret Penny (58) scream and fight for their lives. The walls and floor are sprayed and soaked with the victims’ blood, their bodies battered and bruised from repeated stab wounds and rough handling. Their throats cut.

Two unlikely victims and an unlikely crime scene at an unlikely time of day. No motive, no weapon found, no known offender; but, someone, somewhere, knows the truth. It is a long time to keep such a shocking secret – it has now been more than 20 years.

Former journalist Leonie Wallace overcomes her own fears to examine in depth this heinous crime, tracing the lives of those closely connected, including members of the victims’ families, witnesses and suspects, to present some important and revelatory evidence. Read More

About the Author
Leonie Wallace is a former newspaper and television journalist who teaches English to secondary school teenagers. In 1991, while a cadet reporter in Geelong, she heard about the baffling murder of two women in Portland. When it remained unsolved, the mystery inspired her decision to one day research the case for the purposes of writing a book. That time came in late 2008 while juggling the demands of parenting her two pre-school children. Little did she know then the dramatic effect it would have on her life, those around her, the Portland community at large, and the actual police investigation.

“… a fox terrier can bring down a Great Dane if it bites him on the balls!” – Supportive husband.

Publicity / Media opportunities

Author is available for media interviews in the first 2 weeks of March. Please contact us for further information.