Murder of Chrissie Venn
| Chrissie Venn | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Chrissie Clare Venn 25 July 1907 |
| Died | c. 20 February 1921 (aged 13) North Motton (or Mutton) near Ulverstone, Tasmania, Australia |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Known for | Murder victim |
Chrissie Clare Venn (25 July 1907 – c. 20 February 1921) was a 13-year-old Australian girl whose unsolved murder outside the village of North Motton (or Mutton) near Ulverstone, Tasmania, Australia was a sensation of the day.
Venn was the daughter of George Arthur and Eva May (née Chilcott) Venn. At approximately 5 p.m. on 20 February 1921, Venn left the family home on Allison Road to run some errands in the village of North Motton—a distance of approximately three miles—and never returned home. A search was mounted but it was not until the morning of 1 March that Venn's mutilated body was found in a hollow tree stump located close to the road where Venn would have travelled as she walked to North Motton.
Another source gives differing details: The murder purportedly occurred on 26 February 1921. The body was not mutilated and Venn had been either been suffocated or strangled. George William King was tried for the crime in a trial that commenced 2 August 1921. The trial had been moved from the North West Coast of Tasmania to Hobart, the first change of venue ever requested and approved for a trial in Tasmania. George William King was defended by Albert Ogilvie, who went on to become Premier of Tasmania. King was acquitted of the murder.
King had been a member of the search party. He became a suspect in Venn's murder due to marks on his hands that he ascribed to an accident during the search for Venn. King, a 35-year-old former miner and policeman, was arrested on 8 March and charged with her murder. King's trial started in Hobart during June and on 11 August he was acquitted.
Venn was interred at the North Motton Methodist Cemetery. Her ghost is claimed to haunt the area of her murder.
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