Megan Louise Mulquiney was born on November 3, 1966, to Paul and Dorothy Mulquiney.
Megan’s parents were divorced, and she lived with her mother at 46 Hurley Street, Mawson, a suburb of Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT).
Megan, 17, was a student at Narrabundah College and worked part-time as a security officer at the Big W store in the Woden Plaza in nearby Phillip.
Her family has described her as “gentle, warm, loving, and a little bit shy” and a gifted student. Megan loved to go ice skating with her younger sister.
“She was such a good girl. She never did anything to upset you,” her mother, Dorothy, said. (Gannon, 2019)
Never could Dorothy imagine that one day, her daughter would leave their home and never return.
The Disappearance of Megan Louise Mulquiney
Megan arrived for work on Saturday, July 28, 1984, at 8:30 a.m. She left at 12:05 p.m. and was last seen ten minutes later, standing outside the western entrance of Woden Plaza, adjacent to Big W and the car park, as if waiting for a ride.
When Megan failed to return home, Dorothy reported her missing later that afternoon.
Searches & Investigation
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) extensively searched for Megan and interviewed family, friends, classmates, coworkers, and other associates of Megan’s. They also spoke with hotels and motels, public transport authorities, and taxi companies in the Canberra and Queanbeyan regions.
Investigators failed to find information regarding Megan’s whereabouts after 12:15 p.m. when she disappeared.
According to court documents, the AFP conducted numerous searches for Megan, “including in the areas surrounding Woden Cemetery, Hindmarsh Drive, Athlon Drive, Johnson drive, Isabella drive, and the Brindabella Ranges,” but never found her. (ACT Courts)
The following year, AFP divers combed Lake Burley Griffin and Lake Ginninderra but also failed to locate her remains.
While investigators did not find Megan or clues to her whereabouts, they believed someone had abducted and killed her. Their biggest frustration was that nobody had witnessed her abduction. Additionally, there were no CCTV cameras at Woden Plaza in 1984, or any other security footage useful to them.
Megan was a reliable person with many friends and a stable family life. She had no reason to run away. Additionally, she and her father were supposed to have dinner later that evening, and she was looking forward to it.
Investigators never gave up searching for Megan or investigating her disappearance. However, decades later, there were still no answers.
2011 Coroner Inquest
Nearly 30 years after Megan vanished, Coroner Peter Dingwall held a coroner inquest into her disappearance on May 3, 2011, in the Coroners Court at Canberra in the ACT. Several things were revealed at the hearing.
Dingwall announced two persons of interest identified by police investigators. One was known to Megan, and the other was a serial rapist.
Phillip T (referred to as “Mr. T.” in court)
Mr T. was born in 1966 as Megan and was a full-time student at Narrabundah College, where Megan attended. He had a massive crush on her and unsuccessfully tried many times to establish a relationship with her, but Megan always declined.
Police interviewed him on July 30, 1984, two days after Megan vanished. Mr. T. stated that he had intended to take Megan for lunch when her shift ended at Big W, but he could not find her, so he left.
Investigators spoke to him several times afterward, and his story remained the same. It was corroborated by several people he knew and was with on July 28.
Twenty years later, in 1984, the Victoria Police contacted the AFP with information they had received from the Irish Police, or An Garda Síochána. The Garda had received a complaint from a woman named Niamh Large, an Irish National, who arrived in Victoria to study with the “King Pandji Sakt Sangha Vajrayana Buddhist Society International” based in Melbourne and was tutored by Prince Ratu.
Niamh said that during her student days with the Buddhist Society, Prince Ratu spoke about a male, later identified as Mr. T., who had “huge karma to pay” and who was prepared to sacrifice his life because he had murdered someone when he was younger. The man said he had purchased a baseball bat and hit the victim with it, killing her. He then had sexual intercourse with the body. Mr. T. allegedly hid the corpse under a bed and later disposed of it in a dumpster.
On August 10, 2004, Victoria Police interviewed Mr. T, who denied killing anyone, including Megan. He later stated that the allegations made may have been “a reference to the guilt he had felt as a result of Megan’s disappearance” because he failed to meet her on the day she vanished.
Sure, buddy.
Through their investigation, investigators said they did not believe Mr. T. had any involvement in Megan’s disappearance. However, Coroner Dingwall said that Mr. T. remained a person of interest.
Paul Vincent Phillips
Paul Vincent Phillips was born on November 29, 1960. He was a serial rapist who abducted and sexually assaulted several young women in the Canberra area between August 1983 and April 1998.
One of his victims was the same age as Megan ( referred to as “Ms. D.” in court). On September 21, 1984, he abducted Ms. D. after forcibly entering her vehicle in the western car park at Woden Plaza, close to where Megan was last seen two months before. Phillips raped the girl and threatened her with a knife, telling her he would leave her at Uriarra Pine Forest. However, he changed his mind and drove her back to Lyons.
The young girl reported the incident to the police, who arrested Phillips the next day at the Cotter Camping Reserve. Phillips had Ms. D’s car.
He pleaded guilty to abduction, assault, rape, and robbery in March 1985 and subsequently served seven years in prison with a non-parole period of four years.
Phillips was later convicted of other assaults.
While Dingwall said in 2011 that no evidence linked Phillips to Megan’s disappearance, he named Phillips a person of interest. He based his decision on several factors, including the similarities between Megan’s disappearance and the abductions and sexual assaults of Phillips’ victims, particularly Ms. D’s.
Phillips’ victims were always alone, similar in appearance to one another, and three of the attacks occurred in a car park. Furthermore, the attacks coincided with periods of downturn in Phillips’ life. For example, his employer fired him one day before Megan vanished.
Dr. Michael Diamond, a specialist psychiatrist who consulted with prison inmates, particularly sex offenders, examined Phillips.
Dr. Diamond wrote in his opinion:
“… there is a robust body of material that supports the view that the signature offending pattern of PVP together with the timing of the disappearance of Megan Mulquiney from that location provides circumstantial evidence to say there is a strong likelihood that PVP is involved in her disappearance.” (ACT Courts)
Police had several exhibits forensically examined on March 6, 2007, including some of Megan’s personal property and property seized from Phillips in 1984. However, no DNA profile similar to Megan’s was detected on any confiscated items.
In 2007, police searched again for Megan’s remains in an area adjacent to the Woods Reserve in Tharwa after receiving anonymous tips that Phillips had disposed of her remains and her belongings there. However, they found nothing.
CORONER RULING
At the inquest, Coroner Dingwall determined the following:
- Megan died on or shortly after July 28, 1984;
- The place of her death is unknown, and
- The manner and cause of her death is unknown.
In July 2023, police said they were unable to link Phillips to Megan’s abduction and murder and ruled him out as a suspect. He died in 2018 but always maintained his innocence in Megan’s disappearance.
Police Sought Help After Name Appeared in Magazine
ACT police said they were trying to locate the person who wrote “Inge Quitt” under a photo of Megan in the Australian Women’s Weekly September 2018 edition that was left at Clare Holland House, an inpatient palliative care unit in the Canberra area, in January 2019. The person also underlined parts of a story the magazine covered on Megan.
“Investigators said they did not believe Inge Quitt, a seamstress and former Queanbeyan resident, wrote her name or was in any way involved in Megan’s disappearance. However, they wanted to speak to the person who wrote the notes to understand whether there was any significance in the writing.” (Pianegonda and Burnside, 2019)
Aftermath
Megan’s parents have never given up the hope that they will learn what happened to their missing daughter on that July afternoon nearly 41 years ago.
Dorothy never believed Phillips had abducted her daughter. She always felt Megan knew her abductor and willingly entered that person’s car. Dorothy spent years looking for her daughter’s face in crowds but eventually stopped doing it.
“It doesn’t work for you, so I don’t do that anymore,” she said. (Pryor, 2023)
The AFP continues investigating Megan’s disappearance. Anyone who resides in Australia and may have information on this case can contact ACT Policing or call Crime Stoppers at 1800 333 000.
Sources
Pianegonda, Elise and Niki Burnside. “Megan Mulquiney Magazine Article Featuring Scribbled Notes Sparks Fresh Interest in Canberra Cold Case.” Australian Broadcasting Company. January 17, 2019. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-01-17/megan-mulquiney-canberra-cold-case-obscure-note-sparks-appeal/10722516
Pryor, Sally. “Megan Mulquiney Disappearance: Police Unable to Link Serial Rapist Paul Vincent Phillips to Case.” Canberra Times. July 29, 2023.
Gannon, Genevieve. “Mysterious note scribbled in The Weekly provides massive clue in missing person case.” The Australian Women’s Weekly. January 17, 2019. https://www.womensweekly.com.au/news/real-life/megan-mulquiney-case-womens-weekly-53601/