Anonymous Host
π€ SpeakerAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
Bart would later say that he had also been forced to kill another little boy named Andrew.
The adults and other children had looked on as Bart used a knife to stab Andrew, who'd been placed inside a coffin.
No trace of Andrew was ever found.
More complainants named Gay and Marie as perpetrators and said they'd seen them at the Masonic Lodge where there were trap doors, underground tunnels, and cameras.
Another staff member named Debbie Gillespie was also accused.
The naming of the female crèche workers didn't come as a surprise to police.
There had been suspicions about some of the women who worked at the creche from early in the investigation, but these were initially dismissed after the women presented well in interviews.
However, a recent report had caused detectives to rethink things.
After the allegations against Peter Ellis were first made, Christchurch City Council had commissioned a review of management practices at the creche.
The review would be undertaken by Rosemary Smart, a registered psychologist who'd trained in education and social work and was assigned as an independent outsider.
Smart's role wasn't to determine whether there had been any abuse.
Instead, she was looking at the Kreischer's management and policies.
The council hoped the report would restore the Kreischer's excellent reputation.
Smart first met with Kreisch staff in March of 1992 and spent time observing them at work on a number of occasions.
She interviewed each of them one-on-one and was given access to statements they'd provided to the police.
She never met with Peter Ellis or observed him working with children.
By the end of August 1992, Smart was ready to deliver her completed report.
Although Peter Ellis was yet to stand trial, the report spoke of the abuse and his guilt as though both had been confirmed.
It also contained detailed accounts of his deviant lifestyle, which she had allegedly been told about by his colleagues.
Smart was also critical of the creche's female childcare workers, writing, On the one hand, all but one staff member was struggling to believe Ellis had abused anyone and frankly could not accept such abuse could have happened at the creche.