A new podcast shines fresh light on the brutal 2001 murder of 23-year-old Rachelle Childs – and now the prime suspect has unexpectedly died in Thailand
More than two decades after the shocking disappearance and murder of 23-year-old Rachelle Childs, a new investigative podcast has given her grieving family renewed hope.
Rachelle’s partially burned body was discovered near Crooked River Road, just south of Gerroa, Australia, in June 2001, with her case remaining unsolved after the investigation went cold. Now, the Dear Rachelle podcast – downloaded over four million times – has uncovered fresh evidence that has focused suspicion on Rachelle’s former employer, Kevin Steven Correll.
Rachelle was last seen leaving work at Camden Holden car dealership just after 5pm on June 7, 2001. But less than 12 hours later, her body was discovered by security guard Craig Duck at 2.30am the following day.
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He saw a fire burning in scrubland just off Crooked River Road, leading to the sleepy coastal town of Gerroa, south of Sydney, Australia.
After stopping his car to investigate, he was horrified to discover a bracelet attached to someone’s hand. The grisly discovery was the partially burned body of Rachelle Childs.
A forensic examination of Rachelle’s car proved inconclusive, and the investigation itself was later criticised for failing to attain vital evidence within the first 48 hours.
Meanwhile, colleagues claimed Correll was “infatuated” with Rachelle, often “favouring” her in the workplace. Correll had already been accused of four cases of sexual assault in the 1980s, under his birth name Cornwall, for which he had been acquitted.
He strenuously denied any involvement in Rachelle’s murder, voluntarily providing police with DNA at the time and an alibi. His rental flat was raided, but nothing was found linking him to the crime.
However, his phone records showed some inconsistencies in his statement. His phone connected to a phone tower in Picton, 22km south and closer to Bargo, where Rachelle lived – despite telling investigators he was shopping in the Campbelltown Mall in Sydney.
The podcast goes on to detail that in the days after Rachelle’s murder, Correll appeared to be circulating a vicious rumour.
“Despite Kevin failing to assist the family in their search for Rachelle when she was missing, he was quick to tell people, as soon as the Monday following her death, that she was killed by ‘bikies’ over a drug debt,” Ashlea tells The Sun.
Rachelle’s body was found with fingers missing, which is calling-card practice of some motorcycle gangs involved in criminal activity.
But the members of the local Rebels motorcycle gang had been ruled out as suspects after providing alibis and their DNA to police.
After the original police investigation failed to identify a chief suspect, the state coroner decided there should be an inquest, which began in November 2006 and included an order to exhume Rachelle’s body for a second autopsy.
This could determine whether the cause of Rachelle’s detached fingers was down to the intense heat of the fire or because they had been intentionally severed.
Correll took the stand during the inquest, where he was cooperative, until pressed on information about the biker rumour. The inquest was inconclusive.
Rachelle’s family believe Correll lured Rachelle to her death with the promise of a new car. Ashlea said the new owner of his old flat also discovered newspaper clippings detailing Rachelle’s death hidden under the carpet.
“When they were pulling up the carpet, they found newspaper clippings about Rachelle’s murder, which not only led us to question why he had kept them but also why he had gone to such lengths to hide them.”
In March 2025, Ashlea decided it was time to approach Correll, who had since moved to the New South Wales coast and was working at a sports club.
But according to the podcast host, Correll “stormed back to his car” after being approached.
On Friday, July 18, at 10am local time in Phuket, Thailand, the body of Kevin Steven Correll was discovered inside his hotel room, after he had been visiting the city’s red-light district.
When Thai police realised he was a person of interest in a murder investigation in Australia, they expedited his autopsy and found that he had died of a cardiac arrest.
“The truth could still come out, and Rachelle’s loved ones deserve that,” podcast host Ashlea said.
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