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Ethan McLellan, aged thirty-five years old, was a father of two girls, Mila (aged six) and Layla (aged nine), and a husband to Tegan (Garcia). Ethan stood approximately one metre, eighty, and weighed approximately one-hundred and ten kilograms. According to his medical records, Ethan was suffering from anxiety and hypertension, which the doctors attributed to his weight.

Tegan: My husba-… Ethan, had borrowed a lot of money from the bank. He wasn’t into drugs or gambling, just couldn’t manage the money and life he knew growing up. You know, born with wealth. Without a job, we struggled to make payments, and were borrowing to keep afloat… But it was catching up on us.

On January 17th 2009, Ethan's parents, Lincoln and Weronika McLellan went on a holiday to celebrate their fiftieth anniversary. They had asked their son, as always, to check up on the house while they were away. The couple have been reported by family and friends to leave home for a tour annually.

January 21st 2009, Ethan took his children to his in-laws on the way to check up on his parent’s estate. Neighbours Martin and Suzan, staying in the houses across the road from the estate, mention seeing Ethan that day.

Martin (neighbour across the street): He came about lunch time, maybe one or one-thirty? Parked his car on the curb and walked around the house.

Suzan (next-door neighbour): I had seen his photograph on the walls when visiting Colin and Nika. I didn’t think to say hello as I had just come back from another appointment with my doctor.

January 25th 2009, Ethan had returned to the estate to check on the house again. The neighbours reported seeing someone else with him this time.

Suzan: When he came the second time it was early in the morning. Maybe six-thirty or seven. Same car. He came alone. But this time, when I saw him check the house. Don was there.

Yvie (neighbour down the street): Don was… Interesting character.

Interviewer: Interesting how?

Yvie: He came off like, something, very wrong with him. We all knew he had past; criminal.

Rico (Suzan’s partner): I was just leaving for my morning session with a few of my friends from church. I saw Don approach the son, Ethan, but I didn’t intervene.

Interviewer: What did you say when you approached Ethan?

Don: Just spoke to him about his parents. I didn’t know he was their son so I wanted to make sure he wasn’t a thief.

Ethan was reported to come and check on the house every three to five days, non-routinely. He would only stay for a few hours at a time. It wasn’t until the 19th February 2009 that the neighbors reported not seeing him for over a week.

Rico: The last time I saw his car was the 11th. I remember the car was there for much longer, perhaps overnight. But by the morning it was gone.

Martin: I did not call the police because I didn’t know what the situation was. He could have been fine for all I knew.

Yvie: I did not know he was planning to check the house for the entire time. Maybe a package came that he was waiting for? And left.

Three weeks later, on the 11th of March 2009, having not heard from her husband for over a month, Tegan had called the police once again to report the missing person. The police responded to the enquiry, visiting the home of the parents where Ethan was last reported location.

Officer Crosby: My partner, Officer Hardin, and I arrived at the estate at twelve forty-five. We canvassed the area and found no signs of forced entry. No sign of activity in or outside the home.

Officer Hardin: When my partner and I approached the front door and knocked several times. We called the landline, registered with the estate, but all attempts were unanswered.

Officer Crosby: We went knocking on the neighbors doors to ask what they had seen, and they informed us that the car did arrive for a night and was gone by dawn.

March 15th 2009, the court issued a warrant for the officers to enter the premises. The owners, Lincoln and Weronika McLallen, had been inaccessible to Tegan, the neighbours and the officers. Forensics confirmed that there was no tampering of the door locks, and no signs of struggle or distress.

Every door had been closed, locked from the outside. Doing their due diligence, the police began to dust the doorknobs and furniture. As the forensic team took over, they began to search for and bag samples that may contain DNA. The entire estate had been quarantined, with any suspicious characters loitering detained for questioning.

There were surveillance cameras set up but none that were recording. There was nothing to indicate what had happened within the house. Nothing was stolen, damaged or left behind. All that the police had to work with was the body found in the basement.

The door to the basement was under the flight of stairs. Descending a few steps, the body could be seen, surrounded in a dark red fluid. The police discovered the body, splayed on the floor and non-responsive.

When there was no life confirmed, forensics examined the body. They found grass on the boots of the victim, three stab wounds (one to the right kidney, one to the liver, and one in the chest beneath the clavicle which punctured the aorta), two lacerations (one defensive wound on the left forearm close to the elbow, the other was on the right, closer to the wrist). Most importantly, all finger tips had been seared, ears were removed and the face was completely shattered.

There were no forms of identification. Fingerprints were gone. Teeth had been pulled from the jaw. The skull was fractures and the face was skinned.

The cellar was much colder than the rest of the house, slowing decomposition. However, the body was actively decaying.

Evidence given from the coroner and forensic team were inconclusive. There was nothing to indicate who the killer was. Fingernails were clear except from burnt flesh. Wounds were infected. Any insects found were examined but produced no new information.

Ballistic remodeling of the knife was made, revealing it was a cold-forged steel knife used in certain S.W.A.T teams and military. The knife matched the one owned by Ethan; however, the knife was never found throughout the intensive investigations.

Except for the minor traces of medications for hypertension, anxiety and some anti-depressants, there were no abnormalities in his toxicology.

There were a number of tattoos used to identify the body that were identical to the ones owned by Ethan. These tattoos included the names of his children, dog-tag numbers of his fallen brethren, and a tattoo of a left hand on his right shoulder.

Witnesses reported seeing a figure loitering around the house a few nights prior to the 11th of February. The figure was large framed male, over six foot. The same figure was reported to be seen, on the 12th of February, leaving the premises.

Martin: I saw the figure first, but thought nothing of it.

Interviewer: You saw a man loitering at night and thought you were safe?

Martin: I was safe in my home. The son was always checking the area, like he was security.

Don: I saw two figures around the area that night. I went to check when the sun came out, but there was no one there by that time.

Investigations of the property revealed three distinct shoes prints. One belonging to Don, one belonging those found on the body, and a third that matches Ethan’s size but could not be traced to anyone else. It is believed that this third person may have been the one to take Ethan’s car. A BOLO (be on the look out) was put out for the black, 2006 sedan. The car has never shown up since.

With little to go one, the suspect list was short.

Suspect #1: The Father

Despite that the father was nowhere to be found, and his passport even recorded leaving the country, his physical description matches that reported by the neighbours wandering around the house that night. It is reported that Ethan owed a lot of money. Last year he was between jobs, working the odd cash-in-hand job to keep things afloat or borrowing money from his parents.

William: I’ve known Lincoln for nearly fifty years. He’s never been the type of man to go against the law, but he has, on occasion, looked the other way, especially for those close to him. And like any man from that era, he had nonproblem smacking his son around if it needed to be done.

However, the money borrowed was not substantial, nor did it put the parents in dire need for financial aid. Don’s statement declaring that he saw Lincoln there that night was later recanted along with other witnesses saying they saw two people that night.

So, the question is now: was there really two people there that night?

Suspect #2: The Boyfriend

During investigations, Tegan had been having an affair for several months. The boyfriend (Teo Sheppard) was interrogated but his alibi involved motel CCTV footage with Tegan McLallen. Neither the boyfriend, nor Tegan, have expressed interest in their relationship extending beyond physical. Moreso, the boyfriend stood closer to six feet three and weighed approximately eighty kilograms; not matching the size of the described figure.

Sheppard: I did not even know what the man looked like. I never came to the house. We always met outside whenever her parent’s could look after the kids.

Billy (owner of the Motel): This couple came together maybe three times over the last six months. They didn’t seem awkward with each other, I would have guessed they were best friends rather than partners. The man seemed nice and respectful, but the woman, she seemed nervous; except for the last time I saw her.

The children, or anyone else in Tegan’s life, were unaware of the affair(s). Tegan had shown signs of making future plans with Ethan and their children. Both Tegan and Teo admitted to the police that she had expressed she had no intention of leaving the husband. The boyfriend was assessed and found clear, by psychologist and forensic analysis, from intent or motive to kill.

Since the investigation started, their relationship has been discontinued.

Suspect #3: Don

Witnesses have placed Don at the scene numerous times. Don also matches the description of six feet and a large frame. Further, Don has a history of theft and in a previous case, was acquitted of manslaughter but charged with trespassing and robbery. Furthermore, he has a history of borrowing items and not returning them. Importantly, he has a history of loitering around their houses at night or when they’re not home.

However, there was no evidence found in the estate linking Don to the crime. With all his details on file, there’s nothing to tie him to the murder. Passing the polygraph, Don was cleared of suspicion.

Suspect #4: John Doe

This suspect came about four months after the initial investigation, having found a deleted photograph (Item #610) on the mobile device belonging to the victim. The photograph was taken around the estimated time of death. The face resembled that of Ethan’s, but after closer analysis, the face was skin being worn on the killer. Based on the background and angle, the killer was a large male, standing approximately six feet. But with no identity, and no other killings matching the circumstances, there can be no motive(s) drawn.

Ethan McLallen was cremated 18th April 2009. His ashes were stored in a locker, held in his children’s name.

For two years, the wife had received numerous calls from the mobile number belonging to her husband. When she answered the phone, all she could hear was the laboured breathing of a man in pain. The police were unable to trace the number, and eventually Tegan had left her home for a new beginning.

The calls had stopped. However, seven days after moving into her new house - one week after settling in - she received a letter, written in the same handwriting as her deceased husband.

Layla (aged 13): That was when mother started acting differently. She never let us go near the letter.

Mila (aged 10): One night, after waking up from a bad dream, mummy took the letter and burnt it. She didn’t look very happy.

The only thing that turned up in the discovery of the letter were numbers: 1006, 1220, 1304, 1410.

The majority of the contents of the letter remain a mystery.