[4] Karmein was born on 5 November 1977 in Melbourne, to parents who had separately migrated from Hong Kong to Australia the year prior to her birth.

He then barricaded the wardrobe with a bed[11] before fleeing with Karmein, who was barefoot and wearing only a white floral nightdress and underwear, at approximately 9:30 p.m.[14] Investigators later determined Karmein was led across the family garden and tennis court, through a security gate and onto Serpells Road, where she was almost certainly forced into an unknown vehicle parked close to the family home.

[11] Shortly thereafter, the younger Chan sisters freed themselves from their bindings and the wardrobe before phoning their father to report their ordeal and Karmein's kidnapping.

[8] An examination of the crime scene revealed that prior to entering the Chan household, the abductor had tampered with the electronically operated security gate to gain access to the property and either immediately before entering the Chan household to kidnap Karmein, or upon fleeing with the child, her abductor spray-painted "Asian drug dealer!

The individual would have created and retained pornographic material pertaining to his attacks which he would regard as of "great personal significance" to himself and,[19] although regarded by neighbours and acquaintances as a polite and respectable, if somewhat introverted, individual, would have exhibited marked changes in his behaviour immediately following his abductions including "uncharacteristic" alcohol abuse and poor work attendance/performance in addition to a possible piqued religious interest.

[17][n 3] This link was released to the media twenty-four hours after the commission of the abduction,[22] with investigators also rapidly determining the graffiti left by the abductor upon one of the family vehicles had likely been an attempt to distract police attention from this true motive for kidnapping Karmein.

Prior to Karmein's abduction, Victoria Police had actively investigated the abduction and sexual assault of several prepubescent and adolescent girls between 1987 and 1990 linked to Mr Cruel,[n 4] an offender who invariably struck on school holidays and who subjected his victims to repeated sexual assaults throughout their captivity but who had invariably released each of his victims after their abuse.

[25] The degree of planning this perpetrator evidently devoted to the commission of his crimes suggested to investigators he had observed the movements and habits of his victim and her family for days or weeks prior to committing his abduction.

[28] Forty investigators were assigned full-time to the task force, and a reward of A$100,000 was also offered for information leading to her safe recovery and the apprehension of the offender.

All leads of inquiry failed to bear fruition[29] and by June 1991 — the reward sum by this stage having increased to A$300,000 for the apprehension of Mr Cruel — Karmein's mother had begun practicing a Chinese custom of standing at her front gate every midnight and ringing bells as she called her daughter's name in the hope her eldest child would return home.

[30] On 9 April 1992, Karmein's body was found in a section of wasteland close to the intersection of Mahoneys Road and High Street[31] at Edgars Creek in the suburb of Thomastown by a man walking his dog, after he spotted a human skull buried in the landfill.

[34][35][36] Chan was identified via DNA analysis and an autopsy revealed the child had died of three bullet wounds to the back of the head[26] and that her body had lain at the site of her discovery for approximately twelve months.

Her funeral was attended by over eight hundred mourners, including pupils and teachers from the Presbyterian Ladies' College and all members of the Spectrum Task Force assigned to capture her murderer.

At the conclusion of the inquest, Karmein's mother publicly appealed for her daughter's murderer to give himself up, stating her primary concern is the safety of young girls "wherever [they] may be, and especially in their homes.