It has to be frustrating, really.
The system has a pedophile in handcuffs. He’s touched several girls, with his behavior indicating that he is basically feeling his way towards a full-fledged abduction.
He’s been arrested for this kind of behavior not once, but twice…and he still walks free to do it again due to police bungling and bureaucratic issues.
23-year-old Dante Wyndham Arthur. an Australian, traveled around the world, looking for little girls to touch.
Dante Arthur was in the U.K. in 2001, arrested for grabbing a little girl from behind. Mr. Arthurs was released, however, when lineup problems caused so many delays that he was ordered to be released.
In 2003, back home in Australia, Dante Wyndham Arthurs attacked another little girl, but was detained and arrested before he could do any real harm. The Director of Public Prosecutions decided that the cops who were interrogating Dante Arthurs had been a little too rough with him and that it would be too hard to overcome that factor when the defense inevitably brought it up in the trial.
On the 26th of June, 2006, Dante Wyndham Arthurs happened to be in the Livingston Shopping Centre in Canning Vale - the same mall as 8-year-old Sofia Rodriguez-Urrutia-Shu, her two siblings and her uncle were walking through.
At about 4 in the afternoon, Sofia told the others that she had to go to the bathroom and that she’d be right back.
Dante Wyndham Arthurs path crossed that of little Sofia at exactly the wrong time.
Dante Arthurs, seeing his chance, put his hand over Sofia’s mouth and dragged her into the men’s restroom and back into the disabled stall at the far wall.
10 minutes passed.
Sofia hadn’t returned, and her family was getting worried, so they went looking for her. Sensibly, they checked the bathrooms, which were empty….except for the disabled stall at the far end of the men’s restroom. When Sofia’s 14-year-old brother checked that stall, he found the door to it was closed and locked. Asking if anyone was inside, a man answered in the affirmative, so Sofia’s brother left and went to go check the nearby parking lot.
Five minutes later, the teenager returned to the bathrooms, hoping his little sister would turn up.
This time, as the boy entered the restroom, Dante Wyndham Arthurs, looking obviously nervous as he exited the disabled stall, pushed past the 14-year-old and started to run.
Looking into the stall, the teenager saw his sister on the floor, turned and started chasing the man.
Then the thought crept into the boy’s head; “My sister is on the floor of the bathroom and needs help.”
The teenager abandoned his pursuit, called for help and returned to the bathroom stall and his sister’s body.
Sofia’s catholic school uniform had been ripped off and was lying on the ground. She had been raped and strangled to death less than 100 yards from where he had been standing and waiting for her.
The next day, Dante Wyndham Arthurs was arrested in his house, which was located fairly close to the shopping mall. Dante was charged with Sofia’s murder.
The murderous pedophile would have been found earlier, but the security cameras in the mall weren’t turned on that day, and that delayed his identification.
For a while, it looked like Dante Arthurs might get out again. On the 31st of August, 2007, a judge decided that most of the admissions Dante Arthurs made during a videotaped interview wouldn’t be allowed to be presented at his trial because the cops had pushed him too hard.
Two counts that Dante Arthurs had been charged with were withdrawn. After all, if the forensic experts can’t figure out if Dante raped Sofia before or after he killed her, he can’t be charged with sexual penetration, can you?
The suspense over the case eased considerably when Dante Arthurs pled guilty to murder. Just murder, mind you, not willful murder, which is a more serious offense. Dante also pled guilty to deprivation of liberty.
The judge presiding over the case told Dante Arthurs before announcing his sentencing date, “You are a young man and this is a grave crime.”
We’ll see how grave the sentencing turns out to be.
Update:
On the 7th of November, 2007, Dante Arthurs was sentenced to life in prison and must serve a minimum non-parole period of 13 years. Dante Arthurs was also sentenced to two years for depriving Sofia of her liberty.
Describing Dante Arthurs’ crimes as ’so evil they shock the public conscience,’ Justice John McKechnie also let Arthurs know that he may never be released - because the release of offenders sentenced to life imprisonment must be signed off by the Western Australian Attorney-General.
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Just goes to show you how quickly an animal like this can act. Hope they kill him, but then again, the anti-death penalty nuts will get angry then.
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Sick sick sick.
I have an eight year old. This man must fry
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Poor baby. I wonder if the brother had checked the stall anyway (the first time) if she might still be alive today. Doesn’t really matter, does it? The son of a bitch needs to spend an eternity being raped and strangled in a bathroom stall in HELL!
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I am from Perth W.A. where the murder of Sofia took place. As soon as it happened this guy was linked to Robert Thompson the U.K. Jamie Bulger murderer.
This was denied by British and Australian police and authorities His mother said that he was born in Aus. and a birth notice appeared - allegedly from 22 years before. His mother also stated that the family had left Aus when Dante was 10 and gone to live in the U.K. for the next 8 years, returning to Aus when he was 18. Strange? She was quoted as saying that he “didn’t have a violent bone in his body “.
Let’s remind everyone that Thompson was given a false identity in Britain, which would include birth certificate etc etc.
Since that time we have been told that Dante Arthurs had been questioned on two previous occasions following attacks on two other girls in Britain and Australia and on both occasions was arrested very quickly. That alone is surprising if he was unknown to police? . . . So is the fact that he never stood trial for either attack.
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After this guy attacked the first girl in Australia and she identified him - 9 months passed before the D.P.P. decided not to prosecute him.
During that time he had to wear electronic security and was under virtual house arrest.
I wonder why those measures were taken? And why despite this he was not prosecuted?
Also as it’s now known that he attacked two girls in the UK and Australia and killed Sofia over a few years I can’t believe that this behaviour suddenly manifested itself in a normal person after they ‘grew up’.
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yeah, this guy screams out for the death penalty….ahh, what ever happened to an eye for an eye?… I wish we could setence him to a lifetime of rape and torture, unjust? I don’t think so… I think its about time we start making punishments that fit the crime… I’m sick of hearing about this pieces of craps childhoods and relationships- blah blah blah- i broke my arm when I was five.. does that make me a sicko too? i say we lock him up and throw away the key- this man is definately a waste of our oxygen… umm, and am I the only one who finds it strange that pedophiles and rapists are sentenced with less time then bank robbers and thieves? Am I the only one who sees a probem with this? I say, No PAROLE and NO RELEASE if you ever crossed that line…these kind of freaks CANNOT and WILL NOT be rehabilitated…its about time the governments all the accross the world take a long hard look at their criminal justice programs because they are messed up!!
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A lifetime of rape and torture. That would be perfect. And people wonder why rape in prison is sometimes a good thing?
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Do you remember the alleged hoax letter that first linked Dante Arthurs to Robert Thompson the U.K. child murderer. How it mentioned that Dante Arthurs had been questioned by police following a previous attack on a girl in Canning Vale in 2003. We later found out from other sources that this was true. There had been an attack although it was not common knowledge at the time the alleged hoax email was written.
So why not believe the rest of the email? I do.
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Please keep your thoughts and comments coming in and help to keep this forum alive.
The question must be asked. Can Dante Arthurs prove that he is real? The few words we have heard that are supposed to support the fact that he is who he says he is are not enough.
He seems to have grown up without any family and friends truly able to identify him. And his family too. Do we know where his elder brother is? Or what work his parents do? Where are all the people who worked alongside them? Both here and in the UK. Dante was born in Perth? What about his parents? Where were they born? etc etc. Does anyone really know anything?
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Is there anybody still out there who has any thoughts on his true identity?
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I remember when I first heard about this story. It’s so tragic. People like him don’t deserve to live.
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This man should die. I hate him. I cant type anymore.
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Jesus. I remember this happening as i lived only 40 mins away from the shopping centre. He didnt just rape and murder her, she had broken bones too from the attack. Poor baby. And her brother has to live with that picture of his baby sister for the rest of his life.
As for the theory that he is Robert Thompson…that is some scary shit. Is this really possible? Are there any photos of Robert Thompson as a child? Maybe there is a resemblance…
Just the idea that this caould be true makes me feel sick.Is it possible that a criminal like Thompson can be let back into society with a new identity, and none of us being any wiser? I know this is not a new crime, but surely there is someone out there with information. Anyone????
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Mazzi reply on September 1st, 2008:
Wow - this is the first I ever heard of this. I followed the Bulger case closely because of the incredible circumstances involved.
I think what the previous posters are getting at is that If Dante Arthur is really Robert Thompson, the UK authorities might cover up for him, rather than take the backlash from citizens who would be royally pissed that the CRIMINAL went into the protection program.
There would almost certainly be a LOT of people who would not want it to be known that a little boy who murdered was not rehabitable, since that blows all *official* theories of ANYONE being rehabitable.
I am going to look into this deeper. I do remember seeing some photos of both the killers, and honestly - on first sight, I would not rule the possibility out. I recall them both being rather plain brown-haired boys.
I’ll let you know if I find anything.
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Ok after reading this i decided to do a bit of research into the whole Dante is Robert Thompson theory.
The info i found states; In June 2001 after serving 8 years, 4 months and 10 days in a secure facility, Robert Thompson was paroled on a life licence…..immidiate incarceration if he breaks any terms of his release, is seen as a danger to the public.
For this to be enforced, wherever Thompson started his new life, the authorities would have to be notified.
Knowing that Dante had been arrested in relation to attacks on other little girls kind of points in the direction that he cant be Thompson…if he was, he would have been in breech of his parole and immeditely incarcerated.
I looked at the pictures of Thompson at the time of his release and ive got to say there is a bit of a resemblance. I dont think that we, the public, will ever know for sure if this is more than just a theory.( I hope it is just a theory, because the alternative is just too horrible to contemplate.)
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Mazzi reply on September 1st, 2008:
hehe - we crossed in our posts Amy.
I’m still going to dig into it though!
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Ok, i found a site that could just be a whole pile of gossip, but then it could be true.
There was one site that suggested Thompsons grandfathers name was Aurthur Dante. Could just be gossip, but then again…
Thompson would have been by my calculations, 23 years old in 2006 when Dante murdured Sofia. Does anyone know how old Dante was at this time? The same site claims that the revelant athorities denied the possibility of a connection between the two. But as you stated Mazzi, would they really own up to their obvious cock up?
What really grabbed my attention though was not just that a photo of 10 year old Thompson and 23 year old Dante look similar ( dark hair, soft features ) but they both have a slight cleft in their chins.
This is actually creeping me out, just the possibility of this being able to happen.
Any info you find will be much appreciated Maz.
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OK I did find this, which would be hard to fake:
“…But a birth notice in The West Australian almost 22 years ago is evidence that Mr Arthurs could not be either of James Bulger’s killers.
It states that Dante Wyndham Arthurs was born on August 8, 1984 at King Edward Memorial Hospital in Subiaco, not in Liverpool where Thompson and co-offender Jon Venables were born and raised.”
So, proof of Dante Arthur was “published” 22 years ago, long before the killing of James Bulger.
I don’t know how accurate that statement is, but my guess is that anyone with resources to check that newspaper could confirm it.
If this is true, I would lean towards Dante Arthur NOT being Thompson.
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Caveat:
I suppose that if the “real” Dante Arthur died, went into a witness program himself, or moved to Timbuktu, the “Protection People” could have given his ID to Thompson.
But that is way beyond my conspiracy theory gullibility, unless there was some really strong evidence to prove it.
I don’t put anything past “authorities”, but I want to see some proof, not just “could be”s.
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Ok, i looked into more info. One of my biggest questions arose from the fact that Dante Arthurs was arrested and charged withing 24 hours of the crime being committed. Why was he so easy to catch? Was someone keeping tabs on him? Such as the parole board.
The answer to that is, when Dante was arrested previously, he was finger printed and the prints entered into the system.
When he was murdered Sofia, he left a fingerprint on the wash basin in the toilet.
They ran the print they found and came up with Dante Arthurs.
They got a search warrant on the basis of his past arrests for attacking young girls.
When they raided Dantes house, they found hidden in his wardrobe, latex gloves, handcuffs, rope and a collection of pictures of young girls, AND THEIR ADDRESSES.
This man is a predator and it was only a matter of time before he killed someone. The gloves and rope and addresses show he PLANNED on doing it sooner or later.
He was sentenced to life with a minimum of 13 years. ( shouldnt life actually mean life?)
The other question rattling around in my brain was, how can we find out for sure that Dante is not Robert? Birth certificate maybe? He could have been issued with a new one. But Birth Notices can not be faked, and The West Australian newspaper had a birth notice some 24 years ago for Dante Wyndham Arthurs, born on August the 8th 1984 at King Edward Memorial Hospital.
While there is a LOT of info about Robert Thompsons childhood, there is nothing to be found about Dante Arthurs childhood, and this is probably because there has been lots of studies on the James Bulger murderers over the years and public outcry made it more dominant in the press.
The more i read, the less creeped out i felt.
The Western Australian Commissioner Of Police stated, ” The rumours ( Dante as Robert) are speculative and without ground.”
While i know that the “powers that be” would do anything to stop something this horrendous becoming public knowledge, i dont think there is a connection.
Common sense and research does not back it up.
As for Dante Arthurs, i hope he rots in hell. Predators such as he CAN NOT be rehabilitated.
And i agree with Sofia’s parents, it is too late to save Sofia, but it is not too late to save other possible victims. We desperately need a public register of known sex offenders. I WANT to know if there is a predator living next door, or down the street or even in the same town, and my children, everyones children, have the right to be protected against them. How can we do that when they ( the crims) are so well protected by the laws that should be protecting US?
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Carl UK LONDON reply on September 19th, 2008:
Guys, This is not Robert Thompson. Robert is on a UK life Licence and neither him or Jon Venables have left the UK. Thye are in the UK because of the licence and for their own protection. They have to meet probation officer’s all the time and the UK press often report on them. Not posting details of where they are but what they have been getting up to. Denise, Jamie’s mother tracked Robert down even in 2004. So there you go.
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Amy reply on September 20th, 2008:
Yeah Carl, we did the research.
Nice to know that they system is doing its best to protect and serve the scumbags that brutally murdured a little boy.
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If you did research Amy why are you so ill informed on the UK parol board and life Licence? it’s common knowledge neither Thompson or Venables left the UK and both are still around the north west area. This is so UK officials can keep an eye on them because of their terms of licence. Not to mention their own safety is more secure in the UK as the ban on their whereabouts only applies to here. That is because they still are here. One slip up and both are back in prison. They aren’t free by any means.
Plus one detail over looked. Robert and John have brown eyes. All of Dante’s pictures show him with blue eyes.
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Amy reply on October 3rd, 2008:
When i first posted about this i was not fully informed. Then i did some research and now i am informed. Get it? Got it? Good!
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um ok i am not up to date on UK laws or pratices and not to sound dumb but what the hell is a Life Licence??
And i jsut want to cry over this story
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