Andrew Rule talks about Willi Koeppen
The troubling tale of Australia’s first celebrity chef, Willi Koeppen, features all the hallmarks of a Netflix true crime series — a fractured marriage, illicit lovers, money and some shoddy police work, writes Andrew Rule.
Andrew Rule: Tragic tale of Australia’s first celebrity chef Willi Koeppen
The troubling tale of Australia’s first celebrity chef, Willi Koeppen, features all the hallmarks of a Netflix true crime series — a fractured marriage, illicit lovers, money and some shoddy police work, writes Andrew Rule.
Andrew Rule, Sunday Herald Sun
The Disappearance of Willi Koeppen
For 44 years the disappearance of Celebrity Chef Willi Koeppen has remained a mystery. But this cold case warrants a much closer look. There are too many people that know more than has been revealed, and the truth deserves to be uncovered.
Australia’s First Celebrity Chef - Willi Koeppen
Introduction
For 44 years the disappearance of Celebrity Chef Willi Koeppen has remained a mystery. But this cold case warrants a much closer look. There are too many people that know more than has been revealed, and the truth deserves to be uncovered.
Former police detective Damian Marrett, now private investigator at Marrett Investigations has been reinvestigating the Willi Koeppen case and believes there are many condemning clues and persons of interest have been overlooked.
This investigative podcast aims to revisit the events leading up to Willi’s disappearance in an attempt to uncover some new information and potentially deliver answers for his family.
Background
It was the early hours of Sunday the 29th February 1976 when 46 year old Willi Koeppen, Australia’s first celebrity chef, was last seen alive. Witnesses say Willi had been drinking heavily and had left the Cuckoo restaurant in Olinda with a local doctor, who many media reports have described as a family friend. The two men supposedly decamped to the doctor’s surgery to continue drinking. Many who knew the pair are not so convinced of this apparent friendship, raising more questions than answers.
The doctor claimed that he last saw Willi leave his surgery sometime around 3am that morning supposedly to return to the Cuckoo. By 4.30am, Willi’s Blue Kombi van sighted by the restaurant cleaner in the car park, but not in the place where he usually parked it. The rear sliding door was wide open and his keys still in the ignition. Willi was nowhere to be seen.
Of interest is a large dark American style sedan followed by a light coloured van were seen in the vicinity of the restaurant around this time and appeared to be travelling together.
For police investigators, the disappearance was initially written off as an orchestrated act by Koeppen himself who would surely resurface at some stage in the future. This was an odd assumption given there was no attempt by Willi to access his bank accounts and had not taken his passport or even a change of clothes.
How does Australia’s first celebrity chef, popular restaurant owner and father of three disappear without a trace? And was there anyone who wanted Willi Koeppen dead?
A convicted killer, a jealous lover maybe or is the answer a lot closer to home?
If you’re heard anything.
There are people who know more than has been uncovered and can assist is solving the mystery of what happened to Willi Koeppen in February 1976, especially those that resided in the Olinda and Ferny Creek area or frequented the Cuckoo Restaurant at the time.
We are keen to hear from anyone who may have any information that unwittingly could be the key to solving the disappearance/murder of Willi Koeppen.
Please direct any information in confidence to Damian Marrett at www.marrettinvestigations.com.au or damian@marrettinvestigations.com.au