On 29 February 2000, in the quiet rural town of Aberdeen in The Hunter Region of New South Wales, Katherine Knight stabbed her partner, John Price, 37 times. She then beheaded him, skinned him, cooked him, and made preparations to feed him to his children. A murder so shocking that it surpasses anything that the most warped of horror authors could come up with, the sick, sordid tale of Katherine Knight has so far eluded local filmmakers, even as TV mini-series have drilled deep into such shocking cases as those of Ivan Milat and Bradley John Murdoch.
Well, that “oversight” is about to shift. As she slowly rots in The Silverwater Women’s Correctional Centre – the first Australian woman to be sentenced to life imprisonment without parole – Katherine Knight will finally get her cinematic day in court, courtesy of producer, Dane Millerd (There’s Something In The Pilliga and pictured), and screenwriter, Ross Murray.
The duo’s film will be based upon Peter Lalor’s book, Blood Stain, and has already acquired the interest of Shoreline Entertainment, a long-standing sales agent and production company that has been pumping out low budget films (starring the likes of James Franco, Ellen Page, William H. Macy, Meg Ryan, and many more) since 1992. “Some of Australia’s most successful films have been gritty, true crime stories,” said Morris Ruskin, CEO of Shoreline, who have also been involved in recent Aussie films like Alex + Eve, Charlie’s Farm, and The Infinite Man. “We believe in the international potential of this story.”
Charles Hopkins, Shoreline’s manager of production and development, is currently approaching directors for the project. “We’re very excited about the agreement with Shoreline, who have had a longstanding interest in the project, which I pitched to them in 2015. We knew that this was a great story and, with the right script, we knew that others would agree,” says Dane Millerd.
