Mark Erin Rust is a name synonymous with escalating violence against women, a man who transformed from an irritating pervert into one of South Australia's most reviled serial killers. Rust's history is one of violence ignored by authorities, a failure to treat behavior that began early in life and worsened until he became a remorseless killer. Rust’s physical and mental landscape was complicated by Kleinfelter syndrome, an extra X chromosome (XXY). This disorder resulted in physical characteristics like rounded hips, stunted growth, and shrunken genitalia, contributing to a state of almost permanent sexual need. Rather than concealing his condition, Rust chose to "flaunt it," beginning his descent into crime in the late '70s.
From the age of 13, Rust started following pretty girls around town and fantasizing about them. He quickly moved to indecency offenses, exposing or flashing his genitalia, seeking gratification through menacing sexual behavior. His primary motivation was the "revulsion thrill". Rust derived great pleasure from the shocked, horrified reactions he created in his victims, an ominous insight into his profound lack of empathy.For 30 years, one thing led to another for Rust. He began dating in his teenage years, but when relationships ended, he would start to hate the girls, showing a decision to act upon his impulses. By the time he was working as a taxi driver in Adelaide, he was escalating his indecency, committing public sex acts and flashing people, always on the lookout for a woman alone.
The Encounter with Maya Yakage
One night, Maya Yakage was walking alone along a busy road in Payham, east northeast of the city. Maya was already in a vulnerable position, having left her mother's home after a fight and possibly sleeping rough near a service station.
Rust, cruising for a fare, spotted her. He pulled up close and asked, "How about a lift?" Maya, distracted and "in no mood for small talk," dismissed him and continued walking.
This rejection by a complete stranger, though something Rust should have been used to, sent him into a total rage. He drove past, pulled over, and went back to his favorite tactic: flashing her. Rust expected the usual sick thrill of repulsion. But Maya was tough; she looked at his shriveled genitalia and laughed.
Rust’s response to the laughter marked his terrible crossing of a line. He had never physically assaulted a woman on the street before, but he lunged toward her with the intention of grabbing her to have sex.
The Abandoned Police Station
Rust was strong enough to overpower Maya, stifling her cries. He dragged her into the overgrown grounds of a disused police station in Payham, an area he knew well because it lacked security cameras and offered plenty of dark, shady cover.
He tried to rape her, but he was unable to do anything effective. Furious by his failure, the sex pest "flipped from being a pest to being a killer". He attacked Maya, killed her, and then dumped her body next to the police station, covering it with branches and leaves. Rust would later confirm that he "got a kick out of it". In a bizarre twist, Rust was denied his usual satisfaction—the revulsion of others—because he had hidden the body. Still craving that thrill, he decided to call in the crime himself. Later that night, an anonymous call was made to emergency services reporting a woman "seemingly motionless in the grounds of a disused police station". The voice belonged to Mark Rust.
The Ignored Warning
Rust continued to toy with the police, calling them again and even returning to the scene for about five days. Frustrated that the body went undiscovered, he eventually tucked a note under the windscreen wiper of a patrol car that read, "There's a dead girl's body in the shrubs of the grounds near the main road of the Payan Police Station. This is no joke. Take a good look".
This note led to the grim discovery of Maya Yakage’s body, horrifying the city. Yet, police quickly formed the opinion that the attacker was sexually motivated, but they did not link the murder to Mark Aaron Rust, the known sex pest. They thought of him only as a "weird little monotone gnome looking guy that flashed people".
Horrifyingly, the police failed to recognize that Rust’s behavior, which had been escalating since he was 13 years old, had taken the "next logical, horrendous step". Rust, still driving his cab, remained in the clear, a misogynist murderer at large. He had been thrilled, excited, and satisfied by the killing of Maya Yakage, but his warped sexual urges could not be kept in check. He was soon back on the streets, returning to his old habits, flashing people and making lewd comments. He was looking for his next fix.
He spots a woman at a bus stop, sizing her up. Now that he has killed, has his offending threshold reached a point where only murder gives him the thrills that he craves? One girl at a bus stop had been lucky. Nowhere in Greater Adelaide was a woman safe.
Rust was later charged with Jakic's and Suzuki's murders in October 2001. He showed little remorse for his crimes; when he was asked why he killed Suzuki during psychiatric assessment, he replied, "Because I did." The killer is also subject to an indefinite detention order, imposed because he was declared "incapable of controlling his sexual urges". If he were to be made eligible for parole, the detention order would still prevent his release from prison.