On September 29th, 1996, forty-three-year-old father of two Andrew Mordowicz was working the early morning shift for United Yellow Taxis. At approximately three forty-seven a.m., a booking came through for a four thirty a.m. pickup at 79 Fife Street in Klemzig, a northeastern suburb of Adelaide, South Australia, with instructions to take the passenger into the city. Mordowicz, a dedicated family man known for his reliability, responded to the call. However, upon arriving at Fife Street, he discovered that there was no number 79 in the quiet cul-de-sac. After a brief conversation with the dispatch operator, he decided to knock on the door of number 78, the closest address, to inquire about the booking.
Moments later, neighbors were startled by the sound of gunshots piercing the early morning silence. Mordowicz was found lying in the driveway of number 78, suffering from two gunshot wounds. Despite the efforts of neighbors who rushed to his aid, he was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. The owners of the house, which backed onto the Torrens Linear Park, were away at the time, leaving the property empty—a detail that would later raise suspicions about the killer’s intentions.
Investigators quickly determined that the booking was likely a ruse. The non-existent address and the absence of a passenger suggested that Mordowicz had been lured to the location. Detective Sergeant Ann Schaefer of the South Australia Police’s Major Crime Investigation Branch noted that the perpetrator seemed to have known the house was unoccupied, indicating a level of planning. The proximity of the property to the Torrens Linear Park, a secluded area, led police to speculate that the suspect or suspects may have been hiding there before the attack.
The motive for the murder remains one of the case’s enduring mysteries. Initially, police considered the possibility of an attempted robbery, a common risk for taxi drivers working late-night shifts. However, this theory was complicated by the fact that Mordowicz was found with cash in his pocket and his coin dispenser still in his unlocked taxi. This evidence suggested that robbery may not have been the primary motive, prompting speculation that Mordowicz could have been deliberately targeted. Detective Sergeant Schaefer emphasized that while the crime appeared to be a robbery gone wrong, police have kept an open mind, unable to rule out a targeted attack.
The murder of Andrew Mordowicz is part of South Australia Police’s Operation Persist, a cold case campaign aimed at solving long-standing homicide cases. Despite extensive investigations, no suspect has ever been identified, and the murder weapon remains unrecovered. The lack of witnesses reporting anyone fleeing the scene has further complicated the case. The randomness of the attack is particularly chilling, as the booking could have been answered by any taxi driver, including Mordowicz’s brother, who was also working that night.
In 2015, a cryptic tip-off led police to explore a possible connection between Mordowicz’s murder and the 1997 killing of twenty-five-year-old model Corinna Marr, who was shot dead in her Collinswood unit, just over a mile away. Two anonymous letters, both signed with the initials “T.O.E.,” suggested a link between the cases, with the author possibly having knowledge of or involvement in both murders. The letters, which contained riddles thought to be lines from a book, were forensically examined, but no breakthrough was achieved. While intriguing, this lead has not yet yielded definitive answers.
South Australia Police continue to offer a reward of up to $200,000 for information leading to a conviction, but as of July 2025, the reward is unclaimed.
Crime Immemorial 