Charlie McKinnon
Charlie McKinnon (2006)
Matt Levett
Episodes: 4180 – 4203
We first saw an annoyed Charlie as he wondered who was visiting his gran Doris on the porch. He met Rachel and her Mum Elaine before he whisked his gran away and told everyone to leave. Charlie was annoyed at Rachel and Kim’s reappearance at his house. Kim convinced Charlie to let Rachel examine his gran and that they wouldn’t stay long. Charlie was supportive when Rachel examined his gran. When Rachel suggested that his gran go to hospital, Charlie was against it, said that Rachel should fill out a prescription instead and then explained that his grandfather died in hospital therefore his gran didn’t like hospitals. Rachel and Kim persuaded Charlie to take his gran to the hospital so that she would receive professional care.
We learn that Charlie and his gran had lived on their own since he was sixteen as his grandfather died a few years ago and he was raised by his grandparents. Once his gran was settled, Charlie wanted to stay with his gran but Rachel persuaded him to have dinner with her and Kim. At the Diner he met Robbie and Tash, he was amazed how the place looked on the inside as the one near the bay had burnt down and his gran didn’t like going to fancy places. Robbie inquired about how Charlie’s gran was doing and Kim later explained that they were also out searching for Rachel’s Mum after she wandered from the picnic area. They had an early dinner, Charlie ordered a sausage roll and Rachel received a phone call from the hospital about Doris’s blood work. Doris had a large amount of sedatives in her and Charlie said that it was from his grandfather’s old sleeping pills which he took before he died and Charlie suspected that his gran took them from the medicine cabinet as they were in a bottle that looked exactly like his gran’s vitamins. Charlie never had a girlfriend, he couldn’t believe that Robbie and Tash were married and Rachel paid for Charlie’s half of the bill before the four of them left him to mount a search party for Dan who was missing.
The next morning Charlie arrived at the Surf Club to help in the search for Dan and Alf paired him off with Kim and Rachel. Charlie dropped the cap from the water bottle that Kim gave him and discovered blood so he alerted Rachel and Kim. They all grouped together for a briefing and new directions so Charlie pointed out that there were three main directions to be taken. They were near to Dan’s location as they discussed which way to go next. They found Dan but he got aggressive and Charlie was knocked to the ground which resulted in him being winded and unable to breathe. Rachel mentioned that he fractured his rib and that he had a pneumothorax (his rib has punctured his lung wall and that there was air between his chest wall and his lung). Rachel inserted a needle into Charlie’s chest to release the pressure. He arrived at the hospital and we learn that he was nineteen years old. Doctor Young attended to him, Charlie’s lung had reinflated and that he expected a full recovery. Charlie thanked Rachel and Kim for their help, Rachel checked up on Charlie’s gran and told him that she should be okay to go back home in a couple of weeks. While Nurse Julie chatted with Charlie, she took his blood pressure and commented about how popular he was. He was over the moon to have such best friends who did a variety of things together.
After being released from hospital, Charlie started to mysteriously appear where Rachel and Kim were. He turned up at Noah’s Bar and gave Rachel a fright. He had heard about Barry Hyde being charged with murder and he wanted to support Kim but was told that he needed some space. She mentioned that they were going to the beach, Charlie turned up there and began to persistently pester them until Kim got angry with him and Charlie stormed off. Kim apologised for his outburst and Charlie told him that he never had any real friends until he met Kim and Rachel. He spent all his time looking after his gran who has Alzheimer’s disease, shopping and didn’t see people for weeks at a time.
The continuation of Charlie’s obsessive behaviour was seen when Charlie broke into the Gym after hours, he came across a top belonging to Kim at the desk and he brushed his thumb lightly across Kim’s name badge which was pinned to the top.
Charlie tried to rescue Kim from a bunch of angry protesters and reporters who were camped outside of Barry Hyde’s place. At the Gym, Charlie helped out by putting away the towels and emptying the bins. A reporter found out Kim’s whereabouts so Charlie accosted him and then threatened to kill the reporter if he didn’t leave Kim alone. Charlie rang from the Gym wearing a tank top and Kim’s name badge and talked to Kim telling him about hurting the reporter.
Charlie came to Kim’s house, told him that he’d checked out his Dad’s place and no-one was outside anymore. Charlie visited his gran in hospital, brought her a small bunch of flowers and after his visit told her that he’d be back in the afternoon. Charlie wore new clothes almost identical to Kim’s and the exact same aftershave “Summer Breeze” that Rachel bought Kim recently. Doris mentioned that only Charlie had access to the medicine cabinet and gave Doris the pills that made her sick. The pills belonged to Doris’s late husband. However Charlie told Rachel that his gran was imagining things with the locked medicine cabinet. Kim came home later that night and found Charlie sitting in his spot on the lounge with a beer in hand while spending time with Dan and Jack.
Charlie stepped up stalking Kim by sending him a bunch of flowers and a card once Barry left the Bay. He opened up the gym for Kim, much to Kim’s annoyance, and told him not to do it again as Kim didn’t need his help. Charlie was given the news that his gran would go home that day, Doris insisted on it but Charlie had other ideas. He had a new life and new friends so he didn’t want the burden of looking after his gran anymore. Nurse Gloria encouraged Doris to take her medication so that she could go home but Doris refused so Charlie intervened. Charlie told his gran that she didn’t have to do anything she didn’t want to do. As Doris hadn’t taken the prescribed medication given earlier by Nurse Gloria, she didn’t feel well and Charlie insisted to Rachel that he didn’t think that she was ready to go home. Rachel injected 5mls of morphine into Doris’s drip then put the needle with the left over 5mls of morphine in the sharps bin. Doris ordered Charlie to get the paperwork from the desk for her release but after Rachel attended to an emergency Charlie instead closed the door to the room and took the needle out of the sharps container. Due to Charlie’s actions his gran died for a cardiac arrest and all he said was “this wasn’t mean to happen” and “you weren’t meant to die”.
Rachel told Charlie that she would find out the cause of Doris’s death and she went to comfort him but he pulled away violently and walked off. Kim visited Rachel and was told that Doris had died, Charlie saw him and gave him a big hug before he started to “cry”.
Nurse Julie found an empty syringe and vile outside Doris’s room in the garbage bin, Rachel was waiting for the autopsy report on Doris and he overheard Rachel explaining to Kim her fears. Charlie changed tactics by confronting Rachel about the lies that she was telling others, that she was jealous of all the time that he was spending with Kim before he threatened her. Charlie was at Noah’s Bar, Kim joined him and started talking in the same manor that Rachel did to him and therefore he admitted that he had overheard the conversation between him and Rachel. He said that Rachel was no good for Kim, that he cared about Kim and that Rachel was coming between him and Kim. Kim told him that he was lonely, mixed up and that he wasn’t friends with him. Kim tried in vain to get Charlie to admit to his mistake but he clammed up and walked away.
Charlie trashed his place and in the process he broke the photo of him and his gran, he looked at the photo while he blamed Rachel for what had happened. He encountered Kim on the beach and he forgave Kim for what he had said the night before but Kim told him to leave him and Rachel alone.
Charlie filed a complaint against Rachel for the death of his gran to Dr Olivetti. He was scheduled to meet with Dr Olivetti but was an hour late, Rachel was about to take his appointment time and then Charlie barged in, apologised that he was late due to organising his gran’s service with the funeral director before being ushered through as he gave Rachel a smirk. Charlie was in the meeting where he accused Rachel of giving his gran a second dose on top of the first, that she was in a hurry due to an accident that had just arrived and that he didn’t want to question it. He manipulated the Board by telling them that Rachel had a crush on him but that he rejected her advances, that she was having problems in her relationship with Kim and that she was blaming him as she had a grudge against him. Charlie mentioned that he saw Kim on the beach that morning and therefore he would lie to protect Rachel so that there was no way that he could prove it. Charlie remorsefully told the Board that Rachel had made the mistake and that she would pay for it.
Rachel’s testimony to the Board stated that Charlie was in a highly anxious state on the day of her death as they’d been arguing, that he lived a secluded life with no friends, he was quite taken by Kim classic intimacy behaviour such as stalking. She also told Kim that Charlie was cunning, clever, determined and what he lacked in social skills he made up for in cunning. She also felt that Charlie was overly obsessed with Kim, that he showed signs of paranoia and hostility over the death of Doris.
The final phase of Charlie’s plan was set in motion. He cut up a photo of Rachel and Kim then replaced Rachel with himself beside Kim. He then looked at a page with several caskets on them and there was an application form on the table. Kim came around to apologise, Charlie accepted his apology and invited him in. Kim looked around the place and noticed the two newly placed photos in the frame. Kim convinced Charlie that he had broken up with Rachel, Charlie offered for Kim to move in with him and that they would do a variety of activities together. Kim was working the “mates trusting mates” angle with Charlie so he opened up, admitted that it was an accident killing his gran as he didn’t want to look after her all day and night and that things were different as he now had friends. Kim convinced Charlie to see Dr Olivetti and to confess the truth but Rachel turned up and Charlie saw right through the charade so he ran off. We learn that Charlie was planning a funeral for Rachel and not for his gran.
Charlie called Kim late at night, told him that if he didn’t meet up with him then he would jump off William’s Drop. Kim ran to the meeting spot but Charlie wasn’t there so Kim went home and encountered Charlie there but Rachel had gone. Charlie had kidnapped Rachel and hid her in the Gym, all bound and gagged. Kim got violent with Charlie but he wouldn’t divulge Rachel’s whereabouts until Kim stopped hurting him and that they have a beer at the Surf Club. Charlie admitted that there’s no room in their lives for Rachel if he and Kim were to be mates. Charlie blamed everything on Rachel as she got in the way. Charlie got violent when Kim wanted to use his mobile, so Kim went ahead and made some alcoholic drinks with spirits for him. For Charlie, Kim was the first real friend that true cared about him and made him feel special. His grandfather was strict and didn’t want him to have friends that would influence him. He was too busy for friends as he was a “slave” for his gran and grandfather. He wanted to be like Kim, good job, good friends and a good life. Charlie got knocked to the ground (elbowed him in the chest) when he tried to block Kim from finding Rachel in the Gym. Kim told Rachel that Charlie wouldn’t hurt her again and she found him on the floor of Noah’s Bar. She assumed that his lung must have collapsed again so he was rushed to the hospital for medical attention where according to Dr Young they inserted a chest tube to help him breath easier. He was transferred to the Reefton Lakes psychiatric ward after he was interviewed by the Police.