Hunter Valley murderer Katherine Knight will be the subject of a feature film

It was a crime that shocked the nation and rocked the small Hunter Valley community.

Now the story is destined for the big screen, as Australian filmmaker Dane Millerd and screenwriter Ross Murray have partnered with US-based Shoreline Entertainment to create a film based on the macabre murder in 2000.

Knight was the first Australian woman to be sentenced to life in prison without parole after stabbing Price at least 37 times before skinning him, decapitating him, and cooking parts of his body. She is now serving time at Silverwater Women’s Correctional Centre.

Parts of the film, called The Speckled Hen - Price’s nickname for Knight - are expected to be filmed in the Hunter in 2017. 

The script is based on Australian journalist Peter Lalor’s account of the crime in his 2005 book, Blood Stain. 

Ever since Millerd read the book a decade ago, he has been fascinated by the story. At the time, he told his father he thought it had the makings of a feature film.

Millerd, who will be a producer on the film, told the Newcastle Herald he understands that people in the Hunter, particularly the friends and families of Knight and Price, might be upset by the idea of the film. But he insisted the story would be handled as sensitively as possible.

“We are trying to do a true and accurate representation of what happened,” he said.

Millerd hopes the film will raise awareness of domestic violence and abuse.

“There is a perception of Katherine Knight as ‘That chick who was the cannibal from the Hunter Valley that cooked and ate her husband’,” Millerd said.

“That’s what I get nine times out of 10. People have some sort of awareness of what happened, but because of the nature of the crime and the reporting of the day, there was a lot left out of the papers. 

“So trying to dispel some of the misinformation out there as well is equally part of the challenge.”