Katherine Knight is the woman from the small Hunter Valley town of Aberdeen who infamously murdered her husband by stabbing him 37 times before decapitating, skinning and cooking him and serving his body parts up for his children for dinner. 

Knight made history by being the first Australian woman to be sentenced to life imprisonment without parole in 2001.

“It’s one of Australia’s best known but probably misunderstood crime stories,” Millerd said.

“I’m really excited to see a true crime story come to life.

“It’s an important film in some ways as well because Katherine Knight was the first and only woman to be sentenced to life in prison, never to be released.”

Millerd, who wrote, directed and produced There’s Something In The Pilliga, is currently working on the feature film inspired by the story of Katherine Knight, which has already captured the attention of key international distributors.

Based on Peter Lalor’s acclaimed book Blood Stain, the film will examine Knight’s relationship with John Price, the man she loved and horrifically murdered on February 29, 2000.

“The film will cover the area of her life that is the build up to what happened with John Price,” Millerd said.

“There’s a temptation to cover everything but that’s not what the story’s about - it’s really about what happened with John Price.”

The film is the culmination of years of research and fascination with the case for Millerd and co-scriptwriter Ross Murray.

“We knew the story would attract a lot of interest in Australia and find an audience here,” Millerd said.

“The international attention has been unexpected but not unsurprising.

“It was a heinous true-crime committed in cold blood. The local cops are still haunted by it.”

Millerd said the film will have to be handled and treated in a certain way considering the events are still fresh for a lot of people.

He said while most people involved are still alive, “everyone’s got a different version” and he may also have difficulties talking to Knight herself, who is currently serving her sentence in Silverwater Women’s Correctional Centre.

“There’ll be issues getting her to talk to anyone and she doesn’t talk to men, so I won’t be able to speak to her myself,” he said.

While others have previously had the film rights to Knight’s story, none are yet to make it happen and Millerd is confident he will be the person to bring it to the big screen.

He said he has a significant advantage in that he and wife Amy have previously lived and worked in Muswellbrook (just 10 minutes from Aberdeen) as journalists and have contacts in the area.

Millerd is currently working on securing a budget with the aim of shooting at the end of 2016, depending on when key cast members are available.

He is working on lining up some Hollywood A-listers and well-known Australian talent to feature in the film which he said is very exciting.

“This is the film that could be a bit of a game changer,” he said.

“It’s one that if it’s done correctly it’ll make the difference between a whole lot of things.”