KJMCrimesinMelbourne


 * Crimes in Melbourne's CBD **

__ Gang Land Murders (Carl Williams and the Moran's) __

The Melbourne Gangland murders were a series of killings of 30 criminal figures or partners in Melbourne, from various underworld groups, between the 16th of January 1998 and the 19th of April 2010. Most of these death are still unsolved and have police baffled. It is believed by police that around 7 of these murders were set up by Carl Williams "The baby faced killer". Carl was apprehended on the 28th of February 2007 for three of the murders. After being let out of prison he was found seriously injured in a suburban park in Gladstone. Police think that he was shot by a Moran. The Moran's are a family with a strong connection with the gangland murders. The Moran's have never liked Carl because he killed Jason Moran (the son of Lewis Moran and Judy Moran). On the 19th of April 2010, Carl Williams died, while at Barwon Prison; after being bashed by an inmate in the exercise yard with a metal bar from an exercise bike. There was a drama made detailing the gangland wars. The drama was in Underbelly which premiered on the Nine Network on the 13rd of February 2008.

__ The Queen Street Massacre __

The Queen Street Massacre was a murder-suicide that happened on the 8th of December 1987at a post office in Melbourne's CBD. This attack resulted in 8 deaths and 5 injured people. Frank Vitkovic, a 22 year old was studying at Melbourne University but he dropped out to become a tennis player. His tennis career was cut short because of a leg injury. He became withdrawn in his late in his life, then he became obsessed with guns. The day before the massacre, Vitkovic wanted to murder a school friend (Con Margellis). He worked in a building on Queen street. On the day of the massacre Frank still wanted to kill his friend and as many people as possible before killing himself. At around 4:00pm, Vitkovic entered the building on Queen street, holding a brown paper bag with a swan-off M1 carbine. When he entered the 5th floor he pulled the gun out of his paper bag. he shot a lot of workers, but the intended victim escaped unharmed. Vitkovic then moved from floor to floor, where he walked through office areas picking his targets randomly, shooting some workers at close range. When a office worker grabbed the gun from Franks hand he committed suicide.

__ The Great Bookie Robbery __

On April the 20th 1976 at around 12:00pm there was an armed robbery at the Victorian Club, were 46 bookies went to go that day to settle accounts from recent race meeting. Cash from 116 bookmakers was delivered to the club by Mayne Nickless in an armoured car. Police believe that the robbery was planned and led by Raymond "Chuck" Bennett. They think that Bennett wanted the robbery to be on this date because the bookmakers would be setting up three race meetings. Police gathered information where ever they could get it and later found out that Bennett organized a dress rehearsal during the Easter weekend when there was no one on the premises. Funnily enough there was almost no security, despite the huge sums handled by the bookies. A little after midday Bennett arrived at the club to fix the refrigerate in the bar on the second floor. He stood in the bar looking through a tiny crack in the door until he saw that the last note was placed into the cash box, then he opened a back door to let 5 accomplices wearing balaclava's in. The heavily armoured gang then ordered 31 people to lie on the floor as they stole the cash box's. One of the guards tried to shoot Bennett, but he himself got shot. In the whole raid the guard was the only one injured. The raid was over in just 11 minutes. No one knows how much money was stolen, the police estimated around $5 million, but it could have been as much as $15 million. Some people believe that the robbers rented a office in that very building to hide the loot, as they made a fake getaway in a van only to come back to take it. No one was ever convicted for this crime.

__ The Body-in-the-Boot Case __

On the 9th of February 2005, Maria Korp was strangled by an old friend, Tania Herman. Tania Herman was also the mistress of Maria's husband Joe Korp. Maria's body was found four days later in the boot of the car, just a day after Joe filed a missing persons report. The car was parked near the Shrine of Remembrance. Maria was found in a bad state, she had brain damage and was in a coma. She remained in that state for six months before her feeding tube was removed at the request of her state-appointed legal guardian, Julian Gardner. Before her death, Tania Herman pleaded guilty to attempted murder, she was sentenced to 12 years jail, but after Maria's death she was given no less than 25 years in jail. Joe Korp who had pleaded not guilty to attempted murder was also plead not guilty to murder and was never sentenced to jail. Tania Herman told police that Korp had told her to strangle his wife, but no one believed her. Korp later committed suicide on the day of Maria's funeral.

__ The Flinders Lane Shooting __

On the 18th of June 2007 Christopher Hudson killed one and critically wounding a women and another male. Hudson was seen dragging a women out of a taxi by her hair at around 8:20am (during one of Central Melbourne's busiest times). Two men rushed to help her, but Christopher pulled out a gun and shot them all at the point of blank range. The gunman ran away from the crime scene dumping his jacket and gun in a bin not far from the scene. By these objects he was later identified. Soon after the victims were rushed to Alfred and the Royal Melbourne Hospitals for emergency surgery. On the 12th of May 2008, Christopher Wayne Hudson pleaded guilt to the murder of Brendan Keilar and all the other offenses committed during the shooting.

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