Vikki Petraitis

Twenty-five years ago, serial killer Paul Denyer terrorised the bayside suburb of Frankston.Twenty-five years later, the trauma of his seven-week killing spree still haunts the community. The spate of murders in 1993 touched many more lives than just the three victims. All of Melbourne was gripped with fear, as Frankston and surrounding suburbs were flooded with police hunting the serial killer of three young women. It began on June 11 when Elizabeth Stevens was murdered on her way home from the library. On July 8, Debbie Fream who'd left her 12-day-old baby with a friend while she dashed out for milk, was abducted and killed. Three weeks later, Year 12 student, Natalie Russell, was brutally murdered on her way home from school. When Paul Denyer, an odd young man, was arrested the day after Natalie's body was found, the police and public were shocked by his lack of emotion. Denyer, who was only 21-years-old, spoke of the three young women with contempt as he described their final moments. Their deaths had simply fuelled his bloodlust. Eleven years later, just as the public's memory of the Frankston murders began to fade, convicted serial killer, Paul Denyer, made front-page news with his quest to become a woman. The Frankston Murders: 25 years on details the shocking crimes and explores the lingering effects of what Denyer did. Now 25-years-old, Debbie Fream's son Jake speaks for the first time about the loss of his mother. And Carmel and Brian Russell share their dream for Denyer's ongoing incarceration, as the killer of their child will be eligible to apply for parole for the first time in 2023.

25 Years On

The Frankston Murders

Winner of the inaugural Allen & Unwin Crime Prize.

The Unbelieved

Forensics True Stories from Australian Police Files

From the bizarre to the brutal to the unbelievable, truth is often stranger than fiction, as these fascinating stories testify. Vikki Petraitis has spent hundreds of hours interviewing police - sometimes even accompanying them on active duty - to complete this collection of stories from the frontline of policing. Police officers from many fields have shared some of their best stories: the ones that were out of the ordinary, the ones they'll never forget. The result is this riveting collection of real-life Australian dramas. They include: - a 'black widow' who reported her husband missing after an argument - the perilous body retrieval of a drowned diver from a sunken submarine - the capture and conviction of a man who drugged his unsuspecting victims by spiking their drinks - the disappearance of Sarah MacDiarmid. In each case the police concerned have achieved results through dedication and teamwork, and sometimes at great personal risk. We thank them for their service and understand that sometimes, the toll was too high. Vikki Petraitis is a Melbourne author who has been writing true crime since the early 1990s. Her bestselling book about Frankston serial killer Paul Denyer, The Frankston Murders, is a classic in the true crime genre.

Compelling True Stories from the Frontline of Australia's Police

Police Stories

A fingerprint identifies a serial poisoner, a strange indentation in a caravan panel proves a hit-run driver's guilt, and a mass DNA screening flushes out a brutal criminal. Vikki Petraitis has interviewed Australian police from Forensics, Fingerprints, Criminal Investigation Units and Homicide to write these stranger-than-fiction true-crime stories. They include: 'Poison Ivy', the Melbourne woman so dubbed because of her habit of drugging and robbing lonely, vulnerable men. Police taking part in the lengthy investigation had the added pressure of believing it was only a matter of time before one of her victims died as a result of her tactics. -- The De Gruchy case, in which three members of a family were found brutally murdered in their home outside Wollongong. Forensic evidence alone proved the identity of the killer. -- Death at Violet Town, a fatal collision in which a hit-run driver killed a 12-year-old boy at Easter. Meticulous forensic detection - and a stroke of luck - resulted in a conviction after a tense six-month hunt. -- In all these cases, forensics played a key role in bringing the perpetrators to justice. But unlike many fictional TV forensics shows, the resolution of these real-life detective stories relied as much on the dogged determination of the police involved as on modern technology.

Australian Police Files

Once a copper, always a copper. At least that’s how it seems for Brian ‘The Skull’ Murphy, long-retired but sought out by a trail of journalists and cops who regularly beat a path to his door. Once known as Australia’s toughest cop, The Skull was both charged with manslaughter (and acquitted), then awarded a Valour Award for bravery in the line of duty. It is these two sides to the complex man that intrigue audiences to this day. A non-drinking, Catholic family man, The Skull didn’t fit the 1950s police mould and often found himself on the outer among his colleagues. Dodging crooks and corruption on both sides of the thin blue line, The Skull carefully cultivated a reputation for being a ‘mad bastard’. Over 40 men felt the sting of his bullets, and many more felt the sting of his fists. But behind Australia’s toughest cop lay a personal secret of sexual abuse which Murphy shares publicly for the first time, in the hope that it will help others. This abuse formed the kind of police officer he later became — tough on the bad guys, but fiercely protective towards victims. With today’s political correctness and strict rules of conduct, there will never be another big personality copper like Brian ‘The Skull’ Murphy. This is his story.

The Life and Times of Brian ‘The Skull’ Murphy

Once a Copper

Paul Daley

The discovery of the body of Beth Barnard in her Phillip Island farmhouse in 1986, began a homicide investigation that rocked a peaceful community.It also created an enduring mystery, for no one was ever brought to trial for her brutal death, and the main suspect disappeared - never to be seen again.Beth Barnard, a popular and attractive 23-year-old, had been having an affair with a local married man.On the night of her brutal murder, a car belonging to Vivienne Cameron - wife of Beth's lover - was found abandoned near the bridge that connects the famous tourist island to the mainland.No trace of Vivienne was ever found, and her disappearance has never been adequately explained.Nevertheless, a Coroner's Court found that Vivienne had killed her rival then jumped to her death into the waters of Westernport Bay. The case was closed but not forgotten.Ever since their first edition of The Phillip Island Murder, in 1993, Vikki Petraitis and Paul Daley have been regularly contacted by people wanting to know more; people who, like the authors, let the case get under their skin.More than three decades later the mystery, rumours and arm-chair solutions continue.

The Phillip Island Murder

Winner of the inaugural Allen & Unwin Crime Prize. 'So you believed the alleged rapists over the alleged victim?' Jane's voice took on an indignant pitch. 'Girls lie sometimes.' I nodded. 'And rapists lie all the time.' When Senior Detective Antigone Pollard moves to the coastal town of Deception Bay, she is still in shock and grief. Back in Melbourne, one of her cases had gone catastrophically wrong, and to escape the guilt and the haunting memories, she'd requested a transfer to the quiet town she'd grown up in. But there are some things you can't run from. A month into her new life, she is targeted by a would-be rapist at the pub, and realises why there have been no convictions following a spate of similar sexual attacks in the surrounding district. The male witnesses in the pub back her attacker and even her boss doesn't believe her. Hers is the first reported case in Deception Bay, but soon there are more. As Antigone searches for answers, she encounters a wall of silence in the town built of secrets and denial and fear. The women of Deception Bay are scared and the law is not on their side. The nightmare has followed her home. Chilling, timely and gripping, The Unbelieved takes us behind the headlines to a small-town world that is all too real - and introduces us to a brilliant new voice in crime fiction.

25 Years of True Crime Writing

Inside the Law

True Stories from Australian Police Files

Forensics

Wayne Miller

Vic Jeremiah

The Great John Coleman

Brilliant and heroic, the police dogs and handlers of the Dog Squad put themselves on the front line every day to fight crime and keep citizens safe. Meet Ruger, the go-get-'em police dog that bit through a couch to catch a cat burglar, and Butch, the courageous dog that put its life on the line to take down a man armed with a knife. There's Michelle, the police detective turned Dog Squad handler, whose expertise as a trainer earned her an unbeatable two-dog tracking team; and there's digger, the police dog so loyal it stood guard over its handler, Gary, after he was gunned down by Mad Max. These stories of the Victoria Police Dog Squad's courage in the face of danger give a rare insight into the high-octane world of police dog work, and into the bond that exists between a police dog and its handler. Handlers share stories of training some of the best and brightest canine cadets, then taking them out onto the job – where dogged pursuits save lives.

The Dog Squad

In the early 1950s, Rod Braybon's father had died, leaving his mother with eight children she couldn't care for. As a ward of the state, Rod was passed from institution to institution until he finally ended up at the notorious Bayswater Boys' Home run by the Salvation Army. Rod endured years of ill-treatment at the hands of the Salvation Army, then spent a life-time repressing the memories that haunted him. Finally, Rod decided to speak out. His story created a nation-wide sensation and won a prestigious award for the journalist who broke it. That Rod survived at all is nothing short of a miracle. 'Salvation' is a story of courage and the indomitable Aussie spirit.

The True Story of Rod Braybon's Fight for Justice

Salvation

The queen of crime, Vikki Petraitis, (best-selling FORENSICS, COPS, THE FRANKSTON MURDERS) is back with more riveting tales Real-life detective cases solved by forensics and police work Vikki interviewed Australian police from Forensics, Fingerprints, Criminal Investigation Units and Homicide, and this is her best collection yet The resolution of these stories depends on dogged police work as well as forensics and make for gripping, compelling reading Vikki Petraitis has been nominated for the 2007 Sisters in Crime Davitt Award for Forensics.

Crime Scene Investigations

Paul Dale

'How did a kid from the country who dreamed of joining the Victoria Police, end up on the wrong side of the bars? There are a lot of reasons, and I hope this story will help clarify some of them, not only for you, the reader, but for me too, because a lot of the time I am left shaking my head, wondering how things went so wrong.' Paul Dale knows he is tainted. After almost fifteen years as a cop, working in Homicide and rising to the rank of Detective Sergeant in the Victorian Drug Squad, he saw the worst of what people can do. But when he was accused and jailed firstly for drug offences and then for murder, Dale realised the murky world he was navigating was going to take him under too. Dale dealt with crims like Carl Williams, Terry Hodson and Tommy Ivanovic on the Melbourne streets. But when a burglary ended in Hodson's arrest, Dale's life started to unravel. He turned to Nicola Gobbo, a lawyer and friend he thought could help: the lawyer who became known as Lawyer X. Eventually exonerated of any crimes, Paul Dale's story reveals the shocking deals done at the highest levels of the Victorian Police Force and the damage wrought by Victoria Police's use of Lawyer X.

Cops, Drugs, Lawyer X and Me

True crime account of the Australian serial killer Paul Denyer

The Frankston Serial Killer

In 1996 a neighbour spies three Asian men running out of a court in Glen Waverley. It looks like two chasing one. But when they head towards a nearby car with an open boot, and suddenly the boot closes and there are only two men standing there, the chase takes on a more sinister aspect. Young Steve Tragardh joined the police force when he was 18 and a half; he'd tried uni for a while, but it wasn't for him. He had come through the private school system and while his parents might have harboured secret hopes of a career in medicine, or law like his twin brother, they offered their full support when their son chose policing. The kidnapping of this young Asian boy would go onto be a defining moment in his career. Welcome to Crime Shots - short, sharp, true crime stories from Australia's past and present.

Pandora's Box

Police Victorian

Brilliant and heroic, the dogs and handlers of the Dog Squad put themselves on the front line every day to fight crime and keep citizens safe. Meet Ruger, the go-get-'em police dog that bit through a couch to catch a cat burglar, and PD Butch, the courageous dog that put its life on the line to diffuse volatile incidents and prevent tragedy. There's Michelle, the police detective turned Dog Squad handler, whose expertise as a trainer earned her an unbeatable two-dog tracking team; and there's Digger, the police dog so loyal it stood guard over its handler, Gary, after he was gunned down in the field. These stories of the Victorian Dog Squad's courage in the face of danger give a rare insight into the high-octane world of police dog work, and into the sturdy bond that exists between a police dog and its handler. Handlers and their families share stories of some of the best and brightest PDs to make it through the squad, where dogged pursuits save lives.

In 1986 a bomb went off outside the main police headquarters in Russell Street Melbourne. The Russell Street Bombing looks at the consequences of this shocking act of violence from the point of view of an entire city, the police force that was targeted, and in particular one 19-year-old victim. Welcome to Crime Shots - short, sharp, true crime stories from Australia's past and present.

The Russell Street Bombing

Forensic evidence is known as the 'silent witness'. Crime scene examiners make the silent witness speak. Sergeant Trevor Evans has been a crime scene examiner for 17 years, and worked the notorious case of murdered baby Jaidyn Leskie in Moe. He also examined the scene of the intriguing, still-unsolved murder of Jane Thurgood-Dove, a mother gunned down in the driveway of her home in Niddrie. Evans also used his wealth of experience when he was called to join the international team shifting through the debris after the Bali bombings, in order to identify those who lost their lives. Welcome to Crime Shots - short, sharp, true crime stories from Australia's past and present.

Vikki Petraitis

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