The night two officers were ambushed in Walsh Street | Forensic Files

[Music] our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents if you feel at
anytime you need support please contact your local crisis center for suggested phone numbers for confidential support
please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website Peter Ellis woke early on October 12th
1988 it was almost 4:20 a.m. and still dark outside Peter worked at a local news agency and he had to leave home
before dawn to prepare for the morning peak hour a rush of customers he lived in the inner city suburb of South Yarra
which borders the eastern side of Melbourne see Peters apartment was on Wall Street a narrow residential road
packed on either side with multi-story units Wall Street connects to many high traffic main roads leading to and from
Melbourne but has little traffic of its own with the Yarra River to the north Royal Botanical Gardens to the west and
Faulkner Park to the south it was an ideal innocence Street to live [Music] when Peter crawled out of bed that
cooled spring morning he immediately noticed something strange outside his bedroom window on the street below a
white Holden Commodore sedan was parked in the middle of the road its bonnet was
up and doors were closed parked cars framed the sights of Wall Street restricting available road space to one
lane the Commodores awkward position was blocking the road in both directions there wasn't anyone in or around it
Peter prepared for work and minutes later he collected his push box from downstairs and wielded outside the
Commodore was still sitting in the middle of the street its rear window was smashed
Peter assumed the car had been stolen during the night from elsewhere and was carelessly abandoned on Wall Street
after running out of petrol Peter cycled south the News Agency where he worked was located on the nearby shopping strip
of Tarak Road he arrived there around 425 a.m. and decided to find the local police station to report the abandoned
vehicle the Commodore needed to be towed to clear Wall Street for other cars to pass through at 4:30 a.m. the constable
at Piron police station who took Peter else's call phoned at the Victoria police's main Communication Center in
Melbourne City he passed on the report of the abandoned Commodore in wall street the communication centre then
sought out a police team to head to Wall Street to investigate Victoria police constables Stephen Tannen and Damien as
night shift had started on October 11 1988 at 11:00 p.m. callsign Pereira and 311 it had been a
shift of routine policing for the pair a domestic dispute noisy parties a drunken
fitzroy street a pub assault on Chapel Street a smash shop window and two activated security alarms at 4:30 9 a.m.
on the morning of October 12 - and a half hours before the end of their shift a new job was radioed to them from the
police communication centre / in 311 if you could slip down to Wall Street in South Yarra mr. Ellis of to 20
while Street states there's a white Holden sedan don't know what the Reg o is got the
lights on and smashed windows in the middle of the road Roger constable Damien ei responded Wall
Street was not technically in their area this job should have been allocated to the st. Kilda Road unit but staff levels
at st. Kilda Road police station were low at the time and they didn't have enough officers to send a divisional van
it should have then been forwarded to South Melbourne but their divisional van was in st. kilda attending a suicide
so the Wall Street job was allocated to the nearest available police people pay ran 311
at 448 a.m. per an 311 drove their divisional fan down leafy Wall Street constable Stephen Tannen was driving he
was the senior of the two officers but at the young age of 22 he wasn't much older than his 21 year old rookie
partner constable Damien here Damien Ayers father and brother were proud members of Victoria Police
it was Damien's lifelong ambition to follow in their footsteps despite failing his first police admission test
Damien was not deterred to give up on his dream and his second attempt was a success Damien's graduation from the
police academy brought great pride to his father Frank heir by October 12 1988 Damien had been a member of Victoria
Police for only six months Stephen Tainan had been in the police force for almost three years and already
earned himself a wealth of experience he had recently taken some time off work after a shooting incident and had only
been back on the beat for three days before winding up on Wall Street that morning Wall Street was vacant dark and
silent residents in surrounding apartments and units flipped the morning work traffic was still an hour or so
away from appearing on the adjacent punt Road constables Tainan and Effie on the
white Commodore still sitting in the middle of the road at the front of 220 Wall Street they slowly pulled up behind
it and lit up the rear of the vehicle with their vans high beams the Commodore was empty with its bonnet up as if
broken down the doors were closed in its rear window had been smashed Tainan and dare approached the Commodore
with no sense of danger also and suggested it was a stolen car abandoned after a joyride considered a routine job
there was nothing out of the ordinary at all for a typical police shift it was just before 4:50 a.m. when both officers
approached the Commodore the tar cracking underneath f8 as they approached in the dark there was no one
in sight constable err checked the car's registration sticker on the windscreen taking notes
constable Tainan sat in the driver's seat leaving the door open he noticed the broken ignition lock and hanging
wires from below the dashboard suggesting the car was stolen and he called out constable heir to come over
and check it out air walked over and knelt down on one knee by the driver's side door a layout fiery crack of
gunshots shattered the morning silence and echoed down Wall Street residents were instantly woken up by the startling
sounds our masked gunman had run out from the shadows and a close range fired a heavy caliber shotgun at constable
tonin as he went to exit the car the shot hit Tynan's head and to the impact caused him to slumped back into
the seat more gunshots quickly followed the shooter had taken aim at constable ere
crouched down by the door the second shot hit his back and shoulder despite his injuries constable there found the
strength to stand and lunge at the gunman air grabbed the shotgun and yelled out stop stop No as he forced the
barrel away from himself another two shots were fired during the struggle but they didn't hit anyone Walia fought the
gunman a second defender appeared unable to fight both attackers simultaneously air kept his hands on the shotgun
this allowed the second defender to steal constable Ayers revolver from his hip hop's though with air his own
revolver pointed directly at his head the second gunman pulled the trigger the gunman then pointed the weapon at him
once more as he liked bleeding on the ground and shot him again the two gunmen then fled
urgent calls to police were made by residents an initial call to police describe the sounds quote
hello I'm ringing from inside two to five Wall Street South Yarra there are terrible loud noises outside voices were
screaming another call followed soon after quote oh my gosh it only just happened we're at flat 2 2 2 I just woke
up I heard shots as I looked out the window I heard calling out and I couldn't see anything
13 minutes after the communications operator dispatched constables Tainan and heir to Wall Street he desperately
attempted to reestablish contact with them via police radio VK c 2 / an 311 v kc 2 / in 311 the operator contacted
south melbourne 150 the supervising inspector in the district south melbourne 150 percent paren 311
down to Wall Street there's a car a white Holden sedan parked in the middle of the road with lights on and smashed
windows since then I've had about three or four calls come in saying that they've heard shots fired in that Street
and I can't get around 311 at this stage concern of Victoria police headquarters
groove as more and more reports of the gunfire in wall street reached emergency operators offers of assistance from
police teams in the region lit up police radio patrol cars from South Melbourne Russell Street and st. kilda all
converged on Wall Street it was South Melbourne who reached Wall Street first at 4:53 a.m. five minutes after the
gunfire the first thing they saw was constable Tainan and his police divisional van parked in the middle of
the road the driver side door was open and the engine was running the Vans headlights illuminated the rear of the
white Holden Commodore sedan in front of it only seconds later they radioed the following South 250 urgent South
Melbourne 252 members down urgent South Melbourne 250 for God's sake get in the ambulance
the officers from South Melbourne found constable Damien err lying in the middle
of Wall Street by the back wheel of the white Holden Commodore blunt gushed from
a head wound and snaked down the roads in corn there were also two bleeding holes through his jacket into his back
his police issue 38 service revolver was missing from the holster on his hip slump in the Commodores front seat was
constable Stephen Tainan the interior of the car was full of blood both officers
were unconscious their eyes were open but they were non-responsive at that moment a man emerged from he by shadows
holding something up at the anxious police officers the police he ordered him to drop his weapon it was only a
torch he was escorting his partner Julian who was a registered nurse and had been
awoken by the gunshots once she heard police arrived she felt compelled to offer medical assistance to anyone
injured Julian approached constable Air who was lying on the road on his left side he was moaning his breathing and
pulse were irregular and he didn't respond to her his head wound was large bleeding and a Gillian could see gray
matter she didn't think though as much she could do she then checked constable tonin in the commodore his breathing was
labored and raspy he barely had a pulse Gillian asked the police officers to live near me out of the car when the
nurse handled the back of constable tonin's head her hand when incited the police communication centre was chaotic
multiple two men police teams arrived on scene that will eat chicken fronted by they're horribly injured colleagues and
were asking the questions who what and why two ambulances arrived simultaneously their crews spent 19
minutes attempting to stabilized the injured officers Stephen Thailand's condition deteriorated and his pulse
faded his breaths were too a minute Damien is pulse was weakening but his breaths were more frequent paramedics
rushed Tainan and air to nearby Alfred Hospital but Stephen tonin was reported dead on arrival
police sealed off the surrounding area roads were blocked by a dozen police vans and a hunt began for the
perpetrators every police resource available at the Talon was called to the scene including helicopters in the dog
squad constable s revolver could not be found and no suspect persons were located in
the area Damien s father Frank was awoken by a knock at his front door it was still
early and the son hadn't yet risen he opened to the door to be greeted by two police officers Frank ear knew Damien
was on night shift and the looks on the officers faces told him something was wrong in his many years as a police
officer Frank had delivered notices of death to victims families this moment stung with familiarity the officers
informed Frank there had been a shooting in Damien's partner Stephen Tainan was dead
however Damien was still alive and was taken to the nearby Alfred hospital but as the officers who delivered the
message walk back down Frank Ayres driveway towards their squad car they received an update message over their
radios Damien air had passed away as well constable Stephen John Tainan was a compassionate young man who loved
everybody and in turn everybody loved him in 1985 Stephen graduated from the Victoria Police Academy finishing 10th
in his training squad of 43 members after graduation Stephen lived at home with his parents Kevin and Wendy tonin a
police sergeant who worked with Stephen congratulated Kevin and Wendy on their parenting and told them that Stephen was
the most well-adjusted 22 year old he had ever met in early 1988 Stephen started working at paren police station
he was approaching his third year in the police force and had moved over to parent station after spending a year
working at the much quieter Cheltenham police station in southern Victoria pairen was considered a tough area to
police only five kilometers from melbourne city korean featured many trendy and fashionable shopping strips
and it was abundant with parks restaurants pubs and nightclubs the popular haunts of Chapel Street
greville street and to rock road brought a lot of visitors to the area these high
traffic areas made the suburb a hire for a wide variety of frequent crime paren police station dealt with more crime in
a year and stations located in quieter areas soaring 10 Stephen Tainan welcomed the change of location and quickly
adapted to the stressful work just 10 days prior to being called to Wall Street on Saturday October 1st
Stephen Tainan and another partner were dispatched to investigate and activated armed robbery alarm at a betting agency
in South Yarra awaiting the two officers were two armed men wearing crude paper-bag masks one carried a knife the
other carried an imitation though convincing looking pistol the offenders used an employee as a shield when trying
to escape the police Stephen shot one offender in the neck the other offender took bullets to the
knee and gun this incident distressed Stephen who took some time off work afterwards to settle this incident
really shook him constable Damien Jeffrey Eyre was a determined country boy raised in the
rural town of Shepperton in northern Victoria his admiration for Victoria police had been ingrained in him since
he was a child both Damien's father and older brother were police officers as well as his
sister-in-law Damien's blood ran blue and policing was a part of his family heritage as a boy
Damien would visit his father at work at Shepperton Police Station and play with
the old typewriters and roleplay as an officer his father considered at one of his proudest moments when Damien told
him years later that he wanted to apply to become a police officer Damien graduated from the Academy in
1997 he was offered the opportunity of being posted the Shepherd and police station where his father had worked but
Damien wanted to gain more ferret policing experience and asked to work closer to Melbourne City Damien was
assigned to paren poly station in may 1988 for any rookie cop this station would be intense and intimidating but
Damien eagerly embraced all the challenges that came with policing the area all Damien cared about was carrying
on his father's tradition of being a proud and honorable police officer Frank Eyre told his son if you want to be a
police officer you've got to be dedicated otherwise don't go to work you just don't know what's going to strike
from day to day during the canvass of Wall Street witness accounts from residents provided investigators with a
timeline of events no-one saw what happened between the constables and their killers
but many heard the gunshots shortly after Tainan and Ayer arrived at Wall Street at 448 a.m. two gunshots were
fired shortly after the shots rang out a nearby resident looked out their window
quote I was awoken by the sound of gunshots I got out of bed and stood at my window I saw a medium-sized what I
call a bandit looking person this person appeared to be wearing something over his head he was running along the lane
towards punt road at a very fast speed I looked back up the lane way towards Wall
Street and saw a second person running down the lane in the same direction as the first person the second person was
very much like the first person it was as if they were both dressed identically running at a very fast speed continuing
in the direction of Punt Road another witness saw these two masked assailants get into a vehicle quote I
saw the figure of a man run up early Street to a car that was parked in Le Street possibly what the man was
breathing very heavily and in a big hurry I saw him open the driver's side door and get in he then started the car and
started to slowly drive off then I heard the sound of a second guy running up early straight from the same direction
he was also breathing very heavily and loudly and moved very quickly I saw the second guy open the passenger door and
get him closing the door after him this car was seen speeding down le Street without its
lights on these two witnesses confirmed the two masked assailants were identically dressed as more statements
were collected from witnesses it became clear to police there were more suspects
involved in the crime than just these two one witness implicated three other suspects quote when they got to the
corner they stopped cross to the northern side of the road and one jumped the fence into the garden of a house on
the corner the second stood beside the tree just inside the entrance the person that jumped the fence into the garden
was carrying something in his left hand and holding it against his left side I couldn't make out what he was holding I
didn't see that person again the person I saw beside the tree then walked out into Punt road and appeared to be
looking up towards the main road within a minute I saw a dark-colored panel van traveling at a fast rate of speed down
Pont road it skidded and stopped I could only see a driver in this panel van as the van stopped the second person opened
the front door of the panel VIN the panel van then took off out of sight police now had a total of five suspect
persons assumed connected to the scene the two masked men who left by the white car on Earley Street the third who got
picked up by the dark panel van on punt Road the panel vans driver into the fifth who jumped fences and ran from the
scene furthermore a wall street resident came forward and told police her car's front passenger window was smashed that
night O'Brien jumper that was in the back seat was missing the jumper was found in a
nearby garden missing its sleeves police believed the shooters used the torn sleeves as makeshift balaclavas the
personal lives in police history of Steve Antonin and Damien Eyre were investigated but both men were clean
the young constables had no enemies therefore their deaths were not considered targeted payback neither had
been in the force long enough to develop any long-term grudges with renowned criminals or gangs detectives looked
into the criminals that toyline had shot out a week earlier at the betting agency
incident those armed robbers were students deep in gambling debt they had no friends or family or known criminal
connections in Melbourne both men were still injured from the confrontation and to the man Stephen shot in the neck was
permanently paralyzed neither student was a seasoned criminal and an either had the connections to
seek targeted revenge against Stephen tonin for the shooting plus there was no way of knowing it would be Stephen tonin
who would respond to the call on Wall Street it wasn't even technically his area it was dismissed as a connection
the possibility Stephen and Damien interrupted a crime being committed was also ruled out the pair investigated the
abandoned Commodore almost half an hour after Peter Ellis made the initial call to police Ellis didn't see anyone in or
around the car that appeared abandoned car thieves would have had ample time to flee the scene before police arrived the
Thai Air Task Force named from the combination of the two deceased officers surnames was created to investigate the
murders the Thai Air Task Force was made up of a core group of 12 investigators three from the armed robbery squad four
from the major crime squad into fire from the Homicide Squad they would partake in the largest police
investigation within the state of Victoria hundreds of police officers worked with Atty a task force at the
height of the investigation the Victorian state government offered a reward of $200,000 for information
leading to a conviction investigators considered the sinister possibility that the Commodore wasn't
randomly abandoned it appeared to have been strategically planted there this implied that the wall street shootings
were not an accident they were an ambush and that was exactly how Task Force Tire
treated the investigation not since 1878 when the infamous bushranger Ned Kelly and his gang ambushed and killed three
police officers in regional Victoria had a similar targeted act been carried out
but unlike Ned Kelly and his gang who were being pursued constables Tainan and Dare were lured to Wall Street and
killed simply because they were wearing a police uniform their death serves no purpose to their killers but to send a
message to Victoria Police there was an act committed purely in cold blood during the 1980s bank robberies had
become a national problem for Australia gone were the days of a lone gunman acting impulsively for minimal take
professional crews were taking over crime gangs planned robberies in advance to collect big money
they performed reconnaissance Saudi intelligence selected experienced personnel assigned roles organized ear
and weaponry arranged transport and chose hiding places when knocking over their targets with
weapons in hand and masks on they were threatening and violent but also clean and efficient for the gang members it
was an exciting deadly rush that bred an addictive lifestyle successful robberies
were thrilling criminals were always waiting with anticipation for the next big job gang members became fiercely
loyal to each other relying on crew mates to watch each other's backs they owed each other their
lives they saw their crews as their family armed robbery was a high-risk operation
to get in any out with any success criminals had to approach their targets with ruthless intent in this life and
limb approach had resulted in the deaths of several Australian police officers killed by offenders caught in the act in
previous years the violence was particularly overwhelming for Victoria police the 1980s saw several violent
events that profoundly impacted and changed Victoria Police the first was the Russell Street bombing in 1986 a car
bomb targeting police exploded outside the Russell Street Police Headquarters killing one officer this is further
detailed in case 24 of case file the second was a mass shooting in huddled Street in 1997 committed by former
Australian Army Cadet Julian night-night killed seven people in the injured 19 more only four months later law student
Frank Vic Kovac entered a building in Queen Street Melbourne and shot 13 people killing 8 as armed killers
terrorized Melbourne Victoria Police members believed they were in the midst of a clandestine war that was getting
progressively worse and they felt they were losing the war by 1987 armed bank robberies in Victoria where as frequent
as 20 per week two or three bank robberies were expected daily crime seemed out of control the armed robbery
squad was tasked to combat the offenders both police and criminals considered them a heavy unit Victoria police
members began approaching violent armed offenders with the same defensive impulse as the offender's kill or be
killed what followed was several incidents where police killed armed and unarmed criminals criminals are more
enforcement were reaching a point of intense hatred and fear of each other so Victoria police criminal activity was
becoming particularly a moral and personal police felt unsafe performing their duties against extreme criminals
who refused to surrender police were up against ruthless and deadly armed robbers who had no problem taking
innocent lives to satisfy their own pockets criminals would hold grudges and sought
retribution some of them felt the police were turning in to shoot first trigger-happy corrupt Cowboys who sought
lethal vengeance they worried that if and when police confronted them that they would be murdered not arrested once
criminals started being shot by police during their apprehension the culture slowly changed and some gangs dissolved
what remains were around a dozen determined and violent bank robbery crews the Flemington crew was one such
criminal team police gave them the title after they robbed a Flemington bank in November 1987 the Flemington crew was
intensely violent during robberies they didn't differentiate between males females or children they didn't care
they physically terrorized them all by putting shotguns and weapons up to the noses of victims and demanding money
police knew the identities of the Flemington crew members but they were yet to be caught in the act and then
there wasn't enough evidence for an arrest based out of the Melbourne inner city suburb of Richmond the Flemington
crew was led by career criminal Victor Pierce born in 1958 Victor Pierce was the sixth child of ten born to kathleen
Pettingill the imposing matriarch of a Melbourne based criminal family Kath also known as granny evil was a twenty
year criminal veteran she had a glass eye after an incident in the late 70s where she was shot through a door while
attempting to pay a personal debt for her only daughter her children all had connections to illegal activities and
most ended up going to prison or to an early grave her son Victor Pierce was considered one
of the best armed robbers in Melbourne he was the organizer and planner of the crimes linked to the Flemington crew
fellow members sought his advice and admired him his robberies took weeks of planning and surveillance he'd study a
target memorised the building its exact locations the timings of key events and how people got in and out the Flemington
crew hit their targets on a Thursday or Friday when banks carried the most money
fresh getaway cars were stolen the night before Holden Commodore fates were their
preferred choice common models that would not arouse suspicion and could gain speed quickly multiple professional
criminals were connected to the Flemington crew giving Victor Pierce a pool of experience to draw from for each
new job aside from Pierce who was the ringleader there were three other full-time members
of the Flemington crew one of those members was Graham Jensen Jensen had earned his first criminal charge at age
11 when caught stealing from taxis he left school in third form to work at a broom Factory that employment lasted two
weeks before he sought a lifelong career in crime at 14 years old he stole six fur coats valued at two and a half
thousand dollars at fifteen he rubbed his first bank in Fitzroy netting just over a thousand dollars the arresting
officer at the time warned of what Jensen could become stating that in the future Jensen would be a very active
criminal who would require a firm handling in 1977 Jensen was arrested in Canberra for three armed robberies
resulting in a total steal of $70,000 Jensen was sentenced to ten years imprisonment police considered Jensen to
be a very dangerous person he was rumored to sleep with a loaded shotgun under his bed if given the opportunity
police believed - Jensen would shoot a police officer or anyone else who got in his way
despite this reputation Graham Jensen was a personable and popular guy in crime circles and was a close friend of
Victor Pierce on October 11th 1988 the day before the wallstreet shootings Graham Jensen was under surveillance by
Victoria police in relation to operation no-name Jensen was a suspect in an armed
robbery of a supermarket in the northern suburb of Brunswick a few months prior on that day a gun wielding robber jumped
two guards and demanded the cash team they were carrying one of the guards Dominic hefty was shot in the chest and
leg by the offender during a struggle the offender ran out of the store in full view of witnesses carjacked a woman
and sped away the guard Dominique ft died two days later from his injuries leaving behind
his wife and two-year-old child Flemington crew member Graham Jensen fit witness descriptions of the Brunswick
gunman and was pointed out in photo assemblies an informer had also implicated Victor Pearce in the crime so
police decided to bring both men in for questioning police were aware both Pearce and Jensen were dangerous
criminals who had access to firearms pieces location was unknown but Jensen was at a safehouse the narrow Warren
home of his girlfriend Neri Warren is a southeastern suburb about 40 kilometres from Melbourne on
October 11th Jensen woke late and had breakfast in bed before getting up around midday to watch a movie it was
six hours into surveillance for operation no-name before police had a possible sighting of him at 3:20 p.m.
police observed an unidentified male leaving the house in Neri Warren the male got into Jensen's blue Holden
Commodore station wagon and drove off police couldn't confirm if the man was Graham Jensen so they decided not to
confront him and instead covertly tailed the car the suspect drove to a nearby lawnmower shop three minutes away on
Webb Street he parked his car and a strip of gravel in front of the store and went inside to buy a new spark plug
to undercover surveillance detectives followed the suspect inside and confirmed it was Graham Jensen police
feared the possibility Jensen would drive on to do a school pickup they didn't want to risk putting children in
danger so a box intercept was planned once Jensen returned to his car detectives would maneuver three unmarked
police cars to block his vehicle one car would drive up on each side and the third would block him at the rear
Jensen exited the store and got in his car police attempted the Box intercept and three cars containing eight armed
robbery squad members screeched towards the station wagon Jensen put his car in reverse and hit the accelerator he was
able to back out of the trap and did a sharp u-turn clipping one of the police cars in the process an officer yelled
he's got a gun police yelled for Jensen to stop and raised their weapons at his car shots
were fired peppering Jensen's car with bullet holes and shattering the rear window seconds later Jensen's car veered
off the road and up onto a curb before smashing into a light pole the front hood of his vehicle was crushed
he's the lifeless body slumped in the driver's seat Jensen had a gunshot wound in the back of his head police conceded
this was a poorly executed attempt at an arrest their intention was to arrest Jensen not to kill him according to
police statements the reason Jensen was shot at was because police witnessed Jensen pointed
gun at them during his escape a sawn-off bold action 22 rifle was discovered next to Jensen's legs in his
vehicle Jensen's girlfriend said she hadn't seen the gun in Jensen's car that morning
when she was cleaning it and she was adamant that she didn't see it in his possession before he left a rumor
started that the gun had been taken from the boot of a police car hidden in a beach towel implanted in Jensen's
station wagon after a crash to justify the shooting police denied the rumor they insisted the towel was only used to
cover Jensen's body from public view which it was the towel was later destroyed without being tested
with the executions of constables phonin and air coming just 13 hours after the death of career criminal graham jensen
police realized that was too suspicious to be a coincidence they believed that Tainan and ayers
murders were an act of revenge and retaliation for the shooting death of Graham Jensen a media report after the
wall street shootings featured an officer saying quote perhaps they decided we killed one of theirs
and did they decided to kill two of ours within the hours of the wall street shootings police zeroed in on all of
Graham Jensen's family friends and associates including Victor Pierce and two other members of the Flemington crew
Peter McAvoy and Jed Horton in a single day police raided 100 homes linked to potential suspects these raids carried
on for months one home could be rated multiple times a week at the discretion of the Thai Air Task Force their aim was
to shake the [ __ ] out of the underworld they raided known crooks ex crooks their
families associates even the names listed in their address books raids typically occurred early morning
doors and windows were smashed with sledgehammers residents worked to armed officers surrounding their bed pointing
loaded guns at them tactics police used to get information were said to include threats to kill
backings warning shots broken bones guns pushed into people's mouths guns held against the heads of children homes
ransacked and furniture destroyed community outrage at the senseless deaths of two young police officers
outweighed the concerns of the tactics used by police to catch the killers the police aimed to break hardened
criminals who had adapted to what they felt was soft policing criminals felt what it was like to be terrorized
threatened and intimidated at 2:40 p.m. on Wednesday October 12th 11 hours after
the shootings in Wall Street a shotgun blast shattered the front door of Victor Pierce's home
Special Operations Group police bolted inside with their weapons raised and ready in the home was Victor's wife
Wendy Pierce the Special Operations Group yelled at her where is he where is the [ __ ] Victor Pierce wasn't home he
was at his sister's property with fellow Flemington crew member Peter McAvoy the
Special Operations Group made their way to the property but when they arrived later that afternoon Peter McAvoy was
alone Victor Pierce had left the hunt for the final two Flemington crew members began
dig the Pierce was in hiding and Jed Horton was already on the run due to outstanding warrants Victor Pierce was
convinced to now more than ever that police were going to kill him a message of being delivered to pierce shortly
before Graham Jensen's death claiming police threatened to off him to pierce this threat was not unexpected he
believed there was a group of police targeting and exterminating career criminals and it seemed logical he would
be next on Thursday October 13th and anxious Victor Pierce presented himself at st. Kilda Road police station with
his lawyer his intention was the go on the record as being innocent of any bank robberies police suspected North Pierce
believed if he voluntarily handed himself in for questioning that would protect him from being shot once
questioning began all police wanted Pierce to talk about was the wall street shootings frustrated at the accusations
who was responsible for wall street Pierce responded that each question with no common
detectives made the sudden decision to arrest peace for the murder of Dominique hefty the security guard shot during the
Brunswick supermarket robbery months earlier the murder they had attempted to arrest Graham Jensen for when he was
killed Pierce was shocked he's clean at backfired he responded I know nothing and I don't want to say anything what
had happened was after Graham Jensen's death police sent a sample of his blood to forensics the Seifert matched blood
found at the Brunswick supermarket crime scene the offender had been injured during the struggle with healthy until
left his blood at the scene this test showed that Graham Jensen was not the murderer of the supermarket guard after
all this news created a serious problem for Victoria police they had justified the killing of Jensen by publicly
stating that he was wanted for the murder of hefty this gave the arrest the sense of urgency and justified the
aggressive tactics to stop the murderer from escaping them and putting more innocent lives at risk
but Jensen didn't do it so they went after Victor Pierce for the murder the evidence to support Victor Pierce's
Dominic Effie's killer was weak an unreliable police informer had pointed Victor Pierce out as possibly being the
planner of the robbery but the decision to arrest Pierce at least ensured he would remain behind bars for the time
being a murder charge meant he wouldn't be eligible for bail not all investigators approved of this
tactic Pierce was tight-lipped with no intention of revealing information he might have had regarding wall street
they believed more insight would have been gained if Pierce was free on the streets and able to communicate with his
crew they would have preferred using listening devices phone bugs tracking devices and covert surveillance to try
and catch him up but despite the disagreements between investigators Victor Pierce was put behind bars a pent
reach prison during their many raids police scooped up Victor Pierce's nephew Jason Ryan Jason was an unemployed 17
year old with a history of shooting his mouth off to police he was the son of Victor Pierce's sister Vicki Pierce
Jason Ryan was a drug user who hadn't been to school in three years those who knew Jason considered him a
violent weirdo Jason's family attempted to groom him into being a professional criminal by giving him support role
models and contacts despite these opportunities Jason never amounted to much as a criminal he was soft compared
to the hardened criminals around him at 13 years old Jason lived with his uncle Dennis Allen Victor Pierce's older
half-brother Dennis Allen was infamous with in legal and criminal circles he was nicknamed mr. death he ran a million
dollar heroin trafficking business out of several houses in Richmond Dennis was a sociopath hyper violent and a murderer
on one occasion Jason Ryan watched as Dennis high on drugs shot dead a houseguest during a moment of
uncontrollable rage the victim stood up to change the record player and Dennis shot him six times Dennis then retrieved
another gun returned to his victim and fired another seven bullets into him Jason started drinking heavily and
injecting speed to cope with the environment he was being raised in on another occasion
Jason was ordered by his uncle Dennis Alan to fill a bucket with water from the nearby Yarra River
Dennis tipped the river water down the throat of a woman he had just killed the woman's head was held in the bucket for
half an hour to make it appear as though she had drowned Dennis Alan was able to tiptoe around
criminal convictions by bribing corrupt police officers and offering information
intelligence and evidence on other criminals crimes Dennis Allen died in April 1987 from a cardiac arrest it was
known that he had killed at least six people but the total may have been as high as 13 his death was a relief to law
enforcement contempt had formed in Victoria Police between those few corrupt officers who protected Dennis
Allen into those who were trying to go after him despite of being far from the perfect upbringing Jason Ryan considered
Dennis Allen a father figure however Dennis was not as fond of Jason in return Dennis would even try and pin
some of his crimes on Jason to avoid prosecution Jason would talk openly with police about the crimes his family
members were committed after Dennis Allen died Jason turned to his uncle Victor Pearce as a replacement father if
he got police believed if Victor Pierce had anything to do with Wall Street then
he's a loose lipped nephew Jason Ryan would be the one to let them know in an attempt to get Jason to talk to police
about Wall Street they arrested him for being an accomplice after the fact for the murder of security guard Dominique
hefty this gave police the opportunity to take Jason in for questioning police didn't have to wait long for Jason to
talk it was on the drive to the police station that he volunteered that he knew something about the wallstreet shootings
police offered Jason the opportunity to be placed in protective custody to keep him away from the threat of retribution
he jumped at the offer three armed robbery squad detectives put Jason in a car and took him up the Hume Highway
towards the Great Dividing range Jason was taken to a secure location 800 kilometers from Melbourne to be
questioned Jason initially had fears the trip was a ploy to kill him and dump his body in
bushland never to be found these thoughts crossed his mind after knowing his family had connections with corrupt
police officers he didn't know who to trust police believed Jason was genuinely remorseful that two young
innocent police officers had been murdered during questioning he implicated himself and Flemington crew
members Victor Pierce Jed Horton and Peter McAvoy is all being involved in the wall street shootings he also
implicated a new suspect his friend Anthony Farrell Jason claimed that after Graham Jensen
was shot dead he was at his mother's house with Anthony Farrell Jed Horton and Peter McAvoy Peter McAvoy was living
there at the time when news broke that Jensen had been shot dead by police Peter McAvoy couldn't contain his temper
his emotions jumped between tears anger and threats McAvoy knew Graham Jensen wasn't the gunman at the Brunswick
supermarket robbery police went to arrest him for Jensen had also previously told McAvoy he suspected he
was being tailed by cops and felt Toey about being caught with a gun the Flemington career were of the
staunch belief that the gun found in Jensen's car was planted by police after it was shot Jason watched his MacAvoy
screen rented swore and made threats about police but Jed Horton remained silent the Flemington crew was still
reeling over the death of a part-time member only the year before also at the hands of police after hearing about
Graham Jensen McEvoy clutched a black handgun and yelled about how two of his mate Sidney I died so near two dogs had
the dire McAvoy said if they didn't do it by the end of the night they will wait dogs after hearing this Jed Horton
rang Victor Pierce later that afternoon Jason Ryan and his friend Anthony Farrell went to the local pub for a
drink and stayed until closing time afterwards they went to a flat in Gordon Grove
South Yarra Gordon Grove is a 10-minute walk from Wall Street the flat belonged to Anthony Farrell's girlfriend who
wasn't home at the time in her flat Anthony Farrell had stored boxes of dark-colored night brand
tracksuits that he had scored during a recent theft shortly later Victor Pierce Jed Horton and Peter McAvoy arrived at
the flat they told Jason Roy and they wanted him to steal them a car Victor Pierce wanted to put the car somewhere
then ring the police to come and get it then they would ambush them Jason had no doubt they were planning to
kill the police officers the group changed into matching tracksuits which matched a witness's
statement from the morning of the wallstreet shootings stating the suspects appeared to be wearing
identical clothing the group then left the flat together Jason explained his role in the crime
was stealing the white Commodore used in the ambush he stole it off the curb from
out the front of a property on Wall Street after starting the vehicle Jason got out and Jed Horton got in
Horton turned it around and drove it to the location of the ambush when Jason saw the headlights of an approaching car
from down the road he ran from the scene he claimed he heard the gunshots as he ran away police knew Jason was lying he
series of events employed Tainan and there were killed within minutes of the Commodore being planted but police were
aware of additional information that wasn't yet public at 3:50 a.m. the taxi drove down Wall Street to pick up a fare
the driver noticed the rear of the white Commodore sedan 20 meters ahead blocking
the road he tooted his horn and waited two minutes no one responded he thought the car had broken down and its owner
had gone to get help investigators believed the killer's called the taxi and sent it to Wall Street hoping the
taxi driver would call the police however the taxi driver reversed back to the main road and didn't report the
unusual car to anyone officers Tainan and Ayer weren't at the location for another 50 minutes so this contradicted
Jason's statement Jason Ryan gave many more versions of the events regarding the morning of the wallstreet shootings
he constantly changed his story when asked why he lied to police he repeated the same answer I don't know I just did
despite his inclination to talk he ended up hard work for investigators police raided the Gordon Grove property
Jason claimed was used as The Killers meeting place hours before the shooting no evidence was found to suggest that
any of the men Jason named had been in the flat there were no boxes filled with stolen not tracksuits either Anthony
Farrell's girlfriend told police she didn't notice a single thing out of place when she returned home from
trip out of town the neighbors were canvassed but no one saw or heard anything suspicious in or around the
flat that night police decided to arrest Jason Ryan for the murders of Steve and
Toyman and Damien heir they needed him safe from anyone who might be looking to shut him up it also allowed police to
continue questioning him for more information throughout the investigation in order to maintain his protection
Jason Ryan's arrest wasn't public knowledge everyone including his mother thought Jason was missing none of his
family knew he was safe in police custody so they filed a missing persons report Jason couldn't be a crown witness
in court if he was facing a murder charge therefore police offered to withdraw the
charges only if he agreed to give evidence against Victor Pierce and the others Jason agreed
on November 1st 20 days after the Wall Street shootings and while Victor Pearce was still locked up on remand for the
murder of security guard Dominique hefty police once again raided his home when DPS was drunk inside after celebrating
the Melbourne Cup carnival a large and popular horse-racing event held at Flemington Racecourse during the raid
police found a Magnum pistol buried in the backyard after the raid Wendy visited pierced the
telling the news the only people who knew about the pistols location in the backyard were Pierce herself and a Jason
Ryan they knew this meant Jason was talking to police he wasn't missing at all he was a police informer Victor
Pierce told Wendy what to say when making her statement to police this included his whereabouts on October 11
and 12 he repeated the story to Wendy over and over her statement to police ended up being exactly what piers told
her to write in her statement she wrote that immediately following Graham Jensen's death
pease feared he was about to be killed by police also he wanted to get away from the family home to somewhere the
police couldn't find him on the evening of October 11 Pierce and Wendy took their children and retreated to the
tullamarine in 17 kilometers northwest of Melbourne Wendy statement explained Pierce didn't
leaves a hotel room at any time that night the next morning the morning of the wallstreet shooting they woke in bed
together had breakfast and left the hotel around 8:30 a.m. Pease spent the day at his sister's
place and Wendy returned home at 2:40 that afternoon the Special Operations Group officers raided their home looking
for Pierce Wendy stated quote I love Viktor Pierce very much and he loves me and his
children I don't know anything about the shooting of the two policemen in Wall Street South Yarra Wendy's handwritten
three thousand and five hundred word statement contradicted Jason Ryan's statement the Victor Pearce was with him
Anthony Ferrell Peter McAvoy and Jed Horton in the early hours of October 12 at the flooding Gordon Grove but police
knew Wendy was likely to lie to protect Pierce police needed another witness to corroborate Jason's version of events
and clean up the discrepancies in his statements Jed Horton would be of no help he was still on the run
whereabouts unknown Peter McAvoy was no help either his hatred of police would keep him tight lipped he had given
police a statement already unit he said he was home all night on October 11th no
one could corroborate his alibi Peter McAvoy was well aware he was under surveillance and police and plenty of
listening devices when he was out driving McAvoy would often bait the officers tailing him by driving slowly
up and down Wall Street police knew Peter McAvoy would never crack the only real possibility of another witness
supporting Jason Ryan statements was he's made Anthony Farrell Farrell was a 20-year old criminal with minor
convictions he was a promising up and come up with a natural skill for crime and he was highly regarded by some
members of the Flemington crew to the investigators frustrations Farrell did the opposite of what they wanted
he remained loyal to the Flemington crew and turned against his mate Jason Wright
Farrell called Jason a lying little mongrel he admitted he was at Jason's mother's house the day Graeme Jensen was
killed he confirmed Peter McAvoy and Jed Horton were also present and he admitted
he heard Peter McEvoy's angry ranting about the police they even admitted he heard McAvoy say that someone was going
to pay and get their right whack Farrell said he and Jason left to go to the pub and stayed there drinking until
11:00 p.m. but this is where Farrell story changed from Jason's Farrell said that after the pub they returned to
Jason's mother's house Peter McEvoy and Jed Horton were gone Jason went to bed in his room and Farrell slept on the
couch this completely contradicted the Gordon Grove story Jason had offered police Farrell did though perhaps
without realizing implicate Peter McAvoy in his version of events he confirmed that McAvoy was making threats to kill
police after Jensen's death and he didn't know that by telling police McAvoy wasn't home when he and Jason got
back from the pub he was contradicting MacAvoy statement that he was home all night Farrell had no idea his version
poked big holes in McAvoy story and perhaps if he did he wouldn't have made it when police put to Farrell the Jason
Ryan was asked by McAvoy to steal a car to use in The Wall Street ambush Farrell
refused to believe this would have happened he called McAvoy a professional car thief he didn't believe McAvoy would
ever ask Jason for help Jason didn't have any skill in stealing cars privately police agreed with this it was
far more likely that McAvoy an experienced car thief was the person who stole the white Holden Commodore used in
the Wall Street ambush not Jason Ryan Farrell denied there was any talk of a police ambush between Peter McAvoy and
Jed Horton he denied McAvoy said they would be white dogs if they didn't take revenge and he denied there had been a
meeting and his girlfriend's flat in Gordon Grove the police gave Farrell a short break to have a cigarette and call
his grandmother when he returned they arrested him for the murders of Stephen Tannen and Damien heir Farrell was Thun
he responded am innocent I haven't done Anthony Farrell was the first person publicly charged with the wall street
killings the community expected a hard and callous criminal what they saw was the opposite a young kid a nobody in the
criminal world Farrell cried when the charges were brought against him police installed a covert listening
device in Farrell's silver the city watch house in Russell Street Andrew Fraser the Flemington crews go to
defense attorney visited Farrell and their conversation was recorded the lawyer saw through the plan Fraser told
Farrell that the police were using him as the weak link in the chain they were trying to put enormous pressure on him
hoping it would crack if they confronted Farrell with the possibility of spending
the rest of his life in prison for a crime he didn't commit perhaps it would turn against the
Flemington crew and tell the police who the killers were Andrew Fraser insisted that the police had no evidence and
encouraged Farrell estate strong when Farrell voiced his concern that Jason Ryan was talking to police the lawyer
responded I don't give a [ __ ] what they say about Jason Ryan if Jason's turned
[ __ ] dog Farrell finished the sentence for him that's right think that would have been pinched by Neill
Andrew Fraser shushed him and told him not to talk there up until this point Farrell had been
accommodating to police happy to answer their questions but from this moment on he sealed his mouth shut
the police had Anthony Farrell and Jason Ryan in custody for the murders of Steven Tainan and Damien heir Victor
Pierce was also behind bars for the murder of security guard Dominique hefty they had eyes on Peter McAvoy 24/7
hoping he would implicate himself but he was remaining staunch continuing the torrent surveillance police by driving
up and down Wall Street so their next major task was locating Jed Horton Jed Horton had a reputation within Victoria
Police as being dangerous cold and violent he had been very active in multiple armed bank robberies throughout
his life unlike Peter McAvoy Horton was quiet and contemplative he intimidated people in a sinister silent kind of way
in turn his introspective 'no smite him paranoid and anxious the 23 year old was
on the run Horton was wanted on warrants for assaulting police however he was far
more concerned about distancing himself from the wall street investigation on October 12th the day of the wall street
shooting he took his motorbike his new girlfriend Kim notable guns and a police scanner and headed far from Nolan Horton
stopped in central regional Victoria he arrived at the home of Graham Jensen's Frank Paul Widdecombe Widdicombe lived
in long gully a suburb of the city of Bendigo 150 kilometers northwest of Melbourne Whittaker allowed Horton and
his girlfriend Kim to lay low at his place for a while seemingly out of the blue
Horton told Widdicombe there are two hundred thousand reasons why the police might want to see me with a comb linked
to that number two the reward offered for information about the wall street shootings it was then he considered the
possibility that Horton was involved Paul Whittaker and found Horton the bear difficult house guess he was tense and
Whittaker felt uncomfortable with Hortons guns inside his house and around his children
Horton told him that police were not going to do to him what they did to Graham Jensen and that he would put up a
foil Widdecombe had no doubt if police cornered Horton that he would try to shoot his way out Hortons girlfriend Kim
had been chatting to strangers in town and to the locals got suspicious the couple were on the run after this the
widow combs told the couple it was time for them to move on Horton agreed he and Kim heard of a
vacant cabin at a Scott Lodge a camping ground ten minutes away so they made their way there on November 16th 1988
they rented Cabin number four for two weeks the next day Horton was back at the Widdecombe home after being invited to
join them on a rabbit hunt Horton sat at the breakfast table turning the frequencies on his police scanner he got
up and began circling the Widdicombe house while muttering to himself with the Skinner pressed against his ear as
his voice got louder through the scanner Horton walked towards a window in the lounge room on the ledge he found a
covert listening device Widdicombe insisted he had no idea about the listening device
agitated Horton went out to the shed where he'd left his guns overnight he fully loaded a chain gun and placed one
in his pocket one in a shoulder holster and two down the front of his pants they left for
their pre-cleaned rabbit hunt but Widdicombe cut the event short fixated on his police scanner Horton had become
increasingly paranoid the lack of radio chatter and overhearing the word bike being said made him anxious that the
police were on to him he was wary of returning to Ascot Lodge and instead wanted to move on to New South Wales or
Western Australia but at 10:30 that morning Horton reluctantly returned to the cabin
he and Kim had rented there were no police in sight he informed Kim about the listening device he found at Widow
combs house and he smoked some marijuana to calm himself which caused him to fall
asleep on the bed concerned Kim called the Widdicombe household Paul Whittaker his wife assured Kim
everything was fine but then abruptly ended the call things didn't seem right Kim woke Horton and tried to convince
him to leave but he took no action at midday Kim grabbed a cigarette in the corner of
her eyes she noticed the curtains flicker a few seconds later the glass smashed in wood scattering across the
room Special Operations Group officers stormed to the small cabin with their guns raised Jed Horton rolled over on
the bed with the revolver in his hand Horton pointed the gun at them and was repeatedly told to drop it he refused
fearing Horton would shoot two officers fired their pump-action shotguns at him striking him in the chest and arm
Courtin died instantly three revolvers a pistol as well as a police scanner were found in the cabin
the covert surveillance operation on Jed Horton was blown the moment he discovered the listening device of the
Whitaker property the Thai Air Task Force made the decision to move in and arrest him before he had the opportunity
to run the previous day as horton and Kim were packing their belongings in long gully to move to the cabin at Ascot
lodge two undercover police officers arrived at the lodge before them they obtained the key to cabin four and drew
a rough floorplan of the interior they looked for somewhere discreet to plan a listening device but were unsuccessful
afterwards they returned to the key to reception and went into cabin number one to establish a static surveillance post
when Kim called to check up on the Widdecombe family police were in the process of writing the Whittaker home
that's why the call was ended abruptly police toward the Widdicombe house apart and officers held a gun to their son's
head demanding information on Horton Paul Widdecombe told them everything they wanted to know police were made
aware Horton was armed and dangerous and expected that a violent confrontation with the wanted criminal was likely on
December 30th 1988 Victor Pierce was formally charged with the murders of Stephen Tainan and Damien heir no major
breakthroughs in the case had occurred police were still hanging under the statements of Jason Ryan so far Victor
Pierce Anthony Farrell and Jason Ryan had all been charged with the wall street shootings Peter McAvoy was still free
but remained under close surveillance and to the other suspect Jed Horton was now dead Pierce opposed their request by
police that he be moved from prison custody into police custody he felt safer at Pinterest prison Jason
Ryan remained in protective custody into the new year he continued to remain unreliable his story changing yet again
now he said he wasn't on Wall Street at the time of the shootings at all he admitted he didn't steal the Commodore
used in the ambush claiming he stayed behind at the Gordon grow flat by himself to look after the place the
other men left without him to conduct the ambush and murders despite Jason's foot flopping police
believed this scenario was actually the most likely Jason had an inability to accurately report details of the wall
street shootings such as which direction the Commodore was facing images of the Commodore at the crime scene had been
featured prominently in the media yet Jason stated that it was facing the opposite direction this convinced police
he was not at the scene during the ambush his latest version still placed Victor Pearce Peter McAvoy Jed Horton
and Anthony Farrell at the scene but five men were witnessed fleeing the scene and Jason did replace himself with
someone else in his latest statement he said the fifth man involved was actually
career criminal Gary Abdullah after Jason's latest statement the word on the street was
that unless 24 year old Gary Abdullah surrendered himself to police he would end up like Graham Jensen and Jed Horton
police raided the homes of out doulas acquaintances and during these raids police were warned Abdullah might be
armed and he wouldn't surrender Jason Ryan was now telling police Gary Abdullah talked with McAvoy and Horton
in the hours before the wall street shooting according to Jason that was Abdullah who was tasked with obtaining
the getaway vehicles for the ambush as he had supplied the Flemington crew with stolen cars in the past on April 9th
1989 Abdullah told his mother he didn't want to return to his flattened carton in case the police were waiting for him
but his mother reassured him she told him to go and retrieve his belongings adalah got in a car and headed towards
his flat driving behind him in an unmarked car were two plainclothes detectives cliff Lockwood and a derma
Dave on the detectives pulled up della over and searched his car they discovered a knife in his possession
which constituted a crime he was arrested but the detectives didn't handcuff him they locked his car and
placed him into the backseat of their own they then escorted Abdullah to his Carlton flat to search for evidence of
other crimes inside of Dulles flat the detectives found nothing incriminating downstairs Abdullah was then followed up
stairs by detect of lockwood to continue the search detective Lockwood who checked each room
upstairs finishing up in the bedroom of an ex flatmate of Abdullah's nothing was
found in this last bedroom detective Lockwood remained at the doorway of the bedroom and detective
Avon was further back down the corridor detective Lockwood turned to his partner
losing sight of Abdullah for a few seconds Lockwood told Avon there's nothing here
let's go detective Lockwood stated that when he turned back Abdullah was holding
a 357 magnum revolver in a two-handed grip and was raising it towards him Lockwood he yelled put it down put the
[ __ ] thing down residents next door heard the words through the walls they stated they heard Abdullah reply I'm not
doing anything detective Lockwood fired all six of his guns bullets at Abdullah he then took
his partner's gun and fired a final shot an ambulance was called and two Thai Air
Task Force investigators quickly arrived at the scene they noticed that detective
Lockwood was visibly shaken they found a detective on upstairs giving mouth-to-mouth to Abdullah who didn't
have a pulse officer supplied a heart massage and Abdullah's pulse returned followed by
gargled breathing when the ambulance arrived one paramedic noticed the long barreled revolver on the floor next to
Abdullah and asked the police if it was loaded the officer responded I hope so he then quickly added I think it is he
raised a finger in front of his lips as a silent message that the walls had ears
and to watch what they say detective Lockwood defended his actions stating Geary Abdullah retrieved the gun from a
pile of clothes in the bedroom when he looked away it turned out Abdullah's weapon was an imitation pistol incapable
of causing any harm whether or not Abdullah knew this we will never know Guerry Abdullah was taken to st.
Vincent's Hospital and fell into a coma his family had no idea about the shooting until they saw a news flash on
television detailing the event doctors informed his family he had six bullet wounds throughout his body the entry
point of his head shot was in the center of the back of his head Geary Abdullah's
family publicly questioned the circumstances of the shooting if Abdullah was perceived as dangerous
why wasn't he handcuffed and instead allowed to walk freely around the flat they refused to believe Abdullah would
be reckless enough to point an imitation gun at armed police and think it would survive their questions bred more
accusations of police corruption rumors that Abdullah was unarmed and the gun was planted near his body after the fact
mirrored the rumors surrounding Graham Jensen's death detective Lockwood explained Abdullah was standing
full-frontal to him during the attack however his back had fought bullet entry wounds including two in the back of each
hand the final shot fired from Detective avons gun by Lockwood he'd Abdullah in the back of the head
blood spatter and bullet holes in the wall were towards the floor when asked why he shot Abdullah Detective Lockwood
claimed he believed Abdullah was going to shoot him as to why he fired seven rounds Lockwood thought his previous
shots had missed because he claimed that Bella had remained standing until the final bullet Geary Abdullah shooting was
the first to garner a strong negative community reaction it was thought by many to be too excessive and completely
unnecessary Abdullah didn't have the same threatening and extremely violent reputation as Jed Horton and Graeme
Jensen police only wanted to question Abdullah over being a suspect who may have supplied getaway cars for the wall
street shooting he was not suspected as one of the cop killers police denied at the allegations and maintained they were
conducting an honest and thorough investigation in the best way they could seven months before the Wall Street
shootings on March 31st 1988 an alert member of staff at a bank in Oak Park noticed four masked the glove and arm
defenders preparing came to the bank the staff member quickly pressed the button
by her desk thick security screens slammed down in front of the bank's entrance keeping the offender's ear one
of the offenders undeterred swung a sledgehammer at the security screens latch but it held fast one of the other
offenders stepped forward he was carrying a sawn-off single barreled pump-action shotgun he aimed and fired
at the latch but no luck the sledgehammer was used again to smash a final blow of the screen but realizing
Tom had rania the offenders gave up and ran away the armed robbery squad arrived
shortly after but the offenders were already gone police collected CCTV footage in the bag to the three empty
shotgun cartridges left at the scene the armed robbery squad always believed to the Flemington crew was behind this
attempted robbery in Oak Park but no one had been charged and to the Flemington crews involvement was only speculative a
huge breakthrough came in the wallstreet investigation when the shotgun shells found at that crime scene were matched
to the shotgun shells from this Oak Park attempted robbery seven months earlier the same shotgun was used in both crimes
flipping through a gun magazine a task force investigator saw a photo inside that matched the shotgun used in the Oak
Park robbery as seen on the CCTV footage the shotgun featured in the magazine was
a Japanese ktg pump-action shotgun the Oak Park robbery was committed with this type of shotgun only it had its barrel
sawn off criminals manually sawed off the barrels of shotguns to make the weapon easier to conceal and news in
confined spaces the japanese ktg was remarkably powerful its intense firepower could easily punch holes
through metal plates so investigators now knew for certain that the wall street murder weapon was a sawn-off
Japanese ktg shotgun investigators were aware that two japanese ktg shotguns had been stolen
from a gun shop in melbourne the previous year one of the stolen shotguns had since been recovered by police and
destroyed task force investigators traced every single other Japanese ktg shotgun imported to Australia in their
onus each shotgun was accounted for and two that were all eliminated as the shotgun used in the Oak Park robbery as
they all still had their full barrels attached the only Japanese ktg shotgun not accounted for was the second stolen
shotgun from the Melbourne store therefore it was this stolen shotgun that was without a doubt used in both
the Oak Park attempted robbery and the wall street shooting police needed concrete proof that the Flemington crew
committed this Oak Park attempted armed robbery as this would prove the crew had
the shotgun in their possession prior to the wall street shooting on May 1st 1989
Victoria police got another breakthrough a council gardener for the Royal Park Golf Course in Parkville a suburb
bordering the north of Melbourne discovered a partially buried green bag behind some bushes off the fifth hole
the bag wasn't well hidden inside the bag was a rusted sawn off Japanese ktg pump-action shotgun the gardener weeded
the same area five weeks earlier and didn't see the bag at that time he also found two torn off sleeves of a brown
jumper approximately 30 meters from the shotguns location the sleeves had been torn off the jumper that had been stolen
from the car on Wall Street the morning of the shooting it was assumed the killers used the sleeves as makeshift
balaclavas so police now had possession of the items used by the killers during the wall street shooting however there
was no evidence to determine conclusively who had the items prior to them being dumped at the golf course on
the night of May 9th 1989 Peter McAvoy fronted a late-night news programme he believes that the police intended to
kill him so he professed his innocence in relation to Wall Street and said he didn't pose a threat to anyone
by going public there was no way police could shoot him without everyone in Melbourne believing it was premeditated
no matter what the circumstances the next day May 10th Peter McAvoy was arrested and charged
with the wall street murders police had let McAvoy run free since the shootings but tied him down with surveillance
officers as well as tracking and listening devices McAvoy was aware of this so we didn't say or do anything
incriminating the entire time he was sticking to his at home or night story which couldn't be corroborated police
decided that McAvoy wasn't going to reveal anything to them as a free man so they locked him up
Peter McAvoy was an imposing bald figure standing at 190 centimeters tall his large forehead reminded his friends of
the alien 80 and his mates gave him the nickname bubble brain as a joke McAvoy first came to the attention of police in
the mid-1970s over a series of rapes in the Victorian suburb of Heidelberg he was 20 years old
at the time and was a member of a gang that abducted tortured and sexually assaulted up to 24 teenage girls
he treated his trial with contempt he was found guilty of two counts of rape acquitted of others and three of the
charges were withdrawn to police McEvoy was the epitome of a coward he presented
himself as hard layout and aggressive but he liked to target women and young girls the heat on McAvoy did have one
positive outcome his criminal associates knew he was hot and they cut him out of
all illegal operations which resulted in the end of his income from crime McAvoy
caused no trouble when he was arrested he joined Victor Pierce Anthony Farrell and Jason Ryan charged
with the murders of Stephen Tainan and Damien heir whilst on remand awaiting trial McAvoy
was given a copy of the prosecution brief within these documents were copies of the evidence photos taken of the two
murdered policemen a remand officer recalled how McEvoy weekly felishj oh the gruesome photos to other prisoners
the officer spoke of McAvoy's small during those moments quote it was a small that exude 'dear evil and at that
point i knew he was as guilty as sin on May 19th Geary Abdullah had been in a coma for 40
days the bullet shot by Detective Lockwood was still embedded in the back of his brain Garry Abdullah never
regained consciousness the next and final suspect Jason Ryan offered up to police was his uncle Trevor Pettingill
22 year-old Trevor Pettingill was the youngest son of cath Pettingill and was Victor Pierce's younger half-brother he
was a convicted criminal but had only done time for relatively minor drug trafficking offenses Jason told police
that Pettingill was also involved in the wall street ambush however he was unable
to provide the exact details of his role in the crime Jason spoke to Pettingill at Graham Jensen's funeral a few days
after Wall Street Jason asked Pettingill what his role was in the shootings but he refused to answer
Pettingill threatened that he and the others would kill Jason if he told anyone anything the distrustful
resentment Trevor Pettingill had towards his nephew Jason seemed plausible to police
Jason had implicated Pettingill in other crimes in the past they didn't seem far-fetched that if Pettingill was
involved in Wall Street he would keep his involvement secret from his rat nephew
Pettingill was not aware Jayson implicated him in the wall street shootings he was aware however police
were watching him and had bugged his phone Pettingill gave the police nothing at value except a few phone calls
mentioning the makes models and registration numbers of the undercover vehicles tailing about two months after
the wall street shootings trevor Pettingill opened his front door and was abducted by a group of hooded men
carrying shotguns they tied his hands and threw him in the back of the car and sped off the hooded men took Pettingill
to a secluded area of bushland but they attacked him with a sledgehammer the only thing the attackers told him was go
to the police tell the truth Pettingill required surgery after the attack he believed his attackers were members of
the Victorian police force there was no evidence to prove this accusation as the trial for the murders of Stephen
Tainan and Damien Eyre approached investigators felt Trevor Pettingill also had a case to answer so he too was
charged he was the fifth and final person charged with the wall street shooting the year 1989 started with the
final police raid of Wendy and Victor Pierce's family home this should have been a relief for Wendy piece whose home
had been so frequently raided since the wall street shootings she'd stopped reattaching doors the door frames but
what remained of her home after this final raid was a mound of rubble ownership of the piece home was given
from the deceased estate of Victor Pierce's brother Dennis Allen to the tax office as an asset against Dennis
Allen's tax on undeclared income this allowed police to completely demolish the home the building was literally
pulled apart piece by piece by police searching for evidence heavy machinery tore down the roof and
walls and the ground was ripped up from 2 meters down all police found were a couple of bullets and two more buried
handguns belief will belong to Dennis Allen police posed for photos in front of the remnants of the Pierce home an
image of a miserable Wendy Pierce standing amongst the broken remains of her home with her young daughter in her
arms was featured across the front pages of Victorious newspapers Wendy Pierce was once a bright business student
making her respectable law-abiding parents proud her life and her behavior changed dramatically when she met and
fell in love with Victor Pierce and joined there any and pentacle crime family together the couple had four
children without any sense of guilt or shame Wendy's new life consisted of witnessing committing and concealing
many crimes Wendy's greed allowed her to accept and encourage her husband's criminal
lifestyle Victor Pierce committed over 20 successful armed robberies netting large amounts of cash after one
particular armed bank robbery Pierce bought home a massive score of $200,000 Wendy wasted at all daily
shopping sprees racked up bills of thousands of dollars for expensive clothes too
into alcohol everything Wendy could ever want by July 1989 eight months after the
wall street shootings wendy was broke homeless and relying on friends and family for help police kept trying to
get her to turn against pierce and give up being his false alibi they threatened
her children would end up in state care but there was one thing police hadn't destroyed of Wendy's her love for Victor
Pierce she wouldn't give him up that changed that when police gave Wendy letters they had confiscated from Pierce
in prison they were love letters only they went to Wendy they were love letters to a few of her friends Pierce
had multiple affairs with a variety of women throughout his relationship with Wendy Wendy had suspicions this was
going on and these letters confirmed it she felt betrayed this revelation changed Wendy she offered the police a
deal if she was promised immunity from prosecution and protection from Viktor Pierce she would agree to tell police
the truth about Wall Street Wendy Pierce was placed in witness protection on Saturday the 15th of July
1989 four days later Wendy gave her first police interview since changing sides where she began to unravel the tightly
woven Viktor Pierce Pierce hated police he called them maggots and docs he said he would love to knock them dogs his
intense hatred of law enforcement was so vicious that made Wendy scared to be with him according to Wendy Pierce owned
a pump-action shotgun and prior to Wall Street her conversation between the couple took place in their back shed
during this conversation Pierce was soaring off the barrel of the shotgun he told Wendy this aware beauty which which
was the nickname Pierce had given his wife Wendy was shown a number of different son off shotguns by police
they asked her to point to the one that resembled the shotgun Pierce owned confidently Wendy pointed to the
sawn-off Japanese ktg pump-action shotgun wendy identified victor pierce jed horton graham jensen and peter
McAvoy in security images of an armed bank robbery committed in January 1988 10 months before the Wall Street
shootings the four men robbed a bank in Ringwood and scored just over $200,000 wendy identified Jed Horton as the one
who held the sawn-off shotgun during the robbery police already knew the shotgun in these
security photos was the same sawn-off Japanese ktg shotgun used in the Oak Park attempted robbery in March 1988
which was the same shotgun used in the Wall Street shootings in October 1988 they now had confirmation from Wendy
that the Flemington crew had possession of the Wall Street murder weapon prior to the Wall Street shootings previous
statements Wendy gave police claiming pieces with her at the hotel in tullamarine the entire morning of
October 12th were lies fed to her by him she was afraid he would kill her she didn't do what he said Pierce had
previously told her that once you're in the family you're in and to the only way out he's
in a wooden box Wendy confessed the piece did leave the hotel on October 11 as their young
children slept he and Wendy watched the late-night news when Graham Jensen's death was mentioned Pierce said the
[ __ ] maggots look what they've done them on mate around 11:00 p.m. the couple were in bed
together after 20 minutes Pierce carefully slid out believing Wendy had fallen asleep he quietly got dressed and
took the motel key from the bedside table Pierce walked to the door and closed it
gently behind him when Wendy felt him crawl back into bed she opened her eyes and saw daylight outside there was
around 7 a.m. she turned over to hug him and he was wearing different clothing to
what he had on the night before he had a dark colored night brand t-shirt on that
he didn't own previously the suspicion that Pierce and members of his Flemington crew were responsible for the
wallstreet shootings were confirmed Pierce viewed the armed robbery squad as a self-appointed hit team determined to
execute criminals including Victor's friends and himself so Viktor wanted revenge after Graham Johnson's death
Wendy and Pierce were together crying from anger Pierce said they'll get knocked tonight he then spoke to Peter
McAvoy on the phone Wendy heard PS say will knock them tonight not the Jax tonight the ones that kill
Graham Jack is slang for police officer often used by criminals after this initial phone call Pierce told Peter
McAvoy that they'd speak again in a couple of hours Wendy also made an unexpected confession she stated that in
may 1988 she commenced a sexual relationship with Graham Jensen and it continued up until the time he died the
two secret lovers met two or three times a week at different locations and Victor
Pierce was unaware of the affair police were shocked and were left to wonder how
events would have changed if Pierce had known Jensen was having an affair with his wife would peace have been so
fiercely loyal to avenge Jensen's death if he knew his best mate was betraying him the entire tour as a timing
witness-protection progressed Wendy's version of events on October 11 and 12 became far more detailed originally she
claimed peace snuck out of the tullamarine while she slept and returned shortly after daybreak the following
morning Wendie now revealed she was actually awake in speaking with peace before he
left the hotel watching peers prepare to leave she asked where he was going he said he was going to meet Peter McAvoy
and now we're going to get Pierce's shotgun and use it to kill a policeman when peace returned to the next morning
Wendy asked what had happened during the night it's all sweet Pierce told her we
knocked two jacks just two policemen in Southie arrow Wendy asked who he was with and two Pierce replied maka and Jed
and Abdullah maka was paid a McAvoy's nickname Wendy became the prosecution's best witness she corroborated facts in
Jason Ryan statements and added more of her own from a jurors perspective Wendy Pierce would be a far more
credible witness than Jason Ryan the court would be told Wendy had initially lied to police because she was afraid
her violent murderous husband would kill her once when he was honest with police
her story never changed she only elaborated further on details Wendy would be portrayed as a good
person who reluctantly fell into a life of crime when she fell in love with Victor Pearce for 13 years she was stuck
in one of the most notorious criminal families in the history of Victoria and who was a battered wife while she was in
witness protection Wendy Pierce commenced sexual relationships with several of her police
protectors love letters covered in lipstick kisses she had written to her protectors were exposed in the media
Wendy was also prone to dramatic emotional meltdowns she demanded police take her to nightclubs restaurants and
hotels if the night she threatened to refuse to give evidence she continued the shoplift and drive unlicensed
knowing the police wouldn't risk punishing over and losing their star witness Wendy treated witness protection as an
all-expenses-paid holiday investigators were forced to turn a blind eye to her behavior they needed Wendy on side to
testify their investigation relied far too much on her testimony there was no concrete evidence to back up anything
she told police so they needed her to verify everything in court in total Wendy Pierce's time spending witness
protection cost Victorian taxpayers two million dollars in the days leading up to the trial
Wendy Pierre suddenly changed her mind and refused to testify to stark interpretations of Wendy emerged amongst
the police who spent months protecting her some considered her betrayal is completely unexpected while others
believed it was inevitable Wendy Pierce and her 31 page statement implicating Victor Pierce and the other
accused was out as one officer put it quote a leopard never changes the spots Wendy manipulated the witness protection
scheme and the members that were guarding her other investigators preferred to believe Wendy had every
intention to testify they were of the belief the victor piece must have found a way to contact her in the days before
the trial convincing her or threatening her not to testify furthermore Wendy became incredibly hostile towards police
she began saying that everything she said implicating Victor were lies forced out of her she said she had been put
through hell by gangsters with badges into that she would only testify at the trial if she could tell the court how
the police tortured her for false information the prosecution team made the decision
they would not label Wendy Peirce a hostile witness and they wouldn't force her to take the stand they believed
their case would be stronger without her given her complete bakflip Task Force investigators disagreed they believed
the Wendy should have been treated as a hostile witness and put before the jury to let them make up their own lines
nevertheless the prosecution case was not over when Wendy Pierce backflipped they still had Jason Ryan they were
confident justice would prevail on the 21st of January 1991 just over two years after the wall street shooting the trial
for the murders of Constable Stephen Tainan and Damien air began in the Supreme Court of Victoria in Melbourne
the accused Victor Pearce Peter McAvoy Anthony Farrell and Trevor Pettingill fronted a jury of 12 men murder charges
against Jason Ryan were withdrawn in agreement for him to testify against his co-accused Wendy Pierce's defection put
all the pressure on Jason Ryan as soon as Jason took the stand his credibility was torn to shreds by the
defense he was a proven and constant loyal untrustworthy and a drug abuser not even the prosecution could
reasonably deny this character description the prosecution case heavily relied on an apparent two-for-one pact
of retribution made between the accused after Graham Johnson's death they argued
the accused along with the now deceased Jed Horton and Gary Abdullah killed the two police officers as payback for the
killing of one of their own but for each prosecution witness who confirmed the existence of this pact the defense were
able to discredit their character testimony and the motivations one witness's testimony revealed he had
spoken to Trevor Pettingill about the rumours who was involved in the wall street murders according to the witness
Pettingill stated quote yeah we've done it because of what happened to Graham so
every one of us there goes two of theirs will go but Trevor padding your denied this
conversation ever took place the defense argued this witness was lying to the court in an attempt to obtain the
$200,000 reward offered for information that led to a conviction after seven weeks and 294 witnesses the jurors
deliberated for six days the assumption throughout the court was that Trevor Pettingill would be acquitted but the
other accused would be found guilty on March 26th 1991 the jury returned to court with their verdict for the charges
of murdering constable Steve Antonin and constable Damien Air all four accused men were found not guilty
the four accused clapped cheered and hugged each other the supporters were elated police officers said stunned and
silent two and a half years of investigation wasted one officer commented that there
was a big difference between being found not guilty and actually being innocent the judge thanked the jury who filed out
with their heads bowed after the verdict Peter McAvoy turned to a nearby police officer and gloated what
do you think about that the officer mumbled a reply and McAvoy yelled I'll fix you is that what you said
I'll be waiting I'm not afraid to die Peter McAvoy and Victor Pierce remained in custody pending armed robbery charges
for the Ringwood bank robbery in 1988 outside court McAvoy's spat at police who put him back into the prison being
he yelled loudly you're going to kill us aren't you you're [ __ ] going to kill us
Victor Pearson Peter McAvoy were later found guilty for the Ringwood bank robbery in which the Wall Street murder
weapon was used the charge of murdering security guard Dominique ft was dropped against Victor Pearce during committal
proceedings it turns out that Hefty's murder had nothing to do with Victor Pearce or the Flemington crew at all a
well-known violent offender Santo mercury was later convicted of the murder Trevor Pettingill and Anthony Farrell
walk straight out of court and were ushered into a car for a pre-planned paid interview with the media they were
given wine to celebrate police High Command insisted they must now be peace the following message was sent over
police radio the verdict in the Wall Street trial was all for not guilty repeat not guilty all units are warned
keep yourselves under control for the Tainan and their families the verdict set the guilty free Frank air
Damien's father received a letter from one of the jurors wives after the trial the letter candidly revealed the
difficulty the jurors had in determining a verdict quote there was not one piece
of evidence not one eyewitness not one fact that could give those jurors a right to bring in a guilty verdict not
one of the jurors slept for two nights before the verdict desperately seeking one vital clue to make the decision
their hearts were telling them was right each of the jurors was deeply disturbed
and traumatized by the trial and the verdict that were forced to make at the end of 1992 when DPS was found guilty of
perjury and served a 9 months imprisonment he had taken the oath in a pre-trial hearing she continued to
defend her husband and continued to profess his innocence in the wall street shooting in a stunning development eight
armed robbery squad officers were charged with murder in relation to Graham Jensen's death the Homicide Squad
detective who investigated the Jensen shooting Johnny Hill was also charged with being an accessory after the fact
to murder they alleged John Hill concealed evidence suggesting police were criminally liable a modest an
introverted men but highly respected John Hill always maintained his innocence he felt his integrity had been
destroyed when he was charged despite colleagues reminding Hill the previously suspended officers had gone
on to reach high rank Hill felt his career was over depression overwhelmed him and he committed suicide two months
after he was charged in his suicide note he wrote quote no doubt the media will speculate and others will see this as
some sort of admission of guilt categorically it is no such thing I have always believed and still do that the
Jensen shooting was a self-defense situation members of Victoria police believed the charges against John Hill
were flimsy and would have been dropped before getting to trial John Hill's death does not appear on any
list the names police who have died in the line of duty the charges against seven of the other
police members involved in Jensen's death were eventually dropped only one of the officers charged made it to trial
Robert Hill who fired the two fatal shots that killed Jensen Robert Hill is no relation to John Hill who
investigated the shooting in the Supreme Court on August 9th 1995 Robert Hill was
acquitted of murder it took the jury just 18 minutes to decide the prosecution had not established a strong
enough case for the trial to continue it had been seven years since Graham Jensen
left his girlfriend's home to buy a spark plug for his lawnmower the investigation into Johnson's death
cost four million dollars Robert Hill is now the assistant commissioner of Victoria Police a former detective told
the Australian newspaper that the acquittal of the four men charged with the wall street murders devastated the
entire police force into the acquittal of Robert Hill devastated all of the crooks it was zero zero cliff Lockwood
the detective who shot Gary Abdullah seven times emptying his own revolver before grabbing his partner's gun and
unloading a final shot was also charged with murder after five hours of deliberation by a jury he was found not
guilty Jason Ryan was taken out of witness protection and relocated within your identity in 1991 Jason was drug
free had a girlfriend and was fit and well he claimed he would forever live in fear of retribution from his family he
said the acquittal left him feeling hollow and ill after serving his time in prison for the Ringwood bank robbery he
committed in 1988 Victor Pearce issued a statement he maintained his innocence regarding Wall Street and requested
quote to be left alone to work and prove to the community I'm not as bad as police and the press have made me out to
be hey and when DPS continued their relationship on May 1st 2002 in what was perceived as
a long-awaited Justice 44 year-old Victor Pierce was murdered bearing an eerie similarity to the wall street
shootings Victor was shot behind the wheel of his Holden Commodore in Port Melbourne by a gangland hit men he was
pronounced dead on arrival to Alfred Hospital the same hospital constables Tainan and air were taken to 14 years
earlier his widow Wendy Pierce lamented quote my life will be so empty nil he will always be my everything following
her husband's death Wendy Pierce lived a lonely life claiming she was a secondary
victim of her husband's murder she applied for and was granted compensation 153 thousand dollars in total the public
still harbored strong resentment towards Wendy and worried outraged that the payor depressed medicated broke into
living in public housing Wendy's life was in pieces in the years since Wall Street her criminal in-laws
had become strangers to her her retellings of the horrors she witnessed within that family such as the time she
witnessed her brother-in-law Dennis Allen chopped up a dead body with a chainsaw were met with apathy from the
public when in the same breath she admitted she founded all rather hysterical the infamy made Wendy a
momentary though hated celebrity for a long time she enjoyed the community's loathing of her she would ring talkback
radio stations and argue passionately with the hosts about herself and her husband but as years passed she backed
away from the limelight she kept her window blinds drawn and she rarely ventured out
with her compensation money quickly spent she struggled to pay even minor traffic fines when her 24 year old
daughter died of a drug overdose Wendy said quote I now know what it's like to lose a child
I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy in October 2005 17 years after Wall Street Wendy Pierce spoke to the media once
more she said the Tainan and dear families were wrote the truth of how their sons died she admitted she never
intended to give evidence at the trial her decision to go into witness protection was a plan orchestrated by
her family to sabotage the prosecution from the inside communication with Victor was maintained during his time by
our letters and photos third parties would visit both Victor and Wendy and would relay messages between the two in
this 2005 major interview Wendy stated once again that her late husband fit the Pierce was responsible
for organizing the killings of the constables on October 12th 1988 she said Peter McEvoy Jed Horton and Carrie
Abdullah were his accomplices she alleged that Jed Horton was the shotguns triggerman and the killer of Steve
Antonin and to that Peter McEvoy stepped in and killed Damien air with his own gun
Gary Abdullah was the one who stole and planted the Commodore used in the ambush
according to Wendy Anthony Farrell when Trevor Pettingill didn't take part in the ambush at all Wendy had no regrets
for refusing to testify quote I loved Victor I can't change that I can't take back what I've done but it
was all worth nothing if I say sorry most people won't believe me in 2007 Peter McAvoy was arrested in New South
Wales for making threats they killed police he stated quote I can't wait to put a shotgun to your [ __ ] head
loaded with a solid and what your [ __ ] head get blown off the sweetest thing I ever heard was the police
officers last words while he was dying McAvoy was found guilty of making his threat and fined $300
trevor padding you'll later served time for drug trafficking now he Peter McAvoy
Indian theny Ferrell are all freemen they still claimed their innocence in 2015 a request was made to the coroner
by family members of Graham Jenson asking to reopen the inquiry into his death this request was made based on new
information from a former detective who was running the surveillance operation on Jensen when he was shot
the former detective said he was prepared to give evidence that he saw a detective from the armed robbery squad
claimed a gun after the shooting but this former detective provided a statement at the time of the shooting
and appeared at the original inquest where he made no mention of this he is a former detective because he was arrested
and convicted of drug trafficking in the early 2000s another former detective now
retired has also come forward and is offering to name the armed robbery squad detective who planted the gun after
looking at this new evidence the Victorian state coroner ruled that all official documentation relating to the
death of Graeme Jensen be suppressed until 2021 including a decision on whether or not to reopen the inquest
into his death the Tainan Ayer foundation was founded by the parents of the slain constables after their death
10 years later it was renamed the Blue Ribbon foundation after the shooting murders of two more victoria police
officers sergeant Gary silk and Senior Constable Rodney Miller as of 2017 159 victoria police officers have died on
duty of these 30 were murdered the Blue Ribbon foundation raises awareness of the dangers police officers face on a
daily basis honors the memories of those killed and supports victims families throughout Australia
still hanging inside the parentally station are the portraits of Constable Stephen Timon and Damien err if the
killers were trying to make a point and take revenge on who they perceived as corrupt officers they couldn't have
picked two worse targets Stephen Tainan and Damien err were good honest police officers the
Victoria Police Force has been committed to remembering the young constables and
reflecting on their sacrifice after their deaths Stephen Timon and Damien air were both
awarded the National Police Service Medal Damien is father Frank says the telling and retelling of the Welsh tree
story is crucial as no one has been brought to justice for the murders to this day despite the sadness it brings
him he encourages people to talk about what happened to his son quote I haven't given up once you do what gets forgotten
and it's not going to get forgotten Frank heir says police officers need to continue to put themselves on the line
for the community no matter what had happened in the past two other officers including his son on April 4th 2017
Stephen Collins father Kevin tannin died at the age of 80 after a short illness Kevin never came to terms with his son's
death and the fact his killers never went to jail his hope for justice returned briefly in 2011 when double
jeopardy laws were changed and it seemed as though charges might be reinstated but it was deemed there wasn't enough
compelling new evidence to lay new murder charges Kevin Toyland died without the closure
of justice for his son since the late 1980s crime in Victoria has changed completely professional
armed bank robbers the plagued Melbourne at the time of Stephen Timon and Damian
Ayers deaths are virtually non-existent today Damien heir wanted nothing more than to
be a proud member of Victoria police just like his father and brother Anees victoria police application he wrote
quote as most of my family are in the Victoria Police Force I believe I have a good knowledge of the force as a whole
and how it operates this has been a lifelong ambition and I respect the Victoria Police Force very much
[Music] you

Case 57: Walsh Street

Victoria Police Constables Steven Tynan and Damian Eyre’s night shift started on October 11, 1988, at 11:00 pm. Call sign ‘Prahran 311', it had been a shift of routine policing for the pair; a domestic dispute, noisy parties, a drunk in Fitzroy Street, a pub assault on Chapel Street, a smashed shop window, and two activated security alarms…

CREDITS

Narration – Anonymous Host Research and writing – Milly Raso Production, scoring – Mike Migas Additional scoring – Andrew Joslyn

SOCIAL LINKS

Website https://www.casefilepodcast.com Facebook https://www.facebook.com/casefile Twitter https://twitter.com/case_file Instagram https://www.instagram.com/casefilepodcast Patreon https://www.patreon.com/casefile

RESOURCES

For all credits and sources please visit https://www.casefilepodcast.com/case-57-walsh-street

Brief Summary

Constables Tainan and Ayer were murdered in an ambush linked to gang violence in Melbourne, leading to a complex investigation and trial.

Key points

Gunfire Erupts. Constables Tainan and Ayers approach the abandoned vehicle, unaware of the impending danger.
A Father's Worst Fear. Frank Eyre receives devastating news about his son Damien's fate after the shooting.
The Ambush on Wall Street. The investigation revealed that the Wall Street shootings were not random but an ambush.
Police Tactics Under Fire. Community outrage over police tactics intensified as they sought to catch the killers.
Dennis Allen's Violent Legacy. Dennis Allen, a sociopath and murderer, left a trail of violence and manipulation.
The Wall Street Shootings. Jason Ryan implicated himself and others in the Wall Street shootings during police questioning.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

They've heard shots fired in that Street.

Police communication about the gunfire reports.

9:10WatchNov 20, 2018

Tension

85/ 100High tension

More from Casefile

Solve the Crime

Read a real case one clue at a time, then see how your call held up against the investigators.