Christopher Dale Flannery
Encyclopedia
Christopher Dale Flannery, aka Mr. Rent-A-Kill (born 1948 - missing and believed murdered since 9 May 1985) is alleged to have been an Australia
n hitman
. Flannery was born in Brunswick, Victoria
.
store in Perth
. They were arrested in Sydney by former Detective Sergeant Roger Rogerson
. It has been alleged that Flannery paid a bribe to Rogerson to escape conviction. Flannery was extradited to Perth but acquitted
at trial. However, he was jailed on an outstanding Victorian warrant for rape.
at Mickey's Disco, a massage parlour in St Kilda
, but was quickly bored by the work and moved into contract killing
, hence the moniker "Mr Rent-A-Kill". According to police, one of his first jobs was the murder of barrister Roger Anthony Wilson. In August 1980, Flannery, Mark Alfred Clarkson and Kevin John Henry ("Weary") Williams were arrested and charged with Wilson's murder Wilson's body was never found but police alleged that the trio had forced him off the road, abducted him and taken him to Pakenham
, where Flannery took him into the bush to shoot him. Flannery is said to have missed and Wilson, bleeding profusely from a head wound, tried to escape. Flannery is then alleged to have gone "mad" and emptied his gun into Wilson's head and back. In October 1981, Flannery, Clarkson and Williams were all acquitted. As Flannery left the court, detectives from New South Wales Police
immediately arrested him for the murder of Sydney brothel owner Raymond Francis "Lizard" Locksley, who had been murdered at Menai
on 11 May 1979. In 1982 a jury failed to reach a verdict and a retrial was adjourned until 18 April 1984. Flannery was subsequently acquitted.
Flannery's trial had been scheduled for 31 January 1984. However, he was provided with a medical certificate by Geoffrey Edelsten
certifying that he was unfit for trial in order to avoid Flannery being tried by a particular judge. Edelsten was convicted on 27 July 1990 for perverting the course of justice
and also for soliciting Flannery to assault a former patient. Edelsten was jailed for a year.
After his acquittal, Flannery bought a house in Turrella
and brought his wife, Kathleen, and children up from Melbourne. Flannery went to work as a bodyguard for Sydney crime figure George Freeman
. In late 1984, he became embroiled in the Sydney "gang wars" and sided with Neddy Smith
. Smith claims that Flannery became paranoid and "was running around shooting at anyone he thought had anything to do with (Barry) [McCann] or Tom Domican". He claims that police attempted to negotiate an end to the gang wars but that Flannery refused to stop the killings. At one meeting, according to Smith, Flannery told a high ranking police officer, "You're not a protected species, you know – you're not a fucking koala
!"
On 6 June 1984, Flannery is alleged to have been the gunman in the attempted murder of a Sydney Drug Squad detective, Michael "Mick" Drury. Drury had been the undercover agent involved in a police drug operation which resulted in charges being laid against Flannery's friend, Alan Williams. Williams later testified that Flannery had attempted to bribe Drury through Roger Rogerson
in order to get the charges against Williams dismissed. When Drury rejected repeated attempts at bribery, Williams claims, he agreed to pay Flannery and Rogerson $AU
50,000 each to murder Drury. On what he thought was his deathbed, Drury told detectives he believed he was shot because of "the Melbourne job".
As Flannery and his wife walked towards their house on 27 January 1985, the house was sprayed with 30 shots from an Armalite rifle. No one was seriously injured, though Flannery was shot through the hand as he pushed his wife's head down and he suffered some other minor abrasions. Flannery blamed Tom Domican who was later charged and convicted of attempted murder, but the conviction was overturned on appeal. Rogerson was seen in the area in the days after the shooting and was interviewed by police. He claimed he was just curious to see what kind of damage such a gun could do. He was released without charge. Drury was also interviewed, but was not considered a serious suspect.
On 23 April 1985, Flannery was allegedly sent to murder Tony "Spaghetti" Eustace. Eustace was found by two schoolchildren who were returning home from sports training at about 7 pm. He had been shot six times in the back outside the Airport Hilton in North Arncliffe and was lying beside his gold Mercedes, bleeding profusely. He was rushed to hospital. Police attempted to speak to him, asking who had shot him, but Eustace told them to "fuck off" and died a short time later.
.
told the Sunday program, "Flannery was a complete pest. The guys up here in Sydney tried to settle him down. They tried to look after him as best they could, but he was, I believe, out of control. Maybe it was the Melbourne instinct coming out of him. He didn't want to do as he was told, he was out of control, and having overstepped that line, well, I suppose they said he had to go but I can assure you I had nothing to do with it." Flannery and his wife had two children. Police have stated that Flannery was responsible for up to a dozen murders.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n hitman
Contract killing
Contract killing is a form of murder, in which one party hires another party to kill a target individual or group of people. It involves an illegal agreement between two parties in which one party agrees to kill the target in exchange for consideration, monetary, or otherwise. The hiring party may...
. Flannery was born in Brunswick, Victoria
Brunswick, Victoria
Brunswick is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 6 km north from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Moreland...
.
Juvenile Crime
Flannery left school at the age of fourteen and received his first criminal conviction later that year. At 17, he was convicted of housebreaking, car theft, assault against police, carrying firearms and rape and was sentenced to seven years imprisonment.Criminal career
In 1974, Flannery and two other men were alleged to have committed an armed robbery on a David JonesDavid Jones Limited
David Jones Limited , colloquially known as DJs, is a high-end Australian department store chain.David Jones was founded in 1838 by David Jones, a Welsh immigrant, and is claimed to be the oldest continuously operating department store in the world still trading under its original name. It...
store in Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
. They were arrested in Sydney by former Detective Sergeant Roger Rogerson
Roger Rogerson
Roger Caleb Rogerson is a controversial former detective-sergeant of the New South Wales Police Force. Rogerson was convicted of perverting the course of justice and lying to the 1999 Police Integrity Commission...
. It has been alleged that Flannery paid a bribe to Rogerson to escape conviction. Flannery was extradited to Perth but acquitted
Acquittal
In the common law tradition, an acquittal formally certifies the accused is free from the charge of an offense, as far as the criminal law is concerned. This is so even where the prosecution is abandoned nolle prosequi...
at trial. However, he was jailed on an outstanding Victorian warrant for rape.
Mr Rent-A-Kill
On his release from prison, he became a bouncerBouncer (doorman)
A bouncer is an informal term for a type of security guard employed at venues such as bars, nightclubs or concerts to provide security, check legal age, and refuse entry to a venue based on criteria such as intoxication, aggressive behavior, or attractiveness...
at Mickey's Disco, a massage parlour in St Kilda
St Kilda, Victoria
St Kilda is an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 6 km south from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Port Phillip...
, but was quickly bored by the work and moved into contract killing
Contract killing
Contract killing is a form of murder, in which one party hires another party to kill a target individual or group of people. It involves an illegal agreement between two parties in which one party agrees to kill the target in exchange for consideration, monetary, or otherwise. The hiring party may...
, hence the moniker "Mr Rent-A-Kill". According to police, one of his first jobs was the murder of barrister Roger Anthony Wilson. In August 1980, Flannery, Mark Alfred Clarkson and Kevin John Henry ("Weary") Williams were arrested and charged with Wilson's murder Wilson's body was never found but police alleged that the trio had forced him off the road, abducted him and taken him to Pakenham
Pakenham, Victoria
Pakenham is a satellite suburb of Melbourne on the edge of the West Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia, south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is Cardinia Shire. At the 2006 Census, Pakenham had a population of 19,644...
, where Flannery took him into the bush to shoot him. Flannery is said to have missed and Wilson, bleeding profusely from a head wound, tried to escape. Flannery is then alleged to have gone "mad" and emptied his gun into Wilson's head and back. In October 1981, Flannery, Clarkson and Williams were all acquitted. As Flannery left the court, detectives from New South Wales Police
New South Wales Police
The New South Wales Police Force is the primary law enforcement agency in the State of New South Wales, Australia. It is an agency of the Government of New South Wales within the New South Wales Ministry for Police...
immediately arrested him for the murder of Sydney brothel owner Raymond Francis "Lizard" Locksley, who had been murdered at Menai
Menai, New South Wales
Menai is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Menai is located 29 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the Sutherland Shire.-History:...
on 11 May 1979. In 1982 a jury failed to reach a verdict and a retrial was adjourned until 18 April 1984. Flannery was subsequently acquitted.
Flannery's trial had been scheduled for 31 January 1984. However, he was provided with a medical certificate by Geoffrey Edelsten
Geoffrey Edelsten
Geoffrey Walter Edelsten is an Australian medical entrepreneur. He was the first private owner of a major Australian football team when he bought the Sydney Swans Football Club in 1985. Edelsten was formerly a general practitioner, but was deregistered in New South Wales in 1988 and also in...
certifying that he was unfit for trial in order to avoid Flannery being tried by a particular judge. Edelsten was convicted on 27 July 1990 for perverting the course of justice
Perverting the course of justice
Perverting the course of justice, in English, Canadian , and Irish law, is a criminal offence in which someone prevents justice from being served on himself or on another party...
and also for soliciting Flannery to assault a former patient. Edelsten was jailed for a year.
After his acquittal, Flannery bought a house in Turrella
Turrella, New South Wales
Turrella is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Turrella is located 10 km south of the Sydney central business district on the southern bank of Wolli Creek. Turrella is in the local government area of the City of Rockdale and is part of the St George...
and brought his wife, Kathleen, and children up from Melbourne. Flannery went to work as a bodyguard for Sydney crime figure George Freeman
George Freeman (bookmaker)
George David Freeman was a Sydney organised crime figure and illegal casino operator. He was linked to the Sydney drug trade during the 1970s and '80s, was named in several Royal Commissions into organised crime and had links with American crime figures...
. In late 1984, he became embroiled in the Sydney "gang wars" and sided with Neddy Smith
Neddy Smith
Arthur Stanley "Neddy" Smith is an Australian criminal who has been convicted of rape, armed robbery and murder.Smith has been serving a life sentence since 1989 and is presently imprisoned in Long Bay Correctional Centre after being moved from Lithgow Correctional Centre in New South Wales,...
. Smith claims that Flannery became paranoid and "was running around shooting at anyone he thought had anything to do with (Barry) [McCann] or Tom Domican". He claims that police attempted to negotiate an end to the gang wars but that Flannery refused to stop the killings. At one meeting, according to Smith, Flannery told a high ranking police officer, "You're not a protected species, you know – you're not a fucking koala
Koala
The koala is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia, and the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae....
!"
On 6 June 1984, Flannery is alleged to have been the gunman in the attempted murder of a Sydney Drug Squad detective, Michael "Mick" Drury. Drury had been the undercover agent involved in a police drug operation which resulted in charges being laid against Flannery's friend, Alan Williams. Williams later testified that Flannery had attempted to bribe Drury through Roger Rogerson
Roger Rogerson
Roger Caleb Rogerson is a controversial former detective-sergeant of the New South Wales Police Force. Rogerson was convicted of perverting the course of justice and lying to the 1999 Police Integrity Commission...
in order to get the charges against Williams dismissed. When Drury rejected repeated attempts at bribery, Williams claims, he agreed to pay Flannery and Rogerson $AU
Australian dollar
The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...
50,000 each to murder Drury. On what he thought was his deathbed, Drury told detectives he believed he was shot because of "the Melbourne job".
As Flannery and his wife walked towards their house on 27 January 1985, the house was sprayed with 30 shots from an Armalite rifle. No one was seriously injured, though Flannery was shot through the hand as he pushed his wife's head down and he suffered some other minor abrasions. Flannery blamed Tom Domican who was later charged and convicted of attempted murder, but the conviction was overturned on appeal. Rogerson was seen in the area in the days after the shooting and was interviewed by police. He claimed he was just curious to see what kind of damage such a gun could do. He was released without charge. Drury was also interviewed, but was not considered a serious suspect.
On 23 April 1985, Flannery was allegedly sent to murder Tony "Spaghetti" Eustace. Eustace was found by two schoolchildren who were returning home from sports training at about 7 pm. He had been shot six times in the back outside the Airport Hilton in North Arncliffe and was lying beside his gold Mercedes, bleeding profusely. He was rushed to hospital. Police attempted to speak to him, asking who had shot him, but Eustace told them to "fuck off" and died a short time later.
Disappearance
Not long after the attack on his family, Flannery moved into an inner Sydney apartment which was ironically close to CIB headquarters. On 9 May 1985 Flannery received a phone call from his boss, George Freeman asking for a meeting. Flannery, in leaving for the rendezvous, was unable to start his car. Flannery contacted Freeman who told him to catch a taxi. Flannery obeyed, and after exiting the Connaught onto Liverpool St was never seen again. It has been claimed by former gang associate Neddy Smith that police may be responsible for the disappearance of Christopher Flannery, as Smith noticed Flannery enter a police car with officers he knew on 9 May. The police officers had allegedly offered to take Flannery to meet with George Freeman.Coroner's Findings
On 6 June 1997, New South Wales State Coroner Greg Glass handed down the finding that Flannery was murdered most probably on or about 9 May 1985. Glass also found that the key to solving his murder lies with former detective Roger RogersonRoger Rogerson
Roger Caleb Rogerson is a controversial former detective-sergeant of the New South Wales Police Force. Rogerson was convicted of perverting the course of justice and lying to the 1999 Police Integrity Commission...
.
Roger Rogerson
On 22 February 2004, RogersonRoger Rogerson
Roger Caleb Rogerson is a controversial former detective-sergeant of the New South Wales Police Force. Rogerson was convicted of perverting the course of justice and lying to the 1999 Police Integrity Commission...
told the Sunday program, "Flannery was a complete pest. The guys up here in Sydney tried to settle him down. They tried to look after him as best they could, but he was, I believe, out of control. Maybe it was the Melbourne instinct coming out of him. He didn't want to do as he was told, he was out of control, and having overstepped that line, well, I suppose they said he had to go but I can assure you I had nothing to do with it." Flannery and his wife had two children. Police have stated that Flannery was responsible for up to a dozen murders.
Flannery in popular culture
- Flannery's early experience in prison was the inspiration for the Ray Mooney play and subsequent 1994 Alkinos TsilimidosAlkinos TsilimidosAlkinos Tsilimidos is an Australian film director. Raised in comfortable circumstances in middle-class Doncaster, Tsilimidos won the Montréal First Film Prize at the Montréal World Film Festival for his 1994 film Everynight ... Everynight...
film Everynight ... EverynightEverynight ... EverynightEverynight ... Everynight is an Australian drama film directed by Alkinos Tsilimidos and released in 1994. Based on a play of the same name, written by Ray Mooney, the film details the early life of contract killer Christopher Dale Flannery and is set inside Melbourne's HM Prison Pentridge's...
. The main character Dale (portrayed in the film by David FieldDavid Field (actor)David Field is an Australian actor who has appeared on television and in films. Some of the films he appeared in include Chopper, Two Hands and Gettin' Square. His most notable roles are as Keithy in Chopper and as Acko in Two Hands...
) was based on Flannery. Mooney, a Melbourne author and playwright, was a friend of Flannery's and used some of the real and alleged events in Flannery's life as the basis for his 1988 novel A Green Light featuring a protagonist called Johnny Morgan based on Flannery.
- Blue MurderBlue Murder (mini-series)Blue Murder is a two-part Australian television miniseries produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in 1995, and is based on true events. Given its confronting content, the DVD release was classified MA 15+...
, is a 1995 two-part mini-series based on events that led to the Wood Royal Commission into corruption in the NSW Police Force. Flannery was portrayed by Gary SweetGary SweetGary Sweet is an Australian film and television actor known for his roles in Alexandra's Project , Police Rescue, Cody, Big Sky, The Battlers, Bodyline and Stingers....
.
- In the 2009 mini-series Underbelly: A Tale of Two CitiesUnderbelly: A Tale of Two CitiesUnderbelly: A Tale of Two Cities is a 13-part Australian television mini-series loosely based on real events that stemmed from the marijuana trade centred around the New South Wales town of Griffith. The timeline of the series is the years between 1976 and 1987. Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities...
, Dustin ClareDustin ClareDustin Clare is a Logie Award winning Australian actor. He is best known for his starring role as Gannicus in the Starz mini-series Spartacus: Gods of the Arena and will reprise his role in Spartacus: Vengeance.-Biography:...
portrays Flannery as a reckless bully with links to the planning of the Great Bookie RobberyGreat Bookie RobberyThe Great Bookie Robbery was a crime committed in Melbourne, Australia on 21 April 1976.A well-organized gang of six stole between $6 million and $12 million from the Victoria Club, which was located on the second floor of a building in Queen Street...
and to drug trafficker Robert TrimboleRobert TrimboleRobert Trimbole was an Australian businessman, drug baron and organised crime boss whose alleged involvement in the disappearance of anti-marijuana campaigner Donald Mackay and involvement in drug trafficking in the Griffith, New South Wales area, led to a royal commission, a Coroner's inquest and...
. In the series, he is eventually murdered by Lenny McPhersonLenny McPhersonLeonard Arthur McPherson was one of the most notorious and powerful Australian career criminals of the late 20th century...
and George FreemanGeorge Freeman (bookmaker)George David Freeman was a Sydney organised crime figure and illegal casino operator. He was linked to the Sydney drug trade during the 1970s and '80s, was named in several Royal Commissions into organised crime and had links with American crime figures...
.
- In the first episode and world premiere on 24 June 2010 Australian true-crime series Tough Nuts: Australia's Hardest Criminals on the Crime & Investigation Network (Australia) channel, Stan "The Man" Smith was named as Flannery's killer. It's hosted by crime writer Tara MossTara MossTara Moss is a bestselling Canadian-Australian author, television presenter, journalist and former model....
.
External links
- Domican v. The Queen
- Edelsten tries to re-enter the ranks of doctors (Edelsten hires Flannery to beat up a patient)
- Goodsir, D. Line of Fire: The inside story of the controversial shooting of undercover policeman Michael Drury, Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest, 1995 ISBN 978-1-86448-002-3
- Inquest findings into the disappearance and suspected death of Christopher Dale Flannery, New South Wales Government, 1997
- Investigation into the relationship between Police and Criminals: First Report
- Regina v Arthur Stanley Smith
- Report on Investigation into Use of Informers
- Research Report on Trends in Police Corruption
- Royal Commission into the NSW Police Service Final Report - Volume 1 - Corruption
- Royal Commission into the NSW Police Service Final Report - Volume 2 - Reform
- Smith, A.S. Catch and Kill Your Own: Behind the Killings the Police Don't Want to Solve, Pan Macmillan Australia, Sydney, 1997 ISBN 978-0-330-35627-5
- Smith, R. Controlling the Interception of Communications: Law or Technology?, Australian Institute of Criminology, 1997
- Trends in Police Corruption