John Leslie Coombes
John Leslie Coombes | |
|---|---|
| Born | John Leslie Coombes 14 September 1954 |
| Criminal penalty | Life imprisonment without parole |
| Details | |
| Victims | 3 |
Span of crimes | 1984–2009 |
| Country | Australia |
| State(s) | Victoria |
Date apprehended | 2 November 2009 |
John Leslie Coombes (born 14 September 1954) is a convicted serial killer from Victoria, Australia. He killed twice in 1984 and again in 2009, and is now serving a life sentence with no chance of parole.
Murder of Henry Desmond Kells, 1984[edit]
In 1984 he stabbed and killed Henry Desmond Kells, aged 44, at his home in Chelsea. In December 1985 Coombes was sentenced to life imprisonment, but this was later reduced to a minimum sentence of 11 years.[1][2]
Murder of Michael Peter Speirani, 1984[edit]
Seven weeks after his release in 1996 he was remanded for the 1984 murder of Michael Speirani who had gone missing on a fishing trip. His stabbed and mutilated body had been dumped a few kilometres off the coast of Port Phillip Bay. In 1998 Coombes received a 10-year minimum sentence.[1][2] He was paroled in 2007.[3]
Murder of Raechel Betts, 2009[edit]
Coombes strangled Raechel Betts, 27, a childcare worker in August 2009 at the home of co-defendant Nicole Godfrey on Phillip Island. He cut her body up in a bathtub, and threw the body parts off a pier at Newhaven. Coombes changed his plea to guilty during pre-trial arguments at the Supreme Court and was jailed for life with no chance of parole. Justice Geoffrey Nettle noted the similarity between his three murders, saying "It evinces a frightening predilection for homicide" and that he believed that given the chance he would kill again.[2][3]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b Draper, Michelle (26 August 2011). "'Cruel monster' behind bars for life". The Australian. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
- ^ a b c "Triple killer to die in jail for murder that 'ought never have happened'". The Age. 26 August 2011. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
- ^ a b Anderson, Paul; Robinson, Russell (2 May 2011). "Coombes freed to kill again, and again". Herald Sun. Retrieved 15 September 2017.