Gregory John 'Bluey' Brazel (born 17 November 1954) is a convicted

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

arsonist Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wate ...

, and armed

robber Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the perso ...

currently serving three consecutive

life sentence Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...

s for the murders of sex workers Sharon Taylor and Roslyn Hayward in 1990, and the murder of

Mordialloc Mordialloc is a beachside suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 24 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Kingston local government area. Mordialloc recorded a population of 8,886 at the . H ...

hardware store owner Mildred Hanmer during an armed robbery in 1982 to which he confessed some eighteen years later. Brazel is often described as one of the most manipulative and violent prisoners in Victoria's prison system, and was estimated to be worth more than A$500,000 in 2000. He is eligible for parole in 2020 it is believed a

parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...

submission request is already before the court for his release. This must be approved by a magistrate and if unsuccessful Brazel will need to wait approximately 3 years before reapplying.

Early life

Enlisted in the Australian Army in 1974. Trained at 1RTB (Kapooka) 14 Platoon B Company. Posted September 1974 to the Australian Army Medical Training School, Healesville, Victoria. In 1976, Brazel took five privates hostage during an army medical corps exercise in

Healesville Healesville is a town in Victoria, Australia, 52 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district, located within the Shire of Yarra Ranges local government area. Healesville recorded a population of 7,589 in the 2021 census. He ...

. Shots were fired before Brazel was persuaded to release the hostages. He was later dishonorably discharged.

Murders

Sharon Taylor

On 28 May 1990, while on early release from prison, Brazel murdered sex worker Sharon Taylor. Her body was found in a shallow grave at

Barongarook, Victoria Barongarook is a rural locality in Victoria, Australia, situated in the Shire of Colac Otway The Shire of Colac Otway is a local government area in the Barwon South West region of Victoria, Australia, located in the south-western part of the ...

, south of Colac on 23 September 1990.

Roslyn Hayward

On 13 September 1990, Brazel murdered sex worker Roslyn Hayward at

Sorrento Sorrento (, ; nap, Surriento ; la, Surrentum) is a town overlooking the Bay of Naples in Southern Italy. A popular tourist destination, Sorrento is located on the Sorrentine Peninsula at the south-eastern terminus of the Circumvesuviana rail ...

. Her body was not discovered until 1 October 1990.

Mildred Hanmer

Mildred Teresa Hanmer was shot in the chest on 20 September 1982 during an armed robbery at her Mordialloc hardware and gift store. She later died in the

Alfred Hospital The Alfred Hospital, also known as The Alfred or Alfred Hospital, is a leading tertiary teaching hospital in Melbourne, Victoria. It is the second oldest hospital in Victoria, and the oldest Melbourne hospital still operating on its original site ...

from her injuries. Her murder remained unsolved until August 2000. On 18 August 2000, Brazel voluntarily confessed to the 1982 murder, seeking to make a deal with police officers that no life term would be imposed before agreeing to make a statement.

Prison life

Brazel has continued to regularly offend while imprisoned and is often described as being manipulative and violent. In November 1991, Brazel took a staff member hostage while imprisoned at the

HM Melbourne Assessment Prison The Melbourne Assessment Prison (MAP) is an Australian remand and reception prison located in Spencer Street, West Melbourne, Victoria. The facility is operated by Corrections Victoria. Function and history The prison is also known by the n ...

when he learned of his impending transfer to HM Prison Pentridge. In 2003, Brazel conned an elderly woman into depositing more than A$30,000 into a TAB telephone betting account for his own personal use. In 2006, Brazel was awarded A$12,000 in damages in an out of court settlement after suffering a violent attack with a broken bottle while imprisoned at Melbourne's privately operated

Port Phillip Correctional Centre Port Phillip Prison is a maximum security prison located at Truganina, Victoria, Australia. It is Victoria's largest maximum security prison, able to accommodate up to 1117 prisoners. The prison is privately operated on behalf of the Governme ...

in Laverton in May 2001. In October 2006, Brazel was caught collecting personal information relating to senior prison staff. Brazel was assaulted by fellow inmates whilst detailed in the high security unit of

HM Prison Barwon HM Prison Barwon or informally Barwon Prison, an Australian high risk and maximum security prison for males, is located from the township of Lara, near Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The facility is operated by Corrections Victoria, part of t ...

. Brazel sought

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approval and, on appeal, was granted access to documents including a prison map and an incident report so he can sue the Victorian Government for failure to exercise reasonable care to protect him.

Summary of criminal convictions

During the period of March 1983 until August 2000 Brazel was convicted of 37 offences from fifteen court appearances. Offences since 1992 occurred while Brazel was in prison custody apart from the 2005 conviction for murder which occurred in 1982.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brazel, Gregory 1954 births 1982 murders in Australia 1990 murders in Australia Australian arsonists Australian people convicted of murder Australian prisoners sentenced to multiple life sentences Australian serial killers Australian soldiers Living people Male serial killers People convicted of murder by Victoria (Australia) Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Victoria (Australia)