Peter Robert Gibb (30 June 1954 – 23 January 2011) was an
Australian
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists
** Aboriginal Au ...
criminal, known for his escape from the
Melbourne Remand Centre in 1993.
Escape from Melbourne Remand Centre
Gibb had several prior convictions for manslaughter, armed robbery and other weapons offences dating back to his mid-teens. In November 1981, he escaped from
HM Prison Pentridge
HM Prison Pentridge was an Australian prison that was first established in 1851 in Coburg, Victoria. The first prisoners arrived in 1851. The prison officially closed on 1 May 1997.
Pentridge was often referred to as the "Bluestone College", ...
where he was awaiting a court hearing on charges of murder and armed robbery. He spent a month in
St Kilda with fellow fugitive Trevor Smith who had escaped from
Beechworth Correctional Centre
The Beechworth Correctional Centre is a minimum security prison, located in Beechworth, Victoria, Australia. It was opened in January 2005 as a replacement for the now-closed HM Prison Beechworth.
Accommodation in the prison is made up of seve ...
. Police found and captured Gibb in Coburg.
In February 1993, he was convicted for the armed holdup of a security van in
Sunshine
Sunlight is a portion of the electromagnetic radiation given off by the Sun, in particular infrared, visible, and ultraviolet light. On Earth, sunlight is scattered and filtered through Earth's atmosphere, and is obvious as daylight when th ...
two years earlier. Prior to his conviction, Gibb was held in the Melbourne Remand Centre, where he met prison officer Heather Parker. Parker's marriage to a fellow prison officer was ending, and she began a relationship with Gibb. In May 1992, the two of them were seen entering a broom cupboard, and Parker's colleagues demanded she be transferred, first to
Pentridge
Pentridge is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Sixpenny Handley and Pentridge, in the English county of Dorset, lying in the north-east of the county within the East Dorset administrative district. It is situated on the edg ...
and then the secure wing of
St Vincent's Hospital.
On 7 March 1993, Gibb and a fellow prisoner, Archie Butterley, executed a meticulously planned escape with Parker's assistance. Using a small piece of explosive smuggled into the prison by Parker during a visit, Gibb and Butterley blew out part of a window and climbed down a string of knotted bedsheets to La Trobe Street below where a getaway car containing firearms and equipment was waiting. After several crashes, the escapees stole a motorcycle on the
Westgate Freeway and continued on to Southbank Boulevard where they were intercepted by a police divisional van and engaged in a shootout with two officers. Gibb's arm was broken in the engagement, and one of the police officers was shot twice, then had his revolver and police van stolen by Gibb and Butterley.
Shortly after the shootout, Gibb and Butterley were seen climbing into a
Suzuki Vitara
The Suzuki Vitara is a series of SUVs produced by Suzuki in five generations since 1988. The second, third-generation and 2022 models are known as the Suzuki Grand Vitara, with the fourth generation eschewing the "Grand" prefix. In Japan and a ...
, which a police check revealed was registered to Parker although police believed that she may have been a hostage. An Australia-wide alert was issued, as Gibb, Butterley and Parker picked up a previously stored
Pajero four-wheel drive in Frankston and escaped into regional Victoria. They sought treatment for their injuries at Latrobe Regional Hospital in Traralgon, before hiding out in bushland for several days.
Capture
On 11 March, the three fugitives turned up in the small town of
Gaffneys Creek, 175 kilometres north-east of Melbourne. Smuggling Butterley into their hotel room and claiming he was their sick child, Gibb and Parker dined at the hotel restaurant and interacted with other guests. They departed the next day, however a fire broke out in the room they had stayed in, burning the hotel to the ground. Police investigating the fire matched the description of the couple with Gibb and Parker, and a huge search operation began. On 13 March, police found the Pajero hidden in bushland near Picnic Point, and began combing the area with sniffer dogs. Gibb and Parker were arrested when police found them attempting to wade across the
Goulburn River
The Goulburn River, a major inland perennial river of the Goulburn Broken catchment, part of the Murray-Darling basin, is located in the alpine, Northern Country/North Central, and Southern Riverina regions of the Australian state of Victoria. ...
. Butterley was found shot dead, and although he had engaged in a lengthy firefight with police, a forensic expert would later testify at the committal hearing that he had been shot with the police revolver the pair had taken in Southbank, and that he had not killed himself.
Parker served three-and-a-half years in prison for her role in assisting Gibb's escape. When she was released from
Deer Park Metropolitan Women's Correctional Centre in September 1997, Gibb picked her up in a stretch limousine and they spent the night at the Crown Towers hotel. In 2005, Gibb was arrested for the alleged burglary of a car dealership in Balnarring. Parker also faced court in 2007 for assaulting a woman who had an affair with Gibb.
Death
Gibb died at Frankston Hospital on the morning of 23 January 2011. He had sustained injuries after being beaten up by three men at his home in
Seaford on the previous Friday (21 January). His girlfriend, Nicole Keating, told ''The Age'' newspaper that Gibb had been attacked as a response to a "practical joke" in which Gibb had pretended to shut a young boy in a freezer.
Portrayal in media
The story of Gibb's escape and time on the run with Parker was adapted into a TV movie ''
One Way Ticket'' (with the subjects' names changed to "Mick Webb" and "Deborah Carter").
Peter Phelps
Peter Phelps (born 20 September 1960 in Sydney) is an Australian actor, singer and writer. He is notable for his role as Trevor Cole in ''Baywatch''. Phelps is also known for his roles in the internationally successful Australian series '' So ...
played the character based on Gibb.
Notorious criminal Peter Gibb dies
Sky News, 24 January 2011.
See also
*List of unsolved murders
These lists of unsolved murders include notable cases where victims were murdered in unknown circumstances.
* List of unsolved murders (before 1900)
* List of unsolved murders (1900–1979)
* List of unsolved murders (1980–1999)
* List of unsol ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibb, Peter
1954 births
2011 deaths
Australian escapees
Australian male criminals
Australian people convicted of manslaughter
Deaths by beating
Escapees from Victoria (Australia) detention
Fugitives
Male murder victims
Unsolved murders in Australia
People convicted of robbery