Bandali Debs

Bandali Michael Debs
Born (1953-07-18) 18 July 1953 (age 71)
Narre Warren, Victoria, Australia
OccupationRoof tiler
Children5
Conviction(s)Murder x4,[1] armed robbery
Criminal penalty4x life imprisonment[2][3][4] plus 27 years without parole[citation needed]

Bandali Michael Debs (born 18 July 1953[2]) is an Australian convicted serial killer currently serving four consecutive terms of life imprisonment plus 27 years for the murder of two Victoria Police officers in August 1998 and for the 1997 murder of teenager Kristy Harty.[3] Debs was detained at HM Prison Barwon in Victoria. On 12 December 2011, Debs was convicted of the April 1995 shooting murder of New South Wales sex worker Donna Ann Hicks.[1][5] He is portrayed by Australian actor Greg Stone in the telemovie Underbelly Files: Tell Them Lucifer was Here.

Personal life

Debs was born Edmund Plancis on 18 July 1953. While Debs has avoided discussion about his childhood, in a newspaper report in 2003 his brother claimed he and Debs were tortured as children; there is no firm evidence for this claim.[6] Debs, from Narre Warren, a south eastern suburb of Melbourne, was employed as a tiler. He fathered five children, the youngest of whom, Joseph, was found dead due to a suspected drug overdose at a house in Greensborough in December 2003.[7]

Silk–Miller police murders

Main article: Silk–Miller police murders

In February 2003, Debs was convicted and sentenced to two consecutive terms of life imprisonment with no minimum term for the murders of two Victoria Police officers, Sergeant Gary Silk and Senior Constable Rodney Miller at Moorabbin, Victoria on 16 August 1998.[3]

Jason Joseph Roberts, who police alleged was an accomplice and who was 22 at the time of sentencing, was also convicted of the police murders and sentenced to two consecutive terms of life imprisonment with a minimum term of 35 years. This decision was quashed and Roberts was acquitted by a jury in July 2022.

Murder of Kristy Harty

On 20 June 2005, police charged Debs with the murder of teenager Kristy Mary Harty,[8] who was murdered at Upper Beaconsfield on 17 June 1997.[9]

Harty was soliciting for sex along the Princes Highway when she met with Debs. The pair drove to a secluded bush track in Upper Beaconsfield where they had unprotected sex. Harty was later murdered; cause of death was a single gunshot wound to the back of her head.[10] Her semi-naked body was found lying face down by bushwalkers.

DNA tests revealed that semen located on the body of Harty was a match for Debs.

In May 2007, Debs was convicted of the murder of Harty and sentenced to a third consecutive term of life imprisonment.[3]

In sentencing Debs, Justice Kaye remarked:

Your murder of Ms Harty was entirely senseless, needless and wanton. The evidence discloses beyond any doubt that this was not a case of a sexual encounter in which, in the heat of the moment, feelings or passions may have led to a spontaneous and irrational act of violence. Rather, and quite to the contrary, this was, most clearly, a callous, craven and senseless murder in cold blood of an entirely innocent, defenceless and vulnerable young woman. The evidence leads to the inevitable conclusion that you murdered Kristy Harty for no other reason than for the sheer sake of it.[3]

Murder of Donna Anne Hicks

Donna Anne Hicks was shot dead in April 1995 in Western Sydney. She had been drinking at the Colyton Hotel, after which she got into a four-wheel drive, which matched a car owned by Debs.[11]

Having been entered into a DNA database of criminals, Debs was subsequently linked to the case through DNA analysis. On 30 September 2008, New South Wales Homicide detectives interviewed Debs and raided his previous address in Sydney.[12] On 12 December 2011, he was found guilty of Hicks' murder in the New South Wales Supreme Court,[1] and he was sentenced to a fourth consecutive life-term sentences for the murder.

While in the court hearing for Jason Robert's 2022 re-trial for the Silk–Miller police murders, Debs admitted that he did indeed kill Hicks.[13]

Prison life

While imprisoned, Debs has undertaken psychology classes, life skills and computer training and is employed as a prison carpet cleaner.[10] He has been considered a suspect in numerous other murders, such as that of Sarah MacDiarmid.[14]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Guilty of killing two prostitutes and two policemen". The Age. 12 December 2011. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
  2. ^ a b "DPP v Debs & Roberts [2003] VSC 30". Supreme Court of Victoria. 24 February 2003. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d e "R v Debs [2007] VSC 220". Supreme Court of Victoria. 22 June 2007. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  4. ^ "R v Debs [2012] NSWSC 119". Supreme Court of New South Wales. 24 February 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  5. ^ "Man charged 15 years after prostitute's murder". Australia: ABC News. 9 November 2010. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  6. ^ Anderson, Paul (28 May 2013). "'Everyman' serial killer Bandali Debs pays price for murders of officers Gary Silk and Rodney Miller, sex workers Kristy Harty and Donna Hicks". Herald Sun. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  7. ^ Evans, Chris; Silvester, John (24 December 2003). "Debs's youngest son found dead". The Age. Archived from the original on 25 December 2003. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  8. ^ "Man charged with 1997 murder". ABC News. 20 July 2005. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  9. ^ a b Power, Emily (21 July 2005). "No-parole call on Debs". Herald Sun. Archived from the original on 6 September 2009. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  10. ^ Moor, Keith (13 December 2011). "Cop killer Bandali Debs guilty of 'vile' sex murders". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  11. ^ Silvester, John (1 October 2008). "Jailed killer Debs linked to 1995 Sydney murder". The Age. Archived from the original on 4 November 2008. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  12. ^ Cooper, Adam. "Debs tells court he sought 'deal' with police over Roberts evidence". WAtoday. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  13. ^ Gough, Deborah. "Convicted killer Bandali Debs a 'suspect' in cold case murder of Melbourne woman Sarah MacDiarmid". The Age. Retrieved 11 January 2025.