Repeat Murderer Dismembers Body in Phillip Island

Crime:  Murder
Occurred: 12 August 2009
Sentenced: 26 August 2011
Where: Private residence at Wimbledon Heights, Phillip Island
Convicted: John Coombes
Victim:  Raechel Betts

What happened?
The exact details of the murder and its motive are unknown, as John Coombes has given police several different versions of the killing.  It is most likely that John was Raechel Betts' drug dealer.  On 12 August he drove her down to his mistress's house in Phillip Island and killed her in the house while his mistress slept, probably either strangling her or breaking her neck.  He then carved up her corpse with boxcutters and a knife.  He had to stop to vomit and went and lay down next to his mistress for a sleep before he finished.  He then drove to the Newhaven Pier and cast the body parts to sea, ensuring he sliced the abdomen so that the gases in the stomach would not cause it to float to the surface.



Victim's background Raechel was 27 years old when she was killed.  She was an early childhood teacher and childcare worker and worked in this area until she adopted two girls (aged 15 and 13).  As the primary caregiver, she began to sell drugs for money.  By the end of 2008 she had quit her work in childcare and become a fully fledged drug trafficker.  She and the girls moved in with one of her dealers named Romeo, and during this time she and the girls experienced druggings and sexual assaults.  John later claimed that he went to Phillip Island with Raechel to discuss the sexual assaults and "off" the people who had done this to them.  John claimed that Raechel confessed to him that she had organised the assaults to pay for her own drug debts and this made enraged him so he killed her - however, the judge dismissed this as highly unlikely as there was no basis to suggest that Raechel did anything other than love and protect her children, and John's version of the killing changed every time he spoke with police and psychologists.


John's background

John was nearly 55 when he killed Raechel.  He has claimed he was the victim of sexual abuse as a child and his mum was part of a paedophille ring but there are other reports his mother abandoned him as a baby.  He left school in Year 10 and dropped out of a mechanical apprenticeship, joining the Army until he was discharged in the seventies after sustaining a head injury.  He went on to manage a hotel.  He was married around the age of 20 and had two children. He was divorced from his wife when he was sent to prison for the first murder in 1985.  His ex wife has claimed that he was abusive. 
This was John's third murder and he was out on parole for a life sentence at the time he killed Raechel.  At the time of the killing he lived with his girlfriend in Viewbank and also had a mistress in Phillip Island.  Rachael was reported as having told a friend that she was thinking about becoming John's mistress as well.


Outcome of trial: John pleaded guilty so there was no need for a trial.

Sentence:   Imprisonment for life (no minimum set).  This is to be served cumulatively after his current life sentence.

You can read the judgement here.  Media coverage is available here and here.

The first murder
John and his friend went out on a boat with an acquaintance (Michael Speirani).  The acquaintance was never seen again.  The court determined John stabbed him to death and applied the boat propeller to his body.  John claimed he was punishing Michael for sexually abusing a teenager (most likely untrue).  John was not convicted for this murder until he was in prison for the second homicide.


The second murder
Nine months after the first murder, John and another friend beat an acquaintance (Henry Kells) to death for no reason other than John's friend was unhappy that Henry was speaking to his landlady.  John was under the influence of drugs and alcohol at the time.