Cranbourne Drug Dealer Dies by Shovel and Nylon Strap

A 48 year old man was fatally beaten and strangled in his home.

Crime: Manslaughter

Occurred:  Saturday, 20 August 2011

Where: 15 Golden Wattle Court, Cranbourne

Sentenced:  27 March 2013

Convicted:  Glenn Hollow

Victim:  Laurence Grey

What happened?
In mid-August 2011, Glenn drove down from Sydney to visit his sister in St Kilda.  He met up with a friend, Anthony Lucas, and the two men spent a few days living in their cars, tight for cash.  On Saturday, Glenn texted several people, asking for $50.  Later that day, both men drove down to Laurence's house in Cranbourne.  Laurence shared some heroin with Anthony and then showed his guests a couple of cars that he was restoring.

At some point during the visit, Laurence was struck over the head with a post-hole shovel and strangled with a black nylon strap.  Both Glenn and Anthony participated in the attack.  They stole cash and cannabis and fled back to Melbourne.

Laurence's body was discovered two days later on his patio.

Laurence's house at 15 Golden Wattle Court, Cranbourne (source).

Victim's background
Laurence was 48 years old at the time of his death.  He was described by police as a low level drug dealer, selling approximately half a pound of cannabis a week for the last 10 years.  Laurence's best friend told the media that Laurence was very excited about a new job he was going to apply for: "He was cleaning himself up, he was getting himself together, and then this happened".  After his body was discovered, police publicly appealed to his former drug customers, who may have visited the premises around the time of Laurence's death, to come forward and share any relevant information with authorities.

Laurence left behind his 80 year old mother, a sister, and a brother, who he had not spoken to for two years. Laurence lived alone with two dogs.

Laurence Grey (source).

Convicted's background
Glenn was approximately 34 years old at the time of the killing.  Born and raised in Ararat, he was the middle child of three.  He was sexually abused as a child.  His older brother died in a car accident at age 27. He left school in Year 10 and joined the army aged 15, participating in tours to Somalia, Cambodia and Bougainville.

At age 18, after he was dishonorably discharged for assaulting an officer, Glenn moved back to Ararat to live with his parents and work at his mum's cafe. Not long after, he was arrested for car theft and possession of a firearm, which is likely to have been related to an incident where he stole his mother's car and threatened to commit suicide.

He became a truckie and at age 22 moved out of home to live with his girlfriend, and later wife, Kelly Martin, and they later had three kids, today aged 15, 12 and 10.

At 23, Glenn received a suspended sentence and a community service order for stealing $140,000 from his employers.  After serving out the order, he moved his family to Queensland and worked as an estimator. After being overlooked for a promotion he stole $100,000 from his boss.  He was charged and released on bail but fled to Melbourne with his family, where he returned to truck driving and amphetamine use.  After a truck roll incident in 2006, he required a spinal fusion and suffered ongoing back pain.

At 31, Glenn's marriage was failing.  Around this time he entered his wife's caravan with an offensive weapon and was sentenced to 14 months in prison (5 months before eligible for parole).  After serving 6 months, he was released and extradited to Brisbane where he was sentenced to 4 years and 6 months imprisonment. He was released in August 2010 after serving 2 years, and then violated his parole conditions in order to relocate to Victoria.

Glenn also has a history of abusing painkillers and amphetamines and also has been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder.

Glenn was a truck driver (source).

Outcome of trial: Glenn initially pleaded not guilty but during the trial changed his mind.  The trial was discontinued.  The judge estimated that this saved two weeks of the Court's time.

Sentence: 7 years and 3 months before eligible for parole (10 years max), with over a year and a half already served while on remand.

You can read the judgment here.  News articles are available here, here and here.