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.

Scissors Stabbing in Werribee

Crime:  Murder
Occurred: 5 November 2008
Sentenced: 23 September 2011
Where: 5/22-24 Stawell Street, Werribee
Convicted: Tuan Van Tran
Victim: Nguyen Van Nguyen


What happened?
Nguyen, a drug dealer, believed that Tuan owed him money.  On Wednesday, 5 November, Nguyen came to Tuan's house and demanded his money.  Tuan led him to his garage where Nguyen grabbed a broomstick and began beating Tuan with it.  Tuan fought back, using a pair of scissors, stabbing Nguyen in the head, ear and the eyes.  Tuan persuaded Nguyen to get in his car and told his girlfriend that he was going to drive him to the hospital.  Instead, he dumped Nguyen's body in Tarneit. Nguyen died from head injuries.

Nguyen's parents appealed to the public when his killer could not be found.

Victim's background
Nguyen was a drug dealer.  His father wrote a victim impact statement that described the pain that will forever haunt their family.



Convicted's background
Tuan was 33 at the time of the murder.  He was born in Vietnam and when his father died as an infant he went to live with his grandparents in a fishing village.  He was educated to a Year 8 equivalent level.  When he was 16 he migrated to Australia with his brother.  He began drinking, using cannabis and eventually developing a heroin addiction.  He and his brother were thrown out of the family home and lived in temporary accommodation where they developed heroin and ice habits and began dabbling in crime.  Tuan served two and a half years of imprisonment for several armed robberies of taxi drivers.  His younger brother died at 25.
He has since broken up with his girlfriend, who was present at the home at the time of the attack, and he no longer has contact with his two children.

Outcome of trial: Tuan pleaded guilty to defensive homicide but not guilty to murder.  A jury found him guilty of murder.

Sentence: Tuan was sentenced with a minimum 16 years of imprisonment before eligible for parole (20 years max).  He already served almost three years of his sentence in remand, which the judge described as an unacceptable situation.

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

The fatal stabbing occurred at Tuan's premises in Werribee.

Drug Dealer Responds Poorly to Negative Review

Crime: Murder

Occurred:  26 July 2009
Sentenced: 18 February 2011
Where: 6 Elizabeth Street, Mount Evelyn
Convicted:  Marc Hamilton
Victim:  Tim Fleming

What happened?
On a Sunday afternoon, Marc had Tim, a few friends and his girlfriend over.  Marc gave Tim a bag of amphetamine and in return when Tim got home he sent over a bag of cannabis.  Later that evening, Tim came back to Marc's house and threw the bag of amphetamine at Tim in front of his mates, telling him that it was shit, diluted, and he would not sell it.  Marc responded by punching Tim four times in the face.  Tim tried to fight back and in the ensuing struggle Marc got the best of him and he ended up dazed on the floor.  Marc grabbed a nearby samurai sword and slashed Tim's shoulder blade.  He threatened to cut off Tim's knees to which Tim replied, "Your missus doesn't need to see this" (she was sitting on the couch cradling her puppy at the time).  Marc's told his friends to not let Tim leave, and went to his bedroom.  There was uncertainty at trial whether Marc's friends were assisting Mark or were simply innocent bystanders.  One of Marc's friends claims to have told Tim to leave - another one of the friends says that he told Tim to "stay on the fucking floor".  In any event, Marc returned with a shotgun and said "This one's for you" before shooting Tim in the head.  The bullet wound exited Tim's throat, severing his spinal cord and killing him instantly.

Friends and family say Tim was optimistic about his future.

Victim's background
Tim was 33 years old at the time of death.  In 2005 he broke his neck in a car accident and four years on was unable to work and awaited further surgery.  He had two sons, aged seven and 10.  He and his girlfriend were no longer together and he lived in a caravan at his parents' house.

Convicted's background
Marc was 27 at the time of the murder and grew up in a violent home; his father spent much of Marc's childhood in prison for murder as well as manslaughter and is now dying of cancer.  His stepfather was a violent alcoholic.  Marc's two siblings were each born to a different father.  He left school in Year 8 to become a brickie's labourer for his stepdad, who later died in a motor cross accident while Marc watched on in the crowd.  Up to the shooting Marc was smoking marijuana daily and abusing prescription medication.  Following employment as a building contractor he worked as a greenskeeper at the Heritage Golf Club at Chirnside Park.  His girlfriend left him after the shooting and he is now single.

6 Elizabeth Street, Mt Evelyn

Outcome of trial: Marc pleaded guilty to manslaughter but not-guilty to murder, and a trial was necessary.  The jury found him guilty.  When the verdict came down, Marc shook his head and said the justice system was "a fucking joke".

Sentence:  18 years before eligible for parole (23 years max), with over a year already served in remand.

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