The widow of murdered Melbourne crime boss Carl Williams says questions remain about the circumstances of his murder in one of Australia’s most secure prisons.
Williams was a major figure in the Victorian capital’s gangland wars in the late 1990s and early 2000s and is believed to have been behind at least 10 killings.
He was bashed to death in the Acacia unit of HM Prison Barwon near Geelong by fellow inmate Matthew Charles Johnson in April 2010.
Williams had been serving a minimum 35-year jail term for ordering three murders and conspiring to murder a fourth gangster two years before that crook was killed.
Johnson, an extremely violent career criminal, bludgeoned Williams to death with the stem of an exercise bike seat then dragged his body into a cell.
The attack was captured on CCTV but almost half an hour passed before prison officers realised the 39-year-old drug baron was dead.
Roberta Williams said the murder of her ex-husband still ‘didn’t sit right’ with her, considering the circumstances in which it occurred.
‘You’re under 24-hour CCTV,’ she told the Thoughts Unchained podcast last month.
The widow of murdered Melbourne crime boss Carl Williams (above) says questions remain about the circumstances of his murder in one of Australia’s most secure prisons
Roberta Williams said the murder of her ex-husband still ‘didn’t sit right’ with her considering the circumstances in which it occurred. She is pictured with daughter Dhakota Williams
‘You got guards there in the most secure prison in the state, if not in the country.
‘So you would expect him to be observed a lot more than being able to be murdered the way he was. It just didn’t sit right.’
The Victorian Supreme Court heard that Johnson knew Williams was assisting police with their investigation into the 2004 murders of Terrence and Christine Hodgson.
Williams had made two statements implicating a former detective and hitman Rodney Collins – as well as himself – in the murders.
Johnson, who was known as ‘The General’ behind bars and led a gang called ‘Prisoners of War’ and had known Williams for a decade.
While in Barwon, the pair had asked Corrections Victoria to be housed together.
The Supreme Court heard that no prison officers were watching the CCTV at the time of Williams’s murder, which his widow found difficult to accept.
‘When Carl was murdered, the first question I asked them and the only question I wanted from them, was, ‘Was the person manning the cameras on the day that Carl was murdered, was that his only duty?” she said.
‘They said, ‘Yes’.’
He was bashed to death in the Acacia unit of HM Prison Barwon near Geelong by fellow inmate Matthew Charles Johnson (above) in April 2010
Roberta also raised suspicions about Barwon’s then governor David Prideaux, who vanished during a hunting trip in Victoria’s high country in June 2011 and hasn’t been seen since.
Police dismissed any suggestion Mr Prideaux’s disappearance was related to the Williams murder, instead concluding he died from a major medical event or serious accident.
A coroner found the 50-year-old father-of-two was deceased but could not establish his cause of death.
When Johnson faced trial, he claimed Williams had planned to kill him with a sock filled with billiard balls and he had moved first in self-defence.
CCTV showed Johnson approach Williams from behind as he sat reading a newspaper and strike him with the seat post to the right side of his head.
After Williams fell to the floor ,Johnson hit him seven more times to ensure that he was dead.
A jury rejected Johnson’s version of events and in September 2011, found him guilty of Williams’ murder.
Justice Lex Lasry described Johnson’s explanation for his actions as ‘fanciful’ and found it more likely he was motivated by Williams working with police.
CCTV showed Johnson (left) approach Williams (centre) from behind as he sat reading a newspaper and strike him with the seat post to the right side of his head
Johnson never showed any remorse for killing Williams and had said after the murder: ‘What’s the big deal? People die every day. What are you making a fuss about it for?’
Justice Lasry took into account the sentence Johnson was already serving when he set a new non-parole period of 32 years to commence in December 2011.
Williams was arrested in 2004 and three years later pleaded guilty to ordering the murders of criminal rivals Jason Moran, Jason’s father Lewis Moran and Mark Mallia.
He also pleaded guilty to conspiring to murder Mario Condello – who was killed two years after that failed plan – and was found guilty by a jury of murdering Michael Marshall.
Williams was played by Gyton Grantley in the 2008 Nine Network television series Underbelly.
Roberta Williams told the Thoughts Unchained podcast that Underbelly ‘was somewhat embarrassing to watch’ and the program made her ex-husband look like an idiot.