Roger Rogerson’s murder car claimed by crime museum

After a huge response, someone has been selected to take the murder car used by cop-turned-killer Roger Rogerson.

The race to own disgraced cop Roger Rogerson’s murder car was a photo finish between a crime museum and a Sydney bookmaker who maintains he is innocent of heroin smuggling charges.

The Sunday Telegraph was inundated with responses after revealing Rogerson’s 2005 Ford Falcon, which he used in the murder of drug dealer Jamie Gao, was up for grabs after being held in a secret police impound lot for more than a decade.

But the car’s new home is set to be at the National Crime and Justice Museum in Victoria, a one time maximum security prison built in the 19th century that has been refashioned into a tourist destination.

Rogerson’s station wagon is now set to be an exhibition in the museum with the police to ship the car to Geelong this week. Once there, it will be placed in an exercise yard that is to be renovated.

“Rogerson was a major player in the Sydney underworld,” the museum’s curator Rob Quinn said.

Rogerson was arrested in 2014 and later jailed for life. Pic: Dan Himbrechts.

“And this is a great artefact to tell the story of Australia’s criminal history. We get a lot of visitors from interstate who get a thrill seeing exhibitions that tell the story of crime in their state.”

The museum was preferred over previous frontrunner and former Rogerson associate, Neil Chidiac.

Rogerson’s silver Ford at the scene of the murder.

Chidiac served nine years of a 14 year sentence after being jailed in 1989 over a heroin smuggling conspiracy -- but has maintained he was wrongly convicted.

He lost an appeal in the High Court of Australia in 1991 and the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal ordered a review into his case before the appeal was thrown out in 2016.

Rogerson’s lawyer Peter Katsoolis said a museum was always the preferred destination for the car.

The National Crime and Justice Museum in Geelong, Victoria.

“It was always our intention to donate the car to a museum given its historical significance to the Sydney underworld,” Mr Katsoolis said. “It was just a matter of finding an appropriate suitor to take it in the appropriate time frame.”

Police contacted Mr Katsoolis on January 13 and gave a week deadline to express interest in taking the car, otherwise it was to be crushed.

A Sydney based punk rock band, who asked not to be identified when contacted, also expressed interest in taking Rogerson’s car to use it to drive to gigs, which Mr Katsoolis said was “tempting”.

The car has been held in a secret police holding yard since it was seized by homicide detectives in 2014 while investigating Gao’s murder.

CCTV played at Rogerson’s trial showed the one time celebrated detective drive the car to the Padstow storage shed where Gao was shot dead on May 20, 2014.

Rogerson was found guilty of murder and was jailed for life before dying last year at 83-years-old.

Roger’s wife Anne and other family members did not want the car.

Police seized the car while investigating the murder of drug dealer Jamie Gao.

Rogerson was a celebrated detective before he was exposed as a corrupt murderer.

In 2022, Anne gave away Rogerson’s beloved stand up piano that had long occupied a place in their home.

The Sunday Telegraph received a large number of emails and calls from readers interested in taking the car.

This included a Western Sydney law firm whose principal wrote that he is “very interested”.

One reader, Brian, wrote, “I have just read your story on Roger Rogerson’s car. I am happy to take it. Are there any fees upon collection?”.

Another, Gail, wrote: “I would like to take the car, if it’s for free.”

Originally published as Roger Rogerson’s murder car claimed by crime museum