Paroled double murderer Damien Peters caught by police after removing tracking device

Bathtub killer Damien Peters has been arrested by heavily armed police in Sydney’s inner west a day after cutting off his electronic tracking anklet and sparking a 24-hour manhunt. Peters was on parole after serving 16 years for murdering and dismembering two of his gay lovers. SEE THE ARREST VIDEO

Bathtub killer Damien Peters was arrested on Monday afternoon by heavily armed police a day after cutting off his electronic tracking anklet and sparking a 24-hour manhunt.

Tactical officers swooped on the 50-year-old in Church St, Petersham, while new details emerged about how he escaped his tracker.

Peters who was released on parole in November 2016, fled the Prince of Wales Hospital in Randwick about 4.15pm on Sunday where he had been taken under the influence of alcohol or drugs by paramedics called to his parole address.

Plain clothes police swoop on Damien Peters in Petersham just before 5pm on Monday. Picture: NSW Police

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Four hours later his monitoring anklet was found abandoned in Kensington, sparking a 24-hour manhunt.

Police are investigating whether he cut off the electronic tracking monitor because he faced going back to jail having breached parole conditions by taking drugs.

“He figured he would have nothing to lose and did a runner,” victims’ advocate Howard Brown said.

Offenders wearing tracking devices are monitored in real-time 24 hours a day and the anklets can only be removed with boltcutters.

The image of Peters released by police on Sunday night.

Peters was spotted walking along King Street at Enmore and was arrested in Petersham. Picture: NSW Police

Victims groups questioned how he could only have been jailed for a minimum of 13 years for killing and then dismembering his two gay lovers in 2001 in cold blood.

Mr Brown said he couldn’t understand why Peters was only jailed for a maximum of 21 years with a non-parole period of 13 years for killing and chopping up his two victims, Tereaupii Akai, 50, and Bevan Frost, 57, with whom he lived in Redfern’s notorious Northcott Flats.

Police found the decapitated body of Mr Frost in the bathtub when investigating the disappearance of Mr Akai.

Peters admitted having eight months earlier killed and dismembered Mr Akai, who had infected him with HIV, and throwing his body in a council bin.

Peters was on the run for 24 hours after removing his electronic tracking anklet. Picture: NSW Police

The sentencing judge, former Supreme Court Justice James Wood, said at the time that he was “satisfied the risk of his reoffending is relatively low” — if he stayed off drugs and away from disastrous relationships.

Peters, a disabled pensioner, had pleaded guilty to the murders.

Justice Wood, who is now chair of the NSW Parole Authority, found his criminality for the gruesome murders was reduced because of “battered woman syndrome” as he had been abused by his partners.

Justice Wood did not sit on the parole bench which released Peters.

“I don’t understand how (Peters) got such a light sentence to start with,” Mr Brown said.

“These were awful murders. He not only killed them, he eviscerated them.”

Peters took off when he was accused of breaching his parole conditions. Picture: NSW Police

Peters had reconnected with his pharmacist father shortly before being sentenced in 2002 but it is not known whether he kept in touch with his three siblings. His mother died of cancer in 1987.

A State Parole Authority spokeswoman said his parole conditions included a stringent schedule of movements as well as psychological counselling.

“In granting parole the … authority took into account his completion of relevant programs and counselling, his participation in external works release and day release programs (his) behaviour in prison and his minimum-security prison classification,” the spokeswoman said.

“There was also a need for him to have a period of parole supervision prior to the expiry of his sentence in 2022 to facilitate contact with appropriate community support services.”

Police released a description of Peters on Sunday night and asked the public not to approach him.

Peters has a tattoo on his right upper arm of a snake wrapped around a panther and tribal-style tattoos on his upper left arm.