George Anthony Green: Pensioner murdered by Andrew Ian Jeffries in his Currumbin unit in 1998

An invalid pensioner was brutally murdered in his Gold Coast unit and his bloodied body left to drown in a scalding hot bath in a desperate bid by his killer to get rid of his fingerprints.

An invalid pensioner was brutally murdered in his Gold Coast unit over a $25 cannabis deal and his bloodied body left to drown in a scalding hot bath in a desperate bid by his killer to get rid of his fingerprints.

The killing of Currumbin resident George Anthony Green 25 years ago shocked the Gold Coast and sparked a manhunt.

The 34-year-old was found dead in his rented unit on February 17, 1998 by his brothers who had not heard from him and had become concerned.

What they found in the unit, which sat above a video shop, was described at the time as a horror scene.

A trail of blood ran through several rooms of the unit leading to the bathroom where Mr Green’s body was found floating face down in the bathtub, which was ¾ full.

George Anthony Green was murdered in his Currumbin unit in 1998.

He had been brutally beaten, with a medical examination revealing he had received multiple skull fractures and his collar bone was broken.

Mr Green’s sister, Rayleen Smith, told the media her brother was “a very quiet man”.

“We just want to know what’s happened. We are still in denial and can’t believe it’s happened,’’ she said.

Mr Green had previously worked as a concreter before severe back pain forced him to quit working in 1994.

He lived alone in the unit with his beloved dog Snapper which was put down following his master’s death.

In the years after becoming a pensioner, Mr Green had supported himself by becoming what police called a “low-level” drug dealer who supplied cannabis to a small number of customers.

Detective Inspector Alan Bourke told the media the day after Mr Green’s body was found that the killing was “baffling” because the unit had not been forcibly broken into.

He described the murder as “pretty savage’’ and “committed by someone who meant business’’.

Rayleen Smith

“There was water in his lungs which indicates he was still alive when he was placed in the bath,’’ Det Insp Bourke said.

The case went cold for a few months before roaring back to life in May 1998 when police revealed a man had been seen running from the unit on the day of the killing.

Just three weeks later police arrested 23-year-old Palm Beach resident Andrew Ian Jeffries was arrested and charged with Mr Green’s murder.

In a police interview played to a court in August 1998, Jeffries revealed he had gone to Mr Green’s unit to buy $25 of cannabis but killed the dealer after being accused of being a thief.

Jeffries had been sacked from the Tugun Tavern after being caught stealing more than $2000 from the takings. 

“He brought it up that he heard I had been sacked from the Tugun Tavern … for stealing,’’ Jeffries said.

“He was just being a smart arse … but I just went crazy and started hitting him.

. Judge George Fryberg

“I wasn’t sure if he was dead. I went down on my knees and punched him.

“Then … he looked dead, so I dragged him to the bathtub,”

Jeffries admitted to stealing Mr Green’s VHS machine and four expensive fishing reels.

It was the VHS recorder which led to his capture after Jeffries pawned it for money.

At his two-week 2001 trial, Jeffries pleaded not guilty to murder on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

However, the Crown psychiatrist Dr Peter Fama argued Jeffries “did not suffer from diminished responsibility but from a depressive reaction caused by losing his job”.

A jury found Jeffries guilty of Mr Green’s murder and Supreme Court Justice George Fryberg sentenced him to life behind bars in September 2001, saying it was the only appropriate result.

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