Murders of Rocky Iaria, Sam Formica, Michelle Buckingham, among crimes that shocked Shepparton
A night out ended in tragedy for Shepparton teens Garry Heywood and Abina Madill, whose bodies were later discovered in a field in Murchison East. Their murderer eluded capture for decades, until a fingerprint was his undoing. It’s one of the crimes that shocked the Goulburn Valley.
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Shepparton and its surrounds may be known for its orchards and proximity to the pristine banks of the Goulburn River.
But some of Victoria’s toughest cold cases took place in the regional city, with many remaining unsolved today.
The region is also believed to the be starting point for the criminal career of serial murderer and rapist Raymond Edmunds, aka “Mr Stinky” – a man who haunted nightmares for decades and alluded capture for just as long.
Here’s some of the most chilling crimes to ever take place in the Goulburn Valley.
The murder of Rocky Iaria
The day a hung jury let Shepparton man Rocky Iaria walk free after he most likely pulled off one of the most audacious robberies Victoria has ever seen, he must have felt invincible.
But the blessing was short lived for the 19-year-old, who disappeared later that same year.
It was 1991 and young Rocky had ripped off the wrong man.
When tomato grower Stephen Monti came home to find his house ransacked – and $500,000 in cash and jewellery gone – it set off a chain reaction that led to the teenager’s tragic end.
Rocky, and Shepparton criminal identity Vince, were put on trial for the robbery and after a hung jury failed to deliver a verdict, they must have thought they got away with it.
On September 6, 1991 Rocky vanished leaving behind a six-year mystery until his remains were discovered at the Pine Lodge cemetery – in another person’s grave.
His murder remains unsolved.
The stabbing murder of Sebastiano Formica
Mooroopna man Sebastiano “Sam” Formica was fatally stabbed outside a Wyndham St pub in Shepparton, after a night out ended in tragedy.
Police believe Mr Formica, 38, was involved in a fight outside the Fontana Bar on January 22, 2006 in which he received the fatal wound.
The father-of-two and his group of friends are believed to have got into an affray with another group of men, in a fight that escalated down the road.
Despite police offering a $1m reward for information, the murder remains unsolved.
Vengeful addict kills Shepparton teen
Raymond George Allen’s body was never found and is believed to have been destroyed as evidence of a cold-blooded revenge killing.
Mr Allen was never seen again after Jamie Leslie Sumner lured the teenager to a supermarket in Mooroopna, near Shepparton, on April 25, 2005.
Sumner was convicted of his murder three years later and sentenced to 18 years.
The 29-year-old heroin addict claimed the killing was in the name of vengeance, believing the deceased had abused his brother.
The court heard Mr Sumner abducted the victim, subduing him with such force his jaw broke and stabbing him in the neck in a grisly killing that shook the Goulburn Valley.
Michelle Buckingham cold case solved
It took 30-years for a terrible family secret to come to light, solving one of Shepparton’s most enduring cold cases.
Teenage Coles worker Michelle Buckingham’s was killed in 1983 and her body discovered in Kialla East just 16km out of the regional city.
It was the face of the teenager looking out from the pages of the local paper that caused a local man to crack, revealing to police his brother-in-law had confessed to the killing three decades ago.
The revelation put dog groomer Steven James Bradley away for 21 years for the murder.
Michelle’s mother had tragically passed away before she could see justice for her daughter.
Shepparton teens murdered by “Mr Stinky”
What was supposed to be a night of fun out on the town ended in tragedy for Shepparton teenagers Garry Heywood, 18, and sixteen-year-old Abina Madill.
An innocent evening at a “Mod” concert and a late night drive in February 1966, become the stepping off point for one of Australia’s biggest manhunts for a killer that alluded police for 20 years.
Police chased fruitless leads for decades after the youths’ bodies were discovered in a field in Murchison East, two weeks after they vanished.
Until a man was arrested in Albury in 1985 for exposing himself, and fingerprint analysis cracked the cold case.
The man they had been seeking for the Shepparton murders was also a serial rapist dubbed “Mr Stinky”, real name Raymond Edmunds.
The fluke discovery saw Mr Edmunds plead guilty to two counts of murder, three of rape and two of attempted rape and sentenced to two terms of life imprisonment.
AFL star injured in a street brawl
Former Geelong footy player and Shepparton man Paul Brown was left with a fractured skull and memory loss after he was the victim of a coward’s punch.
The footy player and trophy shop owner had intervened in an argument between a man and a woman on Vaughan St in Shepparton, where he sustained the blow.
Despite suffering a broken skol and brain bleed Mr Brown made a full recovery from the 2015 attack.
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Contact Madi Chwasta at madi.chwasta@news.com.au
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