I Catch Killers: Gary Jubelin reveals how he took down murderous paedophile Jeffrey Hillsley
Former top cop Gary Jubelin has revealed how a poker face was crucial in confronting a murderous paedophile who wanted to play mind games.
I Catch Killers
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Faced with genuinely evil people bragging about their sick crimes, experienced murder cops have a deceptively powerful tactic — don’t let them know you care.
Former top cop Gary Jubelin has revealed how the poker face was crucial in confronting a murderous paedophile who wanted to play mind games.
Jeffrey Hillsley, already a repeat sex offender, bludgeoned a friend in Sydney on New Year’s Eve, 2003 then abducted and raped the man’s 10-year-old stepdaughter.
Jubelin, who brands Hillsley “pure evil”, arrested him then had to question him.
“He was telling me the horrendous, horrendous details of the crime he committed (and) I could see that he was trying to bait me,” Jubelin said.
“I could see that he was trying to show me, ‘Look how evil I am. And I just gave him a straight face … just very matter of fact.”
He added: “Trust me, I wanted to get back at him, but I wasn’t going to show that he affected me in any way.”
Jubelin continued the treatment all the way to court, where Hillsley kept trying to get a rise — with the cop even using cricket to baffle the fiend.
“(Hillsley) wanted me walking past virtually spitting venom at him or hating him. And so I just started a conversation with someone beside me about the cricket game to show this creep that what he’d just told me, the big moment in his life that he’ll be rotting in the cells for the rest of his life for, had no effect on me whatsoever; and I was more interested in the cricket score.
“Obviously, I couldn’t care less about the cricket score but I thought that was a way of getting at him,” Jubelin added. “So that rattled him … And I think that was my little punishment to him.”
Hillsley is now serving life.
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The case is one of many over a long career — that culminated in Jubelin’s leadership of, and removal from, the William Tyrrell investigation — featured in the retired 58-year-old’s new book I Catch Killers: The Life And Many Deaths Of A Homicide Detective.
In an interview ahead of its release on Thursday Jubelin, who is appealing a conviction for illegally recording a person of interest in the Tyrrell case, said creating a role as “hardass homicide detective” in the eyes of suspects is the way he could best serve victims and the public.
I CATCH KILLERS PODCAST - The Cop and the Snitch: In this explosive bonus episode a criminal informant who risked his life to help homicide Detective Gary Jubelin catch killers for 22 years speaks for the first time. The informant speaks in the second half of the episode.
And Jubelin revealed how the unglamorous police interview room is a secret weapon — and was his own “happy place” where he’d build a connection with a person of interest and show them he was entirely across the facts.
“I’m not saying that lightly, ‘my happy place’, Jubelin added.
“That should be an environment where I’m more comfortable than the crook. And I’d say this when I lectured to detectives on homicide or investigation, which I did for years, that you should own the room … you can create the atmosphere, you can create the vibe of the room.”
Get that right, and many offenders will take the opportunity to confess.
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“What I’ve learnt is that people that have committed crimes generally and this might sound strange, but generally want to unburden themselves,” he said.
“I don’t care what you have done or who you are. I’m a homicide detective. Say whatever you want, you’re not gonna shock me. You’re not going to surprise me. And I’m going to do my job.”
I Catch Killers: The Life and Many Deaths of a Homicide Detective, is published by HarperCollins Australia on Thursday, August 20 in paperback, e-book and audio. Pre-order your signed copy at Booktopia.
Jo in Gary and Claire Harvey for an exclusive live event online at 6:30pm AEST on Wednesday, August 19 at True Crime Australia on Facebook.
He’ll be answering selected questions from readers so email now at
Originally published as I Catch Killers: Gary Jubelin reveals how he took down murderous paedophile Jeffrey Hillsley