The most gruesome crimes that sent shockwaves through Geelong
From a minor altercation that escalated quickly, to an encouragement for self-harm, these are some of the crimes that left the Geelong region stunned.
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From motorcycle gang members carrying out attacks in broad daylight to a Whittington woman setting her husband on fire, these are the gruesome crimes that have left the region in shock.
John Russell Bedson
In 2008, following a minor altercation at the Geelong Cup, John Russell Bedson then 27, fired shots at a Breakwater property in broad daylight.
Bedson who was a founding member of the Rebels offshoot Death Before Dishonour had set out to “avenge” an assault armed with a semiautomatic rifle.
Bedson’s half brother Derek drove the ute to the Bandidos clubhouse where, John proceeded to shoot at least six rounds, hitting Ross Brand then 51 in the forehead and Paul Szerwinski in the wrist and thigh.
Brand died as a result of his injuries the following day while in hospital.
The initial altercation took place earlier the same day and involved a member of the Death Before Dishonour (DBD) motorcycle gang, affiliated with the Rebels, and a man nominated to become a Bandido.
John Bedson was sentenced to a 23-year jail term after being found guilty at trial.
His brother received a twelve year jail term for his role after pleading guilty to manslaughter and reckless conduct endangering life.
Gregory Challenger
In 2019, Bannockburn man Gregory Challenger was found guilty of playing a role in the gang rape of a woman in Lorne.
The crime took place in 1986 on New Year’s Day and had gone unsolved for 33 years until Challenger than 58 was found guilty. He was 23 at the time of the incident.
Challenger was found guilty of orally raping the woman at a Lorne beach in the early hours of the morning, before dragging her over a barbed-wire fence, and holding her down while another offender penetrated her vagina and mouth.
In March 2021, Challenger launched an appeal, with his barrister Colin Mandy SC arguing there was a possibility his client’s DNA was transferred from his clothing to the victim’s because both sets were potentially stored together at a Geelong West police facility.
The appeal was denied that same month. He continues to serve a ten year sentence.
Jessica Dixon
Jessica Dixon narrowly avoided jail after facing up to ten years in prison for encouraging her partner to kill himself.
Dixon, 27, was sentenced to a 12-month Community Corrections Order without conviction in April, following the death of former partner Tyrone Reith-Myers.
Magistrate Simon Guthrie said he was “tempted” to convict Dixon, labelling her offending “cruel.”
Dixon had sent abusive messages across a number of social media platforms and by text between December 2017 and April 2019, which is when Mr Reith-Myers sadly took his own life.
Dixon, who was found guilty of using a carriage service to relentlessly abuse her partner, had previously been charged with stalking which carries a maximum penalty of ten years, however the charges were not proven.
Dixon had been in a relationship with Mr Reith-Myers since 2013 until the time of his death, and had been aware of his mental health conditions.
As part of the Community Corrections Order, Dixon will complete 100 hours of unpaid community work and has been placed on a mental health supervision order.
John Ford
In 2020, John Ford, a former Rebels bikie member was jailed for seven years following a brutal machete attack on a stranger at the South Geelong train station in 2019.
The attack which took place during the day, was the result of Ford’s growing paranoia.
Aged 48 at the time, Ford was convinced members of the Rebels were out to get him following his departure from the outlaw motorcycle gang
The father of five, who had been a member of the Rebels for twenty years, was armed with a machete for protection when he crossed paths with the 41-year-old male victim in February 2019.
The victim sustained a gaping wound on his arm and while bleeding heavily he rode his bike to St John of God Geelong Hospital and crawled to the door.
A psychologist who assessed Ford said the attack occurred while the ex-bikie was experiencing anxiety and paranoia as a result of his departure from the Rebels.
Angela Surtees
Angela Surtees who claims “she is not a monster” was found guilty of setting her husband on fire as their five children watched television nearby.
Surtees, then 34, had set her husband of four years on fire while he sat in an armchair in their Whittington home in January 2020.
The court was told Surtees did not intend to set her husband alight and only wanted him to fear he would catch on fire.
It is said the pair were at an engagement party in Corio on Australia Day 2020, but left early when Daniel aged 36, became angry after mistakenly thinking partygoers were making remarks about him.
Later that night, while their children were watching television in the lounge room, Surtees grabbed a jerry can full of fuel and doused her husband with it.
She then threatened him with a cigarette lighter which was “held in close proximity” to Daniel which triggered the blaze, the court was told.
Surtees was described as “calm” when she spoke to triple-0, telling the operator she spilt the petrol over her husband during the argument but that it was an accident.
She pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced in March to a 12-year prison term with a non-parole period of eight years.
She will remain behind bars until at least 2028.
Joel Hargreaves and Glen McIntosh
Childhood mates, Joel Hargreaves and Glenn McIntosh were convicted of murdering teenager Damien Everett outside of Corio South Primary School in 2008.
Mr Everett, an 18 year old, with developmental issues, was a familiar face in Geelong’s CBD where he earned money selling copies of The Big Issue and had been on a late night dash to satisfy his craving for Coca-Cola on the night he was murdered.
Hargreaves, who was 22 at the time was found guilty of stabbing the victim multiple times in the back during the unprovoked attack.
Shockingly, Hargreaves was on bail at the time after facing gang-related shooting charges.
In the same attack, McIntosh aged 23, delivered seven blows to Mr Everett’s head, shattering his skull with a steel torch.
The two men who had been partying before the unprovoked attack, returned home shortly after where a young female guest told the court Hargreaves was bragging about the incident.
“Joel told me he stabbed him once and it felt so good he just kept going,” she testified in court.
In 2009 Hargreaves, who pleaded guilty to murder, was sentenced to 20 years in prison, while McIntosh who was found guilty at trial received a 23-year prison term.
The murder has been described by judges as barbaric and one of the most pointless deaths they had come across.
Karl Hague
Karl Hague maintained his innocence for more than two decades when it came to the murder of Newcomb teenager Ricky Balcombe in 1995 at Market Square.
Hague then 21, was found guilty at 44-years-old of murdering Mr Balcombe with a 13cm kitchen knife as he had tried to enter the lift.
Two fatal blows were delivered to Mr Balcombe’s chest entering his lungs and heart.
Hague was found guilty in 2019, 23 years after the attack and around the time Mr Balcombe’s family marked what would have been his 39th birthday.
It was believed both men had gang ties.
At the time, Hague was the leading suspect, charged for the murder in 1997 but the case became cold.
The murder shocked the region for its brazen brutality and for the fact it remained unsolved for 23 years despite occurring in daylight at popular shopping centre.
Christopher Coulter and Gareth Giles
Gareth Giles then 24 and Christopher Coulter then 18, were curious to know what it felt like to murder someone, which is exactly what they did in 2012.
In January that year, Drysdale man Russell Hammond, who knew Giles, had opened his door to the pair, unaware of their step-by-step plan to murder.
The 18-step plan found on Giles computer included instructions such as ‘Catch bus to vic’s house’, ‘Tie vic up with rope and duct tape’, ‘Drive to burial site’ and ‘Cover up blood with dirt’.
Thirteen of the 18 steps bore similarities to the actions of Giles and Coulter on the night they killed Mr Hammond.
The men, who lived together in Leopold, had told Giles’ mother they were heading to the local service station to buy cigarettes.
Mr Hammond did not know Coulter, but would have considered Giles a friend.
He was strangled to death, his body dumped, doused with petrol and set alight.
Both Giles and Coulter later blamed each other, claiming they emerged from a toilet to discover the other person strangling Mr Hammond.
In 2014, Giles was sentenced to 26 years in prison after being found guilty of murder while Coulter was sentenced to a nominal 25 years after being found unfit to plead.
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