‘It looked like suicide, but it wasn’t’: How many killings did ‘Artful Dodger’ cop Rogerson actually get away with?

Linked to 12 killings over his lifetime but only ever convicted of one, Roger Rogerson could have written the book on how to get away with murder.

It was something the crooked detective knew all too well. In fact, in the years before his death on Sunday, Rogerson is said to have floated the prospect of such a manuscript, to be penned by his former pal and underworld associate, Glen McNamara.

Disgraced detective Roger Rogerson was linked to a dozen deaths – but the exact number is unlikely to ever be known.Credit: Fairfax

McNamara alleged he was invited to write a tell-all expose about six murders Rogerson claimed to have been involved with, in a book to be published posthumously.

Unfortunately for Rogerson, who reportedly relished his notoriety, that’s now unlikely to eventuate.

The pair turned on each other before their conviction in 2016 for the murder of university student Jamie Gao, in one of the rare occasions where mud actually stuck to one of the nation’s most slippery crime figures.

Rogerson has been linked to the deaths or attempted murders of 11 people in addition to Gao. After his death on January 21, it appears Rogerson will take his true kill count to the grave.

Phillip Western (1976)

An armed robber wanted over the murder over a bank manager, Western was tracked down on the Central Coast by the Armed Hold-Up Squad in 1976.

A mugshot of Phillip Western, who Roger Rogerson claimed to have shot in the line of duty.

He was shot dead in a hail of bullets while clambering out the window of a fibro house near Avoca Beach.

Rogerson claimed to have fired the fatal bullet, telling a documentary “we blew his head off”, although there are doubts as to the truth of his claim.

Lawrence ‘Butchy’ Byrne (1978)

Gunfire erupted on Anzac Parade in Kingsford as Lawrence “Butchy” Byrne attempted to steal the takings of South Sydney Junior Leagues Club from a bank.

Rogerson and his team from the Armed Hold-Up Squad had been lying in wait, and opened fire. A coroner concluded either Rogerson or another officer carrying a shotgun killed Byrne in the line of duty.

At Rogerson and McNamara’s murder trial in 2016, a pen and matching letter opener were tendered as evidence.

The pen, which was handcrafted in the shape of a bullet with a clip resembling a rifle, was engraved with the names of Phillip Western, Warren Lanfranchi and Butchy Byrnes.

McNamara’s lawyers wanted to cross-examine Rogerson over the pen, which they alleged he had gifted their client and bore the names of the people Rogerson had killed in the line of duty, showing the “low value” he placed on human life.

Justice Geoffrey Bellew declined to allow the cross-examination, finding it posed a danger of unfair prejudice to Rogerson.

Shirley Finn (1975)

Shirley Finn with the Dodge Phoenix car in which she was found murdered.

Brothel madam Shirley Finn was dressed to the nines in a full-length ball gown when her body was discovered in her Dodge Phoenix parked near a Perth golf club in 1975. She had been shot in the head four times.

At the time, it was rumoured she was about to blow the whistle on a web of corrupt politicians, police and businessmen in the state.

Detectives reportedly interviewed Rogerson about the cold case in 2017, following claims he was in Perth at the time of Finn’s death. A coroner later found it was not possible to prove Rogerson was responsible, but his involvement could not be excluded.

Warren Lanfranchi (1981)

There is an “x” etched into a Chippendale gutter where Rogerson shot dead heroin dealer and standover man Warren Lanfranchi in 1981.

Warren Lanfranchi, who was shot dead in Chippendale, Sydney, in 1981.

As newspaper headlines cried “High Noon in Dangar Place”, Rogerson insisted he was acting in self-defence.

At an inquest, Rogerson was found to have fatally shot Lanfranchi while trying to make an arrest, but a coronial jury declined to find the shots were fired in self-defence.

Rogerson was never charged.

Lyn Woodward (1981)

Model and sex worker Lyn Woodward vanished while giving evidence against Rogerson over the death of her drug dealer friend, Warren Lanfranchi. It was reported that her evidence undermined Rogerson’s version of events.

Rogerson denied allegations made by an associate that he shot Woodward after an argument in Alexandria Park. He was never charged.

Lewton Shu (1983)

Lewton Shu was a heroin trafficker with a target on his back after turning police informant, according to a 2017 biography by Duncan McNab.

Shu’s body was discovered in a shallow grave in the Royal National Park at Waterfall in January 1983.

Robert “Jumping Jack” Richardson was found dead north of Melbourne.

Rogerson later claimed responsibility for the murder, according to fellow crooked cop McNamara. Rogerson allegedly told him that Shu “thought he could outsmart his suppliers” and “I helped my Chinese friends fix him up for good”.

Robert ‘Jumping Jack’ Richardson (1984)

The body of Robert “Jumping Jack” Richardson was found dumped in bushes about 100 kilometres north of Melbourne in 1984.

Police believe the drug syndicate boss was lured to Strath Creek and murdered the day before he was due to appear in court over a heroin conspiracy.

Victorian police named Rogerson as a person of interest, but not a suspect, in Richardson’s murder.

Michael Drury (1984)

Undercover drug squad detective Michael Drury was shot in the stomach and side as he stood in the kitchen of his Chatswood home in 1984.

Former police officer Michael Drury, who survived an attempt on his life. Credit: James Brickwood

Believing he would not survive, Drury pointed the finger at Rogerson, claiming his police colleague wanted him dead because he rejected a bribe in return for getting Melbourne heroin dealer Alan Williams off a drug charge.

Rogerson was acquitted of trying to bribe Drury in 1985 and conspiring to murder him in 1989.

A police taskforce report later claimed that there had been an “absolute cover-up” over Drury’s shooting, naming Rogerson as the “linchpin”.

The Wood royal commission heard the report “went nowhere”.

Christopher Dale ‘Rent-a-kill’ Flannery (1985)

Rogerson was unsentimental following the disappearance of hitman Christopher Flannery in 1985, describing him as a “complete pest” who was “out of control” and refusing to do as he was told.

However, Rogerson insisted he had nothing to do with Flannery’s presumed murder, despite claims at an inquest that he told an associate Flannery “had to go” because he was “becoming a danger to us all”.

Christopher “Rent-a-kill” Flannery, a notorious hitman who is presumed murdered.Credit: Fairfax Media

Coroner Greg Glass said he suspected Rogerson was involved in Flannery’s death, but there was insufficient evidence to prosecute.

Sallie-Anne Huckstepp (1986)

“That’s Huckstepp”, a detective cried with an immediate flash of recognition. It was 1986 and officers had towed a woman’s body onto the sand after it was spotted floating in Busby’s Pond in Centennial Park.

Sallie-Anne Huckstepp was a household name after appearing on national television five years earlier accusing Rogerson of shooting dead her lover Warren Lanfranchi in cold blood and stealing $10,000 from his corpse. She went into hiding after making sensational claims about corruption in the ranks of the NSW Police Force.

Sallie-Anne Huckstepp, whose body was found in a pond in Centennial Park. Credit: Russell McPhedran

Huckstepp’s death from strangulation fuelled suspicions about Rogerson and his close associate Arthur “Neddy” Smith, but the former was never charged, and the latter was acquitted of her murder.

Alan Williams

Melbourne heroin dealer Alan Williams and Rogerson were at one time as thick as thieves as they were accused of working together on a plan to murder police officer Michael Drury.

As Rogerson was acquitted, Williams pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment.

Alan Williams, who Rogerson is alleged to have boasted about murdering in a conversation with an associate.

It appears the relationship soured: Rogerson is alleged to have later boasted of killing Williams as payback for giving him up, telling an associate: “It looked like suicide, but it wasn’t”.

This story has been updated with details about the existence of Rogerson’s bullet-shaped pen.

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