Jamie John Curtis’s parole bid revives memories of escape

Last week’s Risdon Prison breakout wasn’t the only high-profile escape of an inmate. In 1986, another manhunt gripped the state for nine days. We can reveal chilling new details about his time on the run and how he almost came face-to-face with his victim.

Jamie John Curtis. Picture: SUPPLIED

A chainsaw-wielding “psychopath” abducts three people, murdering one and gang-raping another before his eventual capture.

Eight months later the convicted killer escapes prison in a laundry cart and goes on the run, bringing the state to a near standstill.

In 1986, following his original arrest for the murder of Dean Allie and the repeated rape of Allie’s fiance, Alicia*, Jamie John Curtis managed to break out of Risdon Prison, becoming the most wanted fugitive in Australia.

This picture with blurred faces shows the late Dean Allie with fiance "Alicia".

According to police descriptions published in news reports at the time, Curtis was six-foot tall, covered in tattoos, and wearing prison issued khaki which blended in with bushland.

He was understood to be carrying a table knife which had been sharpened to a point in jail.

The escape occurred at exactly 2.07pm on Friday October 3, 1986, with Curtis hiding in a laundry van bound for Royal Hobart Hospital.

From there the fugitive led police on a wild-goose chase across the state.

Air and sea ports were closed or put on heightened surveillance, roadblocks were erected, and eventually a complete media blackout was imposed after detectives speculated that he was evading police by listening to news reports on the radio.

The public was on tenterhooks.

Police had repeatedly warned that Curtis could easily abduct a hostage and was experienced in doing so.

Children who didn’t turn up to school were personally checked on by police, as parents did their best to keep to their routines.

But a trail of breadcrumbs were being left behind.

A yellow Holden station wagon had been stolen from a Glenorchy car yard, meat had gone missing from a Deloraine farm, and Curtis’ fingerprints were found in a deserted farmhouse in Ellendale with its front door broken open.

Across the state there were dozens of reported sightings for police to comb through, while helicopters searched bush area.

Finally, nine days later Curtis was tracked down and apprehended by a police squad, following a tip-off from the public. The yellow Holden was found concealed in bushland close by.

He was growing a beard and had changed his clothes, and was found in blue jeans, a blue cardigan and white T-shirt.

Chillingly, when he was apprehended he was found lurking on a neighbouring country property to where his gang-rape victim Alicia was being kept under police guard.

“I got a phone call and they told me they got him,” she said.

“They told me to look out the window and I would see him driving past in just a moment.”

Curtis was sentenced to a further five years in jail following the escape fiasco.

He was released in April last year despite expert medical advice that he still displayed a “high number of psychopathic traits” which “cannot be cured”.

In October, he was rearrested after allegedly assaulting another woman.

His application for parole was rejected on Friday by Tasmania’s Parole Board.

“For now he is where he should be, behind bars, and will not be a threat to the public,” Alicia said.

*Victim gag laws in Tasmania prevent the Mercury from publishing the real name of Alicia in this story.

If you or someone you know needs help, please contact the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service on 1800 RESPECT for 24/7 support.

'Alicia'. Picture: NIKKI DAVIS-JONES