Michael Anthony Guider, who was jailed for killing Bondi schoolgirl Samantha Knight and sexually abusing more than a dozen children, has died in custody.
Corrective Services NSW on Saturday confirmed the serial paedophile’s death.
Michael Guider leaves Long Bay Jail in 2019. He was sent back to prison three years later.Credit: Renee Nowytarger
“A 73-year-old inmate has died at Prince of Wales Hospital on Saturday, 7 September 2024,” a spokeswoman said. “The man was pronounced deceased at about 7.25am.
“As a matter of protocol, Corrective Services NSW and NSW Police investigate all deaths in custody regardless of the circumstances.”
Guider drugged and killed nine-year-old Samantha in 1986 after abducting her from near her home in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, but it was not until February 2001 that he was arrested for the crime.
A year later, he pleaded guilty to her manslaughter, but he never revealed where her body was.
Samantha Knight was 9 when she disappeared from Bondi in 1986.
Having been handed a 17-year jail sentence, he was released from Sydney’s Long Bay jail in 2019 under a five-year extended supervision order that included conditions such as electronic monitoring and restrictions on his internet access.
The NSW government had attempted to keep him detained after his sentence had expired, but he was set free.
At the time, Samantha’s mother Tess Knight could not conceal her fury.
“I am not disappointed, I am angry,” she said. “I see the effect that this has had on the people he abused as children, who are now young adults.
“They have to live with the thought of him walking around having the freedom they don’t have.”
Guider was arrested again and sent back to prison in 2022 for breaching the order after police discovered that he had been searching for material involving young children on his mobile phone.
Guider had earlier been jailed for sex offences committed against 13 young boys and girls between 1980 and 1996.
Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence
Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732). Support is also available for young people via Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800.
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