Payout for man wrongfully convicted of police murders

Jason Roberts, the man convicted and later acquitted over the murders of police officers Sergeant Gary Silk and Senior Constable Rod Miller, has agreed to settle his lawsuit with the Victorian government for wrongful imprisonment.

Roberts served 22 years for the 1998 murders of the two police, who were gunned down in Cochranes Road, Moorabbin while on stakeout duty.

Silk and Miller were part of a police team sitting off likely armed robbery targets. They were killed when they pulled over a suspect car.

In 2002, Roberts and his crime partner Bandali Debs were convicted of the murders.

Then and now: A young Jason Roberts (left) and in September last year.Credit: Fairfax Media

Roberts’ conviction was quashed by the Court of Appeal when it was revealed police had hidden some original police witness statements from the defence. The statements related to the key prosecution claim that the dying Miller had said there were two offenders.

In his submission to have his conviction quashed, Roberts said that while he had been Debs’ partner in a series of armed robberies he was not with him on the night of the murders.

Days before the retrial Roberts raised the possibility of pleading guilty to Gary Silk’s murder and 10 armed robberies.

Sergeant Gary Silk (left) and Senior Constable Rodney Miller.

Roberts applied in the Supreme Court for a “Sentencing Indication”. The law, under the Criminal Procedure Act, allows a trial judge to set a theoretical maximum jail term before a trial if the accused pleads guilty.

When he was told he would receive 40 years he elected to go to trial. In the retrial Debs said Roberts was with him and had shot Silk, a claim later rejected by the jury.

In the trial both the defence and prosecution accepted Rod Miller said after he was shot that there were two offenders, one on foot.

In 2022 Roberts was acquitted of the murders. In a further twist, victims from some of the armed robberies are considering suing Roberts for pain and suffering they suffered during the stick-ups.

Members of the original taskforce that arrested Debs and Roberts and the families of Silk and Miller have been informed that the Roberts’ compensation claim was to be settled for an undisclosed sum.

Roberts, through his lawyer, and the state government both declined to comment when contacted by The Age.

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