Roger Dean

Case record: Roger Dean

Background

Roger Kingsley Dean was an aged-care nurse and worked at Quakers Hill Nursing Home as the night nursing manager. He was 37 at the time of the November 18, 2011 crime.

Dean was described as "narcissistic" at sentencing, and the court heard Dean was bullied at school and endured a difficult relationship with his family.

Helen Perry gave evidence at Dean’s sentencing hearing. She had emphysema and had lived in the Quakers Hill Nursing Home that was destroyed by fire in November 2011.

Lang Reid, a friend of Dean from a bible study group, also gave evidence.

Dean had previously pleaded not guilty to murder late last year and had been seen in court wearing a large wooden crucifix over his prison greens on a number of appearances, though he had also elected not to appear and stayed in the cells below with his court papers handed to him there.

The offence

Dean murdered 11 people by setting fire to their Sydney nursing home while they slept.

On November 18, 2011, Dean set fire to beds in two rooms of the Quakers Hill Nursing Home where he was working. One of the rooms was empty, while the other housed two residents who were asleep in their beds.

The victims were:

• Dorothy Wu, 85
• Alma Smith, 73
• Reginald Green, 87
• Lola Bennett, 86
• Ella Wood, 97
• Urbana Alipio, 79
• Caesar Galea, 82
• Doris Becke, 96
• Verna Webeck, 83
• Dorothy Sterling, 80
• Neeltje Valkay, 90

The fire broke out at about 4.50am on November 18, 2011. Emergency services rushed to the home as black smoke billowed from the windows and residents were in a state of panic.

Many residents were saved, but firefighters did not become aware of the second fire until it was too late because of Dean’s failure to tell firefighters there were two fires.

Two residents who died in the blaze were immobile and could not be moved from their beds.

Dean used a stolen cigarette lighter to set fire to the sheets of an empty bed.

Dean also led another concerned resident away from the blaze, lying to her that help was on the way.

Dean set the fires to cover up theft of prescription drugs from the home. Prior to the fire, he repeatedly went into the room where the home kept its addictive medications and stole 237 tablets of the narcotic painkiller Endone and one capsule of the morphine drug Kapanol.

He became extremely fearful when nursing home managers discovered the drugs had been stolen and called police.

Dean tried unsuccessfully to get into the locked room where the drug registry books were kept. After telling two junior nurses to take an unscheduled break, Dean walked into the A2 wing.

Dean later told police he felt "a sense of evil" come over him.

Investigation

Police investigators announced that homicide squad detectives and forensic investigators had determined the fire at the nursing home in Quakers Hill had been deliberately lit.

Detective Superintendent Michael Willing described alleged killer Dean as having been helping with inquiries before he was charged.

At the scene, it was expected that it would take time to establish exactly what was behind the lighting of two fires that broke out in separate wings of the principal nursing home in the early hours of November 18, 2011.

An automated fire alarm at 4.53am (local time) summoned two fire engines with crews of four, and they were there within six minutes. Firefighters initially had no idea how many people they had to rescue, where they were, or how mobile they were. Rescuers could see nothing inside the burning ward due to black smoke billowing from burning mattresses and furniture.

Firefighters reverted to training, performing pattern searches along the walls and then into the middle of the rooms, which led them to extinguish the twin blazes and save lives.

By about 5.20am firefighters and firewalls had contained the blaze. By about 6am the numbers were being tallied, and by about 7am the rescue was over and a second more thorough search was conducted before the site was handed to police.

A geriatrician at St Vincent’s Hospital, Dr Nick Brennan, described the prognosis for frail elderly patients in intensive care as pretty poor.

NSW Fire Commissioner Greg Mullins described the scene as "chaotic" and "tragic" and said it was a firefighter’s worst nightmare because firefighters could not see their hands in front of their faces in the thick smoke and could not easily rescue elderly residents who could not get themselves out of harm’s way.

An account from rescue circumstances stated that firefighters crawled through thick black smoke, reaching up to feel into beds to establish if anyone was there to rescue. Getting people out was described as like a military operation.

The judge also later described the case as planning and premeditation on Dean’s behalf.

Arrest and charges

Dean was charged with murder after five people died and 13 were critically injured initially reported. He was accused of four counts of murder and was expected to be charged with a fifth. A fifth, a 97-year-old woman, died in hospital earlier that day, and another woman later died.

Dean appeared via video link before Magistrate Andrew George at Parramatta Bail Court, and formal bail refusal was recorded.

Detective Superintendent Michael Willing said a detailed forensic analysis of the scene would begin once the burnt-out building on Hambledon Road was deemed secure.

Police allege Dean was a night-shift worker and one of four carers on duty at the time of the fire at 4.55am, trapping 88 elderly residents, many of whom suffered from dementia.

Dean was expected to face further murder charges following the death of Ella Wood and another 79-year-old woman.

Trial

Dean pleaded guilty to 11 counts of murder on the morning his Supreme Court trial was due to start in May.

Justice Megan Latham delivered the life sentence on July 31, 2013.

During sentencing proceedings earlier in the year, 11 victim impact statements were read describing the anguish the families felt knowing they had placed loved ones in a home they chose "as a place of care and safety".

Sentencing

Justice Megan Latham sentenced Dean to life imprisonment without parole on July 31, 2013.

Justice Megan Latham said there had been "planning and premeditation" when Dean lit two separate fires in a high dependency unit of the Quakers Hill Nursing Home in the early hours of November 18, 2011.

The court deemed Dean's murders fell into the worst case of offending.

Justice Latham noted all of the victims had been under Dean’s care, and that he knew two of the victims who were sleeping in the room where he lit the second fire were immobile.

Justice Latham said:

"The terror and fear experienced by the victims must have been horrific," Justice Megan Latham said.
"A worse fate is difficult to imagine."

Justice Latham also paid tribute to the relatives of the victims who had to deal with the "extremely far reaching consequences" of Dean’s actions and said:

"Each relative of each murder victim expressed a profound sense of loss," she said.
"Not just for the victim's life, but for the lost connections with family, the lost opportunities for extended family gatherings and the telling and retelling of family stories that give everyone a sense of the past, a sense of place and a sense of self.'"

The court heard that Dean’s moral culpability for the crime was not diminished by a diagnosed personality disorder.

The state's senior Crown prosecutor Mark Tedeschi QC called for a life sentence in June.

Dean showed no emotion as Justice Megan Latham said he would never be released on parole.

Dean pleaded guilty to eight counts of recklessly causing grievous bodily harm.

Justice Megan Latham stated that Dean had already entered guilty pleas to two counts of larceny over the theft of painkillers, and those were to be dealt with together with the more serious offences.

Appeals

No appeal information appeared in the provided record.

Outcome

Dean was sentenced to life in prison without parole on July 31, 2013 for killing 11 people in the Quakers Hill Nursing Home fire in Sydney.

Aftermath

Relatives of Dean’s victims cheered and embraced outside court.

Elly Valkay, whose mother Neeltje Valkay, 90, died in the blaze, said the life sentence was "wonderful" and said:

"I hope he suffers as much in jail as my mother suffered in the last days of her life, which was horrendous," Valkay told reporters.

Garry Green, whose father Reg Green was Dean’s tenth murder victim, said:

"Hopefully (Dean) lives for a long, long time and it's very uncomfortable," he said.

Amanda Tucker, the granddaughter of 80-year-old victim Dorothy Sterling, said:

"My nana never made it out of that nursing home ... every time we picture my nana we wonder whether she was in pain or if she was scared or screaming or needing help," Tucker told reporters outside court.
"He walked straight past her and didn't help ... so a life sentence is never going to be good enough. "It's never going to take away the pain of my sister who was extremely close to my nan, who's been on an emotional ride for years. "It's never going to take the pain away from any of these families."

Paul Cachia, whose mother Emmanuela Cachia died in hospital from infections months after the fire, said it made him angry to see Dean at the sentencing. Cachia said:

"He's a son of a bitch, "He's lucky I didn't get my hands on him, put it that way,'' he told reporters.

Lorraine Osland, whose mother Lola Bennett perished in the blaze, said:

"He got a life sentence and so did we,'' Ms Osland said through her sobs before she was led away.

Tina Baker, whose mother Neeltje Valkay perished in the blaze, said:

"The heartache will never go away,'' Baker said.
"But justice has been served and I'm very happy about that.''

Justice Latham also made a statement attributed to her sentencing remarks about the families' sense of loss and the lost connections with family.

A woman fainted and had to be carried out of court mid-way through the sentencing.

One family member yelled out "you'll get yours" as Dean was led from the courtroom dock by sheriffs.

During the sentencing hearing, Helen Perry said Dean took her outside and told her "help was on its way" for the others and for her friend in another ward.

Helen Perry also testified that outside the home there were bodies everywhere in beds and on the ground and described the scene as like a war zone.

Dean’s former boyfriend previously told the court he was taking "too many tablets" and his behaviour was odd.

A police account said Dean deliberately set the home on fire to try to cover up his theft of prescription drugs.

Timeline

• November 18, 2011 — Dean set fire to beds in two rooms of the Quakers Hill Nursing Home where he was working as the night nursing manager; the fire began at about 4.50am (reported as 4.53am for the alarm and 4.55am for the fire).
• May 2013 — Dean pleaded guilty to 11 counts of murder on the morning his Supreme Court trial was due to start.
• June 2013 — The state's senior Crown prosecutor Mark Tedeschi QC called for a life sentence during a hearing.
• July 31, 2013 — Justice Megan Latham sentenced Dean to life in prison without parole.
• August 1, 2013 — Life sentence reporting appeared in Sydney Morning Herald.
• August 02, 2013 — Reporting about the sentence appeared in The Daily Telegraph.

Other details

Quakers Hill Nursing Home was described as providing a 'secure, friendly and home-style environment' and parts of the wards at the back of the home were gutted.

It was stated there was no sprinkler system in the nursing home as they are not required under state laws, and firefighters’ accounts said a sprinkler system would have saved lives.

A rebuilding project was referenced as a key plank of the rebuilding project, with developers revealing an A$25 million project would have the most advanced fire-prevention devices in NSW and have a memorial garden dedicated to the fire victims.

Freelance cameraman Adrian Munn described arriving to see only smoke billowing everywhere and said:

"I saw only smoke when I arrived, billowing everywhere. One of the police officers grabbed me and asked me to get all the footage I could."

NSW assistant police commissioner Robert Redfern said the fire was being treated as 'suspicious' and said:

"all fires such as this" were considered suspicious.

The Reverend Dave Hilliard, the senior state police chaplain, praised two young police officers who were among the first to enter the burning building and rescue residents, saying:

'They're young and being asked to do some extraordinary things beyond their years,' he said.
'I'm blown away by them.'