Paul Anthony Evers

Mass murderer

5known / alleged victims

Similar offenders

Robert Paul Long Mass murderer · Australia · 2000 Robert Paul Long was an itinerant fruit-picker who lived in Australia and was d… 15 victims

Julian Knight Mass murderer · Australia · 1987 Julian Knight was a 19-year-old former Australian Army officer cadet who was ar… 7 victims

Wade Frankum Mass murderer · Australia · 1991 Wade Frankum Committed suicide by shooting himself the same day; in 1991 Wade F… 7 victims

Douglas Crabbe Mass murderer · Australia · 1983 Douglas John Edwin Crabbe (b. 1948) was sentenced to five consecutive terms of… 5 victims

JO John van Trung Tran Mass murderer · Australia · 1987 John van Trung Tran John van Trung Tran committed suicide by shooting himself t… 5 victims

PE Peter Shoobridge Mass murderer · Australia · 1997 Peter Shoobridge was described as “a quiet, wealthy man.” He was a published po… 4 victims

Random profiles

Rekha Kumari-Baker Murderer · United Kingdom · 2007 Davina and Jasmine Kumari-Baker were murdered by their mother, Rekha Kumari-Bak… 2 victims

Bruce Rich Murderer · USA · 1995 Name: Bruce Rich Bruce Rich was accused of killing his parents so that he could… 2 victims

Ignacio Gomez Murderer · USA · 1996 Ignacio Gomez was a Hispanic male. He was born in 1969 and was a Mexican nation… 3 victims

Melissa Friedrich Murderer · Canada · 1991 Melissa Friedrich was also known as Melissa Stewart and Melissa Ann Weeks (also… 1 victim

William Scott Smith Serial killer · USA · 1982 William Scott Smith was a high school dropout and an unemployed fry cook. In 19… 3 victims

Barbara Dalton Murderer · USA · 2002 Barbara Elaine Dalton was convicted by a jury of felony murder and other offens… 1 victim

Case Facts

Gender: male
Country: Australia
Location: Surry Hills, Sydney, Australia
Date of birth: 1955
Age at first offence: 35
Characteristics: domestic violence, drunken rage
Victim profile: Four men and a woman (his half-sister)
Method of murder: Shooting (Bentley 12-gauge pump-action shotgun)
Date(s) of murder: August 30, 1990
Years active: 1990
Date of arrest: Same day
Status: Found guilty of manslaughter rather than murder due to diminished responsibilty; arming himself with a Bentley 12-gauge pump-action shotgun, Paul Anthony Evers confronted 60-year-old Thomas Cullin in the housing commission high-rise in Sydney's inner-city Surry Hills, shooting him dead through the screen door of his unit; four others were killed in the rampage that followed; he surrendered after buying cigarettes and a soft drink at a nearby store.

Case Summary

Parties

Paul Anthony Evers, 35, the perpetrator.
Thomas Cullin, 60, the neighbour whom Evers confronted and shot dead through the screen door of his unit.
Michelle Coleman, 24, identified as Evers's half-sister; the account states she had also been his lover.
Four other victims, killed during the rampage after Evers shot Cullin.

The offence

Paul Anthony Evers awoke at about 8.30am after taunts from a male neighbour outside his room. The neighbour called him "dole bludger". Evers was described as awakened by a male neighbour shouting "dole bludger" (unemployed idler) outside his room.

Evers confronted 60-year-old Thomas Cullin in the housing commission high-rise in Sydney's inner-city Surry Hills. He shot Cullin dead through the screen door of his unit. The shootings then became a rampage, during which four other people were killed. The account states that this included Evers's half-sister and lover, Michelle Coleman, 24.

Evers blamed his neighbour's taunts, but psychiatrists labelled him psychotic and said he was enraged because Coleman was leaving him.

Investigation

A police prosecutor, Brett Longville, said Paul Evers was awakened by the neighbour shouting "dole bludger" (unemployed idler) outside his room.

A police spokesman said four victims were killed in a public housing building in the Sydney neighbourhood of Surry Hills. The fifth died after being taken to a hospital.

Arrest / surrender

Paul Anthony Evers surrendered after buying cigarettes and a soft drink at a nearby store.

Trial

Paul Anthony Evers was charged with five counts of murder following the shootings in the public-housing apartment building where he lived.

He was found guilty of manslaughter rather than murder due to diminished responsibilty.

Other details

The account described the scene after the shootings as horrendous and said it involved a breakfast-time rampage through a three-story apartment building in Surry Hills, a rundown district in Sydney.
Evers's father recounted a life of rejection by the women in his life: his natural mother left him when he was three; his stepmother and finally his half-sister.

Spotted an error, or have more information about this case?