John Wayne Glover

Case details

John Wayne Glover (26 November 1932 – 9 September 2005) was a British-born Australian serial killer convicted for the murders of six elderly women on Sydney's North Shore.

Timeline

• 11 January 1989 — 84-year-old Margaret Todhunter was walking down Hale Road, Mosman, and was attacked by Glover; he punched her in the face and stole the contents of her purse including $209.
• 1 March 1989 — 82-year-old Gwendoline Mitchelhill was attacked with a claw hammer at her Military Road apartment building; Glover stole her purse containing $100.
• 9 May 1989 — 84-year-old Lady (Winfreda) Ashton was attacked with a hammer along Military Road; Glover strangled her with pantyhose, placed her walking stick and shoes at her feet, and stole a purse containing $100.
• 6 June 1989 — 77-year-old Marjorie Moseley was molested at the Wesley Gardens Retirement Home in Belrose.
• 24 June 1989 — Glover visited the Caroline Chisholm Nursing Home in Lane Cove and fondled elderly patients; staff briefly questioned him.
• 8 August 1989 — Glover assaulted the elderly Effie Carnie in a back street of Lindfield.
• 6 October 1989 — Glover pretended to be a doctor and ran his hand up the dress of Phyllis McNeil at the Wybenia Nursing Home in Neutral Bay; he left when she called for help.
• 18 October 1989 — Glover attacked 86-year-old widow Doris Cox in a stairwell off Spit Road, Mosman; Cox survived, but could not provide a clear description.
• 2 November 1989 — Glover approached 78-year-old Dorothy Benke and later assaulted 85-year-old widow Margaret Pahud in Lane Cove; he struck her from behind and stole her handbag.
• 3 November 1989 — 81-year-old Olive Cleveland was killed at the Wesley Gardens Retirement Village in Belrose.
• 23 November 1989 — 93-year-old widow Muriel Falconer was attacked at her home in Muston Street after Glover took his hammer and gloves and followed her.
• 11 January 1990 — Glover assaulted 82-year-old advanced cancer patient Daisy Roberts in the Greenwich Hospital palliative care ward while on pie sales rounds.
• 13 January 1990 — Detectives asked Glover to attend an interview; when he failed to appear, police were informed by his wife that he had attempted suicide by overdose and was recovering at the Royal North Shore Hospital.
• 19 March 1990 — 60-year-old divorcee Joan Sinclair was killed in Beauty Point, Mosman; Glover was found unconscious in a filled bathtub after attempted suicide.
• 28 March 1990 — Glover appeared at the Glebe Coroners Court and was formally charged with 14 offences: 6 counts of first degree murder, 1 count of attempted murder, 1 count of robbery with wounding, 1 count of robbery, 4 counts of indecent assault and 1 count of assaulting a female.
• 29 November 1990 — Glover was found guilty on all accounts and sentenced to prison for the term of his natural life.
• 9 September 2005 — Glover committed suicide by hanging himself in his cell.

Background

Glover was originally from a working class family in Wolverhampton, England. He had been convicted of many petty crimes dating back to 1947 for stealing clothing and handbags. He was later thrown out of the British army when these were discovered.

Glover emigrated to Australia in 1956. He first lived in Melbourne. He worked as a sales representative for Four 'n' Twenty Pies. Prior to the killings, he volunteered at the Senior Citizens Society and was considered among his friends a friendly, trustworthy man.

Glover was married with two daughters.

The offence

Over a year beginning in March 1989, six elderly women died as a result of bashing with a claw hammer and ritual strangulation with the victim's pantyhose tied in a bow. Their skirts were pulled up over their heads, legs were splayed and their shoes were placed neatly alongside their bodies. The women were all strangers to Glover except the last victim.

Glover specifically blamed his mother-in-law for his actions and hated “Mosman Matrons”.

Victims

• Margaret Todhunter (84) — attacked on 11 January 1989 in Hale Road, Mosman; Glover punched her in the face and stole $209 from her purse.
• Gwendoline Mitchelhill (82) — attacked on 1 March 1989 after Glover put a hammer under his belt and followed her to her apartment entry foyer; he hit her on the back of her head and continued striking her; he fled with a purse containing $100.
• Lady (Winfreda) Ashton (84) — attacked on 9 May 1989 on Military Road; Glover attacked her with his hammer, dragged her into a rubbish bin alcove, repeatedly hit her head on the pavement, removed her pantyhose and strangled her; he placed her walking stick and shoes at her feet and left with a purse containing $100.
• Marjorie Moseley (77) — molested on 6 June 1989 at the Wesley Gardens Retirement Home in Belrose.
• Effie Carnie (elderly) — assaulted on 8 August 1989 in a back street of Lindfield.
• Phyllis McNeil (patient at Wybenia Nursing Home) — Glover ran his hand up her dress on 6 October 1989 and left when she called for help.
• Doris Cox (86) — attacked on 18 October 1989 in Mosman; the attack involved ramming her face into a brick wall and she survived but had dementia.
• Margaret Pahud (85) — attacked on 2 November 1989 in Lane Cove; Glover engaged her in conversation and later assaulted her from behind; he struck her on the back of the head and struck her again on the side of the head, rearranged clothing and took her handbag.
• Olive Cleveland (81) — killed on 3 November 1989 at the Wesley Gardens Retirement Village in Belrose; Glover struck her, pushed her head into concrete, removed pantyhose and tied them tightly around her neck, rearranged clothing and took money ($60) from her handbag.
• Muriel Falconer (93) — killed on 23 November 1989; Glover put his hand around her mouth to silence her and hit her around the head and neck with a hammer, removed her pantyhose and used them to strangle her, searched her purse and house, and left with $100 after rearranging shoes.
• Joan Sinclair (60) — killed on 19 March 1990 in Beauty Point, Mosman; she was found battered with her head wrapped in blood-soaked towels, with pantyhose tied around her neck, genitals damaged, and Glover later denied raping her; Glover was found unconscious in the filled bathtub after attempting suicide.

Investigation

Police concluded the early attacks were serial in nature.

For Lady Ashton, the ligature mark around her neck measured nine centimetres, and the pantyhose cut through her skin. The examiner noted her diamond ring was still present, suggesting she was not killed for money.

Police initially held limited hopes after the first attacks, with investigating police concluding the 11 January 1989 attack on Margaret Todhunter was a mugging. For later attacks, police concluded they were facing a serial killer.

Police linked the pattern of the assaults and killings, noting that all three initial victims were wealthy elderly women from the same suburb and were assaulted or killed in the same manner before being robbed of their handbags.

Arrest and charges

After arrest in 1990, Glover admitted to the murders.

On 28 March 1990, Glover was formally charged with 14 offences: 6 counts of first degree murder, 1 count of attempted murder, 1 count of robbery with wounding, 1 count of robbery, 4 counts of indecent assault and 1 count of assaulting a female.

Trial

The trial commenced on 28 March 1990. John Wayne Glover pleaded not guilty to his crimes on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

A psychiatrist said Glover had built up hostility and aggression since his childhood against his mother and then against his mother-in-law, who was said to “trigger” him. The psychiatrist also said it was a very unusual case because there were very few mass murders and most perpetrators were mentally ill and/or had an organic disease of the brain, and that Glover was sane at the time of the murders.

The Crown prosecutor maintained that Glover was well aware of his actions, planned what to do with the victim’s money, and took time to clean the hammer with acid. The Crown prosecutor said Glover was impotent and had no interest in sex, and that tying the pantyhose tightly around his victim’s neck was to make sure they were dead while also trying to trick police into thinking the crime was the work of a sexually-motivated killer. The Crown prosecutor said Glover was addicted to poker machines and the easiest way for him to get more money was to steal.

After the guilty verdict was delivered, the presiding judge said:

"He is able to choose when to attack and when to stay his hand. He is cunning and able to cover his tracks. It is plain that he has chosen his moments carefully. Although the crimes have been opportunistic, he has not gone in where the risks were overwhelming. The period since January 1989 has been one of intense and serious crime involving extreme violence inflicted on elderly women, accompanied by theft or robbery of their property. On any view, the prisoner has shown himself to be an exceedingly dangerous person and that view was mirrored by the opinions of the psychiatrists who gave evidence at his trial. I have no alternative other than to impose the maximum available sentence, which means that the prisoner will be required to spend the remainder of his natural life in Jail. It is inappropriate to express any date as to release on parole. Having regard to those life sentences, this is not a case where the prisoner may ever be released pursuant to order of this court. He is never to be released"

Sentencing

On Friday 29 November 1990, Glover was found guilty on all accounts and sentenced to prison for the term of his natural life.

He was sentenced to six terms of life imprisonment, never to be released.

Appeals

No appeal information was included.

Outcome

Glover committed suicide by hanging himself in his cell on September 9, 2005.

Other details

Evidence and court-related items

A note written by Glover on Four 'n' Twenty Pies business paper contained the words "no more grannies ... grannies" and "Essie [Glover's mother-in-law] started it".

When explaining the circumstances, the head of the detective task force said:

"If he had said to us, "I don't want to talk," we couldn't have proved a thing. Still, the photo matched the descriptions of the gray-haired suspect and in his job as a pie salesman, Glover could have been at any of the murder scenes."

Confession sketch

Days before Glover committed suicide (on his third known attempt), he handed his last outside visitor a sketch. The sketch showed a park with significant changes, and the number "nine" could be seen between leaves and branches in the middle of the right palm tree. The number nine was said to represent the number of murders Glover committed or the number of unsolved murders still out there.

The nine additional victims and unsolved cases listed were: 1 - Elsie Boyes, 63, Prahran (3 June 1967) 2 - Emmie May Anderson, 78, East Melbourne (19 October 1961) 3 - Irene Kiddle, 61, St Kilda (22 March 1963) 4 - Christina Yankos, 63, Albert Park (9 April 1968) 5 - Florence Broadhurst, 78, Paddington (16 October 1977) 6 - Josephine McDonald, 72, Ettalong (29 August 1984) 7 - Wanda Amundsen, 83, Umina (21 November 1986) 8 - unknown 9 - unknown

Prior offences (as described)

Shortly after immigrating from England to Australia, Glover was convicted on two counts of larceny in Victoria and a stealing charge in New South Wales.

In 1962, he was convicted on two counts of assaulting women in Melbourne, two counts of indecent assault, one of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and another four counts of larceny. For this he received a three year good behaviour bond. The attacks were described as extremely severe and included removed articles of clothing and victims forced to the ground while his clothing was torn.

At the time of these offences, Glover was employed as a television rigger for the ABC and lived in the Melbourne suburb of Camberwell. A 25-year-old woman described following and choking activity, with her undergarments in disarray, and her attacker fleeing when her screams alerted residents.

He was convicted on a Peeping Tom charge of being unlawfully on the premises and sentenced to three months in prison, serving only six weeks. In 1978, he had a minor shoplifting charge.

Domestic and family details

Glover’s troubled relationship with older women in his life included his mother Freda and after 1968 his mother-in-law after he married and moved into his parent-in-law’s house in Mosman, Sydney. Glover was married with two children, and lived a contented lifestyle in Mosman.

His mother-in-law was identified as Essie [Glover's mother-in-law] and referenced in the suicide note as “started it”. The material also identified Essie as Veronica Rolls.

Hospital assault incident

On 11 January 1990, Glover visited Greenwich Hospital on his pie sales round and entered the palliative care ward where there were four elderly and ill women, including 82-year-old advanced cancer patient Daisy Roberts. Glover asked if she was losing body heat, then pulled up her night gown and touched her indecently. Roberts panicked and called for help. A hospital sister found Glover in the ward; when confronted, Glover ran from the ward and the sister was able to record his car’s registration number and notified police.

A week later, the police returned with a photograph of Glover and Sister Davis and Mrs Roberts positively identified him. Although this was not linked to the murders at first, it was later considered part of the overall case.

Attempted suicide and arrest circumstances

After detectives returned to interview Glover, they found he had attempted suicide by overdose and was recovering at Royal North Shore Hospital. Staff handed police a note containing the words "no more grannies ...

On 19 March 1990, after police found Joan Sinclair’s body and found Glover in the bathroom, Glover was declared to have been treated for alcohol and drug overdose and he had swallowed a handful of Valium with a bottle of Vat 69, slashed his left wrist and lay in the tub to die.