Frank Vitkovic

Case details

Frank Vitkovic was a Melbourne mass murderer who rampaged through an Australian Post building and killed 8 and injured 17 before leaping to his death on Queen Street.

Timeline

• December 5, 1987 — Vitkovic wrote: "I'm geared up... I'm a steam train coming through and everyone better get out of the way."
• December 6, 1987 — Vitkovic wrote: "I can see the paths been laid out for me."
• 8 December 1987 — Vitkovic entered the building on Queen Street carrying a brown paper bag and a sawn-off M1 carbine.
• 4:00 P.M. (8 December 1987) — Vitkovic walked into the Queen Street building holding a brown paper bag and carrying a sawed-off M1 carbine.
• 4:20 P.M. (8 December 1987) — Vitkovic entered the building at 191 Queen Street, Melbourne, carrying a sawn-off M1 carbine in a brown paper bag.
• 4:22 P.M. (8 December 1987) — A robbery alarm was activated.
• 4:27 P.M. (8 December 1987) — Vitkovic fell; police started their search of the building at 4:30 P.M.
• 5:00 P.M. (8 December 1987) — The Special Operations Group confirmed that the dead man on the street was the gunman and gave the all clear for ambulance officers to enter.
• 8:00 P.M. (8 December 1987) — Police only entered the building after the murderer had thrown himself to his death.
• September 1988 — A coronial enquiry heard evidence about chaos during and immediately after the shooting.
• 4 October 1988 — A coronial hearing took place when Joe Dickson, counsel assisting the court, spoke.
• 12th day of the inquest — The contents of Vitkovic's diary were read to the inquest.

The offence

On the afternoon of 8 December 1987, Frank Vitkovic carried out a spree killing suicide at the offices of Australia Post on Queen Street in Melbourne, Australia.

Vitkovic walked into the building in Melbourne's Queen Street holding a brown paper bag and carrying a sawed-off M1 carbine. He entered the fifth floor offices of Australia Post (with an earlier account stating he entered the fifth floor offices of the Telecom Employees Credit Co-operative where a former friend, Con Margelis, worked). He pulled a sawn-off shotgun from the bag and began firing at fleeing workers, killing a young woman office worker. He then went from floor to floor, randomly shooting at targets in elevators or in offices. He shot workers at close range execution style as they cowered under desks and also murdered those in elevators.

On the twelfth floor, Vitkovic's gun was wrestled away from him by an office worker named Frank Carmody. The weapon was immediately hidden in a refrigerator by another worker. After that, Vitkovic broke a window on the floor, and despite attempts by postal workers to save him, he jumped to his death on Queen Street. One account states that some reports indicated that he was pushed.

Victim information in the case included:

• Judith Anne Morris, 19 — killed by gunshot wounds
• Julie Faye McBean, 20 — died of gunshot wounds
• Annunziata "Nancy" Avignone, 18 — died of gunshot wounds
• Warren David Spencer, 29 — died of gunshot wounds
• Michael Francis McGuire, 38 — killed by gunshot wounds
• Marianne Jacoba Van Ewyk, 38 — fatally shot in the north east corner area
• Catherine Mary Dowling, 28 — fatally shot
• Rodney Gerard Brown, 32 — died of gunshot wounds; Brown was still alive when police arrived on the scene but later died
• The murderer also died after the fall.

The account also stated that no one died in the building's lifts. It also stated that no bullet was fired on police or into the street.

Investigation

After Vitkovic's death, police and members of the special operations group searched the building for accomplices.

The coronial enquiry heard that there was chaos during and immediately after the shooting and there was uncertainty over which of the police officers present was in charge. When ambulance men entered the building with police, the police shouted to announce their presence as lifts arrived at their destination. Police on the floor also called out and pointed their guns in the direction of the lift.

According to Inspector Adrian Fyfe, the officer in charge at the scene, the first police officer on the scene, a traffic policeman, had acted appropriately by using initiative to isolate the area and make an accurate assessment of the situation. Fyfe criticised this officer's "appalling" lack of knowledge of "police command structure" for not realising who was in charge until 5.00 pm, 40 minutes after his arrival. Fyfe said the radio call sign he used identified him as the officer in charge.

The psychologist in charge of the team counselling workers and their families said that the video of Vitkovic firing his gun on the 5th floor should not be made public as it would cause significant distress to those being counselled. He advised against publishing a still image of Vitkovic taken from the video. Media outlets had requested copies of the video.

A pathologist told the inquest that he found no legal or illegal drugs or alcohol in Vitkovic's system. The pathologist also said that Vitkovic was killed instantly from multiple injuries consistent with falling from a great height.

The contents of Vitkovic's diary were read to the inquest on its 12th day. The diary included apologies to his family for his planned actions, and a suicide note. Among his comments to his sister he wrote:

"It's time for me to die. Life is just not worth living."

The final diary entry, written on the day of the shooting, read:

"Today I must do it, there is no other way out."

Earlier diary entries catalogued his sexual problems. Vitkovic linked these to an incident when he was eight years old and was forced to undress in a school locker room and friends made fun of his uncircumcised penis. He wrote:

"After this nudity was a dirty word for me,"
"Since the age of 12 I knew that normal sex was not possible for me and I avoided girls completely until I was 19."

He also wrote:

"I am the odd man out there's no doubting it"

Less than a month before the shooting he wrote:

"As Rambo said in First Blood , once you accept a problem, it's no longer there."

Arrest

There was no arrest recorded for Vitkovic because he died after breaking through a window and falling.

People involved

Perpetrator

• Frank Vitkovic (c. 1965 - December 8, 1987)

His family background included a Croatian father and an Italian mother. He grew up in the Melbourne suburb of West Preston. He attended Redden Catholic College (formerly Immaculate Heart College, Preston, later renamed Samaritan Catholic College) in Preston. He started a law degree at Melbourne University in 1984 but had voluntarily discontinued that course in early 1987.

Police believed he had always intended to shoot people in the Queen Street building. It was reported that Vitkovic had left a note at his home; police indicated that it was not a suicide note.

Vitkovic obtained a shooters licence and bought the gun a few weeks prior to the shooting. He had illegally modified the .30 M1 Carbine, virtually changing it to a hand gun. It was loaded with jacketed ammunition. Vitkovic obtained his shooting licence on 17 September 1987. When asked at that time why he wanted a licence, Vitkovic stated:

"I desire to go hunting"

He purchased the rifle on lay-by, finally collecting it 21 October 1987. Prior to the shooting he removed the barrel and the handle of the weapon.

After the shooting, a rumour circulated that he had sought help from the Melbourne University counselling service on the day of the shooting. The head of law at the University, Susie Nixon, later told The Age that while Vitkovic had once sought counselling during his career with the law school, reports he had been at the university on the day of the shooting were "totally unfounded". She stated there was no direct link between the shooting and his "deferral" from his course.

A neighbourhood friend of the family described him as an excellent student, a good tennis player, friendly and helpful, over six feet tall and very good looking.

After the shooting, forensic and coronial evidence included that a forensic psychologist, Dr Allen Batholomew, agreed that Vitkovic was criminally insane at the time of the shooting. Dr Allen Batholomew described Vitkovic as schizophrenic, and said Vitkovic could have identified with Rambo and the Hoddle Street killings.

Victims and other individuals

• Frank Carmody — disarmed Vitkovic on the twelfth floor; his actions were later discussed in the context of bravery.
• Con Margelis — a former friend who worked in the building; he testified to the coronial enquiry.
• Judith Morris — killed when Vitkovic began firing in the fifth floor office.
• Julie McBean — killed on the twelfth floor.
• Nancy Avignone — killed on the twelfth floor.
• Warren Spencer — died on the twelfth floor.
• Michael McGuire — shot at point blank range and killed in the computer training centre.
• Marianne Van Ewyk — fatally shot at the north east corner area.
• Catherine Dowling — fatally shot at the north east corner area.
• Rodney Brown — fatally shot in the north east corner area; Brown was still alive when police arrived but later died.
• Tony Gioia — tackled Vitkovic during the struggle; later awarded Australia's second-highest bravery decoration, the Star of Courage.
• Rosemary Spiteri — wounded female worker who took the rifle and hid it in a refrigerator.
• Donald McElroy — wounded male office worker who tackled Vitkovic.
• Michael McGuire — identified in the offence narrative as the victim shot at point blank range.
• Claire Chalkley and Donald McElroy — received commendations for bravery.
• Race Mathews — Victorian Police Minister who witnessed the event from a building diagonally opposite while gathered for a meeting.
• Jim Kennan — Attorney General who witnessed the event from a building diagonally opposite while gathered for a meeting.
• Hal Hallenstein — coronor who refused to suppress publication of photographs taken from a 5th floor security video.
• Julian Leckie — counsel assisting the coroner; judged the witness as "honest but mistaken".
• Adrian Fyfe — Inspector; criticised the first officer's lack of knowledge of "police command structure" and explained the command structure timing.
• Joe Dickson — counsel assisting the court; judged police response and argued that no person sent back died or was injured.
• Dr Allen Batholomew — forensic psychologist; described Vitkovic as schizophrenic and agreed he was criminally insane.
• Susie Nixon — head of law at Melbourne University; commented on counselling rumours and deferral.
• Philatelic section — referenced as the destination for Vitkovic on the twelfth floor.

Motivation and mental state

The motivation was described as Vitkovic's desire to murder a former school friend who worked in the building, then to take out as many others as possible before ending his own life.

Con Margelis testified to the coronial enquiry that he and Vitkovic had been friends for several years. Margelis said he had not seen Vitkovic in the months prior, adding that "I can't really explain." Margelis said Vitkovic became depressed and embittered after injuring his leg playing tennis followed by a failed operation to repair the damage. Margelis said he began to see little of Vitkovic due to his depression.

Trial and legal proceedings

Coronial enquiry

The coronial enquiry in September 1988 heard that there was chaos during and immediately after the shooting and there was uncertainty over which police officer was in charge.

At the coroner's hearing on 4 October 1988, Joe Dickson said that the police response was "satisfactory, and no complaints could be made about it." He said police response was fast, and that the decision to not send ambulance officers into the building until it was cleared was responsible, noting that no one died because of any delay.

Evidence described routine practice on the 12th floor where staff had to open a security door to talk to visitors which rendered its security measures ineffective. It was said that the 5th floor Telecom Credit Union security measures were "adequate for all purposes except the visit of a maniac." It was also stated that on the 11th floor, no one could have perceived the possibility of a robbery or violence.

On the 5th floor security video, the coroner Hal Hallenstein refused to suppress publication of photographs taken from a 5th floor security video that showed Vitkovic, after hearing representations from counsel representing building tenants directly affected, the families of those killed, and news media organisations.

Counsel assisting the coroner, Julian Leckie, judged a witness as "honest but mistaken" after the witness incorrectly identified the floor of an alleged push event.

Leckie also concluded that Rodney Brown would have died from his wounds no matter what was done.

A psychologist in charge of counselling workers and their families advised against publishing the video or still images taken from it.

Aftermath

Tony Gioia and Frank Carmody were awarded the "Star of Courage" for conspicuous bravery. Claire Chalkley and Donald McElroy received commendations for bravery.

Workers had barricaded themselves in offices from 4:00pm until 8:00pm and had heard gunshots echoing up the stairwells around 4:00pm. At first, some believed it was the philatelic section being robbed, and they were told by management to barricade themselves in the safest of their offices. Over the four hours, their only information came from television in their offices, and police were reportedly not entering the building because of the possibility of organised terrorists. During these four hours, many people were severely traumatised and continued to suffer debilitating post traumatic stress disorder.

The doctor who performed several of the autopsies told the inquest that even had Brown been taken to a neurological unit within 15 minutes of being shot, his chances for survival would have been "very slight".

Additional diary excerpts and quoted statements

Vitkovic's diary entries included additional quoted lines:

"I just like violent films. I don't know why. They make me feel better, all the violence gets me pumped up. the sound of the gun going "POW!" It's the only fun i know."

Just before his 16th birthday he wrote:

"I know one thing for certain I am hated very much by many people, but they don't know anything of my hatred which is twice as much as theirs . . . everyone will pay for their sins."

He wrote:

"People think I'm worth nothing... I'll treat them as nothing."

He wrote:

December 5, 1987 included:

"Death scares me, but no so much as other people." "When i go out people don't seem real. I don't feel part of it. I never have really. My life is such a failure." "The world is against me."

In 1981 he wrote:

"The world is full of vicious cruel people." "There should not be people like that in this world." "I will punish these evil vicious cruel scum people."

December 6, 1987 included:

"... those greedy businessmen and women in the city... They are all pigs. And pigs always end up in the slaughterhouse." "I see those people in the city and I admire them, and yet I hate them cos they've been the ones who've lumped shit on me all these years. . . they have all the things I want but will never have."

Additional diary excerpts included:

"you are an alien amongst your own." "it's hard for a self conscious guy like me to talk to girls with confidence."

A statement attributed to Vitkovic included the allegation that he screamed:

"That'll teach you."