Peter Dupas, Already Serving Life, Is Found Guilty of a Second Murder, of Margaret Maher in 1997
Prosecutors argued that the injuries to Maher matched those Dupas inflicted on Nicole Patterson, closely enough to be a signature. Police then said other cases would be reviewed.
Published
Peter Dupas was already serving life for murdering Nicole Patterson. On August 11, 2004, a Melbourne jury that was never told so found him guilty of a second murder, that of Margaret Maher.
The Victorian Supreme Court jury deliberated for about five hours over two days, after a three-week trial, before convicting Dupas, 51, of murdering Maher, 40. Her body was found beside Cliffords Road in Somerton, in Melbourne's northern suburbs, on October 4, 1997. Prosecutor Michele Williams argued that her injuries and those of Patterson, a 28-year-old psychotherapist killed in her Northcote home in April 1999, were so unusual as to amount to "a signature, a stamp." She also said a black woolen glove found near Maher's body carried Dupas's DNA. His barrister, James Montgomery, called the Crown case a "smokescreen" and the glove evidence "dodgy DNA."
After the verdict, Dupas called the trial a "kangaroo court" from the dock. The jury then heard him acknowledge earlier convictions for offenses including rape, assault with intent to rape and false imprisonment. He had been convicted of Patterson's murder in August 2000 and was serving life with no minimum term, but because she was killed about 18 months after Maher, that conviction could not be listed among his prior offenses.
Outside the court, Detective Inspector Greg Hough said other matters would be reviewed with the Director of Public Prosecutions. Reports said the cases under consideration included the November 1997 murder of Mersina Halvagis, 25, at Fawkner Cemetery, which prosecutors had earlier decided not to pursue against Dupas. Patterson's sister called Dupas "the most evil predator." Justice Stephen Kaye was to hear pre-sentence submissions the next day.
Sources
- Killer's grisly trademark his downfall, The Sydney Morning Herald
- Dupas guilty of second killing, The Age
- A tragic life ends at the hands of a monster, The Age
Related News
- August 9, 2007: Melbourne Jury Finds Peter Dupas Guilty of Murdering Mersina Halvagis at Her Grandmother's Grave