Pleas to keep convicted melbourne murderer behind bars 20210524 p5y6tp.html – Breaking News & Latest Updates 2026
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This was published 5 years ago

Push to keep Frankston serial killer behind bars for life

Carly Waters

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A Melbourne MP is leading a campaign to keep a convicted killer in prison for life, with friends and family of a victim fearing he will kill again if he is released.

In 1993, Paul Denyer murdered 17-year-old Natalie Russell, 18-year-old Elizabeth Stevens and 22-year-old mother Deborah Fream in the Frankston area.

Denyer was sentenced to life in prison without parole, but this was later appealed and reduced to a non-parole period of 30 years, meaning the 49-year-old will be eligible for release in 2023.

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Denyer was jailed for the murders of three women in 1993. Nine

Liberal Democrats MP David Limbrick is leading the campaign to keep Denyer locked up. Nine

Liberal Democrats MP David Limbrick is pushing for the government to intervene and ensure the killer remains locked up.

"If Denyer did get released one day and we had (an) opportunity to stop that and did nothing, how could we live with ourselves?" he said.

Mr Limbrick was the boyfriend of Ms Russell at the time of her death.

He said the pain of her loss has stayed with him.

"It feels like yesterday for all of us ... you learn to live but it never goes away, the pain," he said.

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Ms Russell's family have joined the cause and said Denyer was a danger to society.

"Probably the only thing that gave us any consolation was the fact he was locked up and couldn't do this to any other families ... I'd hate anyone to go through what we went through," her father Brian Russell said.

"It is more concern for what he would do if he was ever let out."

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Brian Russell's daughter Natalie was killed when she was just 17. Nine

Mr Russell said just the chance of Denyer being freed was upsetting, but if he was jailed forever their family could finally have peace.

"I don't think he has much chance of getting parole, but it is keeping us awake at night again, just at the mere possibility that he may," Mr Russell said.

"It would probably be the first time in 28 years we've had peace."

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Mr Limbrick said now was the time to take action.

"We feel if we don't act and make noise about this, we're scared nothing will happen and we might end up in situation where he's released," he said.

"We're very concerned about it."

Ms Stevens, 18, was murdered by Denyer after she got off a bus on her way home from the library on June 11, 1993.

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On July 8, Seaford mother Ms Fream was also killed as she was ambushed by Denyer in her car.

A fortnight later Natalie, 17, was murdered as she walked home from school.

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The murders shocked the Frankston community. Nine

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Denyer will be eligible to be considered for early release by the Adult Parole Board in June 2023. Nine

Ms Russell's friend Karen said the fear felt at the time of the murders stayed with the community.

"There's not a woman in Frankston that doesn't check her back seat before she gets in the car," she said.

Mr Limbrick has set up a petition through Parliament calling for legislation to keep the killer behind bars for life.

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He said the government could issue directions to the parole board through legislation, as it had done previously in the cases of Hoddle Street killer Julian Knight and Russell Street bomber Craig Minogue.

More than 300 people have signed the petition.

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