Peter Dupas, Serial Killer A Collection of True Crime

PETER DUPAS, SERIAL KILLER

RUTH CANTON

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PETER DUPAS

THE AXEMAN

RODNEY ALCALA

KILLER HANDYMAN

ROBERT HOWARD

A MONSTER IN THE CHURCH

RAY COPELAND

JUANA BARRAZA

PETER SUTCLIFFE

Peter Norris Dupas

Early Life

Peter Norris Dupas was the youngest of three siblings, born on July 6, 1953 in Sydney. While he was still an infant, the family moved to Melbourne. Dupas was raised in the Frankston and Mount Waverly neighborhoods. His parents got him when they were much older, and for the most part they seemed more of his grandparents than parents. His siblings were much older, and he was raised more like an only child. His mother was severely overprotective, and Dupas pretty much got anything he wanted. His father, however, was a perfectionist. Dupas constantly tried to live up to his father’s expectations, failing more often than not. His mother’s overprotectiveness failed to make him feel secure and confident in himself. He grappled with feelings of inadequacy stemming from his parent’s relationship with him.

Dupas’ social life was not any better. He was prone to be overweight, and was teased endlessly because of it. The other children took to calling him Pugsley, the name of the character in the TV show The Addams Family. To make matters worse, he was a slow learner, and this exacerbated the teasing and bullying. He was often referred to as the class idiot, and did end up repeating Form One. By the age of 15, Dupas had developed a sadistic streak that would be evident in most of his life.

October 3, 1968

While he was still in his uniform, Dupas walked over to his neighbor’s house and knocked. The 27-year-old mother was breastfeeding her five-week-old baby when she heard the knock. She answered the door, and was surprised to see the young boy at her door. She welcomed him into the house and asked why he had come over. He asked to borrow a sharp knife. He was supposed to be peeling potatoes, and they did not have a knife that was sharp enough at home. Pleased that he was such a nice helpful son, she praised him. After she handed over the knife, she was still talking when she saw him lunging at her, the knife tightly gripped in his hand. He plunged it into her stomach. Describing the attack, she told police, He knocked me down onto the floor and fell on top of me. He kept on stabbing me with the knife and I kept trying to ward him off. I felt the knife cut into my hands, mainly my right hand, my face and my neck. I was holding on to the knife at one stage trying to break the blade. I was lying on my back and he was sitting on top of me. He said, ‘It’s too late, I can’t stop now, they’ll lock me up.’ Once the knife attack stopped, Dupas started bashing her head into the floor repeatedly. Then, just as abruptly as he had started, he stopped.

The police were called in, and Dupas was immediately arrested. He was taken down to the police station for questioning, and he kept repeating that he had no idea why he had attacked his neighbor. He claimed that he did remember having the knife in his hand. I must have been trying to kill her or something, he told police. The manner of attack and Dupas age led to the court demanding a mandatory psychiatric evaluation. He was taken to Laundrel Hospital for the assessment. In the end, the court concluded that Dupas was caught in an emotional conflict between the need to conform to the expectations of his parents and the unconscious urges to express his aggression and his developing masculinity. For his crimes, he was sentenced to serve 18 months’ probation and was advised to undergo psychiatric treatment.

First Prison Sentence

While still in Form Five, Dupas began working at the General Electric Plant in Notting Hill as a fitter and turner. During his apprenticeship, he also applied to the police academy. He was 1cm shy of the required height, and was subsequently disqualified. His free time was occupied by less socially acceptable activities. On March 10, 1972, Dupas was peeping through the window of a bathroom, watching a woman while she was in the shower. Suddenly, the door of the house sprung wide open and an angry man came through it. Dupas tried running, but the man came up fast behind him and caught up to him. No charges were ever brought up against Dupas for the peeping. He was 19 years old at the time.

On November 5, 1973, police officers were called out to a residence in Mitcham, Melbourne. The woman had called in to report that she had been raped by a young man. She stated that she had been in the house when she heard a knock at the door. When she opened, the man told her that his car had broken down, and that he needed a screwdriver to fix the problem. She turned to go into the house to get the screwdriver. The man followed her inside and put his arm around her throat. The woman had an 18-month-old baby in the house. To subdue her, the man threatened the life of her baby, claiming that he would hurt both of then if she resisted. By this time, he had a knife, and the woman complied. He raped her and then left, driving off in the car that he claimed had broken down. She immediately called the police.

Days after the attack, police got a call from two other victims who reported that the suspect had used the same ruse. This time around, none of the women had been raped. The first one stated that the young man had knocked at her door and claimed that his car had broken down. He said he needed a screwdriver. When she went to get it, she found that the man was gone, and so was some cash that she had in the house. The second victim called in and stated that she had opened the door to find a young man standing there, and behind him was a car with the hood popped open. He told her that his car had broken down and that he needed a screwdriver to fix it. She immediately became suspicious of the story. She told him that her husband was on his way home, and that he would arrive at the house at any minute. He told the man that if he was willing to wait, her husband would help him to fix the car. The man turned around, walked to the car, closed the hood, and drove off.

On November 15, 1973, a man walked into the police station to report an incident. He claimed that a man kept driving alongside his car. He stated that the man would stare and smile at his 12-year-old daughter every time. He was afraid that the man was a predator, so he got his license plate number. This was discovered to be Dupas’ car, and he was subsequently interviewed by police about the incident. He hadn’t broken any laws, so he was released after providing his statement.

Two weeks later, Dupas was back in police custody. This time, the accusations against him were far more serious. Detective Senior Constable Ian Armstrong was the lead detective on the rape case at the house in Mitcham. During the course of their investigation, they connected the three cases involving the man with a broken down car. When they interviewed the third victim, they caught their biggest break. She had taken down the license plate of the car that the man had been driving. The owner was identified as Peter Norris Dupas. Once in police custody, Detective Armstrong quickly realized that they had their work cut out for them. Dupas was presented with the overwhelming evidence against him, and police expected a confession. Dupas denied having anything to do with the crimes, and even claimed that he was nowhere near the scene of the crimes. At one point, it seemed like he was going to break down, but moments later, his demeanor changed and he was back to denying that he had anything to do with the crimes. After failing to confess, Dupas was charged and released on bail. However, he was remanded to Mont Park psychiatric hospital, but he was free to come and go as he pleased. During this time, he was charged with loitering with intent and offensive behavior after a police stakeout nabbed him at Resebud Beach. On at least three occasions, Dupas had entered the female toilets and watched the women showering. He was fined $140 for his crimes. On July 25, 1974, County Court Judge John Leckie sentenced Dupas to a prison sentence of nine years with a minimum of five years for the rape in Mitcham. He served about five years, and was released on September 4, 1979.

10-Day Spree

Two months after he was released from prison, Dupas was back at it again. His first victim was a woman who was in the Frankston public toilet block. He raped her, and then fled the scene. This time, he had upped the ante, and was wearing a balaclava and wielding a knife. The next three victims were more fortunate. Two of them screamed so loud that Dupas ran away. The third, an elderly woman, wasn’t as lucky as the other two. As she was resisting and trying to fight him off, she got stabbed in the chest. Dupas realized that his rape plan had been thwarted, and he ran off. Only after she stood up did she realize that there was blood pouring down from her left side.

When he was later arrested, he told officers; It just comes over me. I can’t help myself. I have had this problem for about six years. It all started again about a year ago. I don’t know if it was because me (sic) girlfriend left me or what it is. I just find it hard to mix with people and I haven’t many friends. I just don’t know what to say. He was charged with rape, indecent assault, three counts of assault with intent to rape, malicious wounding, and assault with intent to rob. On Februaty 28, 1980, he was found guilty on all charges. To everyone’s shock, Judge Leo Lazarus sentenced him to serve six-and-a-half years, with a minimum of five years non-parole period. He was released on February 27, 1985.

Blairgowrie Beach

About a month after he was released, Dupas was back in police custody, this time for the rape of a 21-year-old receptionist. Dupas was alighting his car at Blairgowrie Beach when he saw her walking