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Sergeant Gary Michael Silk & Senior Constable Rodney James MillerPrint Page Print this page

The plaque commemorates police officers Sergeant Gary Michael Silk & Senior Constable Rodney James Miller who were murdered while on duty in 1998.

The Silk–Miller murders (also known as the Moorabbin Police murders) was the name given to the murders of Victoria Police officers Sergeant Gary Silk and Senior Constable Rodney Miller in Cochranes Road, Moorabbin, Victoria, Australia on 16 August 1998.

On the night of the murders, the police officers were staking out the Silky Emperor Restaurant near the corner of Cochranes and Warrigal Roads, Moorabbin at approximately midnight when they were gunned down at close range. 

Police investigations into the murders were named Operation Lorimer. Victorian Police Minister Andre Haermeyer  announced an A$500,000 reward for information on the murders, and later said he would consider increasing the reward.

Evidence left at the scene of the crime included pieces of glass, suspected to be from the getaway car used by the killers. Police tested this glass and discovered it came from a late model Hyundai hatchback. After extensive investigations, which took the team to the Hyundai factory in South Korea to obtain vital prosecution evidence, police narrowed down the exact make and model of the vehicle involved in the shootings from the glass samples. The vehicle was registered to the daughter of known criminal, Bandali Debs. 

On 24 September 2001, Bandali Debs, a father of five from Narre Warren, Victoria and Jason Joseph Roberts, an apprentice builder, of Cranbourne, Victoria faced charges relating to the murders of Silk and Miller as well as 13 other charges of armed robbery relating to offences alleged to have occurred between March and July 1998. Debs and Roberts were found guilty of the murders and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Jason Joseph Roberts was acquitted of the crime in July 2022.

Location

Address:396 Malvern Road , Memorial Garden, Prahran Police Station, Prahran , 3181
State:VIC
Area:AUS
GPS Coordinates:Lat: -37.847746
Long: 144.999864
Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate.
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Details

Monument Type:Plaque
Monument Theme:People
Sub-Theme:Crime

Dedication

Front Inscription

                     In Memory Of
SERGEANT GARY MICHAEL SILK 24685 
                   St. Kilda Police
                         And 
SENIOR CONSTABLE RODNEY JAMES MILLER 29276
                  Prahran Police
            Murdered While On Duty
     At Moorabin On The 16th August 1998

 

Source: MA
Monument details supplied by Monument Australia - www.monumentaustralia.org.au