Leonard Fraser

Leonard John Fraser (27 June 1951 – 1 January 2007), also known as "The Rockhampton Rapist", was an Australian convicted serial killer.

Leonard Fraser
Born
Leonard John Fraser

(1951-06-27)27 June 1951
Ingham, Queensland, Australia
Died1 January 2007(2007-01-01) (aged 55)
Princess Alexandra Hospital in Woolloongabba, Queensland, Australia
Cause of deathHeart attack
Other namesThe Rockhampton Rapist
Criminal penalty5 x Life imprisonment + 25 years
Details
Victims4-7+
Span of crimes
28 December 1998–22 April 1999
CountryAustralia
State(s)Queensland
Date apprehended
1999

Biography

Fraser was born in Ingham, Queensland. He had a daughter in the 1970s with a woman named Pearl.

Crimes

Before a life sentence on 7 September 2000 for the abduction, rape and murder of a 9-year-old girl, Keyra Steinhardt, in Rockhampton, Queensland, Leonard Fraser had spent almost 20 of the preceding 22 years behind bars for the rape of other women. He even raped a terminally ill cancer patient, with whom he had been living in early 1997. He was subsequently charged with four murders. Police found many trophies of his victims in his flat and ponytails from three different women, which could not be traced to any of his known victims.[1]

Fraser originally confessed to five murders in an apparent deal with police to avoid general population in prison, but one of those victims was 14-year-old Natasha Ryan, who was found to be alive and living secretly with her boyfriend in a nearby town after being listed as a missing person for five years.[2] Although there was an obvious inconsistency with his confessions, his defence did not file for a mistrial. Nor did his defence object to the prosecution using the same confession made in custody, which included the Ryan confession, for three other victims whose remains were found. The Ryan 'murder' was also based on testimony from a fellow prisoner who alleged that Fraser drew detailed maps showing where Ms. Ryan's remains could be located.[3] The judge in the case, Justice Brian Ambrose, heavily criticised the media for commenting on the value of confessions to crimes made to police under duress or to other prisoners while in custody, which might have affected the trial.

In 2003 Fraser was sentenced to three indefinite prison terms for the murders of Beverley Leggo and Sylvia Benedetti, and the manslaughter of Julie Turner in the Rockhampton area in 1998 and 1999.[4][5] At his trial, the judge described him as a sexual predator who was a danger to the community and his fellow inmates.[6]

Death

Fraser was being held at the Wolston Correctional Centre and, after complaining of chest pains, he was taken to a secure section of the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Woolloongabba, on 26 December 2006,[7] where he died of a heart attack on 1 January 2007.[6]

Media

Fraser's murders are the focus of the Crime Investigation Australia series 2 episode "The Predator: Leonard John Fraser"[8] and Crime Stories episode "Leonard Fraser: the Rockhampton Rapist".

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References
  1. Bassingthwaighte, Ted (November 2006). "From Sexual Predator to Murderer" (PDF). Police News. Police Association of New South Wales. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 June 2005. Retrieved 2 January 2007.
  2. McCutcheon, Peter (14 April 2003). "Fraser trial judge criticises media commentary". The World Today. ABC. Retrieved 2 January 2007.
  3. "Victim in murder trial found alive, but three others are definitely dead, say police". The Sydney Morning Herald. 11 April 2003. Retrieved 11 April 2003.
  4. Doneman, Paula. "Leonard John Fraser". Movement Against Kindred Offenders (M.A.K.O). Archived from the original on 5 November 2006. Retrieved 2 January 2007.
  5. Landers, Kim (5 September 2003). "Fraser guilty verdict". Stateline Queensland. ABC. Retrieved 2 January 2007.
  6. "Qld serial killer dies in hospital". ABC News. 1 January 2007. Retrieved 2 January 2007.
  7. Doneman, Paula (27 December 2006). "Serial killer in hospital after heart scare". News.com.au. Archived from the original on 18 February 2008. Retrieved 2 January 2007.
  8. "Leonard John Fraser". Crime Investigation Australia. Archived from the original on 11 July 2009. Retrieved 26 October 2008.

Bibliography
  • Doneman, Paula (June 2006). Things a killer would know: The true story of Leonard Fraser. Allen & Unwin. p. 240. ISBN 1-74114-231-8.
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