Multiple murderer Carl Williams should have been out-of-sight, out-of-mind in maximum security in a Victorian jail. But his ex-wife’s taste for publicity made sure he was not forgotten…either by the public or his equally vicious enemies. Ray Chesterton takes up the story.
When it comes to publicity, Roberta Williams can grab a headline as easily as her drug-dealing, multiple-murderer ex-husband Carl could order the ruthless execution of a criminal rival.
Her flamboyance and flashy style made her a natural media target after she was portrayed so vividly on TV in Underbelly, which brought Melbourne’s gang wars between the Moran family and Williams’ hoodlums to a national stage.
Now there is speculation Roberta’s taste for publicity may have helped focus unwanted attention on Carl, with whom she remained exceptionally close, as he began his 35-year minimum jail term for multiple murders.
Just days after Roberta talked about getting a publisher for a tell-all book she said her husband had written, Williams was bashed at Barwon Prison near Geelong in Victoria and later died in his tiny cell.
“Being high-profile is a dangerous position when you are in jail,’’ Andrew explains to Woman’s Day. “It makes you a target, especially if you’re not particularly tough yourself. Carl always hired other people to do his murders, he wasn’t strong. He didn’t do them himself.
“He also burnt various blokes by offering them money for murder and then dudding them.’’
Williams, whose violent grab for power between 2000 and 2006 sparked a killing spree that left more than 30 people dead, once even fired bullets on Christmas Day at his then wife Roberta, who was pregnant at the time.
The bullets missed, but the attack did nothing to reduce Roberta’s esteem for her slow-thinking, overweight husband. His answer to every question was savagery and mayhem as he chased domination of the Victorian drug trade, gathering an estimated $20 million in profits before he was jailed, and died broke at 39.
For the story see this week’s Woman’s Day, on sale April 26, 2010.
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