Cold case killer who murdered a man and raped two women at gunpoint after tying their boyfriends up and forcing them to watch is jailed for 25 years
- James Dobbie has been jailed for at least 25 years for 1980s rapes and a murder
- He raped two women, aged 18 and 21, at gunpoint in Melbourne’s south-east
- Their boyfriends were tied up and forced to watch and were helpless to stop him
- A father-of-two Rodney Mitchell was shot and killed during one of these attacks
- Supreme Court judge John Champion sentenced Dobbie to minimum 25 years
A former fugitive has finally been jailed for murdering a man and raping two women during a string of attacks in the early 1980s.
James Dobbie, now in his mid-60s, has been jailed for at least 25 years, almost four decades after he preyed on couples in a quiet Melbourne lover’s lane car park.
Victorian Supreme Court Justice John Champion on Monday sentenced him for three separate attacks at Rowville’s Police Paddocks Reserve in 1980 and 1983.
A former fugitive has finally been jailed for murdering a man and raping two women during a string of attacks in the early 1980s
Dobbie raped two young women, then 18 and 21, at gunpoint in Melbourne’s south-east.
Their boyfriends were tied up and forced to watch, helpless to stop him.
Father-of-two Rodney Mitchell tried to stop Dobbie in the third attack.
When Dobbie stuck the gun through a car window, Mr Mitchell got out naked and lunged for the weapon.
He was shot and killed.
‘Tragically (he) paid the ultimate price for his bravery in confronting you,’ Justice Champion said.
James Dobbie, now in his mid-60s, has been jailed for at least 25 years, almost four decades after he preyed on couples in a quiet Melbourne lover’s lane car park
Dobbie then drove off with a woman in Mr Mitchell’s car but she threw herself from the moving vehicle and escaped.
Justice Champion said the victims had suffered ‘tremendous pain, suffering and trauma, the effects of which have been felt for almost 40 years and will likely continue for many more’.
Dobbie fled to Cape Tribulation, north of Cairns in far north Queensland, after the shooting, remaining there until an anonymous tip to Crime Stoppers in 2018 identified him as a suspect.
Victorian Supreme Court Justice John Champion on Monday sentenced him for three separate attacks at Rowville’s Police Paddocks Reserve in 1980 and 1983
Justice Champion said without Dobbie’s confessions in a police interview, the prosecution could not have gone ahead.
He accepted Dobbie was remorseful but noted it took decades to reach the level that prompted confession.
Had Dobbie been sentenced before 1986, the law would have required a mandatory life sentence for murder.
Justice Champion sentenced him to 31 years in jail with a 25-year non-parole period behind bars.
Dobbie raped two young women, then 18 and 21, at gunpoint in Melbourne’s south-east (crime scene pictured during the early 1980s)