The Baffling Disappearance of Australian Hitman Chris Flannery: aka "Mr Rent-a-Kill"
In the late 1970s, Chris Flannery rebranded himself as a contract killer known in the underworld as "Mr Rent-a-Kill," he participated in Sydney's violent gang wars, then in 1985, he suddenly vanished
Background
Christopher Dale Flannery seemed to have been drawn to a life of crime early on. He was born in 1948 and raised in Brunswick, Victoria, a working-class suburb of Melbourne. His neighborhood was rather insular, with many neighbors sharing a disdain for the police.
It is reported that Flannery’s father was physically abusive and eventually abandoned the family when Chris was about nine.
Showing little interest in school, Flannery dropped out at age fourteen and would receive his first criminal conviction that same year.
By seventeen, Flannery had fully committed himself to a life of crime. That year, he was convicted of several serious offenses, including carrying a firearm, assault on a police officer, and rape.
Flannery was sentenced to seven years in prison.
While locked up, Flannery displayed a defiant attitude towards prison guards and staff, and because of this, he was subjected to brutal beatings and other punishments from the prison guards.
Far from rehabilitating Flannery, prison seemed to only encourage his antisocial personality.
Not long after his release from prison, Flannery was once again in trouble with the law. Flannery and two other men robbed a luxury men’s store in Perth. Flannery fled to Sydney but was extradited back to Perth.
Though he was ultimately acquitted at trial, Flannery was held in jail on an outstanding warrant. He was finally released in 1977.
Release From Prison
After his release, Flannery took work as a bouncer at a popular Melbourne nightclub. However, according to associates, he quickly grew bored with the job and decided that he wanted to pursue a more exciting line of work, which to Flannery meant becoming a contract killer.
Having already made connections with underworld figures in Sydney and Melbourne, as well as during his time in prison, Flannery already had a pool of potential clients to advertise his services to.
Mr Rent-a-Kill
Flannery put the word out that for a fee of $50,000, he was willing to take anybody out. During this time, various criminal groups were vying for control. Some of these conflicts had spilled over into open warfare.
It was in this hostile climate where Flannery, now dubbed “Mr Rent-a-Kill,” would find steady work.
Flannery’s first hit was a Melbourne solicitor named Roger Wilson. Wilson had been making deals with some shady people, and when he failed to deliver the return on investment he promised them, they reached out to Flannery to take care of Wilson.
On February 1, 1980, Flannery and a man named Kevin Williams posed as detectives and pulled Wilson over in an unmarked police car. They then handcuffed Wilson, placed him in their car, and drove away.
The car was then driven to a wooded area near Pakenham, outside of Melbourne.
Flannery then shot Wilson in the head. However, the bullet only grazed him, and Wilson fled into the woods. Flannery and Williams gave chase, and Flannery emptied his gun into Wilson, killing him.
The two dug a grave for Wilson and then returned to Wilson’s car, which the pair retrieved and drove to an airport parking lot.
A tip from a witness pointed police towards Flannery being involved in Wilson’s disappearance and murder. Flannery even went on television proclaiming his innocence and laughing off accusations of him being a hitman.
Meanwhile, behind the scenes, Flannery was making sure that he would not be convicted for Wilson’s disappearance and death. In his mind, this meant getting rid of anyone who could hurt him.
On Christmas Day, 1980, Kevin Williams’s girlfriend, Deborah Boundy, was found dead under suspicious circumstances. It is believed that she was going to testify against Williams and Flannery.
In October 1981, Flannery was acquitted of the murder of Roger Wilson. However, as he was preparing to leave court, he was detained by New South Wales Police and charged with the murder of a Sydney brothel owner named Raymond “Lizard” Locksley.
Flannery was eventually acquitted of this murder as well.
Shortly after his acquittal, Flannery moved his wife and children from Melbourne to Turrella, a suburb of Sydney.
Sydney Gang Wars
During the early 1980s, there was a wave of gangland-related killings in Sydney as various groups battled for control of turf and the city’s lucrative rackets.
Flannery became associated with powerful old-school gangster George Freeman. Freeman was aligned with another old-school Australian gangster named Lenny McPherson. This group had control of much of the city’s vice and illegal gambling.
Flannery was still taking contracts while working as a bodyguard for Freeman. In August 1982, he was hired to kill a man named Terrance Basham. Basham had been part of a drug smuggling ring. However, he had a falling out with his partners and even assaulted one of them.
Basham’s partners then hired Flannery to get rid of him. On August 13, 1982, Flannery shot and killed Basham and his wife Susan in their home. The couple’s two-year-old daughter was in the house at the time but was left unharmed.
Flannery viewed himself as a sort of free agent, loyal only to himself. In 1984, he sided with rival Sydney gangster Neddy Smith.
Smith quickly realized that the volatile Flannery was becoming a liability and would only bring him trouble.
Police Corruption
During these years, many organized crime figures were able to operate because of corrupt police officers who, at best, took bribes and looked the other way and, at worst, directly participated in murders at the behest of gangsters.
At one meeting to discuss the ongoing violence, Flannery reportedly told a high-ranking police officer, “You’re not an endangered species,” The not-so-veiled threat made it clear that Flannery had no problem taking out cops.
This would be proven true in June 1984, when Flannery attempted to murder Sydney drug squad detective Michael Drury. Drury had arrested Flannery’s friend Alan Williams on drug charges.
At first, Flannery attempted to bribe Drury using disgraced former Sydney Detective Sergeant Roger Rogerson as a go-between.
When Drury refused the bribe attempt, Williams allegedly paid Flannery and Rogerson $50,000 each to kill Drury. Drury was shot twice through his kitchen window, and despite being severely wounded, he survived the shooting.
Drury correctly suspected that Rogerson, Flannery, and Williams were involved in his shooting.
Assassination Attempt and Disappearance
On January 27, 1985, Flannery and his wife were walking outside their home when they were sprayed with rifle shots from a passing car. Though Flannery was shot in the hand while attempting to shield his wife, neither one was seriously injured.
Suspiciously, Roger Rogerson was seen in the area following the attempt on Flannery. However, he claimed that he just wanted to see what kind of damage had been done to the house.
By 1985, Flannery had made himself a target for both crooked cops and rival gangsters. Having been suspected of more than a dozen murders, Flannery had now outlived his usefulness and was considered a major liability.
By now, Flannery was living in a room at the Connaught Building in Sydney. On May 9, 1985, Flannery received a call from his former boss, George Freeman, who requested a meeting with Flannery.
When Flannery’s car wouldn’t start, he returned to his room to inform Freeman, who then told Flannery to take a cab.
According to Neddy Smith, as Flannery waited for a taxi, two Sydney detectives who Flannery knew pulled up alongside him and offered him a ride.
Flannery got in the car, and as they pulled up to a traffic light, two more detectives got into the back of the car on either side of Flannery.
This was the last time that Chris Flannery was ever seen.
Sources:
“Christopher Dale Flannery.” Murderpedia. https://murderpedia.org/male.F/f/flannery-christopher.htm
Gibbs, Stephen. “Roger Rogerson is dead, and now everyone is saying he killed one of the most notorious figures of the Australian underworld. I know who did it. I know exactly what happened.” Daily Mail Australia, 23 January 2024, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12993847/Roger-Rogerson-Tom-Domican-Chris-Flannery.html
“How a Ruthless Gunman Became Australia's Most Notorious Hitman.” Youtube, uploaded by Crime Down Under, 24 April 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PIXS--MvwM
“Australia's HITMAN MYSTERY | The disappearance of Mr Rent a Kill.” Youtube, uploaded by Shadow Matter, 20 July 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ezTggzcDBU