Relationship Break up Prompts Murder

Accused killer 'asked for car, clothes'

February 19, 2009, 12:35 pm

A man accused of gunning down his one-time girlfriend asked a friend for fresh clothes and a loan of a car after the shooting, a Melbourne court has been told.

Leigh Robinson, 60, of Pearcedale, has been charged with murdering 33-year-old mother of two Tracey Greenbury on April 28 last year.

The court earlier heard Ms Greenbury huddled in fear on a neighbour's doorstep as the accused pointed a gun at her.

Ms Greenbury fell into the Frankston house and crawled along the floor as the door was opened, but died after she was shot by the man in the doorway.

Robinson's committal hearing on Thursday was told he had called his friend of over 20 years, William Paterson, and told him there had been a shooting.

Mr Paterson said Robinson asked to borrow a car and later requested some clothes which he arranged for him.

Mr Paterson said he learned that night Tracey, who he had known as Robinson's girlfriend, had been shot dead.

He said shortly after learning that fact Robinson called him and Mr Paterson told him "she's gone".

"He was just sort of stuttering and hesitating," Mr Paterson said.

Mr Paterson said Robinson and Ms Greenbury had been in a relationship, but it appeared to fall apart about two weeks before the shooting.

He said Mr Robinson had said it was over and appeared upset by the breakup.

The pre-trial hearing in Melbourne Magistrates' Court continues.

From News.com.au 30th April 2008

THE man believed to have shot dead Frankston mother Tracey Greenbury is a convicted killer who was sentenced to death in 1968 for the brutal stabbing murder of his former girlfriend.

Leigh Robinson, 60, is on the run after allegedly blasting Ms Greenbury to death with a shotgun on Monday as she ran from her house in a desperate attempt to escape him.

Police believe he is still armed and have urged people not to approach him.

As the manhunt widened yesterday, Ms Greenbury's parents spoke of how they had feared for their daughter's safety in the weeks leading to her murder.

Ms Greenbury, 33, who had only begun seeing Robinson in the past few months, told her parents two weeks ago that he had held her hostage in a caravan and held a gun to her head, threatening to kill her.

Max Greenbury said his daughter had tried to end her relationship with Robinson after discovering his criminal history, but was terrified of him.

"She was so frightened and was convinced he was going to come back. She told me, 'Dad, I don't want to die, I am too young'," Mr Greenbury said.

Robinson has a history of crime and violence dating back to the 1960s. He spent 15 years in prison after he stabbed to death 17-year-old Valerie Ethel Dunn in the kitchen of her Chadstone home in June 1968.

Pentridge Prison psychiatrist Alan Bartholomew told a committal hearing later that year that Robinson, then aged 20, was an "odd" character. "He told me he was having dreams that he would assassinate several people," Dr Bartholomew told the court.

Legendary Melbourne criminal barrister Frank Galbally, who represented Robinson at the committal, also told the court: "He dreamed he would kill this girl and has since had dreams of killing someone else."

At Robinson's trial, evidence was given that he stabbed Ms Dunn 16 times with a carving knife after she refused to go out with him. He had also stabbed and wounded a youth who intervened to help Ms Dunn.

On 28 November, 1968, Robinson was sentenced to hang for Ms Dunn's murder, but five months later his sentence was commuted to 30 years in prison, with a minimum of 20.

For this Robinson may owe something to the legacy of Ronald Ryan, who in 1967 became the last man to be hanged in Australia. After a massive public campaign to save Ryan, the death penalty was never used again and was formally abolished in Victoria by the Hamer government in 1975.

Having avoided execution, Robinson served 15 years in Pentridge, where he is believed to have been a quiet prisoner, spending much time lifting weights and participating in drama and debating before his release in 1983.

In 1987, in an interview with The Age, he spoke chillingly of how easy it was to murder someone. "The mention of murder strikes awe into people, regardless of what the circumstances might have been," he said.

"It stirs something in people. People say, 'You mightn't have wanted to, but you've done the ultimate.' But anyone could be in the same situation. It's sometimes only a hair's breadth away.

"Under the terms of our law, murder is a very fine line. It's the one crime that, because of its nature, is so nip and tuck. Armed robbery, you've got to have an intention of some sort. It's the spontaneity."

Robinson, who was then in a de facto relationship with a mother of five, said his time in prison had taught him the value of living a quiet life. "I've been in prison and I've been there for a long time, but that's all past," he said. "I'm not going to make any earth-shattering pronouncements. I'm just going to live an ordinary life. When we're 60, (my partner and I) are going to get married, when all the kids are off our hands."

But despite his stated wish for the "ordinary life", Robinson did not stay out of trouble for too long. In 1991 he was jailed for two years for burglary and handling stolen goods, despite receiving a character reference from television actor Gil Tucker, who played the gormless Constable Roy Baker in Cop Shop.

It is believed Robinson has also done time for rape and was released only five years ago.

Robinson has spent some of his time out of jail working as a truck driver, and until this week was driving for a subcontractor in Pearcedale, about 10 kilometres from where he allegedly shot Ms Greenbury.

At the time he allegedly killed Ms Greenbury, Robinson was living in a caravan on the Pearcedale property of his boss.

When The Age went to the property yesterday, the trucking company owner refused to comment on Robinson, saying only that he would never have suspected he was capable of killing.

Robinson fled the scene of Monday's killing in a silver Holden Commodore, but later switched to a white Mazda utility with a canopy, registration ETM 150. The Commodore was found early yesterday and four associates of Robinson were later questioned by police.

Police have come under fire for refusing to release Robinson's name or description until last night. Inspector Steve Clarke, head of the homicide squad, said police had to balance the public's right to know with the need not to prejudice any future trial.

Ms Greenbury's children, Harley, 13, and Jamie-Lee, 8, returned to their home yesterday for the first time since their mother was murdered.

Comforted by relatives, they removed some personal items, including a teddy bear.