DOWNLOAD THE FREE LiSTNR APP
Garry Sweet played Christopher Dale Flannery in 80's crime series Blue Murder.

How Melbourne hitman ‘Mr Rent-a-Kill’ vanished without a trace

Christopher Dale Flannery, or Mr Rent-a-Kill, was born in Brunswick in 1948. By the time he was seventeen, he had been convicted of breaking into houses, stealing cars, assaulting police, carrying firearms and rape.

He spent seven years in prison. Once he got out he committed an armed robbery in Perth, where he was arrested by infamous crooked cop Roger Rogerson

Hear how disgraced ex-cop Roger Rogerson left a trail of corruption and death on this episode of Crime Insiders:

Flannery was acquitted at that trial, allegedly due to bribing Rogerson, but was then jailed for an outstanding Victorian warrant for rape.

Out of jail again he decided to use his underworld connections to offer his services as a contract killer. 

He and two other men murdered barrister Roger Anthony Wilson in 1980, but all three were acquitted.  Flannery got lucky again and escaped another conviction for an alleged murder from 1979.  

He then moved to south Sydney where he became embroiled in the Sydney gang war.  Flannery became paranoid and unpredictable.  

In 1984 he was the alleged gunman in an attempt on the life of Sydney Drug Squad detective, Michael Drury

Drury had been part of an investigation that led to charges against Flannery’s friend, Alan Williams. After Drury repeatedly rejected bribes to free Williams, Williams paid Flannery and Roger Rogerson $50,000 each to murder Drury.

RELATED:   Big Aussie Tour Rumours: Is AC/DC Back?

The next year, Flannery and his wife were sprayed with rifle shots from a passing car, though neither were seriously injured. 

Both Rogerson and Drury were seen in the area following the shooting, but neither were charged.

One month later Flannery received a call to meet with his former boss, Sydney crime figure George Freeman. 

While waiting for a taxi near Hyde Park, he allegedly got into a car with Police detectives who offered him a ride.  It was the last time Mr Rent-A-Kill was ever seen.

Rogerson denied any personal or police involvement in what is now considered Flannery’s murder. 

Subscribe to Crime Insiders, taking you beyond true crime. In groundbreaking interviews, explore the world of policing and forensics through stories from the world’s most experienced and decorated experts.