When notorious criminal Laurence ‘Laurie’ Prendergast vanished without a trace, no one knew whether he was fleeing his murderous past—or if something darker had caught up with him.
Laurie was a man with serious connections in Melbourne’s underworld during the 1970s.
Police suspected him of exchanging contracts with Mr. Rent-a-Kill, rubbing shoulders with Chopper Read in Pentridge Prison, and murdering Leslie Kane of the violent Kane Brothers.
Hear about Chopper Read’s notorious criminal career on Crime in Focus: The Real Chopper
That all changed when Laurie married his wife, Ursula, in 1981. They bought a house in north-east Melbourne, raised a family of three children, and distanced themselves from the criminal underworld.
But things weren’t as they seemed. In the months before he disappeared, Laurie had obtained a passport, transferred his mortgage to his wife’s name, and cashed a $6000 cheque his wife took out as a loan.
He reportedly was paranoid about being murdered and slept with a pistol under his pillow.
On the same day he pocketed the $6000, Ursula went on a spontaneous trip to Queensland. She spoke to him on the phone a few days later, where he sounded in “high spirits.”
But it would be the last time she ever spoke to him.
If you want to hear more about the Aussie criminal underworld, listen to this episode of Community Noticeboard (136 – Melbourne Underbelly) on the LiSTNR app.
Police found the last trace of Laurie when they spotted his car in Heidelberg the next day.
Supposedly, Ursula searched Laurie’s car herself and found blood in the boot.
But instead of calling the police, she gave it to a lawyer who has since died.
All the evidence is now lost.
So what happened to Laurie Prendergast?
Hitman Rod Collins told police he believed Russell Cox killed Laurie over a botched robbery.
Chopper says that the Russell Street Bomber, Craig Minogue, was the last person to see Laurie alive. Ursula even pointed the finger at the AFP for a time, but later retracted this.
Images by: Victoria Police, Daily Telegraph, The Border Mail
Authorities officially ruled Laurie Prendergast as deceased due to a suspected homicide in 2021, but the circumstances of his disappearance remain unknown.
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