Rot in Hell: Peter Dupas - the mutilating monster

by Jim Main

Evil, depraved, savage, vicious, sadistic and perverted … all these adjectives have been used to describe convicted killer Peter Dupas, the mutilating monster. But none come even close to illustrating the true horror of his gruesome crimes. Dupas did not just murder Nicole Patterson and Margaret Maher but also mutilated them, while Mersina Halvagis was stabbed repeatedly while attending her grandmother’s grave.

Dupas, as a young rapist, was released time and time again, only for Nicole Patterson, Margaret Maher and Mersina Halvagis later to die at his hands in stabbing and slicing frenzies. After one of his three life convictions under the order of “never to be released”, one of his victim’s mother screamed at him outside court: “Rot in hell.”

This is the Dupas story, of how a quiet, pudgy schoolboy later became infamous as one of the most evil predators in Australian criminal history.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Crime

302 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 4, 2012

Reviews

[Antonio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like many, you shake your head and wonder "how did the system get it so wrong?" Unfortunately, seeking to rehabilitate the perpetrator three young ladies (no doubt there are more) paid the ultimate price. Content was thoughtfully laid out and in places where it got technical, Jim summarised in laymans terms.

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book made me angry when I read it. I know the police can't investigate every 'crackpot' report, but a strange man lurking in a cemetery day in/day out, stalking the women mourners and acting 'strange' should merit more interest than it got. A woman died before any notice was taken.
The subject of this book is psychotic in every sense, and comes off the pages as creepy - that's the only word for it.