A man has been charged with the 1983 murder of Rodney Mitchell, who was shot after he was attacked while sitting in a car with a woman in a park in Melbourne's east.
James Dobbie, 65, of Tocumwal on the NSW-Victorian border, was charged on Friday with murder, three counts of false imprisonment and six counts of rape, relating to separate historic incidents.
Victim Rodney James Mitchell
Court documents show Mr Dobbie is accused of murder in Rowville on May 23, 1983. On that date, he is also accused of unlawfully imprisoning a woman and detaining her against her will.
He is also charged with having "carnal knowledge" of a woman without her consent, committing buggery "with violence", and unlawfully and indecently assaulting a woman at Police Paddocks in Rowville on March 22, 1980.
On that night, he is also charged with unlawfully imprisoning a man and detaining him against his will.
On April 12,1983, he is accused of raping a woman with aggravating circumstances while carrying a shotgun at Police Paddocks, Rowville.
He is also charged with three other counts of rape on April 12, 1983 as well as unlawfully imprisoning a man and detaining him against his will.
He did not apply for bail and did not appear before a brief hearing at the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday evening, indicating to his lawyer he wanted the matter to proceed in his absence.
In 2013, police offered a $500,000 reward for anyone with information about the murder of Mr Mitchell.
At that time, police said they were working off several leads, including a visit to Mr Mitchell's female friend in hospital by a man with flowers who matched the killer's description, and an attempted attack on another couple about four months after Mr Mitchell's murder.
Mr Mitchell had been parked in a car at Police Paddocks in Rowville with the woman when the couple were allegedly attacked.
Police say the 37-year-old father-of-two was ordered out of the car by a balaclava-wearing man who allegedly threatened him with a sawn-off shotgun.
Mr Mitchell grappled with the man before he was shot twice in the chest. The man then jumped in Mr Mitchell's car and allegedly bound the hands of the 25-year-old woman.
A vehicle similar to Rodney James Mitchell's car.
She rolled out of the car on Churchill Park Drive, causing serious cuts and bruises when she hit the road.
Two men driving in the opposite direction stopped to help her and the would-be alleged abductor fled in Mr Mitchell's car.
Victoria Police said on Friday that a man had been charged in relation to the 1983 murder, as well as two other separate incidents which also happened at the Police Paddocks – one in 1980 and one in 1983, where a woman was sexually assaulted and her partner falsely imprisoned.
"The Police Paddocks were a popular parking area at the time of the incident," a Victoria Police spokeswoman said.
In 2013, investigators said the alleged killer routinely wore a balaclava and tied his victims' hands with green twine taken from a garbage bag.
"Today’s charges are as a result of a long and dedicated investigation by homicide squad detectives, including a recent review by current members of the homicide cold case team," a spokeswoman said.
Mr Mitchell was a popular sales manager for a Camberwell envelope company, and the father of a 13-year-old boy and 10-year-old girl, according to newspaper reports at the time.
About 250 people attended his funeral in Belgrave, where he had lived and been secretary of the football club.
James Dobbie will next appear at court on June 26.
His lawyer said there were several custody management issues.
“He has suffered from a heart attack in the last two years, he also had a stroke, he is on a considerable amount of medication… and also has issues with his hearing. And he is 65 your honour, so he is a bit older.”