Man extradited over Vic 'vampire' slaying

7 Aug 2012, 6:19 pm   -   Source: AAP

A court has ordered a Gold Coast man to be extradited to Victoria after he was charged with the murder of a blood-drinking male prostitute in 2003.

The murder of a male prostitute and self-proclaimed vampire was a revenge killing over a vicious rape, police allege.

Gold Coast man Warren Thomas Shea on Tuesday became the second person to be charged with the 2003 murder of Shane Chartres-Abbott, after a man was jailed for the crime in 2008.

Police are still searching for a third man, Mark Adrian Perry, who was named as a suspect in 2009 and who they believe is in Thailand.

Shea, 40, was arrested at his home at Benowa on the Gold Coast on Tuesday after "a lengthy and clinical investigation" and will be extradited to Victoria charged with Chartres-Abbott's murder.

"We'll be alleging Mr Shea has been critical in coordinating the murder," Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Jeff Pope told reporters in Melbourne on Tuesday.

Chartres-Abbott, 28, was gunned down by two men in front of his girlfriend and father outside his home at Reservoir, in Melbourne's north, on June 4, 2003.

At the time of his death he was on trial for the rape of a female client, who told police Chartres-Abbott believed he was a vampire who needed to drink blood to survive.

Mr Pope said police believed Shea was a long-time associate of Perry and played a key role in the murder.

"We believe they've grown up together, know each other very, very well," Mr Pope said.

Police allege the murder was revenge for a 2002 rape that occurred in South Yarra.

"We will be alleging the victim of that rape was a very close associate of Mark Perry's and that Mr Perry, along with others, has taken justice into his own hands, and while Mr Chartres-Abbott was facing trial for that particular offence he was murdered as retribution," Mr Pope said.

"The murder of a person facing court ... rocks the justice system and we just can't have summary justice occurring."

Police say the homicide investigation has been complicated by an international search for Mr Perry.

Mr Pope said police believe Mr Perry fled Australia around 2009 on a false passport.

He said it appeared Mr Perry had been travelling the world on the fraudulent documents but had strong ties to Thailand.

"We do have some quite credible intelligence to indicate that he has been spending a considerable amount of time in Thailand."

Mr Pope would not comment on whether former police officers were being investigated in relation to the murder.

But he said the investigation was ongoing and more arrests were likely.

Chartres-Abbott's shooting murder led to a police corruption probe as allegations emerged that suspects had been tipped off by police.

A man, known for legal reasons as JP, was jailed for life in 2008 after pleading guilty to murdering Chartres-Abbott.

Shea will fly from the Gold Coast to Melbourne on Wednesday accompanied by Victorian detectives, and is due to appear in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Thursday.

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