Carl Williams

Carl Anthony Williams (13 October 1970 – 19 April 2010) was an Australian convicted murderer and drug trafficker from Melbourne, Victoria. He was a central figure in the Melbourne gangland killings as well as their final victim.

He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a non-parole period of 35 years for ordering the murders of three people and conspiracy to murder a fourth (which was unsuccessful). On 19 April 2010, while incarcerated at HM Prison Barwon, Williams was beaten to death with the stem of an exercise bike by another inmate, Matthew Charles Johnson.

Williams enlisted the help of others willing to perform the contract killings in exchange for large payments of cash. At the time of his death, he was in the maximum-security Acacia unit of HM Prison Barwon near Geelong. He was married to convicted drug trafficker Roberta Mercieca (born 23 March 1969), with whom he had one daughter, Dhakota Williams born 10 March 2001. Williams held various labouring jobs before opening a children's clothing store in partnership with his wife, which eventually failed.

Williams, who described himself as a semi-professional gambler,

Melbourne gangland killings

On 13 October 1999, Williams was shot in the abdomen by Jason Moran because he owed the Moran family $80,000. This event sparked a lengthy underworld war known popularly as the Melbourne gangland killings. In 2002, after meeting through a mutual friend, Tony Mokbel, Williams courted the services of the murderer Andrew Veniamin as his right-hand man until early 2004.

Mark Moran

Mark Moran is shot on 15 June 2000 after arriving at his home in Aberfeldie. Williams was due to stand trial for his murder, but the charge was dropped when he pleaded guilty to other murders.

Jason Moran

On the Saturday morning of 21 June 2003, Jason Moran and a colleague, Pasquale Barbaro, were fatally shot in the parking lot of the Cross Keys Hotel in Strathmore, Melbourne, where Moran and Barbaro had brought five children to attend an Auskick football clinic.

The clinic had just finished, and many adults and children were standing around. Moran and Barbaro sat in the front seats of Moran's minivan—with the five young children sitting in the rear—a gunman approached and fired both a shotgun and a handgun into the vehicle.

Mark Mallia Mark Mallia was an associate of murdered underworld criminal, Nik Radev. At 8:05 a.m. on 18 August 2003 a fire was reported in a stormwater drain in Sunshine. Fire brigade members attending to the fire recovered a wheelie bin containing the remains of a charred body inside, later identified as Mallia. Under a deal with police, Williams was not charged for his alleged involvement in orchestrating the murder of Mark Moran, Jason Moran's half-brother.

Williams gave information on several unsolved murder cases believed to have involved corrupt officers and it was also revealed his murderer may have been implicated in at least one of those cases. Williams's lawyer Rob Stary said Williams was upset about the publication of the story.

There was speculation that the police may have agreed to pay the school fees in exchange for information and that publication of the story may have led to Williams's death. The Herald Sun defended its publication of the story.

Significant public attention to Dhakota arose from this unusual arrangement between the Victorian Police and her family.

Family Dhakota Williams Dhakota Williams is Williams' daughter, who has become an Australian public figure. Dhakota is often described in the media as a 'gangland heiress'.

In recent years, Dhakota's personal life has been a frequent topic of Australian news media headlines. Her first notable media attention began after an arrangement emerged between the Victorian Police and her family to pay for her private school fees whilst Carl Williams was in prison. In late 2022, she joined the adult website OnlyFans, bringing further media attention to her.

Stepchildren Williams had three stepchildren from his marriage to Roberta Mercieca. In September 2024, his stepdaughter Breanane Stephens commenced legal action against the Victorian state government over Williams' death in custody.

Death

On 19 April 2010, Williams died from a head injury while incarcerated at Barwon Prison. He was bludgeoned to death with the stem of an exercise bike seat by another inmate, and sentenced to 32 years in jail in December 2011.

Williams's funeral was held on 30 April 2010 at St Therese's Catholic Church in Essendon. He was buried in a golden coffin. In January 2011 it was reported that Williams's resting place consisted of a nameless plot, without a headstone.

The circumstances of his death were investigated by the Victorian Ombudsman. A report critical of Corrections Victoria (for approving Williams to share a cell with Johnson) was released in April 2012. Two months later in June 2012, the Department of Justice Secretary Penny Armytage resigned and earlier in May the Corrections Victoria Commissioner Bob Hastings had resigned. In 2019, during the Royal Commission into the Management of Police Informants, former Deputy Commissioner (Crime) for Victoria Police Sir Kenneth Lloyd Jones made a written submission stating his belief that prison staff were involved with the death of Williams.

In popular culture Williams was portrayed by Gyton Grantley in the 2008 Australian television series Underbelly, based on the events surrounding the Melbourne gangland wars from 1995 up to his arrest in 2004. In 2014 Grantley reprised the role in Fat Tony & Co., and again in 2020 in Informer 3838.