Paul Denyer

Paul Charles Denyer (born 14 April 1972, known briefly as Paula whilst in prison) is an Australian serial killer currently serving three consecutive sentences of life imprisonment with a non-parole period of 30 years for the murders of three young women in Melbourne, in 1993. Denyer became known in the media as the Frankston Serial Killer as his crimes occurred in the neighbouring suburbs of Frankston.

Later, during his imprisonment, when aged around 30, Denyer began identifying as a transgender woman, but was refused permission by prison authorities to wear make-up, receive sex reassignment surgery, or legally alter his name. In 2023, Denyer became eligible and applied for release on parole, but had his application denied by the Adult Parole Board of Victoria.

Early life Paul Charles Denyer's parents, Anthony and Maureen, met and married in London in the early 1960s before migrating to Australia in 1965. Denyer, the third of their six children, was born on 14 April 1972 in Campbelltown, New South Wales, an outer suburb of Sydney. The family moved to Victoria in 1981 due to his father's new employment.

Denyer had difficulty fitting in among his peers in his new school, which led to problems with study and self-confidence that were worsened by significant weight gain during his teen years. was fired seven times, and failed a physical when trying to enter Victoria Police.

Crimes Denyer, in the years before the murders, started to stalk and attack a number of women in and around the Melbourne suburb of Frankston leading to several crimes during a five-month period in 1993.

In the bathroom, police found Vane's two kittens also with their throats cut floating in the bath. Shaving cream had been sprayed over a mirror in the bedroom and more pornographic images had been posted over a wardrobe. These images had been slashed, as had other furniture. The intruder had placed a pornographic image, which had been slashed, inside the crib of Vane's baby.

At approximately 7:00pm on the evening of Friday 11 June 1993, Stevens alighted a bus on Cranbourne Road, the closest stop to the home she was residing in on Paterson Avenue, Langwarrin, with her aunt and uncle. She had been living with the relatives for six months.

As she turned into Paterson Avenue, she was grabbed from behind and threatened with what looked like a gun. Stevens screamed. Her screams were not heard by anyone due to heavy rain and wind. She was told to be quiet and then escorted down Paterson Avenue. Her assailant held her hand so as not to draw suspicion, and several witnesses saw them walking past and assumed they were a couple. The police were notified soon after and became concerned for Stevens after seeing the note she had written. Her body was discovered at around 5:00pm the following day by a man collecting pine branches. After an extended scuffle, she finally managed to break free. Shaken, and with light injuries, she ran back to the road, stopped a car, and was assisted by the driver back to her house where the police were called.

Murder of Deborah Fream That same night, the second murder victim, 22-year-old Deborah Fream who lived near Kananook Station, Seaford, was abducted in her car in the early evening. She had left her 12-day-old son at home with a male friend when she went out at 7:00pm on a short trip to buy some milk for an omelette. Leaving school early by herself, she took her usual short cut home to Frankston North, via a fenced walkway, now called Nat's Track in her memory, In the lead up to the murder of Russell, 200 investigators were in the process of visiting 4,700 homes triangulated on Madden Street, Frankston.

The Russell attack provided police with the breakthrough they needed. At 2:30pm, a postal worker saw a rusted yellow Toyota Corona without number plates parked near Nat's Track on Skye Road, with a man using binoculars, acting suspiciously inside. Police informed investigators of the registration details, which were quickly traced to the car's owner, Paul Charles Denyer. Detectives visited his small unit at 186 Frankston‑Dandenong Road, Seaford, the afternoon of 31 July – a unit shared with Denyer's girlfriend, and next door to Vanes' sister.

Trial and imprisonment Denyer was charged with three murder counts and one of abduction, charges to which he later pleaded guilty and did not contest. — Dr Ian Joblin – Denyer's treating forensic psychologist

During examination, he admitted being influenced by the 1987 film, The Stepfather.

In July 2012, Denyer again came to the attention of the media over allegations of four rapes conducted over a six-week period. In April 2013, the Herald Sun created a website with images of 14 letters, written by Denyer in 2003 and 2004 to another inmate, titled "The Paul Denyer Letters". On 8 April, the newspaper ran articles related to analyses of the letters and handwriting.

Gender identity According to the first of "The Paul Denyer Letters", dated 29 November 2003, Denyer began identifying as a woman that same year. In "Letter 6", dated 4 February 2004, he wrote: "I committed these disgusting crimes ... not because I ever hated womankind, but because I have never really felt that I was male." Medical specialists evaluated whether Denyer could receive sex reassignment surgery and rejected the idea. Prisoner support groups said that he "cannot be anything but serious" about his transition, given that it would entail personal risk. One victim's mother said Denyer's transition made her and her husband feel "sick", calling it a "stunt".

Media Australian author Vikki Petraitis has written a number of texts on the case: The Frankston Murders – the true story of serial killer, Paul Denyer, 1995 "The Frankston Murders and The Paedophile Witch" in Outside the Law, 2008 The Frankston Murders: 25 Years On, 2018

The case was covered by Casefile True Crime Podcast in June 2016. It was also covered by Australian True Crime in July 2018 when Petratis was interviewed and again in September 2017 when investigator Charlie Bezzina was interviewed. In 2023, a detailed 11-part podcast by Petratis called The Frankston Murders was released.