Dennis Bruce Allen (7 November 1951 – 13 April 1987) was a notorious Australian

drug dealer A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalation, injection, smoking, ingestio ...

and alleged serial killer based in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. He was the oldest son of

Kath Pettingill Kathleen "Kath" Pettingill (born 27 March 1935) is the matriarch of the Melbourne criminal family, the Pettingill family. Family Pettingill's 10 children are: (with Dennis Ryan) * Dennis Bruce Allen (1951–1987) – a drug dealer, jailed fo ...

, a criminal

matriarch Matriarchy is a social system in which positions of power and privilege are held by women. In a broader sense it can also extend to moral authority, social privilege, and control of property. While those definitions apply in general English, ...

. Allen's lawyer, Andrew Fraser, helped him avoid jail time by leveraging his knowledge of corrupt Victorian police officers at the time. However, Allen died of heart disease in 1987 while in prison custody, awaiting trial for murder.3 May 200
Brace for more gangland shootings, police warn

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

Criminal career

Dennis Allen, known as Mr. Death or Mr. D, was suspected of involvement in up to 13 underworld murders, including the gruesome chainsaw dismemberment of

Hells Angels The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) is an international outlaw motorcycle club founded in California whose members typically ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. In the United States and Canada, the Hells Angels are incorporated as the Hells ...

biker Anton Kenny in 1985. He also attempted to gatecrash a party, shooting guitarist Chris Stockley of The Dingoes in the stomach. Allen had previously received a ten-year prison sentence for gang rape in the 1970s, where he served 5years out of a 10 year scentence. He was a major drug dealer in Melbourne's

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

and

South Yarra South Yarra is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 4 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Melbourne and Stonnington local government areas. South Yarra recorded a populati ...

areas during the 1980s. Interestingly, New South Wales Police Detective-Sergeant

Roger Rogerson Roger Caleb Rogerson (3 January 1941 – 21 January 2024) was an Australian detective sergeant in the New South Wales Police Force and a convicted murderer. During his career, Rogerson received at least thirteen awards for bravery, outstanding ...

was convicted of supplying heroin in a deal with Allen, but was later acquitted on appeal. Allen managed to evade capture and prosecution by possessing incriminating information against corrupt Victorian police officers.

Death

Allen died on 13 April 1987, at St. Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne, due to heart failure caused by years of heavy drug abuse, which led to pieces of his heart breaking off. His funeral was held with Father Peter Norden, a

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

priest officiating. Notably, Father Norden also performed the funerals of three other Pettingill family members during the 1980s.

Notes

References

Australian people convicted of rape Australian drug traffickers Pettingill family Australian people who died in prison custody 1951 births 1987 deaths Prisoners who died in Victoria (state) detention Drug-related deaths in Australia Criminals from Melbourne Drug dealers People charged with murder Suspected serial killers {{australia-crime-bio-stub it:Dennis Allen