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Judith Maryanne Moran (
née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...
Brooks; born 18 December 1944) is the
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, ...
of the Moran criminal family of
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 ...
,
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...
,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
, involved in the
Melbourne gangland killings The Melbourne gangland killings were the murders of 36 underworld figures in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, between January 1998 and August 2010. The murders were retributive killings involving underworld groups. The deaths caused a power vac ...
.


Personal life

Moran was born in Victoria on 18 December 1944. In 1963, she married Leslie John "Johnny" Cole, who was shot dead in Sydney drug-related gangland conflict in 1982.Judy Moran signs with Harry M Miller
, ''Sydney Morning Herald'', 12 April 2004.
Cole was the father of their son Mark Cole, born in 1964 (later Mark Moran). Judy began a relationship with
Lewis Moran Lewis Moran (7 July 1941 – 31 March 2004) was an Australian organized crime figure and patriarch of the infamous Moran family of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Notable for his involvement in the Melbourne gangland killings, Moran was shot d ...
in 1966 and was divorced from Cole at the time of his death. Judy and Lewis Moran had a son Jason Moran in 1967. The Morans separated in 1995. Mark Moran was murdered in 2000, Jason Moran was murdered in 2003, and Lewis Moran was murdered in 2004.
Desmond Moran The Moran family is an infamous 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 territor ...
, Lewis's brother, was murdered in June 2009. Judy Moran was arrested, charged and subsequently convicted of his murder. In 2011, she was sentenced to 26 years prison, with a non-parole period of 21 years.


Autobiography

Just under two weeks after the death of her de facto husband, Lewis Moran, Judy Moran signed with celebrity agent Harry M. Miller and announced that she was planning to write a book of her experiences, intending to "clear her estranged partner's name." The announcement immediately brought criticism: both police and the leader of the
Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...
Opposition,
Robert Doyle Robert Keith Bennett Doyle (born 20 May 1953) is an Australian politician who was the 103rd Lord Mayor of Melbourne, elected on 30 November 2008 until he resigned on 4 February 2018 amidst allegations of sexual harassment. He was previously M ...
, were reported to be "outraged" at the news, and a victims of crimes group called for new
legislation Legislation is the process or result of enrolling, enacting, or promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law it may be known as a bill, and may be broadly referred ...
to prevent the book from being published. However, while Victorian law prohibits people convicted of a crime from writing or selling stories about those actions, Judy Moran had never been convicted or charged in relation to her family's activities. Although the book was delayed in October 2004, it was released in February 2005 as ''My Story'' through
Random House Random House is an imprint and publishing group of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1927 by businessmen Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer as an imprint of Modern Library, it quickly overtook Modern Library as the parent imprint. Over the foll ...
, and covered her upbringing in Carlton, the murders of her husbands and two sons, and her relationship with other underworld figures. Less than a week later, Random House recalled the book from sale and pulped 20,000 copies after it was revealed that the book contained false allegations in regard to a deceased Victorian detective, Fred Silvester. At the time Random House stated that the book would be reprinted without the false allegations, and the book was reprinted and returned to book stores in May of that year. As of August 2005 over 4,500 copies of the book had been sold. In 2007, Moran revealed that she was in the process of writing a second book.


Murder of Desmond Moran

On 15 June 2009 Moran's brother-in-law Des Moran (commonly known as "Tuppence") and brother of Lewis, was shot dead in Ascot Vale. On 16 June, Judy Moran and three others were arrested in connection with his murder. Those arrested include 45-year-old Suzanne Kane, sister-in-law of Moran's deceased son Jason Moran and daughter of Painter and Docker Les Kane, an associate of Lewis Moran who was murdered in his family home on 19 October 1978. Moran and Kane were subsequently charged with being an accessory after the fact and Kane's partner, 43-year-old Geoffrey Amour, was arrested in
Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...
and charged with murder. The fourth person arrested was later released without charge. At an out-of-sessions bail hearing in the evening of 16 June, police alleged Moran concealed the getaway car in her garage and later disposed of it in Mincha Street, Brunswick. Police had her under surveillance and she was arrested as she walked back to her home. Police discovered a rifle in the abandoned car and white gloves Moran was allegedly seen wearing while driving the car were found discarded in bushes nearby. On executing a warrant on Moran's home, police allegedly discovered a hidden safe containing three hand guns, two stolen Victorian licence plates, a wig and clothing which police claim matches witness descriptions of clothing worn by the gunmen. Moran was remanded into custody on 16 June and later that night her home in Ascot Vale was set on fire in an apparent
arson Arson is the act of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, watercr ...
attack. On 17 June 2009, Moran and Suzanne Kane appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates' Court. Bail was denied on the grounds that their access to weapons represented a danger to the community and remanded them into custody to reappear on 9 September. On 18 September 2009, Kane's partner, Geoffrey Amour, faced Melbourne Magistrates' Court charged with murder. He was also remanded to reappear on 9 September and magistrate Dan Muling granted his lawyer's application for an order suppressing publication of Amour's image. Amour would later plead guilty. He was sentenced on 10 August 2011 to 26 years' jail, with a minimum of 21. On 9 March 2011, a jury found Judy Moran guilty of murdering Desmond Moran, and was sentenced on 10 August 2011 to 26 years' jail, with a minimum of 21. Suzanne Kane was sentenced on 2 February 2011 to two years' jail, suspended for two years.


In popular culture

Moran was portrayed by Caroline Gillmer in the 2008 TV series '' Underbelly'' and in 2012 by
Rowena Wallace Rowena Wallace (born 23 August 1947) is an English-born Australian stage and screen actress, most especially in the genre of television soap opera. She is best known for her Gold Logie-winning role as conniving Patricia "Pat the Rat" Hamilton/ ...
in true crime documentary TV series ''
Deadly Women ''Deadly Women'' is an American true crime documentary television series produced by Beyond International Group and airing on the Investigation Discovery (ID) Television, network. The series focuses on murders committed by women. It is hosted ...
''. In 2014, Moran was played by Debra Byrne in the miniseries '' Fat Tony & Co.'', and she reprised her role in 2017's '' Underbelly Files: Chopper''.


References


External links


Melbourne Crime



Mama Crass
from ''The Bulletin'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Moran, Judy 1944 births Living people 21st-century Australian criminals Australian crime bosses Australian female gangsters Australian gangsters Australian female murderers Australian people convicted of murder Criminals from Melbourne Judy People convicted of murder by Victoria (state) People from Carlton, Victoria