Peter James Knight (born 1 January 1954) is an Australian criminal who murdered a security guard in a Melbourne abortion clinic. Following his arrest and criminal trial, Knight is serving a life sentence with a minimum non-parole period of 23 years. , the incident remains the only killing by an anti-abortion activist in Australia.

Early years and background

Knight was one of six children born into a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

family in ,

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

. Later, he led a hermit's life in the years leading up to the incident in a bush camp in the Killanbutta State Forest near , "off the grid" without a telephone or electricity. He did, however, frequently attend anti-abortion rallies in Sydney and Melbourne. Knight was also opposed to smoking, smokers, tobacco companies, and the taking of oaths.

Murder

On 16 July 2001, Knight walked into the East Melbourne Fertility Clinic, a private abortion provider, carrying a rifle and other weapons, including of

kerosene Kerosene, or paraffin, is a combustibility, combustible hydrocarbon liquid which is derived from petroleum. It is widely used as a fuel in Aviation fuel, aviation as well as households. Its name derives from the Greek (''kērós'') meaning " ...

, three lighters, torches, 30 gags, and a handwritten note that read "We regret to advise that as a result of a fatal accident involving some members of staff, we have been forced to cancel all appointments today". He developed homemade mouth gags and door jambs to restrain all patients and staff inside a clinic while he doused them with the kerosene. Knight later stated that he intended to massacre the 15 staff and 26 patients at the clinic and attack all Melbourne abortion clinics. Once inside, he shot 44-year-old Stephen Gordon Rogers, a security guard, in the chest, killing him while clients and staff soon overpowered him.

Legal proceedings

For many weeks after his arrest, Knight refused to answer questions or cooperate with police investigations. Due to his isolated life, Victorian Police were unable to confirm his identity until three months after his arrest, even though his photographs were published in major newspapers. According to psychiatrist Don Sendipathy, Knight interpreted the Bible in his own unique way and believed in his own brand of Christianity. After choosing to not obtain legal representation, Knight was found guilty by a

jury A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence, make Question of fact, findings of fact, and render an impartiality, impartial verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a sentence (law), penalty or Judgmen ...

and, on 19 November 2002, he was sentenced to life in prison, with a minimum non-parole period of 23 years. Knight will be aged in his 70s before being eligible for parole. On 14 May 2003, Knight lodged an

appeal In law, an appeal is the process in which Legal case, cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of cla ...

against his conviction; however his appeal was dismissed as it was not lodged within fourteen days of his sentence, as required under the law. He is currently serving time in

HM Prison Barwon HM Prison Barwon or informally Barwon Prison, an Australian high risk and maximum security prison for males, is located from the township of Lara, near Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The facility is operated by Corrections Victoria. The priso ...

, near

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung language, Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in Victoria, Australia, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River (Victo ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Knight, Peter James 1954 births Abortion in Australia Anti-abortion violence Australian anti-abortion activists Australian hermits Australian people convicted of murder Australian prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Living people Murder in Melbourne People convicted of murder by Victoria (state) People from Bathurst, New South Wales Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Victoria (state)

Early years and background

Murder

Legal proceedings

See also

References

External links