Frank Campbell

**Frank Campbell** (November 24, 1959 – May 1, 2005) was a well-known taxi driver in Canberra, Australia who regularly socialised at local clubs. He was discovered murdered in his unit on Wilkins Street in the suburb of Mawson around 3 a.m. on May 2, 2005.

## Events

### Life

Frank Campbell was a well-known taxi driver in Canberra, Australia who, at the time of his death, lived in a flat on Wilkins Street, Mawson with a flatmate. He would also regularly socialise at local clubs. His brother Andrew described him as a "knockaround bloke" to *The Canberra Times* in 2012.

Andrew last saw Frank on the weekend of his death, when they helped their mother and father move into a south coast retirement home. He described Frank as a "matter-of-fact sort of guy" who "probably didn't have the most amenable people skills in lost of ways."

"He had a very small, close circle of friends but had a lot of acquaintances. Maybe some of those weren't the best types and perhaps that led to what happened."

### Death

On May 1, 2005, Frank was recorded by CCTV cameras drinking at the Mawson Club with his flatmate, Ian Hughes. Frank left the club around 9:43 PM and walked home to his unit.

His flatmate last saw him alive at their home around 11:30 PM. However, *The Canberra Times* reported in 2012 that Ian had last seen Frank at that time at the club when Frank had left to go home. According to the *Times*, Ian never saw Frank alive after that.

Frank was on the flat's couch when he was murdered by blunt force trauma to the head. He'd been struck by a heavy object eleven times.

The murder weapon is thought to be a fry pan that went missing from the flat on the night of Frank's death.

### 2007 coronial inquest

A coronial inquest was conducted in 2007, two years after Frank's murder. Coroner Maria Doogan said there was no unequivocal evidence pointing to the killer's identity.

Detective Sergeant David Harrison told the inquest he believed Frank knew his attacker. There were no signs of a break-in, and nothing in the apartment was disturbed.

Ian was subpoenaed to give evidence at the inquest but under legal advice, refused to answer questions.

Forensic expert Michael Bourke, who conducted the autopsy, could not identify the murder weapon other than to say it was a blunt, heavy object which left patterned marks on the skin.

The inquest heard Frank was most likely asleep or incapacitated when he was struck in the head.

### Subsequent police investigation

Police are specifically looking for items of clothing: a long-sleeved dark-checked shirt, a pair of blue Levi jeans and dark-coloured work boots. Police are also looking for a frypan and a small sum of cash which was taken from the house at the time of Frank's death.

Eight days after Frank's murder, police investigators wanted a taxi passenger to come forward.

On September 17, police searched Mugga Lane landfill.

On November 11, a witness photo was released.

Seven years after Frank's death, on September 7, 2012 a $500,000 reward was posted by police.

## News

*For news articles on Frank Campbell, see here.*

## External links

* Campbell family tree • Ancestry (paywall)
* Frank Campbell - $500,000 reward • Australian Capital Territory Policing
* Who Killed Frank? • Who Killed Irma?

## Sources

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Frank Campbell - $500,000 reward • Australian Capital Territory Policing
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 7 Sep 2012: Frank Campbell: Murdered 2005 • The Canberra Times