Kath Pettingill, the matriarch of a notorious Melbourne crime family and widely known as 'Granny Evil,' died Saturday at the age of 91. She had been battling dementia and passed away in a nursing home.
Pettingill was the mother of 10 children, several of whom became prominent figures in Melbourne's underworld. The family's activities, which included brothel operations, drug trafficking, and violent crimes, led to numerous deaths, prison sentences, and individuals entering witness protection programs over a period spanning the 1970s through the early 2000s.
The Pettingill family's notorious reputation was the inspiration for the 2010 Australian film "Animal Kingdom."
Her eldest son, Denis Allen, nicknamed 'Mr Death,' received a ten-year prison sentence in the 1970s for rape and was reportedly a significant figure in Melbourne's drug trade during the 1980s. He died in 1987 of a heart attack while in custody awaiting trial for murder.
Another son, Peter Allen, was once described as Victoria's most dangerous man and served 28 years in prison.
Pettingill's sixth son, Victor Peirce, along with his half-brother Trevor Pettingill, were charged in connection with the 1988 Walsh Street killings of Victoria Police constables Steven Tynan, 22, and Damian Eyre, 20. Both were later acquitted of the charges.
Peirce was murdered in 2002, shot outside a Melbourne supermarket. His wife, Wendy, stated in a 2005 interview that Peirce had planned and executed the police killings.
In her later years, Kath Pettingill moved away from Melbourne to live in the beachside town of Venus Bay in South Gippsland, seeking to live away from public attention.