Hodson murder inquest inconclusive
The Victorian coroner has found there is not enough evidence to safely conclude former police detective Paul Dale and career criminal Rodney Collins were behind the murders of police informer Terence Hodson and his wife Christine 11 years ago.
Coroner Ian Gray said he was unable to conclude they were responsible for the Hodsons’ death to the standard of proof required.
The finding is likely to be a bitter blow to law enforcement authorities and the family of the Hodsons, who have held out hope the inquest may have shed light on the alleged killers.
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The couple were shot dead at their Kew Home in Melbourne’s east, and last year an inquest heard explosive claims that drug boss Tony Mokbel may have financed the killings, on behalf of former police detective Mr Dale.
The court heard Carl Williams also paid a sum. Mr Dale and Collins were once charged over the death of the Hodsons, but the case was dropped after Williams was bashed to death in prison.
Both men have denied any involvement in the murders and were excused from giving evidence at the inquest.
The inquest also heard that the Hodsons’ son, Andrew, was once considered a suspect, and he remains under suspicion for giving out sensitive information about the layout of his parents’ home and security system.
Mr Gray also investigated the adequacy of police protection given to the Hodsons.
The court heard Terence Hodson had refused multiple offers of police protection, but Andrew Hodson told police his father was scared of Mr Dale, and upgraded security at the family home before he died.
The police “gave him a camera … and advised him on how to take care of himself”, Andrew Hodson’s statement to the court read.
There were no signs of forced entry into the Hodson house and the couple’s two German shepherd guard dogs were found locked up in the garage.