Russell Street bomb accused refuses to give police DNA sample
Notorious Russell Street bomb-accused Craig Minogue has refused to give a DNA sample to police after being charged with abducting and raping two women in the 1980s, while his alleged accomplice has failed to front court.
Police will apply to the court to force Mr Minogue to provide a sample after charging him and Peter Komiazyk, who was acquitted of the 1986 Russell Street bombing, over the rapes in 1985 and 1986.
The two men are accused of committing a brutal assault on a 19-year-old woman in Nunawading the night before the bombing, which killed Constable Angela Taylor, 21, and injured 22.
The alleged victim was inside the Russell Street police complex giving a statement when a bomb, concealed in a Holden Commodore parked outside the building, exploded around lunchtime on March 27, 1986.
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Mr Komiazyk, who used to go by the name Peter Reed, refused to face Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday where prosecutor Stephen Devlin said police were assessing information from phone taps.
He and Mr Minogue are also accused of forcing a young woman into a car on Chapel Street, South Yarra, and raping her on November 22, 1985.
Police allege both women were showered after they attacked, and then dumped in streets near where they were abducted.
Both men face 38 charges including abduction by force and aggravated rape.
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Mr Komiazyk faced court on Thursday night and was refused bail.
He was due to return to court on Friday, but his lawyer told the court he had asked to remain in his cell.
The 61-year-old appeared bloodied and bruised when he fronted court in a ripped T-shirt on Thursday night.
He was arrested by Special Operations Group officers on Thursday outside his psychologist’s office in Kalorama, in the Dandenong Ranges.
Police told the court on Thursday night the rape cases were reopened in 2017 following a breakthrough with DNA evidence.
They also allege Stanley Brian Taylor, who was jailed over Russell Street bombing, was also involved in the 1986 rape. Taylor died in jail in 2016.
Mr Komiazyk's lawyer, Steven Pica, raised concerns on Thursday night over the way his client was arrested, and told the hearing his client's car windows were broken and his vehicle was rammed before he was taken into custody.
Mr Komiazyk lives on a disability pension and cares for his 13-year-old son, his lawyer said.
Police last month made a fresh call for information over the attacks and offered a $350,000 reward for information.
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The victim of the Nunawading attack, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was walking on Ashwood Drive about 9.30pm on March 26, 1986.
She was heading to her boyfriend's parents' house when she was dragged into a car containing four men.
She was threatened with a knife, blindfolded and gagged, before being driven a short distance to an unknown property and sexually assaulted.
The teenager was dumped under a parked car on Mariana Avenue in Ringwood East around midnight.
The victim in the South Yarra attack was an 18-year-old schoolgirl who selling flowers on Chapel Street.
About 10pm, she was allegedly dragged into a car on Bray Street, blindfolded and gagged before being taken to an unknown property and sexually assaulted.
She was dumped on Yarra Boulevard in Richmond about 1am the next day.
The incident had a profound impact on the victim's life. She died aged 41 in 2008.
Mr Minogue will return to Melbourne Magistrates Court on June 14.