The Russell Street bombing was the 27 March 1986 bombing of the Russell Street Police complex in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The explosion killed Angela Rose Taylor, the first Australian policewoman to be killed in the line of duty. The materials for the bomb were stolen from Tyrconnel Mine. Several men were arrested for suspected involvement with the bombing. Stanley Taylor and Craig Minogue were convicted of murder and various other offences related to the bombing. Peter Reed and Rodney Minogue were acquitted of any offences related to the bombing, but Reed was convicted of a number of offences related to his arrest, which involved a shootout with police officers in which he and an officer were wounded. He was sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment.
Explosion
thumb|left|A Holden Commodore like the one used in the Russell Street bombing
The explosion was caused by a car bomb hidden in a stolen 1979 Holden Commodore, bearing Victoria registration plate AVQ-508. The explosion caused a massive amount of damage to the police station and surrounding buildings, estimated at more than A$1 million (A$5.36 million in 2025 terms). The Age reported that the blast's impact was enhanced by the open-floor design of the offices, which had acted like a Claymore mine, sending more shrapnel as the blast ripped through the floors and adding more pressure to the blast as it followed its path. The blast seriously injured 21-year-old Police Constable Angela Rose Taylor, who later died of her wounds on 20 April and became the first Australian policewoman to be killed in the line of duty. Twenty-two other people were also injured.
Investigations
On 7 October 1985, gelignite and detonators were stolen from the Tyrconnel Mine at Blackwood, Victoria. On 25 March 1986, a Holden Commodore car was stolen. Both crimes were later found to provide equipment needed for the construction of the bomb.) to be placed in a Swiss bank account in exchange for the footage. The caller contacted Miller's office on five occasions; each of the calls made was traced to a series of public phone boxes in and around the St. Kilda area. As a result, Rhychta was convicted and sentenced to two months' imprisonment.
With Rhychta's information proven to be false, the taskforce then received information from a female witness who stated that she saw a male suspect parking a Commodore identical to the bomb car in front of the Russell Street Police HQ at around 12:30 p.m. on the day of the bombing. Crupi had left Melbourne shortly after the bombing. In a raid on Crupi's home, taskforce detectives found a homemade device on Crupi's kitchen table, making him a prime suspect.
After his release in 1978, Taylor became a social worker to help young men avoid a life of crime. As a bit-part actor, Taylor starred in a 1979 episode of Prisoner.
Detectives arrested Taylor in a pre-dawn raid on his home at Birchip on 30 May 1986. A search of Taylor's property only turned up a vehicle that later came back as stolen. Under questioning, Taylor claimed that he had no involvement in the bombing and that he knew Craig and Rodney Minogue through his job as a social worker and that he met them to prevent them from getting involved in any further crimes. He alleged that Craig Minogue, Rodney Minogue and Peter Reed were responsible for the Russell Street Bombing.
Detectives ran a search for Craig and Rodney Minogue and found that they moved into a house within close distance of Taylor's home in Birchip. A raid on the house failed to locate the Minogue Brothers but turned up evidence linking them to Russell Street Bombing. At the house, detectives recovered evidence linking the Minogue Brothers to the bombing including:
- A large high-speed engraving machine that matched the drill marks found on both the stolen silver Commodore used in the Donvale bank robbery and on the Commodore used in the bombing.
Further police investigations revealed that the Minogue Brothers, Reed and Taylor were known members of an armed robbery crew dubbed the Animals and The Boys Crew. Minogue and Reed have both been recently charged with sexual assault offences that allegedly occurred just before the bombing.
Aftermath
In 1995, police headquarters moved to the Victoria Police Centre with the old headquarters many years later redeveloped into an apartment complex. There is a memorial plaque to Angela Rose Taylor on the side of the building. Wylie, who was shot by Reed, later recovered from his wounds, but eventually left the police force; in July 2014, he died by suicide, aged 61.
Media
- Phoenix – a 1992–1993 13-part Australian police drama television series loosely based on the Russell Street bombing
- The case was covered by Casefile True Crime Podcast on 2 and 9 July 2016.
- A dramatisation of the bombing was featured in the "A Step Closer to the Madness" episode of the Australian drama series The Newsreader, broadcast on ABC on 5 September 2021. Scenes depicting the bombing were filmed at the actual site.