Paula Denyer

Denyer's parents met and married in London in the early 1960s before migrating to Australia in 1965.

Paul Charles Denyer (born 14 April 1972, known briefly as Paula whilst in prison) is an Australian serial killer currently serving three consecutive sentences of life imprisonment with a non-parole period of 30 years for the murders of three young women in Melbourne, in 1993.

Denyer became known in the media as the Frankston Serial Killer as his crimes occurred in the neighbouring suburbs of Frankston.

Later, during his imprisonment, when aged around 30, Denyer began identifying as a transgender woman, but was refused permission by prison authorities to wear make-up, receive sex reassignment surgery, or legally alter his name.

In the 2022 Stan documentary No Mercy, No Remorse, presenter John Silvester (Senior Crime Reporter, The Age, Melbourne) states that Denyer has reverted to identifying as Paul.

In 2023, Denyer became eligible and applied for release on parole, but had his application denied by the Adult Parole Board of Victoria.

Denyer was born as Paul Charles Denyer on 14 April 1972 to British immigrant parents, Anthony and Maureen Denyer in Campbelltown, New South Wales, an outer suburb of Sydney.

The family moved to Victoria in 1981 due to his father's new employment.

Denyer then reportedly had difficulty fitting in amongst his peers in his new town, which led to problems with study and self-confidence that were worsened by significant weight gain during his teen years.

At age 11, he slashed the throat of his sister's teddy bear, and cut the throat of the family cat before hanging it in a tree.

At age 13, he was arrested and cautioned for stealing a car.

At age 15, he was arrested for assaulting a fellow student.

After school, he had problems holding down jobs, was fired seven times, and failed a physical when trying to enter Victoria Police.

In February 1993, Denyer started working at a boat-building firm in Seaford named Pro Marine.

A short time after he began work, colleagues observed him making knives at work.

Denyer’s employment was terminated after several months due to his failure to complete assigned tasks.

Denyer, aged 20–21 started to stalk and attack a number of women in and around the Melbourne suburb of Frankston during a five-month period in 1993.

The first known incident attributed to Denyer occurred in February 1993, when Donna Vanes' Claude Street unit in Seaford was broken into.

After an anonymous threatening call, Vanes was fearful of being alone.

Vanes asked her boyfriend to take her and their new-born baby out while he delivered pizzas.

After being out for approximately an hour, Vane’s returned to the unit with her boyfriend.

After seeing blood on the floor and that one of the cats was dead, the police were called.

A police officer arrived and discovered the cat had been slaughtered with its intestines strewn across the floor and its eyes removed.

A pornographic image had been placed on its body.

Written in the cats blood above a stove were the words "Donna you're dead"

In the bathroom, police found Vane's two kittens also slaughtered with their throats cut floating in the bath.

Shaving cream had been sprayed over a mirror in the bedroom and more pornographic images had been posted over a wardrobe.

These images had been slashed, as had other furniture.

The intruder had placed a pornographic image, which had been slashed, inside the crib of Vane's baby.

Unwilling to stay at the unit, she moved in with her sister, who was living in the unit next to Denyer, and whose neighbour had also recently been the victim of a break-in slasher.

After Denyer's arrest, he admitted to police he was responsible for the break-in, vandalism, and murdering Vane's cats.

Denyer stated to police that had Vanes been home, he'd have murdered her.

The first murder victim was 18-year-old Elizabeth Stevens, who had come to Melbourne from Tasmania in January 1993 to study at TAFE Frankston.

She had moved to Melbourne to study in order to join the armed forces.

At approximately 7:00pm on the evening of Friday 11 June 1993, Stevens alighted a bus on Cranbourne Road, the closest stop to the home she was residing in on Paterson Avenue, Langwarrin, with her aunt and uncle.

She had been living with the relatives for six months.

As she turned into Paterson Avenue, she was grabbed from behind and threatened with what looked like a gun.

Stevens screamed.

Her screams were not heard by anyone due to heavy rain and wind.

Stevens was told "Shut up or I'll blow your head off" and then escorted down Paterson Avenue.