In 1984, the Family Law Court building in Parramatta was bombed. Now, decades later, crime journalist Debi Marshall (pictured) shares her investigation into what has become known as the Family Court Murders – and the serial killer behind it all.
For over 30 years, the man responsible for the Family Court Murders was able to outwit police and live a normal life. Then, in 2020, Leonard Warwick was finally convicted of the three murders, five bombings and two shootings that occurred between 1980 and 1985.
At the heart of Mr Warwick’s reign of terror was a bitter custody battle with his ex-wife Andrea Blanchard, which took place at the Parramatta Family Law Court.
Despite being warned of the danger, investigative crime journalist Ms Marshall refused to let fear stop her from looking into the Family Court Murders.
“I started looking for Leonard Warwick and found him really quickly, not in prison as I thought he would be, or deceased, but just living quite a lovely life on the outskirts of Sydney with his second family,” she said.
In 1980, Mr Warwick’s brother-in-law was shot dead and later found weighed down with bricks in a creek. In the years that followed, a judge was shot and killed, two others had their homes bombed, the Parramatta Family Court was bombed and an explosion at a Jehovah’s Witness Centre killed one and injured several others.
Mr Warwick was the prime suspect for the attacks but wasn’t arrested until 2015, after new technology enhanced historic evidence.
Speaking to Parra News, Ms Marshall recalls the terrifying moment in which she approached Mr Warwick at his home, completely alone, prior to his arrest.
“He was particularly un-enthusiastic about me when I went to approach him. I knew he was the prime suspect and at that point he hadn’t been charged, but if he was the killer I knew what he was capable of,” she said.
“He told me what to do with myself in no uncertain terms. It was the walking away from him that was the scariest part, thinking ‘please don’t shoot me in the back’.”
Mr Warwick was found guilty on all charges, except for the murder of his brother-in-law Stephen Blanchard. In a four part ABC TV series, Ms Marshall re-investigates the mysterious murder of Mr Blanchard and takes an in-depth look into the case that shocked Australia.
‘The Family Court Murders’ premieres on ABC at 8.30pm on Tuesday, May 10.
Ellie Busby is a news reporter for Western Sydney Publishing Group. A graduate of the University of Hertfordshire and Western Sydney University, she is a journalism Major. Ellie has worked with Universal Media, The Cova Project and for a range of other organisations. In 2024, Ellie was named Young Writer of the Year at the Mumbrella Publish Awards.