Mass murderer Martin Bryant killed 35, and wounded a further 23, in the Port Arthur Massacre – the worst ever single-person mass shooting in Australian history.
Footage has re-emerged of mass killer Martin Bryant, who was convicted with the criminal charge of 35 counts of murder for the Port Arthur attack on 28–29 April 1996. In a police interview, Bryant attempts to taunt police officers, subtly telling them he was the murderer, without knowing the cameras were still rolling.
Bryant is currently serving 35 life sentences, plus 1,652 years, without the possibility of parole, at Risdon Prison in Hobart. He is one of the world’s most prolific mass murders as a result of his shooting spree in Port Arthur, Tasmania of April 1996.
In chilling footage of the police interview recording, Bryant appears to give himself away when he thought the camera has stopped recording.
Bryant says ‘I am sure you will find the person that caused all this’, then points to himself and whispers, ‘me’. He then went to laugh and exclaim that he bet the officers wished they had kept the tape rolling – to which they responded that the cameras had not be turned off.
The Port Arthur Massacre led to Prime Minister John Howard instituting the National Firearms Agreement, which included further restrictions on guns, in spite of gun-rights advocates.
Bryant is believed to have a troubled childhood due to learning and behavioural difficulties, and was removed from primary school after harming and killing animals. Assessments of his abilities led experts to conclude that he would be in capable of holding down a job. He was later diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome.
However, Bryant has also been linked to the deaths of his father, Maurice Bryant, and his lover, 54-year-old heiress Helen Mary Elizabeth Harvey.
Maurice Bryant was found to have drowned with a driver’s weighted belt around his neck in one of the four dams of the family’s Copping farm property in 1993. Police described the death as ‘unnatural’, and it was eventually ruled as suicide. As a result, Bryant inherited $250,000.
A year prior to this, Bryant’s lover Harvey was killed in a car crash, her vehicle having swerved into incoming traffic. However, whilst there was a police investigation, nothing came of it. Bryant had a known habit of grabbing the steering wheel, resulting in Harvey already having three accidents, and often told people this was the reason she drive no faster than 60 km/hour (37 mph). Bryant was named the sole beneficiary of Harvey’s will and gained $550,000.
If Bryant killing 12 people in 15 seconds doesn’t make you worried, read about ‘Lady Death’ – aka the deadliest female sniper in history – here.
