Matthew Charles Johnson

Matthew Charles Johnson (born 9 August 1973) is an Australian

Matthew Charles Johnson
criminal known for his extreme acts of violence, including the
Born 9 August 1973
murder of drug dealer and serial killer Carl Williams. Raised in the
Dandenong area of Melbourne, Johnson's early life was marked by Other names The General
familial challenges, and he was expelled from school in year seven. Known for Murder of Carl
He became involved in criminal offending and substance abuse Williams
from a young age, which persisted into adulthood. Criminal Imprisoned
status
Johnson's criminal history spans decades, with convictions ranging
from burglary, armed robbery, serious violent offences, and murder. Allegiance Leader, Prisoners
His most infamous crime was the murder of Williams in 2010, of War
carried out with the stem of an exercise bike seat in Barwon Criminal Murder
Prison's Acacia Unit, where both were imprisoned. Despite charge Armed robbery
claiming self-defence during his trial, Johnson was sentenced to life and aggravated
imprisonment with a non-parole period of 32 years. burglary
Penalty Life with a 32-year
Early life non-parole period
(2011)
Matthew Charles Johnson was born on 9 August 1973 to Carol
Hogg and a father who died early in Matthew's childhood. Raised Details
in the Dandenong area, his family life was challenging, with his Victims Carl Williams
stepfather being described as an "aggressive alcoholic and a cruel Imprisoned at HM Prison Barwon
drunk who would abuse [Johnson]". His mother described a young
Johnson who "loved sport and was a bright student" who channelled his frustrations at school through
misbehaviour. His educational journey was difficult: he was expelled from Lyndale Secondary College in
year 7 due to misbehaviour, after which his mother successfully enrolled him in St Kilda Community High
School, which catered to students from troubled backgrounds. Johnson completed his education up to a
year 10 level. He soon became involved in minor offences as well as substance abuse and found himself in
the company of similarly troubled youths.[1][2] Johnson became involved in the use of amphetamines,
marijuana, and prescription medication from the age of 15.[3]

Criminal history
Since the age of 15, Johnson had already been to multiple youth training centres and even jail for burglary,
motor vehicle theft, and weapons offences. As a teenager, he had completed three separate terms in HM
Prison Pentridge.[2] At 18, he was imprisoned for "serious" theft and drug offences.[4]

In his 20s, after his release from Pentridge, Johnson secured employment as a concreter and was able to stay
out of trouble until he suffered a workplace injury. In January 1998, Johnson was involved in a series of
armed robberies. As part of this crime spree, Johnson entered an elderly couple's Safety Beach home with a
knife. In another instance, he entered a house and held a knife to a
man's throat, threatening to "start cutting" unless he was given
money. These crimes earned Johnson a six-year prison sentence
with a four-year non-parole period.[2]

Spending adulthood in and out of prison, Johnson gained a

reputation in Victoria's prison system for his violent behaviour. In
May 1999, Johnson was sentenced for his participation in an attack
on a protected inmate in Barwon Prison. For the crime, he received HM Prison Pentridge, where Johnson
served jail time as a teenager.
a 20-month prison sentence. In September of the following year,
Johnson appeared again in court for an attack on contract killer
Gregory Brazel in Barwon Prison's Acacia unit. The ensuing trial, External videos
labelled the "trial from hell", saw Johnson and his four co-accused Trial from Hell
relentlessly abuse Judge Warren Fagan. One of the defendants
threw a bag of human excrement at a member of the jury, and two Herald Sun Footage (https://ww
of the defendants exposed their buttocks to the court. The trial w.youtube.com/watch?v=pWaTo03
ended with the jury finding Johnson and two others guilty of ONW4)
seriously injuring Brazel with the stem of a bike seat and other
weapons. Judge Fagan sentenced them to serve an additional six years on top of their existing prison
sentence. On appeal, Johnson and his co-convicted were granted a re-trial, pled guilty to a lesser crime, and
ultimately received a 12-month prison sentence to be served concurrently with their existing sentence.
However, all five defendants in that trial received extra jail time for multiple counts of contempt of
court.[2][5]

In 2009, Johnson was put on trial for the murder of 18-year-old Bryan Conyers. It was alleged that on 22
May 2007, Johnson and his co-accused, Mark Morgan, shot and killed Conyers over a A$50 drug debt at
the victim's Berwick home. It was then alleged that the pair cut open the victim's abdomen and poured
petrol into the wound. Two days later, while Johnson and Morgan were being searched by police at Glen
Iris railway station, the murder weapon, a 9 mm Luger pistol, fell out of Johnson's pants. After three
months, Johnson was charged with murder, and Morgan was charged as an accessory. They were both
found to be not guilty by the jury after deliberating for 27 hours.[2][6]

In the time between Conyer's death and their arrest, Johnson and an unknown accomplice stole a car while
the occupants, three women (two of whom were 15 years old), were eating in a carpark at a McDonald's in
Doveton. With a pistol, Johnson threatened to kill them if they did not get out of their car and pressed the
gun to the woman's head. His accomplice punched one of the 15-year-old women twice and dragged her
out of the car. Johnson and his accomplice then proceeded to commit an aggravated burglary in Craigieburn
on a supposed drug dealer. The two broke into the house whilst the occupants were asleep. Johnson pointed
a loaded gun at one of the occupants before the pair, who were intoxicated with drugs, realised they had
robbed the wrong house. The pair stole A$25,000 worth of property from the house and fled. The pair were
charged and pled guilty to the offences. The sentencing judge, Judge Geoffrey Chettle, declared Johnston a
"real menace to society" with no prospects of rehabilitation. Johnson was sentenced to a 13-year term of
imprisonment.[2][3] As of 2018, Johnson's criminal record listed a total of 167 criminal convictions.[6]

Murder of Carl Williams

Prior to the murder, Johnson and Carl Williams had known each
other for roughly 10 years.[7] During their time at Barwon, Johnson
had formed a friendship with Williams and his father, George
Williams. They had also both made requests to the Corrections
Victoria for them to be accommodated with one another.[8] During
this time as well, Williams was assisting Victoria Police in
connection with the murders of Terrence and Christine Hodson and
had made two statements implicating not only himself but also
former police officer, Paul Dale, and hitman and fellow inmate at HM Prison Barwon, the location
Barwon, Rodney Collins.[9] Many prison staff, and top-level where the murder took place.
Victorian government bureaucrats had expressed their concerns
about Williams' safety due to Johnson's violent history and
Williams' status as a police informant, but ultimately, on 20 January 2009, Corrections Victoria decided to
accommodate Williams and Johnson with one another, trusting Williams' wishes, and belief that the pair
were friends.[10] Later that year, Williams' father, George Williams, was released on parole and Thomas
Ivanovic, a convicted murderer and the godfather of Williams' daughter, moved into the prison unit with
Williams and Johnson.[11]

On 19 April 2010, in maximum security, Johnson murdered Carl Williams, Victoria's most high-profile
prisoner, in Unit One of the Acacia Unit at Barwon Prison, the state's highest security prison unit.[12] At
12:48 pm, Johnson approached Williams from behind as he was sitting at a table, reading a newspaper.
Using a metal bar from the seat of an exercise bike, Johnson struck Williams in the head, causing him to fall
off the chair in which he was sitting. While on the ground, Johnson continued to strike Williams with the
metal bar an additional seven times. Johnson proceeded to cover Williams' head with a towel and then
dragged Williams' body into his cell.[13] It had taken prison guards thirty minutes to realise the murder had
occurred.[14]

Trial
During the trial, Johnson claimed that the killing was an act of self-defence and that Williams had planned
to kill Johnson with a sock filled with billiard balls.[15] Judge Lex Lasry labelled this claim as "fanciful"
and in sentencing Johnson, found that the more likely reason for the killing was due to the fact that Williams
was assisting police with their case against Dale and Rodney Collins for the Hodson murders.[16][17]

Lasry found Johnson to show no remorse, quoting Johnson as saying– "What's the big deal? People die
every day. What are you making a fuss about it for?"[18][19] At the time of sentencing, Johnson was already
serving a 16-year prison term with a 13-year non-parole period for a number of offences. With the murder
taken into account, Johnson's total effective sentence was life imprisonment with a 32-year non-parole
period.[20]

Life inside prison

Inside prison, Johnson is known by his nickname, "the General". He is the leader of the gang, "Prisoners of
War", and writes poetry about his time inside jail.[6][21]
In 2017, Johnson was investigated by police for issuing death threats to Williams' ex-wife, Roberta
Williams. It was alleged that members of Johnson's Prisoners of War gang were pressuring Roberta
Williams into making a statement to Johnson's lawyer detailing how Carl Williams was planning to kill
Johnson. This would have then enabled Johnson to launch an appeal on the grounds that his killing of
Williams was an act of self-defence.[16]

In 2021, Johnson launched an appeal against his conviction of murdering Williams based on supposed
findings in the Royal Commission into the Management of Police Informants. Johnson abandoned his
appeal bid the following year, with the Herald Sun citing the reason as a difficulty in "obtain[ing] relevant
documents from Victoria Police".[22]

References
1. Lasry 2011, paras 20-23.
2. Butcher, Steve (30 September 2011). "Meet the man who murdered Carl Williams" (https://w
ww.theage.com.au/national/victoria/meet-the-man-who-murdered-carl-williams-20110929-1k
zc6.html). The Age. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20240222201729/https://www.the
age.com.au/national/victoria/meet-the-man-who-murdered-carl-williams-20110929-1kzc6.ht
ml) from the original on 22 February 2024. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
3. Buchanan, Peter; Forrest, Terence (9 November 2011). "Matthew Charles Johnson v The
Queen and Mark Alan Morgan v The Queen [2011] VSCA 348" (https://jade.io/article/25550
5). BarNet Jade. Supreme Court of Victoria, Court of Appeal. Archived (https://web.archive.or
g/web/20240405063321/https://jade.io/article/255505) from the original on 5 April 2024.
Retrieved 5 April 2024.
4. Lasry 2011, para 21.
5. "Inside the trial from hell" (https://www.theage.com.au/national/inside-the-trial-from-hell-2002
1214-gduxig.html). The Age. 14 December 2002. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/2024
0405032349/https://www.theage.com.au/national/inside-the-trial-from-hell-20021214-gduxig.
html) from the original on 5 April 2024. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
6. Fazal, Mahmood (25 September 2018). "The Revealing Poetry of Victoria's Most Dangerous
Prisoner" (https://www.vice.com/en/article/xwpw3w/the-revealing-poetry-of-victorias-most-da
ngerous-prisoner). Vice News. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20240405032349/http
s://www.vice.com/en/article/xwpw3w/the-revealing-poetry-of-victorias-most-dangerous-priso
ner) from the original on 5 April 2024. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
7. Lasry 2011, para 3.
8. Brouwer 2012, para 96.
9. Lasry 2011, paras 2, 4-5.
10. Brouwer 2012, paras 79-80, 82, 97.
11. Brouwer 2012, p. 5, para 692.
12. Lasry 2011, para 1; Brouwer 2012, paras 3, 249.
13. Lasry 2011, paras 15-16.
14. "Carl Williams' prison killer Matthew Johnson seeks to overturn murder conviction" (https://w
ww.abc.net.au/news/2021-12-14/carl-williams-murder-barwon-prison-matthew-johnson-appe
al/100699770). ABC News. Australian Associated Press. 14 December 2021. Archived (http
s://web.archive.org/web/20230321045455/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-12-14/carl-willi
ams-murder-barwon-prison-matthew-johnson-appeal/100699770) from the original on 21
March 2023. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
15. Akerman, Pia (30 September 2011). "Jury finds Carl Williams killer Matthew Charles
Johnson guilty of murder" (https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/jury-finds-carl-williams-kill
er-matthew-charles-johnson-guilty-of-murder/news-story/f3c5aeec4a1afb2bf29fef486f34fee
e). The Australian. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
16. Dowsley, Anthony (18 April 2017). "Roberta Williams faced death threats from murderer
Matthew Johnston" (https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/roberta-williams-faced-death-threat
s-from-murderer-matthew-johnston/news-story/3bd086126834f29e8b291372a06caad9).
Herald Sun. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
17. Lasry 2011, para 2.
18. Silvester, John (29 September 2011). "Killer's sharp suit fails to dress up a hollow tale" (http
s://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/killers-sharp-suit-fails-to-dress-up-a-hollow-tale-201
10929-1kzec.html). The Age. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
19. Lasry 2011, paras 17.
20. Lasry 2011, para 27.
21. Dowsley, Anthony; Buttler, Mark (25 March 2021). "Underworld rivalries: Matthew 'The
General' Johnson Gavin 'Wrecking Ball' Preston" (https://www.heraldsun.com.au/truecrimea
ustralia/police-courts-victoria/underworld-rivalries-matthew-the-general-johnson-gavin-wreck
ing-ball-preston/news-story/353c83673b94ff09641a2bf4d872ee43). Herald Sun. Archived (h
ttps://web.archive.org/web/20240317042615/https://www.heraldsun.com.au/truecrimeaustrali
a/police-courts-victoria/underworld-rivalries-matthew-the-general-johnson-gavin-wrecking-b
all-preston/news-story/353c83673b94ff09641a2bf4d872ee43) from the original on 17 March
2024. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
22. Dowsley, Anthony; Buttler, Mark (13 August 2022). "Carl Williams' killer Matthew 'The
General' Johnson drops shock appeal bid as new jail pic emerges" (https://www.heraldsun.c
om.au/truecrimeaustralia/police-courts-victoria/carl-williams-killer-matthew-the-general-johns
on-drops-shock-appeal-bid/news-story/9893be1439dacb2e69c690813043eaec). Herald
Sun. Retrieved 29 April 2024.

Sources
Lasry, Lex (8 December 2011). "R v Johnson [2011] VSC 633" (https://jade.io/article/25857
1). BarNet Jade. Supreme Court of Victoria. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20240316
040740/https://jade.io/article/258571) from the original on 16 March 2024. Retrieved
16 March 2024.
Brouwer, George (17 April 2012). "The death of Mr Carl Williams at HM Barwon Prison –
investigation into Corrections Victoria" (https://vgls.sdp.sirsidynix.net.au/client/search/asset/1
282172). Victorian Ombudsman. Victorian government printer. Archived (https://web.archive.
org/web/20240408065912/https://vgls.sdp.sirsidynix.net.au/client/search/asset/1282172)
from the original on 8 April 2024. Retrieved 8 April 2024.

Further reading
Osborn, Robert (20 December 2002). "DPP v Johnson [2002] VSC 597" (https://jade.io/articl
e/74904). BarNet Jade. Supreme Court of Victoria. - Contempt of Court sentencing from the
"Trial from Hell"

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