When Carl’s father Sverre Benjaminsen passed away, he left behind a folder on his desk. Inside, yellowing with age, were stacks of old newspaper clippings from the brazen armed robbery that had defined much of his life.
Benjaminsen was one of two security guards shot on May 16, 1994 – ambushed beside their Armaguard truck in a daylight heist that spilled into the busy Chadstone shopping centre in Melbourne’s south-east.
The guards were forced to the ground and shot in the ankle and foot by a lone gunman who made off with bags of cash totalling about $80,000 – the weekend takings from the cinema box office.
Terrified shoppers watched as a Good Samaritan gave chase and was shot in the leg, shattering his femur, while the thief whacked another man who tried to block his escape in the arm.
Though the heist was one in a string of violent armed robberies that year targeting Armaguard vans, the case had long gone cold. Evidence – including one of the guards’ guns the thief stole and then dropped in his mad getaway, as well as a shoe pierced by a bullet – had been shelved in storage.
Then, in recent weeks, not long after Benjaminsen passed away, a surprise tip arrived for police.
Speaking on Sunday as detectives announced they had reopened the case, his son Carl said it was a shock to hear from police, “not only because it had been a long time, but because it came so soon after Dad passed away”.
Detectives said fresh intelligence, more than 30 years on, had allowed them to “progress the investigation” and they released a likeness of the man they believe carried out the ambush, though they added they do not yet have a clear suspect.
Carl said he hadn’t expected his father would ever get justice, though he knew the trauma of that day haunted him for the rest of his life.
Benjaminsen had returned to the shops soon after recovering from his gunshot to retrace his movements, wondering if there was a way he could have prevented others getting shot.
“He was a tough bloke,” Carl said of his father, who tried to hide his frustration and distress from his children.
“But he carried it all his life. I understand he tried to follow the gunman at one point.
“The fact that [folder] was one of the first things that [we] found on his desk … speaks volumes to the impact that it had on him.
“I remember as a teenager the shock of hearing that dad had been shot…seeing him in hospital. Like a lot of boys, you kind of think your dad’s a bit invincible.”
The robbery came just weeks before another infamous Armaguard truck heist in Richmond in June 1994, in which thieves posing as road workers made off with more than $2 million.
Police have previously linked the cases to a group known as ‘the Gym Gang’ working then as personal trainers and bouncers at some of the city’s more notorious nightclubs. But they did not say on Sunday if they believed the man wanted for the Chadstone heist was connected to the group.
“We’re yet to identify other offending linked to this investigation at the moment,” said Detective Inspector Adam Tilley of the Armed Crime Squad. “We’re currently speaking with various other agencies in various states and territories throughout Australia, and we’re looking at similar incidents that have occurred.”
But Tilley said given the violence and “callousness” of the robbery, it was unlikely this was the man’s first crime, and someone in his circle had probably noticed his unexplained windfall of cash.
Carl said it was not too late to get justice for his family and the others hurt by the heist, as he urged anyone with information to come forward.
Anyone with information, is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
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Sherryn Groch is a journalist at The Age covering crime. Email her at s.groch@nine.com.au or contact her securely on Signal @SherrynG.70Connect via X or email.
