4 minute read
Changing channels
Editorial: Isabella Anderson
Photography: John Pallot
When Senior Sergeant Anthoula Moutis turned down a permanent position in the hallowed halls of the Homicide Squad, her manager nearly fell out of his chair.
“No one’s ever done that,” he said.
But Sen Sgt Moutis backed herself, and her career hasn’t suffered for it.
From an auspicious beginning working in armed robbery investigations, Sen Sgt Moutis has had an incredibly diverse career, and one of relative chance – or so she would have you believe.
It was after spending time in Greece with a cousin who was sitting a police entrance exam that Sen Sgt Moutis had her head turned by a radio advertisement about joining Victoria Police.
With a love for the law and ambitions of one day becoming a barrister, she applied to join Victoria Police in 1999 and graduated in 2000, during the Melbourne gangland killings.
Serving four years in general duties, she had her first taste of armed robberies while working on secondment with the Embona Taskforce.
“Dealing with stickups, I got a real taste for solving armed robberies and absolutely loved it,” Sen Sgt Moutis said.
When it came time for her to move on from general duties, she asked to go to the Armed Robbery Squad, thinking it would “never happen".
She was accepted into the then-named Emerald Taskforce and spent the next 10 years thriving in the dynamism of the work.
“You’re dealing with people committing the most violent armed robberies, and you’re supported by the Special Operations Group, Technical Support Unit and covert operatives – so you have all these services to assist with the investigation. I reveled in it," Sen Sgt Moutis said.
“I did that for 10 years and then said ‘It’s time for a change’ and I went to the Homicide Squad and did three months in 2010.”
From working in the Armed Robbery Squad and the Homicide Squad to heading up the Film and Television Office, Sen Sgt Anthoula Moutis has had an extremely varied career with Victoria Police.
Her introduction to the squad came at the time of notorious drug kingpin Carl Williams’ assassination – his was only the second autopsy she had attended.
While finding the work exhilarating, at the end of the three months Sen Sgt Moutis declined the offer of a permanent position, as she was pregnant at the time.
Her hiatus from the Homicide Squad was short-lived.
Returning in 2012, she joined the Apollo Taskforce as part of the investigation into the unsolved 1991 murder of 13-year-old Karmein Chan.
Chan was babysitting her two younger sisters when she was abducted from her Templestowe home by a balaclava-clad man.
Her remains were found a year later in a landfill in Thomastown. It was determined she had been shot dead.
Initial investigations into the abduction linked Chan’s case to that of 10-year-old Sharon Wills and 13-year-old Nicola Lynas.
Both girls were taken from their homes and molested before being released by an unknown man.
Police believe that one perpetrator, known in the media as ‘Mr Cruel’, is responsible for the crimes.
A taxing cold case, Chan’s murder remains unsolved.
“We worked on several persons of interest in the Karmein Chan case, but sadly for the family it still remains unsolved,” Sen Sgt Moutis said.
In 2013 while at the Homicide Squad, Sen Sgt Moutis saw a more successful result in the case of William ‘Bill’ Stevenson who was savagely murdered by his ex-girlfriend Danielle Kerr and her new partner Darren Lewis on Christmas Day, 2014.
Bashed to death in bushland north of Bendigo, Stevenson’s body was then put in a car and set alight before being discarded at another location.
“Delivering that news to the family…it’s very hard,” Sen Sgt Moutis said.
“You always feel like a counsellor, and we always link them to specialist services.
It was a difficult case because although Stevenson had been reported missing, there was no body or crime scene. Both Kerr and Lewis were charged, but police could not locate the remains of the deceased for many months.
Eventually, they had a break in the case.
“Lewis had a huge dislike for police, but we went and visited him in prison, built up a rapport and he finally told us where the remains were,” Sen Sgt Moutis said.
Sen Sgt Moutis spent two further years with the Homicide Squad before transferring to Victoria Police’s Media and Corporate Communications Department in June 2015, where she now heads up the Film and Television Office (FTO).
Far more than just entertainment, her team furthers the interests of Victoria Police in living rooms across the state.
“The work of the FTO is all about educating the public about the work of Victoria Police and what can happen if you’re committing offences,” Sen Sgt Moutis said.
Aside from policing crown jewel Blue Heelers, the FTO is perhaps best known for its work producing the highly successful Highway Patrol – which Sen Sgt Moutis is quick to confirm is all real.
The FTO liaises with Road Policing Command, which gives direction as to what they want highlighted in the show.
The overrepresentation of motorcycle riders in road deaths and the higher incidence of accidents on country roads have been the most recent focus.
In terms of the people and intercepts on the show, the team doesn’t record anyone who refuses to be filmed, but for the most part the real characters don’t mind.
“They are the ones audiences enjoy the most,” Sen Sgt Moutis said.
When asked if she misses being on the beat, Sen Sgt Moutis concedes “high-profile investigations, the thrill of the chase and the satisfaction when an offender is convicted and sentenced” are hard to beat.
She may eventually go back to the Homicide Squad or another area within Crime Command, but family takes priority for now.
“I am very happy where I am, and I am lucky to have a very supportive team.”
Find out how you can join Victoria Police at police.vic.gov.au/careers
