VETERAN members of the legendary Purana Taskforce, which brought an end to the Melbourne gangland wars of the early 2000s, gathered on Tuesday to close another, sadder, chapter on those bloody years.
They closed ranks to farewell one of the inner circle — one who was there when the fight was at its toughest, when the body count was going up every week and the streets were, at times, running with blood, violence, armed robbers and drug traffickers.
And in the midst of the crisis, Senior Sergeant Michelle Kerley was making the name, and reputation, that would bring this elite band of detectives back together following her death from a medical condition on June 18, aged 55.
Sen Sgt Kerley had been officer-in-charge in Swan Hill for the past two years after a decorated career at command and suburbia.
While carnage ruled the headlines and TV bulletins, behind the scenes it was the unseen work of Purana’s organised crime cops such as Sen Sgt Kerley which locked the criminals up and ultimately ended the bloodshed in the early 2000s.
Chief Commissioner Shane Patton was front and centre to farewell the policing leader at the Victoria Police Academy chapel, on the same grounds where she graduated in 1986, the only female in her squad to go that far.
Hundreds of members of Victoria Police formed a guard of honour as Sen Sgt Kerley’s white casket, draped with an Australian flag, was led by highway patrol and the mounted branch in a solemn gesture of thanks for a job she led at the top of her game.
Retired Detective Inspector Gavan Ryan, of the Purana Taskforce, said Sen Sgt Kerley played a crucial role in key investigations, with much of her work never seen or understood by the general public.
“Michelle was pivotal to the success of Purana, which investigated multiple underworld murders in Melbourne,” he said.
“Her work in the ‘rolling’ of multiple hardened criminals will never be forgotten by taskforce members.
“She was a genuine person who gave it all during that difficult period in Victoria’s history.
“Her legacy is one of displaying incredible courage under relentless pressure to stop the shootings: a kind soul who loved her family, loved her team members and provided stability in a difficult time.
“Rest in peace. You have made your family and Purana proud.”
She was part of the team which investigated the murders of Mark Moran, Jason Moran, Pasquale Barbaro and Michael Marshall.
The character Jacqui James, played by Caroline Craig in the hit TV series Underbelly, was loosely based on Sen Sgt Kerley.
Sen Sgt Kerley had a 35-year career in which she also filled a range of positions throughout the north-west metro police region.
Superintendent John O’Connor, of western region, said Sen Sgt Kerley was a “people-focused leader” who was passionate about the welfare of her staff.
“Her passing came as a great shock to all the members at the Swan Hill police station,” Supt O’Connor said.
“We know her loss is felt within not only Victoria Police but the wider community.”
Retired Commander Stuart Bateson, who worked with Sen Sgt Kerley at Purana Taskforce, paid tribute to a “tough, funny and straight forward” colleague.
“I’m eternally grateful Michelle was assigned to my small investigative crew,” he said.
“We carried the Moran investigations and within a week added the murder of Michael Marshall.
“Marshall was shot dead in front of his five-year-old son.
“He watched his father die from the other side of the street as he was not allowed to cross the road without holding his father’s hand.
“Michelle never forgot this part of the story … she told me that was the reason, that’s what helped her push through the long hours, the tough jobs, the personal sacrifices that just seemed to keep coming during those years.”
Mr Bateson said one of the “tough jobs” was recruiting and managing three key witnesses, each of them multiple murderers who “wouldn’t have thought twice about killing any of us had their circumstances been different”.
“They either co-operated or spent the rest of their lives in jail,” he said.
“Michelle Kerley played a major role in getting three major gangland figures to make multiple statements implicating nearly everyone and then actually got them in the witness box.
“This took a set of skills which was almost impossible to define.
“The prosecution once said this was the key to stopping the gangland war.
“Without Michelle Kerley, this would not have happened.”
Mr Bateson also recalled the humour behind the fierce officer.
“I remember at a crime scene, Michelle had to physically restrain Andrew ‘Benji’ Veniamin, a known hitman who was responsible for at least seven murders,” he said.
“He was raging, but Michelle, out of the front of his house by herself, without any fear, grabbed him and said ‘Calm the f*&% down’.
“I asked her later if she was only a little bit scared.
“She said, ‘Nah I just wanted to feel his abs — they were pretty good’.”
Sen Sgt Kerley is remembered as a colourful gangland cop whose best work was between feuding gangs in Melbourne’s dark, bullet-peppered streets – and who made a genuine difference.
