A double murderer has begged a court never to release him from prison as details of how he killed a Geelong mother are finally revealed for the first time in three decades.
Darren John Chalmers, 56, arrived handcuffed and escorted by prison staff at the Supreme Court of Victoria on Wednesday for a hearing after pleading guilty to the 1992 cold case murder of Annette Steward.
With a shaved head, a white handlebar moustache, tattoos on both arms and wearing a gray prison tracksuit, Chalmers sat quietly as chilling details of the murder were read out, his eyes glued to the ground.
He was then escorted out through a back entrance of the court.
The court heard Chalmers had written a one-page letter to the court, full details of which were not broadcast.
A handcuffed Darren John Chalmers (left) appeared in person for his hearing on Wednesday
In it, Chalmers asked ‘never to be released’.
“No parole for 40 years, not 20, not 30; please 40+, I think I deserve it,” he wrote.
Outlining the case, Victorian Director of Public Prosecutions Kerri Judd KC said Ms Steward, 29, was found naked and strangled in her home on March 18, 1992.
Her body was found by her former housemate David Grant, who had visited the house to collect his belongings.
Despite an extensive investigation at the time, she said no one was charged and the case was cooled.
But the case was revived more than 20 years later when a man came forward and revealed to police that Chalmers’ brother, Jamie, had once confided in him that Darren Chalmers had confessed.
Detectives then tested DNA evidence collected at the time, finding that a hair on Ms Steward’s body ‘could have come from’ Chalmers or a family member.
Chalmers had since moved to Perth and worked as a gardener, where police discovered he was a ‘person of interest’ in the 2019 disappearance of 60-year-old Dianne Barrett.
The two respective police forces teamed up for a secret investigation that culminated in Chalmers confessing to undercover officers his role in both murders.
Ms Judd told the court he did this in the belief he would ‘secure a significant financial benefit for himself’.
It’s been 31 years since the brutal murder of Geelong mother Annette Steward (pictured)
Chalmers was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2021 after admitting killing Ms Barrett, his then-neighbor, without reason with a metal pole and his bare hands.
He was transferred to Victoria in March this year to face court over Ms Steward’s death, where he pleaded guilty just five months later.
Mrs Judd told the court that Chalmers had killed her two days earlier on March 16, just hours after he was first introduced to her.
He had visited her home for coffee with a friend who was dating Ms Steward, and left after about 45 minutes.
Hours later he showed up on her doorstep with a ‘Darwin punch’, saying he had ‘no one to celebrate his birthday with’ and asking if he could come in.
His birthday was the day before, on March 15.
Mrs. Steward agreed, and they had a drink before she said he could spend the night on her couch.
An hour later he got up and murdered Mrs Steward by hitting her on the head three times with an iron before strangling her with a cord.
Annette Steward was found naked and strangled in her Geelong home in March 1992. Pictured is police at the crime scene
Ms Steward’s two children, Jacinta Martin and Aaron Steward, told the court their lives were torn apart when she was murdered.
“We felt like a burden to our families,” Ms. Martin said through tears.
I know that when I tell you this won’t change anything… All this means to us is the end of a chapter in our lives that has gone unanswered for so long.”
Ms Judd called on Judge Andrew Tinney to impose life imprisonment without parole, saying this was a ‘deliberate, calculated and unprovoked’ attack.
“It is an incredibly violent and sustained attack… on a woman in her home who showed kindness to the perpetrator,” she said.
Ms Judd told the court that Chalmers remained a ‘serious danger’ to the community and pointed out the disturbing similarities between the two murders, 27 years apart.
She said Chalmers had not provided an explanation for either attack.
The court heard how Darren John Chalmers (pictured on Wednesday) murdered Annette Steward just hours after he was introduced to her in March 1992.
His lawyer, Amy Brennan, acknowledged the “brutal” circumstances of Ms Steward’s murder but said it did not justify a life sentence without parole.
Ms Brennan told the court her client had had a difficult childhood and spent time as a state guardian.
She pointed to his background of trauma and abuse and said this had led to lifelong mental health problems.
“The inexplicability of the behavior does not automatically place this case in the most serious category,” she says sadly.
“This is not a case where the court should impose life without parole.”
Judge Andrew Tinney adjourned sentencing to a later date and said he would ‘attempt’ to sentence Chalmers before the end of the year.
