Matthew Charles Johnson (born 9 August 1973) is an Australian criminal known for his extreme acts of violence, including the murder of drug dealer and serial killer Carl Williams. Raised in the Dandenong area of Melbourne, Johnson's early life was marked by familial challenges, and he was expelled from school in year seven. He became involved in criminal offending and substance abuse from a young age, which persisted into adulthood.
Johnson's criminal history spans decades, with convictions ranging from burglary, armed robbery, serious violent offences, and murder. His most infamous crime was the murder of Williams in 2010, carried out with the stem of an exercise bike seat in Barwon Prison's Acacia Unit, where both were imprisoned. Despite claiming self-defence during his trial, Johnson was sentenced to life imprisonment with a non-parole period of 32 years.
Early life
Matthew Charles Johnson was born on 9 August 1973 to Carol Hogg and a father who died early in Matthew's childhood. Raised in the Dandenong area, his family life was challenging, with his stepfather being described as an "aggressive alcoholic and a cruel 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
HM Prison Pentridge, where Johnson served jail time as a teenager.
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 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, labelled the "trial from hell", saw Johnson and his four co-accused relentlessly abuse Judge Warren Fagan. One of the defendants threw a bag of human excrement at a member of the jury, and two of the defendants exposed their buttocks to the court. The trial ended with the jury finding Johnson and two others guilty of 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 9mm 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
HM Prison Barwon, the location where the murder took place.
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 Barwon, Rodney Collins.[9] Many prison staff, and top-level 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 12:48pm, 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]
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Herald Sun Footage 
