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At about 4.00 p.m. on Saturday 14 December 1974, Christopher Sullivan, who had been drinking heavily throughout the day and was quite drunk, returned to his home with two friends, to show them a shotgun he wished to sell. They then went for a drive, during which Sullivan assembled the shotgun and suggested they rob a Woolworths Store and go to New South Wales. His friends attempted to calm him down but he tried to get out of the car while it was still moving so they let him out, still carrying the shotgun.
About 5.30 p.m. that day Sullivan went to a house at the corner of Jason Avenue and Templestowe Road, Eltham South, where he menaced the occupants and threatened their lives. He then demanded they obtain bullets, an armalite rifle, gelignite and a car for him to go to New South Wales. Eventually he allowed them to go free, however, but did obtain shotgun cartridges from within the house. They reported the matter to police, and were convinced he was capable of carrying out his threats. He had told them he had already shot a person, although it was only learned later that the shotgun had been unloaded until he got the cartridges from them. Unsure how it worked, he accidentally fired the gun in the house while trying to load it, damaging the ceiling.
After leaving this address he broke into an empty house at 4 Jason Avenue, Eltham South, in which he again accidentally fired his shotgun, before running to another house occupied by the Baker family at 3 Eltham Templestowe Road, Eltham South. There he forced his way inside and threatened the occupants, and also fired the shotgun inside their house. While running between these houses he had seen police in the vicinity, and fired a shot at a police divisional van. Detective Sergeant Murphy, who was off duty at the time but had attended at 4 Jason Avenue on learning of what had happened, was at the rear of that house when Sullivan left the premises.
Constable Taylor called on him to drop the gun at that time, but Sullivan pointed the shotgun at him, so Taylor fired a shot in his direction. Sullivan then ran off through the scrub to the Bakers' house, pursued by the police. While at the Bakers' Sullivan yelled out to the surrounding police that he wanted Sergeant Murphy to come and speak to him. A few minutes later Murphy walked up to the front door of the Bakers' house, unarmed, and with his hands above his head.
The front door was ajar, and he could see Sullivan standing in the passageway holding the shot gun to Mr Baker's head; he then walked up to the premises. As Murphy approached Sullivan moved the shot gun from Baker's head and pointed it at Murphy's stomach. Murphy then entered the hallway and Sullivan pressed the barrel of the gun against Murphy's forehead and made a series of demands, which they began to discuss. Sullivan, who continued to hold the shot gun to Murphy's head, became very excited and started to sweat. Murphy, who was still holding his hands above his head, spoke calmly to him, then brought his right hand down, grabbed the barrel of the shot gun and pushed it away. Calling for assistance, he wrestled it from his grasp. Other police then came and took Sullivan into custody.
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