HEART racing and sweaty palms, prisoner John Killick had just seconds to execute the plan he’d masterminded to help him break-free from prison.
While officers believed the bank robber to be exercising in the prison grounds, he was instead on the lookout out for his Russian girlfriend of three years, Lucy Dudko, who had hijacked a helicopter in a bid to help free her lover.
It was March 25, 1999 and Killick, who was being held on remand at Sydney‘s Silverwater Correctional Complex, was awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to two counts of armed robbery.
But little did prison officers know that he was about to stage a brazen escape from prison that would see him spend 45 days on the run – and result in him becoming known as one of Australia‘s most infamous criminals.
Now, it’s been 11 years since his release from prison and Killick, who spent much of his life threatening petrified bank workers before escaping with loads of money, has insisted he’s a changed man.
“I really believe that I’ve got my integrity back,” he explained, speaking to Mama Mia’s True Crime Conversations podcast.
“Robbing banks, to me, was me against them, and now I accept the damage that you do to people.
“I’ve got true remorse about that, and that’s why I try and give as much back as I can.”
THE DARING PLAN
With a notorious criminal history, Killick, who is now in his 80s, explained that prison officials were well aware that he had a past of escaping.
Determined to keep him behind four walls, they did everything in their power to restrain him.
“They put ankle braces on me and had a special trained squad,” he recalled. “They were ready for it.”
With so many eyes on him, even Killick doubted whether an escape would be possible…but when he saw around 10 helicopters fly over prison grounds in just an hour, he had a lightbulb moment.
With the prison situated next to the Olympic village and the Sydney Olympic Games set to take place the following year, there had been growing interest from the excited public.
Eager sports fans were keen to get a first glimpse at the impressive village and so helicopter tours were becoming increasingly popular.
Killick said: “I’d seen all these helicopters coming over and it hit me that it was fate because the only jail in Australia this would have worked was Silverwater because when a helicopter comes over a prison, they’re alert.
I said, ‘Look, there’s one way out…’You’ll have to hijack a helicopter.’ “She said, and I’ll never forget, ‘brilliant!’
John Killick
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“But Silverwater, you had the Olympics coming on in 2000 and so people were coming over to have a look at the Olympic Village.
“It was right next to the prison…they didn’t even look up. I thought of all the places, I’m in the right spot.”
Eager to get her lover back in her arms, Killick recalled how Lucy was immediately on board when he first told her of his daring plan.
He explained: “I said, ‘Look, there’s one way out…’You’ll have to hijack a helicopter.’”
“She said, and I’ll never forget, ‘brilliant!’”
HELICOPTER HIJACK
So as planned, on the morning of 25 March, Lucy requested to do the ‘Harbour Bridge Track’ tour, which included the Olympic stadium and village, Sydney Harbour and Manly.
It was a popular route and pilot of the Bell 47 helicopter Tim Joyce saw nothing out of the ordinary, so when she asked whether he could fly over the nearby prison so she could take a closer look, he agreed.
However, as the helicopter got closer to her lover’s awaiting destination, she pulled a gun to his head and informed him he was in a hijack situation.
Turning off the transponder and radio switch so he couldn’t notify anyone, she demanded he land on the prison oval, where she was hoping to find Killick.
He had used the prison phone to call Lucy and learn when exactly the chopper would be arriving and had coincided it with a fake “jog” outside.
Fearing Lucy to be a Russian hit-woman, Joyce eventually agreed but he didn’t land the helicopter and instead hovered around 8ft in the air.
As prisoners and officials noticed the commotion, Killick seized his opportunity and made his escape…but the guards were hot on his heels.
“The sweat was pouring off me because she was late and I saw about eight helicopters come through and none of them were mine,” he recalled.
“I ran, and I jumped on the side of the helicopter. Just as I got in [Lucy] handed me the machine gun and I waved it.”
The sweat was pouring off me. I ran, and I jumped on the side of the helicopter. Just as I got in [Lucy] handed me the machine gun and I waved it
John Killick
Killick recalled how everyone chasing after him “dropped to the ground,” giving the helicopter a chance to make its audacious escape.
Despite behind shot at around three times by an officer in the tower, the chopper avoided getting hit.
“I was so lucky because they could’ve got me and they could’ve brought us down and even the pilot said we’re very lucky,” Killick recalled.
According to police records, Killick told Joyce: “You can make a lot of money out of 60 Minutes if you do the right thing. It’s your choice.”
ON THE RUN
Killick ordered Joyce to fly to Macquarie University and land on a playing field.
After using cord to bind Joyce’s hands and ankles with, the couple then jumped into a stranger’s car, before holding a gun to the driver’s face and demanding he drive to North Sydney.
The on-the-run couple, who fast become “Australia‘s most wanted,” dyed their hair in a bid to go unrecognised but were finally caught out after 45 days on the run when they checked into the Bass Hill caravan park in west Sydney.
Killick was given a 23-year prison sentence, which was later reduced to 15 and then 14 years on appeal.
Lucy Dudko was convicted on five charges, including rescuing Killick from custody by force and interfering with the operation of an aircraft.
She received a 10-year sentence with a minimum of seven years and was released on parole on 9 May 2006.
MOVING ON
Now, Killick, who has been out of prison since January 2015, still speaks highly of his former lover, Lucy.
“Even now, she’s a mystery woman,” he explained.
“I put some things in a book about her early life, and she’s just such a cool customer.
“She was an apprentice jockey over there, and they do long-distance riding over there in Russia, and she loved horses.
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“She’s a good horsewoman. Even now, she’s pretty good.”
As for how people react to him today compared to back in the 90s, he explained: “Look, most people are great – they really are.
“The police, particularly the young ones, are very polite. They know who I am around where I work.
“But I would say that it doesn’t matter where you go, where you talk, what you do – there’s always going to be, and it’s human nature, a small minority of people that are really against me…
“They don’t buy – and I can understand this – that someone with my background can turn it around. They think it’s sort of an act, and it isn’t.”
