Man extradited over woman's tent fire death ran crime vigilante group
A man being extradited from Sydney over the suspected murder in Victoria of a woman, whose body was found in a burnt-out tent, previously ran a vigilante crime-fighting group in Geelong.
Nick Cross, 31, of no fixed address, was arrested alongside two others during a dramatic police operation late on Thursday over the death of Maddison Parrott in a tent fire at the Geelong showgrounds.
Acting on information from Victoria Police, NSW Police’s homicide squad, assisted by the tactical operations unit, arrested two men and a woman in the western suburb of Greystanes about 3.45pm on Thursday.
Mr Cross is expected to be charged with one count of murder.
Todd Daryl Sell, 34, from Colac and Tracey Menzies, 34, from Bell Park are expected to be charged with accessory to murder after the fact.
Mr Cross, a father of two, created and led an unsanctioned community watch group in Geelong's north in 2016 that saw members patrol the streets of Norlane, Corio and North Geelong at night.
The controversial group, which connected via social media, folded soon after senior police voiced serious concern over their activities.
This week Mr Cross and two others were arrested in relation to the death of the 29-year-old Waurn Ponds woman whose body was found inside a burnt tent at a camping ground on Breakwater Road, shortly before 2am on Tuesday.
Ms Parrott's body was found after firefighters extinguished the blaze.
Ms Parrott’s loved ones spoke to The Age on Friday.
They said they would remember the 29-year-old as a smart and nurturing young woman who at the height of her retail career was managing Geelong’s Cotton On store after graduating from Belmont High School.
They said she was a natural-born leader who was living with her parents at Waurn Ponds. The family had only recently returned from a trip to Bali.
Those close to Ms Parrott said she wanted nothing more than to be a princess, but when her marriage broke down in late 2017, she had to learn to rebuild.
She and her former husband were engaged in 2014 and married two years later.
“All her life she wanted to be a princess and she’d just graduated from a make-up course at The Gordon. She wanted to work in theatre and the media,” they said.
“But after the marriage broke down she started to really suffer.
“She was trying to get her life back on track.”
Victorian homicide squad detectives are expected to return from NSW on Friday afternoon as the investigation continues.
Mr Cross, Mr Sell and Ms Menzies are due to face Melbourne Magistrates Court on Saturday.