MacRae’s criminal résumé spans decades, with murders tied to a Mildura property and additional killings connected to Melbourne’s underworld and the illegal drug trade.

Parole authorities have reportedly given MacRae consideration for release, describing the risk to the community as negligible while noting a profound impact on victims’ families.

The piece ends by inviting readers to subscribe to The Age’s Naked City newsletter for ongoing coverage of Australia’s criminal underworld.

Courtroom excerpts and direct statements from MacRae, who shows no remorse, reinforce the depiction of him as an exceptionally dangerous figure.

The article situates MacRae within a web of broader corruption and crime, linking alleged police corruption to Geoff Lamb’s massage parlour empire and interactions with figures like Abe Saffron and Detective Rogerson.

Context expands to the wider Australian crime landscape of the era, including drug trafficking, witness protection challenges, and the fallout from undercover policing and corruption investigations.

Retired homicide detective Paul Hollowood describes MacRae as cold-blooded and calculating, asserting he would still be active if given the chance, highlighting the pervasive fear around his crimes.

MacRae, known in the press as Sandy, is portrayed as one of Australia’s most infamous multiple murderers, with police estimating a double-digit body count.