REVEALED: How Carl Williams' go-to hitman refused to make a deathbed confession to clear his conscience before taking the truth behind NINE notorious Melbourne gangland slayings to his grave
Rodney Charles Collinsy, 72, died in 2018
A notorious assassin who worked for slain gangster Carl Williams and sent at least nine people to an early grave refused to confess to unsolved kills on his deathbed.
Rodney Charles Collins used his final breaths in 2018 to reject a last plea by police to come clean about a series of executions, including the murder of underworld lawyer Mario Condello.
The 72-year-old Melbourne-based contract killer died of cancer while serving a life sentence at Barwon Prison for the brutal murder of a couple in 1987 - for which he was convicted in 2007.
Despite investigators' long-held suspicions that Collins pulled the trigger on Condello outside his Brighton home in 2006, the mystery remains unsolved.
The deregistered lawyer was shot up to six times outside his garage just before his 10pm court-ordered curfew, the Herald Sun reported.
While homicide detectives believe the killing was the work of a hitman, they could not officially determine who carried out the job.
Despite investigators' long-held suspicions that Collins pulled the trigger on Mario Condello (pictured in 2005) outside his Brighton home in 2006
Pictured: Police look for evidence at the murder site of underworld figure Mario Condello in Melbourne on February 7, 2006
Condello's involvement in the Carlton Crew left him with countless enemies, including infamous gangland leader Carl Williams - who paid Collins up to $150,000 to pull the trigger on his enemies.
The disgraced lawyer had been charged with hiring an assassin to kill Williams' father and bodyguard.
Condello's brother Enzo believes Williams, who was clubbed to death in jail in 2010, ordered the kill on Condello from his prison cell.
'My gut feeling is that it was Williams,' Enzo told the publication.
'Rod Collins was a good friend of Williams. My theory is that Williams wanted him out of the way because he might have been a danger to him or his father.'
Collins was the go-to hitman for notorious gangland leader Carl Williams , who was later beaten to death in jail
While homicide detectives believe Condello's killing was the work of a hitman, they could not officially determine whether Collins carried out the job
Just before his death, Condello was on the phone to a friend that ended abruptly after ten minutes when the fatal shots were fired.
'The next thing I heard was a bang and then three more bangs, then a period of silence and the phone got cut off,' the person on the phone told police.
Investigators also believe Collins was responsible for the murders of police informers Terence and Christine Hodson in 2004, Brian Kane in 1982 and Raymond Bennett in 1979.
He is also thought to have tied up and sliced open Michael Schievella's throat in 1990 along with the drug dealer's wife - who was almost beheaded with a knife.
Despite the countless crimes he is believed to have committed, the one that landed him in jail l was the slaughter of drug dealer Ramon Abbey and his wife Dorothy in the late '80s.
The 72-year-old is also believed to be behind the murders of Brian Kane in 1982 and Ramon Abbey and his wife Dorothy
Terry Hodson and wife Christine were found tied up and shot in the head in Kew, Victoria
Damon Abbey, who was a child at the time, found his lifeless mother lying on the couch with bullet wounds and a cut throat.
He and his older sister followed a trail of blood out the back door to find their murdered father.
Collins was also a convicted rapist who was not going to be released from prison until 2042 when he was aged in his late 90s.
He was previously described by police as a 'deadset natural born killer' who was a 'dangerous man'.
Collins was raised by his grandparents as a youngster before he went to live with his alcoholic parents in the 1960s - propelling him into a life of crime.
At 14, he left home and got involved with the dark underworld of Richmond gangs and landed his first conviction before his 20th birthday.
RODNEY COLLINS' SUSPECTED MURDERS
Infamous hitman Rodney Collins had connections to some of the country's coldest blooded criminals and is believed to be behind several unsolved cases.
2006 - Mario Condello, part of Carlton Crew, shot dead in Brighton
2004 - Terry Hodson and wife Christine tied up and shot in head in Kew, Victoria
1990 - Drug dealer Michael Schievella had throat slit and wife Heather McDonald almost left beheaded
1987 - Shot dead criminal Ray Abbey and his wife Dorothy's throat was slit
1983 - Patrick Brendan Coughlan shot dead at Reservoir party
1982 - Shot dead Brian Kane in Brunswick, Victoria