Kath Pettingill, the matriarch behind one of Australia’s most notorious crime families and mother of Walsh Street massacre suspects Victor and Trevor Peirce, has died at 91. Her sons were charged in the 1988 ambush killings of two police officers — a tragedy widely seen as revenge for a prior shooting of a family associate — but all four accused walked free after jury acquittals. The case took a dramatic turn when Victor’s wife, once in witness protection, later recanted her testimony and blamed him for the murders — only to be silenced herself when he was murdered in an underworld hit. Kath’s other children included “Dr Death” Dennis Bruce Allen, who died in prison amid multiple murder suspicions, and Peter Allen, a convicted heroin dealer. Her life and legacy were immortalized in the 2010 film Animal Kingdom, where Jacki Weaver portrayed her — a role Kath joked she and the actress shared only in their inability to act. She also survived a brutal eye injury from a 1970s shootout tied to family debt.
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