MARK Adrian Perry has arrived in Melbourne to answer charges of murdering a self-proclaimed vampire.
The 45-year-old touched down in Melbourne just before 6pm after a flight from Perth.
Detectives drove the fugitive directly from the Melbourne Airport tarmac and he'll be held in custody until a court appearance tomorrow morning.
Perry left Perth Airport on a Qantas flight at 1.45pm Melbourne time flanked by detectives who have charged him over the murder of gigolo Shane Chartres-Abbott in 2003.
Perry appeared dishevelled with a long beard and long hair.
He was described by one witness as resembling a “hobo”.
He has been charged by officers from the Briars taskforce, which examined the Shane Chartres-Abbott murder.
Mark Adrian Perry arrives at the St Kilda Rd Police Complex after returning from Perth. Picture: Mark Stewart
Mr Perry will be quizzed over whether the hit involved police corruption.
Mr Perry, who had a $1 million reward on his head, was sensationally arrested in Perth on Tuesday in the latest twist in the decade-long investigation into the execution of Chartres-Abbott.
The triggerman has claimed he committed the murder with the help of a then serving police officer.
Mr Perry, who vanished six years ago, was arrested at work at a Perth factory after a swoop by heavily armed tactical response police officers.
He faced Perth Magistrates' Court, charged with the murder of Chartres-Abbott at Reservoir on June 4, 2003.
Magistrate Michael Wheeler approved the 45-year-old's extradition.
Police return Mark Adrian Perry to Melbourne from Perth. Picture: Mike Keating
Police will seek to formally interview him over what he knows of the murder, which he is alleged to have commissioned for $200,000.
The triggerman implicated former Victoria Police officers Peter Lalor and David Waters in the murder.
He told investigators Mr Lalor gave him the victim's address and an alibi and that Mr Waters was present when the murder was discussed.
Mr Lalor said yesterday he welcomed the arrest as a chance to clear his name.
"It's a small step in getting to the truth," he told Channel Seven.
Mr Lalor and a Melbourne organised crime boss have both previously said publicly they expect to be charged.
Shane Chartres-Abbott, self-confessed vampire and prostitute, outside the County Court where he was facing a rape charge. He was murdered the day after this photo was taken.
Two other people identified by the gunman - Evangelos Goussis and another who cannot be named - were charged last year.
Acting Inspector Dale Flynn, of Briars taskforce, said outside court yesterday that the arrest was a "significant milestone" and good news for Chartres-Abbott's family.
The murder was committed as Chartres-Abbott left for court to face charges over a 2002 assault on Mr Perry's ex-girlfriend.
Chartres-Abbott was accused of biting part off part of her tongue at a Melbourne hotel, in an incident that allegedly caused Perry to seek revenge on him.
The gunman pounced as Chartres-Abbott's pregnant girlfriend and her father looked on in horror.
Mr Perry was later implicated by the hitman, who confessed his own role and also pointed the finger at Mr Waters and Mr Lalor.
Mark Adrian Perry, has been arrested in Perth over the Melbourne murder of a self-proclaimed vampire Shane Chartres-Abbott.
There had been sightings of Mr Perry in Queensland and in Thailand since he went on the run.
Assassination claimed careers, reputations
THE execution of "vampire" gigolo Shane Chartres-Abbott set off a chain reaction that still reverberates a decade later.
Careers were ruined, a global manhunt was triggered and police were named as suspects in a crime that shocked Melbourne.
His was another brutal slaying in a city then in the grip of gangland warfare.
But Chartres-Abbott's demise was different.
Evangelos Goussis has also been charged over the murder of Shane Chartres-Abbott. Picture: HWT library
About 8.45am on June 4, 2003, the male prostitute, on trial for raping a client and biting off part of her tongue, was gunned down by two men as he left his Reservoir home for court.
His horrified girlfriend watched as the killers shot the 24-year-old in the neck, then bashed her father.
Dozens of police, the dog squad and a helicopter failed to find those who carried out what was believed to be a contract killing.
A week earlier, a court heard bizarre claims that Chartres-Abbott had told a client and occasional lover he was a 200-year-old vampire who drank blood to survive.
He was accused of attacking and raping the woman, 30, after they arranged to meet at a South Yarra hotel.
The sex worker suffered black eyes, swelling, bruising to her neck and jaw, and teeth marks in her right thigh.
Former Victorian Police officer David Waters has denied accusations by the hitman of any involvement in the Chartres-Abbott murder. Picture: Aaron Francis
Several centimetres of her tongue were ripped out.
She was the ex-girlfriend of Mark Adrian Perry, who allegedly paid $200,000 to have Chartres-Abbott killed.
Four years later, Mr Perry fled as police closed in.
A $1 million reward was issued for information leading to his arrest.
Considered a master of disguise, he had previously escaped police attempts to question him. He is believed to have severed ties with his daughter and five siblings.
The 45-year-old was last seen in Queensland, at a Broadbeach cafe in August 2007, days before he fled.
Former detective Peter Lalor was accused of involvement by Chartres-Abbott's killer. He has denied the claims. Picture: HWT library
In March this year, a court heard the man who shot Chartres-Abbott paid a police officer $1500 for his alibi.
Prosecutor Andrew Tinney, SC, said the man, called JP for legal reasons, shot Chartres-Abbott.
He said an arrest warrant for traffic offences was served on him later that day by a friend, a then detective sergeant named Peter Lalor, and that the killer gave the officer $1500 to "have a drink" after he was bailed.
Mr Tinney said JP was not even suspected until he confessed in 2006, implicating two others in the death, and one former and one serving police officer for helping.
Evangelos Goussis, 45, and a 41-year-old who cannot be named, were charged with murder last year.
The shooter was jailed for life in 2008 after pleading guilty to the murder.
The shooter also claimed Sgt Lalor and former police officer David Waters helped him find his victim's address and that Mr Waters held on to the murder weapon briefly for safe-keeping.
Both men have strongly denied involvement.
The killer told the court he did not know why he confessed because he did not have a guilty conscience.
Defence lawyer James McQuillan suggested it was to benefit himself, perhaps by having loved ones put in protective custody or on the understanding his conviction would not add any time to the jail term he was serving.
In 2007, then assistant commissioner Noel Ashby and the then head of the Police Association, Paul Mullett, were also dragged into the affair.
Mr Ashby resigned in 2007 after the Office of Police Integrity alleged he was part of a chain of people involved in tipping off Sgt Lalor that he was a suspect in the murder.
The OPI alleged Mr Ashby told Sen-Sgt Mullett that Sgt Lalor was a target of the inquiry, that he told union president Brian Rix, and that Mr Rix told Mr Lalor.
All denied the allegations.
Mr Ashby was acquitted after OPI hearings were ruled invalid. Charges against Mr Mullett were dropped.
- with Wayne Flower, AAP
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