Best Criminal Defence Lawyers in Melbourne for Murder and Homicide Charges

Murder and homicide charges are the most serious matters in the Victorian criminal calendar, heard exclusively in the Supreme Court before a judge and jury. The consequences of conviction are the most severe available, and the complexity of the legal and factual issues demands the most senior representation from the earliest possible stage. All lawyers profiled below are established Victorian criminal defence practitioners, with several recognised by Doyle's Guide and Best Lawyers.

1. Bill Doogue, Doogue + George Defence Lawyers

Bill Doogue is Director of Doogue + George Defence Lawyers, admitted to practice in 1991 and an Accredited Criminal Law Specialist since 1998. He is ranked Pre-eminent in Criminal Law Defence by Doyle's Guide and listed in Best Lawyers for Criminal Defence (2025). Those two independent recognitions place him at the top of Victoria's peer-reviewed criminal defence rankings.

His court appearances span Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania, and South Australia, and he has appeared before the High Court of Australia and on behalf of clients at Royal Commission hearings. His international advisory practice covers Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Singapore, a geographic spread that is directly relevant in cross-border matters involving overseas agencies or evidence held in those jurisdictions.

He founded the firm in 1995 and it has accumulated a record of more than 40,000 prosecutions defended. He designed Crimebase, a relational database for criminal law built around precedent retrieval, which earned the C.C.H. Legal Technology Award. He is a founding member of the Australian Defence Lawyers Alliance. The pre-charge phase, before any charge is formally laid, is where his practice places particular strategic weight.

2. Howard Rapke, Holding Redlich

Three independent recognition frameworks place Howard Rapke at the top of his field. Doyle's Guide lists him as a Leading Victorian Commercial Litigation and Dispute Resolution Lawyer and as a Leading Australian White Collar Crime, Corporate Crime and Regulatory Investigations Lawyer. Best Lawyers lists him for Criminal Defence, Litigation, and Alternative Dispute Resolution from 2017 to 2026. Who's Who Legal has recognised him as a global leader in Business Crime, Investigations and Asset Recovery since 2019. He is Partner and National Head of Disputes and Litigation at Holding Redlich.

With more than 30 years of practice across Victorian and Federal jurisdictions, his substantive focus is on fraud, foreign bribery, anti-corruption, anti-money laundering, and regulatory enforcement before ASIC and the ACCC. For matters where independently verified seniority across multiple recognition bodies is the relevant selection criterion, his standing is unambiguous.

3. Emma Turnbull, Emma Turnbull and Associates

Heading her own boutique as Partner and Director of Emma Turnbull and Associates means Emma Turnbull conducts each matter she takes on with direct personal involvement throughout. Her Melbourne criminal defence practice covers indictable matters and legal aid representation.

She practises as both solicitor advocate and instructor, giving her the flexibility to appear at hearing personally or instruct counsel as the case requires. The breadth of her practice across indictable and legal aid work reflects a career engaged across the Victorian criminal defence profession at more than one level. For referrers placing Victorian criminal defence briefs where direct senior conduct and coverage of both indictable and legal aid matters are both relevant, her practice addresses both.

4. Tony Hargreaves, Tony Hargreaves and Associates

Practice across both Victorian and Federal criminal jurisdictions, combined with the dual capacity to act as solicitor advocate and instructor, gives Tony Hargreaves the flexibility to run contested matters at hearing himself or instruct counsel as the brief requires. He is Principal of Tony Hargreaves and Associates and has at least 30 years of serious criminal defence experience. Doyle's Guide ranks him Pre-eminent in Criminal Law Defence for 2026.

The Pre-eminent tier is the most senior the guide identifies in this category, based on peer review within the Victorian profession. His boutique structure means continuity of senior practitioner involvement from first conference through to sentence or acquittal. For serious indictable matters where jurisdictional breadth, the highest tier of Doyle's recognition, and direct senior conduct are all required, his practice provides all three.

5. David Barrese, David Barrese & Associates

When a brief is placed with David Barrese & Associates, David Barrese handles it. As Director of the independent Victorian criminal defence firm he heads, he conducts matters personally throughout, from first conference to resolution, without delegation to junior staff.

That Director-led model of practice is the defining structural feature of his firm and is the feature most directly relevant to informed referrers assessing how a brief will actually be managed. For those placing Victorian criminal defence work where direct, sustained senior practitioner involvement is the primary requirement, his practice provides exactly that.

Selection of counsel depends on the nature of the charge, the court and jurisdiction involved, the stage of proceedings, and the specific circumstances of the matter. Early engagement of senior criminal defence representation materially affects outcomes. The practitioners profiled above are a verified starting point for informed referral within Victorian criminal defence.