Self portrait of infamous criminal for sale

Ronald Jorgensen's self portrait.

A self portrait of one of the country's most colourful criminals is on the market.

Ronald Jorgensen, now part of New Zealand criminal folklore history, was one of the infamous Bassett Rd machinegun murderers.

He and John Frederick Gillies used a .45 calibre Reising machine gun to shoot dead two rival sly groggers in the Auckland suburb of Remuera in December, 1963.
It was believed to be the first machinegun murder in the country and created sensational headlines for weeks.

Jorgensen and Gillies were arrested 24 days after Frederick George Walker, 38, and Kevin James Speight, 26, were gunned down.

Both men were convicted in February, 1964, and sentenced to life terms.

Jorgensen was later released on parole but mysteriously disappeared in December 1984, when his car was found at the bottom of cliffs at Kaikoura, north of Christchurch. His body was never found but several unconfirmed sightings had him in Perth, western Australia, and at the Kumeu show west of Auckland.

Several people, including a former girlfriend, believed Jorgensen staged the crash and his disappearance so he could escape the tight parole restrictions he had to live under in Kaikoura

If he was alive he would be in his early 70s.

Next week, a self-portrait Jorgensen painted in 1964 - the year he was sent to prison for life - will be sold at an auction in Auckland.

International Art Centre director Richard Thomson, said the portrait was from a private collection and while it was expected to bring up to $2400, it was very hard to value.

"It is very much a novelty thing and hard to put a value on. It is an interesting portrait."

- NZPA