When Tilly Devine died in 1970, she was broke and nearly forgotten. Between Lillian May Armfield’s dogged policing, new gangs who stripped Tilly of her power, and a huge tax bill the government levied on her in 1955, her days as queen of the Sydney underworld were over by the 1960s, per The Sydney Morning Herald and The Dictionary of Sydney. She was even robbed of her jewelry collection that she once boasted was larger than Queen Elizabeth’s (and better), per The Sydney Morning Herald and Obituaries Australia.
Devine had finally divorced her abusive first husband, Big Jim, in 1944, and later married a second time, per Obituaries Australia. She married Eric Parsons just a month after being charged with attempted murder for shooting him (the charge didn’t stick), but it was cancer, not Tilly, that finally brought Parsons down, per The Dictionary of Sydney. She, too, died of cancer, and not even the patrons of her favorite Sydney haunts cared enough to raise a toast in her honor, per The Sydney Morning Herald. Armfield died in 1971, a year after her criminal nemesis, following a long and distinguished police career, per Obituaries Australia.
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If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.
