From that time until 1972, when he escaped from legal custody, he spent his life in a number of orphanages, boys' homes and youth training centres.
[4] In 1982 David was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment for the attempted murder of three people, during a robbery-gone-wrong at a pizza restaurant in Rye, Victoria.
Whilst imprisoned, David wrote many manuscripts, one titled Blueprint for Urban Warfare, which spoke of committing massacres upon his release from prison.
The "Blueprint" listed 49 "combat situations", ranging from horror movie clichés (cigarette machines dispensing severed fingers, drink machines dispensing blood) to far more disturbing scenarios, such as the bombing of bridges and public buildings, the assassination of prominent politicians, the poisoning of water supplies and indiscriminate shooting in public places.
He also manifested a great deal of hostility to the police force and prison system, resorting to violence and self-mutilation whenever his requests or demands were not met.
But as he had a long history of responding to the most minor frustrations with violence, damage to property and self-harm, and refused on principle to co-operate with attempts to reduce such behaviours prior to his re-entry to society,[7] the Supreme Court repeatedly applied the legislation to continue his confinement.