[1] She lived with her children in the Richmond area of Melbourne, and a number of her sons were sent to the Turana Boys' Home.
Pettingill has a glass eye in place of the one she lost after being shot in 1978 by Kim Nelson and Keryn Thompson.
The bullet passed through a closed door at the Collingwood Housing Commission of Victoria flats as she and her son, Dennis Allen, attempted to repay a $300 debt on behalf of her daughter, Vicky Brooks.
[7][page needed] A biography of her life, The Matriarch: The Kathy Pettingill Story, was written by Adrian Tame and published in 1996.
[8] In the 2011 miniseries Killing Time, Pettingill is a major character, played by Kris McQuade.