Rio Tinto Death: Who Was Ricky Chapman? Worker Dies At Rio Tinto Port

A former bikie who was involved in a series of major incidents died unexpectedly at work.
Ricky Chapman, a 32-year-old former Bandidos hard guy on the Gold Coast, was discovered dead on Wednesday evening after experiencing a medical episode.

Around 10 p.m., emergency services were sent to Rio Tinto’s port in Cape Lambert, about 1,500 kilometres north of Perth, but Chapman could not be revived.

He was working as a fly-in-fly-out rigger between Perth and Cape Lambert when he died, after swearing to leave the illegal motorcycle gang lifestyle. Chapman was involved in the major bikie battle in Broadbeach in 2013 and was last in the news in 2020 when he was hit in the arm by a stray bullet during a contract killing.

Chapman was involved in the infamous Broadbeach bikie riot in 2013 and most recently made news in 2020 when he was hit in the arm by a stray bullet in the contract assassination of his father-in-law, Rebels kingpin Nick Martin.

He needed surgery to remove the bullet and was arrested shortly after leaving the hospital for violating the terms of his parole by mingling with known criminal people. He served further years in prison before being released in April 2021, when he swore to change his life.

Chapman appears to have devoted his life to bodybuilding and his new career in the year since.