Australia Australia - Lorraine Wilson, 20, & Wendy Evans, 18, Oxley, QLD, 6 Oct 1974

[marlywings]

Inquest into cold case murder of Sydney nurses Wendy Evans, 18, and Lorraine Wilson, 20, begins

April 08, 2013

THREE men who have been identified by police as "persons of interest" in the brutal cold case murder of Sydney nurses Wendy Evans, 18, and Lorraine Wilson, 20, will give evidence when an inquest opens today.
A police investigation into the case has spanned almost four decades since the women's disappearance in 1974 and the gruesome discovery of their bodies dumped in bushland at Murphys Creek, near Toowoomba, two years later.

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/...wilson-20-begins/story-e6freoof-1226614723186

 

[Flinders]

@brookebaskin: Packed in at Toowoomba Magistrates Court this morning ahead of inquest into double murder of Lorraine Wilson and Wendy Evans @couriermail

 

[Flinders]

@renaehenry10: 1974 nurse murder inquest hears police tape of witness who was told to clean blood from the back of vehicle @tennewsqld

@renaehenry10: Snr policeman tells 1974 nurse inquiry if one of the POIs was still alive, he'd charge him over the murders @tennewsqld

 

[Strangeworld]

"An inquest in 1985 ruled the women met with "foul play" after their bodies were found in bushland on June 26, 1976 with skull fractures and marks consistent with being bound with the cord of a venetian blind."
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/...wilson-20-begins/story-e6freoof-1226614723186

BBM - this screams premeditation to me. Likely predators out scouting the streets for a victim.

 

[SandyGG]

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/que...-gang-bang-with-two-women-20130409-2hitz.html

Clearly, many people knew something about what had happened to these two unfortunate women.

 

[tarjessi]

Is it ok to post this article from 2007 about the cold case investigation? It offers a little bit more information about the background of the suspects: http://www.news.com.au/news/hunt-for-a-gang-of-killers/story-fna7dq6e-1111114007885

 

[zeppa]

How many people had the opportunity to save two ladies lives? .
Too many.If you ask me.
How many have carried the secret of killing two beautiful ladies?.
Too many.
I understand it was the 70's but surely people had hearts in those days.

 

[SandyGG]

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/que...20130412-2hqx8.html?google_editors_picks=true

A mother's plea and a good outline of the main persons of interest.

 

[SandyGG]

This case reminds me of another case in nearby Gatton in the late 19th century in which two girls were repeatedly raped and along with their brother and horse killed. At the time, the town was bent on blaming an outsider but it would seem that just like Toowoomba in the 1970s there were a gang of related men and friends that would roam about at night on horseback and accost people just for fun and it is very likely that they committed the crime. The case was never solved at the time.
There was also an Oxley link in that old case also. As a boy and his horse had been shot not far from the Oxley Hotel a few days prior to the multiple slaying at Gatton the police speculated that the same killer may have been responsible but it is unlikely when all the evidence is examined. The surname of the victims at Gatton were Murphy (Murphy's Creek!). It was a very shocking crime at the time and effected the community for many years and like this modern crime, many people would have a little knowledge or had their own ideas about who was responsible.

 

[Flinders]

Bashing women was routine, nurses' inquest told

"They used to stop in the street in Toowoomba on any given night, pull girls into the car, violently bash them, brutalise them, punch them ... punch them in the stomach, even raping them. Apparently their reputation was very widely known, even so, police did never arrest them."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-04-...tine-nurses-inquest-told/4620544/?site=sydney

I wonder why if this was KNOWN, was it reported in MSM at the time? I am sure the community had the right to know that this was happenning in their community.

I will see what I can find online in the online archives of The National Library of Australia.

http://trove.nla.gov.au/

 

[Flinders]

I can't seem to find anything today in the newspapers re. 1970's crime but I did find a book published in 2003 about the crime which is available from the public library. I'm not sure about Kindle.

The echo of silent screams : the Gold Coast hitchhike murders /​ Eric Wilson.

All this below is what I have to Cite. It looks like this article is available on Wiki. The echo of silent screams : the Gold Coast hitchhike murders /​ Eric Wilson.


Work identifier
http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/22344892
Edition identifier
http://trove.nla.gov.au/version/45724527
http://nla.gov.au/anbd.bib-an24408937
APA citation
Wilson, Eric (2003). The echo of silent screams : the Gold Coast hitchhike murders. Pennon Publishing, Niddrie, Vic
MLA citation
Wilson, Eric The echo of silent screams : the Gold Coast hitchhike murders. Pennon Publishing, Niddrie, Vic, 2003.
Harvard/Australian citation
Wilson, Eric 2003, The echo of silent screams : the Gold Coast hitchhike murders, Pennon Publishing, Niddrie, Vic
Wikipedia citation
{{Citation | author1=Wilson, Eric | title=The echo of silent screams : the Gold Coast hitchhike murders | publication-date=2003 | publisher=Pennon Publishing | isbn=978-1-877029-27-1 }}
Citations are automatically generated and may require some modification to conform to exact standards.

 

[Flinders]

Murdered nurses: Inquest exposes city's dark underbelly

Comments (24) » Peter Hardwick 13th Apr 2013 6:00 AM Updated: 7:33 AM

This article is new.

I still can't find anything YET in MSM archive re. early 1970's crime in Toowoomba.

The book was written by a brother of one of the victims.

 

[Flinders]

I Survived - True Stories of Brisbane's Underbelly [Kindle Edition] $7.99
John Wayne Ryan (Author)

Summary at Amazon.

This is the true story of a private detective / bodyguard operating in Brisbane, Australia during the 1970s .

 

[Ausgirl]

Thanks for that link - I'd not mind reading this book!

What I'm wondering is - how this pack of mongrels could run around attacking men, raping women like it was nothing, and everyone knew about them -- and no-one said anything, no-one was prosecuted?

I get that locals might have (rightly) feared for their lives, but surely these men did not manage to live this way and fly completely under the police radar?

As a formerly very stupid young woman who liked to hitchhike around Aus.. I feel lucky to still be here!

 

[Ausgirl]

This case reminds me of another case in nearby Gatton in the late 19th century in which two girls were repeatedly raped and along with their brother and horse killed. At the time, the town was bent on blaming an outsider but it would seem that just like Toowoomba in the 1970s there were a gang of related men and friends that would roam about at night on horseback and accost people just for fun and it is very likely that they committed the crime. The case was never solved at the time.
There was also an Oxley link in that old case also. As a boy and his horse had been shot not far from the Oxley Hotel a few days prior to the multiple slaying at Gatton the police speculated that the same killer may have been responsible but it is unlikely when all the evidence is examined. The surname of the victims at Gatton were Murphy (Murphy's Creek!). It was a very shocking crime at the time and effected the community for many years and like this modern crime, many people would have a little knowledge or had their own ideas about who was responsible.

Is there a thread for this murder on WS anywhere? I read about this quite a bit, a long time ago now. Such a brutal, horrific crime.. and I really do think the Oxley shooting was related - I'd be very interested in finding out why it's thought not to be so.

 

[marlywings]

Is there a thread for this murder on WS anywhere? I read about this quite a bit, a long time ago now. Such a brutal, horrific crime.. and I really do think the Oxley shooting was related - I'd be very interested in finding out why it's thought not to be so.

Just opened a thread for that case...

Cold Cases

The Gatton Murders, also known as "The Gatton Tragedy", "The Gatton Mystery" and "The Murphy Murders", 1898

[ame="http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?p=9530874#post9530874"]Australia The Murphy Murders. Gatton,1898 - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community[/ame]

 

[marlywings]

June 19, 2013

The coronial inquest into the 1974 murders of Sydney nurses Lorraine Wilson and Wendy Evans has heard extraordinary evidence from a fresh witness who claimed a friend confessed to being one of men involved in the killings more than three decades ago.

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/que...ft-for-dead-20130619-2oist.html#ixzz2WfOngjV3

 

[Flinders]

Only suspect in 1970s Toowoomba nurse killings is now dead: coroner

June 20, 2013 3:50PM

THE only man against whom there is enough evidence to send to trial for the brutal murder of two nurses in the 1970s is now dead, an inquest has heard.

http://m.theaustralian.com.au/news/...now-dead-coroner/story-e6frg6nf-1226666971892

 

[margarita25]

Only suspect in 1970s Toowoomba nurse killings is now dead: coroner

June 20, 2013 3:50PM

THE only man against whom there is enough evidence to send to trial for the brutal murder of two nurses in the 1970s is now dead, an inquest has heard.

http://m.theaustralian.com.au/news/...now-dead-coroner/story-e6frg6nf-1226666971892

From this article:
"Mr Hilton died in a car crash at Texas in the 1980s."

Texas, as in USA?

 

[Flinders]

Texas is a town in Queensland, Australia. The town is located just 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) from Queensland's southern border with New South Wales.