The Gun Alley Murder

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The Gun Alley Murder was the rape and murder of 12-year-old Alma Tirtschke in Melbourne, Australia, in 1921. She was a schoolgirl and had last been seen alive close to a drinking establishment, the Australian Wine Saloon; under these circumstances her murder caused a sensation. More recently, the case has become well known again as a probable miscarriage of justice.

Following the discovery of the body in Gun Alley, the owner of the saloon, Colin Campbell Ross, was charged with her rape and murder. The case against him was based on the evidence of two witnesses, plus a red hair, apparently from Tirtschke's head, which provided a vital connection between Ross and the murder. Ross protested his innocence but was hanged.

The two witnesses were later considered by many to be unreliable, both having had a motive to lie. The only credible piece of evidence was the red hair that connected Ross to the case. More reliable forensic examinations in the 1990s disproved the connection and showed that Ross was probably innocent.

[edit] External link

• Wrong man hanged, The Age, July 9, 2005

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