Gatton murders

The Murphy family. Pictured are Daniel Snr. and Mary Murphy (seated), with 8 of their 10 children behind them:
(left to right) John, Jeremy, Patrick, William, Polly, Norah, Ellen and Catherine.
Michael and Daniel Murphy are not pictured.

The Gatton Murders, also known as "The Gatton Tragedy", "The Gatton Mystery" and "The Murphy Murders", is the name given to a still unsolved triple homicide that occurred 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from the town of Gatton, Queensland, Australia. Michael Murphy aged 29 and his younger sisters Norah (Honora) 27 and Ellen (Theresa) 18, were killed between 10pm and 4am on 26–27 December 1898 while returning home from a proposed dance that had been cancelled. Michael had been shot and bludgeoned, Norah strangled and bludgeoned, and Ellen was bludgeoned twice.

Background

The Murphy family owned a farm at Blackfellow’s Creek, some 8 miles (13 km) from Gatton and 61 miles (98 km) west of Queensland's capital, Brisbane. The 1901 census gave the population being 449 souls. While today's Gatton is a small town (2006 census 5295) located between the cities of Ipswich in the east and Toowoomba in the west, in the late 19th century the town was a major stopover point on the road from Brisbane to the Darling Downs and with two major bridges and a railway line, the town was a rapidly expanding service centre for the district. Being more centrally located than Brisbane, there were even discussions regarding the relocation of the state capital to Gatton if the Lockyer Creek could be made navigable.

Michael and Daniel Murphy had both left home, Michael working on a government experimental farm near Westbrook, while Daniel was a Brisbane police constable. Michael had returned home for the Christmas holidays and on 26 December (Boxing Day) had taken his sister Ellen to the Mount Sylvia Races in nearby Caffey. At 8pm, Michael and his sisters Norah and Ellen, left home at about 8 pm to attend a dance to be held at the Gatton Hall. Arriving at 9pm they found the dance had been cancelled and began the return journey home but failed to arrive. Early the following morning, Mrs. Murphy asked her son-in-law William M’Neill to go to Gatton to find out why they had not returned. Michael had borrowed M’Neill's sulky for the outing and while on the Tent-Hill road to Gatton, M’Neill recognised his sulky's distinctive tracks (the result of a wobbling wheel) turning off the road through a sliprail.[1] M’Neill followed the tracks along a rough winding trail through wattle scrub for around .75 miles (1.21 km) before finding his missing relatives.

The crime

Michael Murphy, pictured in 1898.

M’Neill found the victims in a field 1.2 miles (1.9 km) from Gatton. Michael and Ellen were lying back to back, within 2 feet (0.61 m) of each other, Norah lay in the same east/west orientation, on a neatly spread rug, 28 feet (8.5 m) to the east. Both women had their hands tied behind their backs with handkerchiefs. Forming a triangle, the sulky faced south, 17.5 feet (5.3 m) from Michael and 36 feet (11 m) from Norah. The horse had been shot in the head and still lay between the shafts. Their legs were arranged with the feet pointing west. This signature behaviour has never been repeated in Australian crime and, like the Gatton Murders themselves, remains a mystery.[2]

Inexplicably,[3] M’Neill called at the Gilbert's "Brian Boru" hotel in Gatton (now the Imperial Hotel) and informed the patrons of the murder leading to a rush of up to forty people to the scene which possibly destroyed much of what little evidence there may have been. M’Neill then contacted Acting-sergeant William Arrell, who was in charge of the Gatton police station, who later arranged for police from Brisbane to attend. This led to further delays with the investigating officers not arriving until 48 hours after the discovery of the bodies.

The bodies were moved to the Gilbert's hotel and at 4pm Dr. Von Lossberg, the Government Medical Officer at Ipswich arrived and between 4-5pm began an autopsy. Michael had been shot and struck with a blunt instrument to the right side of the head. Ellen had her skull fractured by a two blows to the left side of her head. The wounds and position of the bodies when found indicated that Michael and Ellen were sitting upright and back-to-back when struck. Norah, had also been struck on the left side of her head, pulverising her skull to the extent that her brain was protruding. Norah also had a harness strap tied around her neck, tight enough to have caused death. It is alleged both women had been "outraged"(Raped).

Michael's purse

M’Neill later testified that when he first saw Michael's body, although his hands were not tied, it appeared his hands were tied behind his back at some time with one holding an open purse, but all other witnesses said his hands were not tied but that a breeching strap lay nearby and that an empty purse was lying a short distance from the body. When his body was removed from the site at about 1.30pm, Michael was now found to have the breeching strap between his [untied] hands with the empty purse held in one. Known to have had 15 shillings (2010:$100) in the purse the night before, it was speculated that someone may have untied Michael to access the purse: "Either Gilbert, one of the party, or M'Neill took the purse."[4] This has never been explained.

Exhumation and Contradictions

The original post mortems were conducted by the Government Medical Officer Dr. Von Lossberg with sergeant Arrell supervising. From interviews with people who had seen the bodies, Chief Inspector Stuart determined that Michael may have been shot in the head but this was not found by Dr. Von Lossberg despite claims that he had been asked to look for a bullet. Stuart ordered that all three bodies be exhumed and it was found that the original post mortems were no more than superficial examinations. Although decomposition was advanced it was now found that Michael had been shot in the right side of his head then later struck with a blunt instrument to the same spot so that the wound partially obscured the bullet hole. The bullet was recovered from the skull.[5]

Mr. Wiggins, J.P. testified that he had ordered the burials without an order for burial because he believed the post mortems had been completed and assumed that Von Lossberg had not carried any orders with him. Wiggins assumed an order would be forwarded from Ipswich. Sub-inspector Galbraith testified that Von Lossberg had told him that he had completed the post mortems and that he had asked if Von Lossberg had found a bullet. Galbraith stated that Von Lossberg had told him that he had found what looked like a bullet hole with no exit wound but couldn't find a bullet in the skull. Dr. Von Lossberg testified that he had told Galbraith that he had not performed a post mortem at all because he was suffering from blood poisoning and for him not to have the bodies buried. Clerk George Baines testified that he was present at this conversation and that Von Lossberg had not mentioned not completing the post mortems, his blood poisoning, or the request for Galbraith not bury the bodies. Von Lossberg replied that he had never seen Baines before in his life and that even if he had been present "what passed was said in a whisper."[5]

Failure of the police investigation

M’Neill contacted Sergeant Arrell at 9.15am on 27 December. Both men rode to the site where they remained for 30mins before Arrell returned to Gatton to send a telegram to the Brisbane Commissioner of police. Arrell took no notes while at the site, did not interview anyone present and made no effort to protect the site from the large number of people who had congregated. In Gatton, Arrell requested that the telegram be marked "urgent" only to be told that the police had no authority to send urgent telegrams; this was incorrect and Arrell was later criticized by a Royal Commission for not knowing he had that authority and also for waiting for the reply instead of returning immediately to the site with arrangements for the reply to be sent to him. The telegram was delivered to the Brisbane police headquarters at 12.52pm however, because it was a holiday, it was not opened until 9am the following morning (28 December).[6]

Suspects

Several people, including itinerant workers and family members, came under suspicion for the crime, but after a five-month investigation, no one was ever charged with the murders. The failure of the Queensland police to solve the crime led to accusations of cover-ups and rumours of incest within the Murphy family; these claims were also subsequently never resolved.

Aftermath

The crime caused shock and outrage across the country and the ineffective investigation, alleging the police released one possible suspect without comprehensive interrogation, this later became a subject of a Royal Commission in late 1899.

Several modern writers, including Australian author and crime researcher Stephanie Bennett, have suggested possible culprits.

1899 Royal Commission

The Royal Commission was largely concerned with shortcomings in the Queensland police force in general and to a lesser extent the failures of the police investigations into both the Oxley murder of 14 December and the Gatton murders on 26 December.

Daniel Murphy, a brother of the victims who was a police officer at Police headquarters had received a telegram from a family friend on 27 December informing him of the murders. Murphy applied for three days leave, had it granted and attempted to catch the 1pm train to Gatton but missed it. Returning to headquarters he went to the Criminal Investigation Branch but no action was taken by detectives as a rumour was circulating that the murders were a hoax. Murphy then caught the 5pm train to Gatton. When Inspector Urquhart, head of the C.I. Branch in Brisbane, opened Sergeant Arrell's telegram he took no action as he had heard the rumours of a hoax and had not been officially informed that there had been a murder. At 4pm Urquhart was informed that the murders were not a hoax, but as the information did not come through official channels did not inform the Commissioner until 9pm. The Commissioner ordered Urquhart to immediately take two detectives to Gatton, but despite a train leaving Brisbane at midnight, the team did not leave until 7.30am the following morning (29 December).[6] The Royal Commission found this sequence of events incomprehensible, indicative of the existence of a rotten system of policing and a culpable indifference on the part of the Inspector [Urquhart] to his duty to the public.[7]

Some evidence given before the Royal Commission pointed towards an itinerant labourer, Thomas Day, who had not been considered a suspect by the police investigation. Day lived in a hut around 900 feet (270 m) from the murder site. One local woman claimed she saw a man on foot chase the Murphy's sulky as it passed on its way to the dance. This man had been standing opposite sliprails blocking the little-known access road that led to the murder location, but was unable to identify him. Day had been seen by a number of people on earlier nights, walking along the road. Another witness claimed that he had seen Day washing blood from a pullover a few days later. Two weeks after the murders, Day asked the police if he was wanted for further investigation and was told no. The records show that he later enlisted in the military. It appears Day deserted in May 1899 and was never heard of again.

References

  1. ↑ A sliprail is a section of fence where the rails can be easily removed to allow vehicle access to paddocks.
  2. ↑ Whiticker, Alan J. (2005). Twelve Crimes That Shocked the Nation. ISBN 1-74110-110-7
  3. ↑ M’Neill testified before the Royal Commission held in late in 1899, that he called at the hotel to ask where he could find the police sergeant. The Commission criticized him for not going directly to the police station.
  4. ↑ 1899 Royal Commission: Notes
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 1899 Royal Commission: Post Mortem evidence
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 1899 Royal Commission: Testimony
  7. ↑ 1899 Royal Commission: Recommendations

Further reading