Mysterious LandCruiser sighting, different ammo to be probed in new coronial inquest into 1978 Spear Creek murders

A renewed inquest into the horrific triple murder of three people in the Queensland outback is set to probe a mysterious LandCruiser sighting in the days before greyhound trainers made a grim discovery in a creek. Family of Karen Edwards, Timothy Thomson and Gordon Twaddle packed Brisbane Coroners Court on Tuesday as an inquest into the trio’s deaths in the remote Gulf Country region back in the late 1970s began. Ms Edwards, 23, her boyfriend Mr Thomson, 31 and their friend Mr Twaddle, 21, were found dead with gunshot wounds at Spear Creek, near Mount Isa, in October 1978. The trio were on a motorcycle trip around Australia, travelling from Alice Springs, when their bodies were discovered. A prior inquest in 1980 failed to determine the circumstances of how they died or who was responsible. Cold case investigators, with the assistance of Mount Isa Criminal Investigation Branch, began a review into the unsolved 40-year-old homicide investigation in 2019. Counsel assisting the coroner Amelia Hughes on Tuesday told the court a large body of material – containing more than 1000 documents and 200 witness statements – would be received into evidence for coroner David O’Connell to consider his findings. Police job sheets dating back to 1978 were also tendered as part of the coronial brief. Ms Hughes clarified it was not necessary to call every single person who had provided information as a witness, either due to the evidence being uncontroversial or witnesses being too ill to give evidence or having died. “Almost 50 years have gone by since these events,” she said. “Inevitably, over time, people’s memories fade. What was once clear to a person may no longer be recalled or … (not) with the same level of clarity.” In her opening statement, Ms Hughes said Mr Thomson began working at the Hermannsburg Mission in the Northern Territory in June 1978. He was later joined by the New Zealand-born Mr Twaddle, who began working in Alice Springs. The court was told the pair had bonded over their shared love of motorcycles after meeting through family while Mr Thomson was living in Adelaide. Before his move to the NT, Mr Thomson bought a metallic red BMW R100 series motorcycle, which was driven up by Mr Twaddle along with his own Suzuki GS750 motorcycle. Both were taken by the riders on their trip, Ms Hughes said. Ms Hughes said Mr Thomson later became “discontent” working at the mission and was upset after his dog, Tristie, was shot. “It seems this incident with Mr Thomson’s dog was another factor in his decision to leave the mission,” Ms Hughes said. “In a letter dated September 20, 1978, he wrote he was riding his BMW motorcycle without it being registered, as it would cost too much to register in the Northern Territory.” She said Mr Thomson and Mr Twaddle decided to embark on a motorcycle trip to Mount Isa in Queensland. They were joined by Ms Edwards, who flew into Alice Springs from Melbourne, where she was studying, on September 30 that year to meet the pair. “After collecting Ms Edwards, it seems the three had no fixed itinerary – only, in fact, they intended to be back home by Christmas,” Ms Hughes said. On October 24, 1978, Stanley Harris and Kirsten Streicher were exercising their greyhound dogs near Spear Creek when one bolted after a wild pig. Ms Streicher stumbled across “what appeared to be a human body” in the creek before she and Mr Harris drove back into Mount Isa to alert authorities. That body was later identified as Mr Thomson, Ms Hughes said. The bodies of Ms Edwards and Mr Twaddle were found 50m from Mr Thomson’s body. The court was told the inquest would need to examine the travel movements of the trio, who made multiple stops along their way to Mount Isa and were sighted multiple times. One in particular involved stopping at the Moondarra Caravan Park on October 4, 1978 and being visited by a “brown and white” Toyota LandCruiser, which all three left in. Ms Hughes said evidence would be given that the same LandCruiser visited Mr Thomson while he was working at the Hermannsburg Mission. The driver of the vehicle has never been identified, the court was told. A 1980 police report into the trio’s deaths determined this driver – described as a “dark-haired, bearded man” – was responsible and shot all three to death. Post-mortem examinations found each died from a gunshot wound to the head, consistent from being fired from a .22 calibre rifle. Ms Hughes said a scientific officer had suggested two different types of ammunition could have been used due to the projectile recovered from Mr Thomson’s body showing copper guiding, while the projectile recovered from Mr Twaddle’s body did not. “The officer could also not rule out the possibility the projectiles were from a .22 calibre long ammunition,” Ms Hughes said. “This was because it is uncertain whether the whole projectile had been recovered from each of the deceased. “The scientific officer also found that the projectiles did not carry enough rifling markings to make a comparison with the murder weapon should it later be found.” Police located the trio’s personal items in 44-gallon drums outside the entrance to the Mount Isa city dump. Mr Thomson’s BMW motorcycle was found in the possession of a man, Bruce Preston, who was charged with stealing it but wasn’t involved in the murders, police said. He was convicted and fined $300. The inquest is scheduled to run for 10 days.