The mysterious disappearances along the Rabbit Proof Fence | Forensic Files

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[Music] our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents if you feel at any time you need support
please contact your local crisis center for suggested phone numbers for confidential support please see the show
notes for this episode on your app or on our website [Music] the murchison is a large bio region in
the state of western australia that's known for its agricultural and mining prospects
spanning across 281 000 square kilometers the region is home to many small sparsely populated towns
but consists mostly of rugged outback and arid bushland during the western australian gold rush
of the late 1800s many people flocked to the area in the hopes of securing a fortune
which resulted in the construction of several towns that were later abandoned when the short-lived gold rush ended
afterwards there was little work available except for agricultural workers sheepshearers camel and horse breakers
blacksmiths and boundary riders who were employed to maintain the outer edges of sheep and
cattle stations by the turn of the 20th century rabbits from the country's eastern states had
made their way across the desert and into western australia's agricultural areas european settlers had introduced
rabbits to australia more than a hundred years earlier and they eventually became an invasive
pest that caused significant damage to the country's ecology and farmland to combat what became known as
the grey plague the western australian government decided to build the world's longest
fence which stretched all the way from the north coast to the south coast in 1902 construction of the first phase
began in the small wheat belt town of baracopen which became the major administration center for the fence
a 20-foot wide line was cleared through the bush all the way south to a small bay called
starvation boat harbour and the mesh fence was then erected two feet west of the center of the line
12-foot gates were installed at designated intervals to allow passage through the fence wooden posts were also
added every mile each marked with a number that represented the distance from borocopen
in 1905 the second phase began with the remainder of the fence being built from baracopin to the far north
coast of western australia stretching for 1820 kilometers it became known as the number
one rabbit-proof fence the number two fence was completed in april of 1905 and was 1150 kilometers long
it began on the south coast approximately 112 kilometers west of the number one fence
and essentially ran parallel to it before turning east and joining the first fence at gum creek
the number three fence which was completed in 1907 started near geraldton and extended 256
kilometers east until it met the number two fans collectively the rabbit-proof fence was
3237 kilometers long and building it had cost the equivalent of around 83 million australian dollars
in today's currency a government sub-department was established to supervise the constant
maintenance of the fence the maintenance team included a chief inspector sub-inspector camel drivers rabbit
hunters and boundary riders fines were issued to anyone caught leaving the gates along
the fence open and it was also an offence for any member of the public to use any of its
maintenance tracks scattered along the fence were small government-owned stations and homesteads where
maintenance supplies watersheds and other facilities were housed caretakers at the stations typically
lived a lonely existence as it was common for weeks to go by in which they wouldn't encounter another
person or vehicle transient workers travelers and the gold prospectors passing through the area
would either stay at the stations or at one of the many campsites along the rabbit-proof fence
which had bores containing fresh groundwater although the outback was isolated and
sparsely populated work was available in the small towns and stations along the fence for men who
were willing to tough it out in the harsh conditions due to the lack of communication systems
at the time and the transient nature of these communities it wasn't unusual for people to leave
without ever being heard from again [Music] [Music] leslie george brown was born in 1903
in the new zealand city of gisborne he received a good education and grew up to be a well-spoken and presented
young man standing at five foot eight inches tall leslie had a medium build curly brown
hair and the blue eyes in december 1926 he married a woman named minnie and the couple went on to have two children
a daughter named faye and a son named desmond the marriage was an unhappy one and
after a few years leslie and minnie separated minnie returned her wedding ring to leslie
who continued to wear it on the pinky finger of his right hand it was agreed that minnie would support
herself while leslie provided for the children but this arrangement proved difficult
given that he was unemployed and virtually broke left with few other options leslie
boarded his children with the salvation army at the beginning of 1930 he'd heard rumors that there were jobs
available in western australia's outback but any able-bodied man who was willing
to work and decided to explore this opportunity eager for a fresh start he applied for a
passport in the false name of louis john caron which he intended to go by from then on
and set sail for western australia with a stopover in adelaide on february 6 1930 leslie brown
now known as louis coron arrived in fremantle a port city 20 kilometers southwest of
perth in western australia during his journey he'd been robbed of what little cash he
had and left with nothing but a few personal belongings he went to a pawn broker in perth and
pawned a suit one of his only items of value for 15 shillings which would amount to 90 australian
dollars in today's currency at the perth railway station louis ran into a man named
jack lemmon who had traveled to perth from adelaide on the same boat as louis as they were both looking for work they
decided to team up and head to the murchison region together it was a long journey that would take
them more than two weeks to complete during which they'd have to sleep rough to make their money
last longer jack was in a similar financial position to louis and only had two pounds or the
equivalent of 240 australian dollars in today's currency desperate for money louis sent a
telegram to a friend in new zealand explaining his dire financial situation and asking for a loan
he requested that the money be telegraphed to geraldton a coastal city approximately 400
kilometers west of the murchison region after louis sent the telegram the two men began their long
journey louie and jack took the suburban rattler train from perth to the midland junction railway
station where they then set off on foot carrying their belongings in swags they spent the next few days hitching
rides where possible and were occasionally provided with food along the way jack drank pots of beer while louis who
didn't drink alcohol favored the lemon squash without much money to spend on accommodation
they made do with what they could find on one occasion they slept in a wheat sack while another time they tried to
sleep in some sand dunes but were thwarted by ants once they arrived in geraldton louis
received the funds that had been sent by his friend in new zealand giving him a total of five pounds or the
equivalent of around 600 australian dollars today the two men used some of this money to
send their heavy swags ahead on a freight train to the murchison gold mining town
of mount magnon they then walked and hitched the remainder of the way mount magnet was located near the 206
mile gate of the number one rabbit proof fence when louis and jack arrived in town they
gathered their belongings and began visiting the local stations looking for work
within a few days jack secured a short-term job working as a station hand at naobara
station while louis found work at wiji station the two had forged a strong friendship
during their time on the road and while in their new jobs they began writing to one another fortnightly
louis was an avid letter writer and also wrote regularly to his family and friends back home in new zealand
by mid-1930 the murchison area was feeling the impact of the depression and many station hands lost their jobs
including louis he wasn't overly concerned as he was confident it wouldn't take him long to
find another job on his search for employment he planned to travel to the hamlet of campion
where jack lemmon was now living to pay him a visit jack was staying at the fountain a
stockman's hut and out camp located alongside the rabbit-proof fence between camel station and anandi
station it was a remote area characterized by desert sands mulga scrub and acacia trees and it
mostly had winding bush tracks instead of paved roads the closest towns were paynesville a
one-stop former gold mining town 120 kilometers to the north and you and me another former mining
town 65 kilometers north east via bush tracks jack lemmon was thrilled when he heard
that louis was heading his way he mentioned the news to snowy roles a 27 year old
self-employed dogger and fox trapper who had been coming and going from the fountain campsite
snowy asked jack whether louis might be interested in working with him as his offsider
this idea pleased jack as he liked snowy and was happy that louis would be able to stay in the area
snowy had been working throughout the murchison since 1928 and had earned a reputation as a skilled
bushman and respected jack of all trades he had a charming disposition and was known for his keen sense of humor
composed temperament and willingness to oblige louis arrived at the fountain campsite
on may 17 1930 and he jack and snowy stayed up chatting well into the evening louis was
in good spirits and at one point he mentioned that he had recently made several purchases
including a pair of high quality hair clippers he'd also sent two of his watches to
perth for repairs and had paid to buy his suit back from the pawn broker though he still needed to collect it
he also flashed his final widget station paycheck for 25 pounds which was the equivalent of around 3 000
australian dollars in today's currency the money amounted to approximately five weeks pay
and louis aimed to live off it for the next two months this seemed possible as he didn't drink
or have a car to maintain he agreed to work as snowy's offsider until something more permanent arose
and the two decided to see what job opportunities were available in the remote town of waluna
the following day the men loaded up snowy's 1926 dodge utility truck and took turns
posing for photos in front of the vehicle louie told jack he'd return in around five weeks
then he and snowy headed off towards waluna five weeks passed but jack didn't see or
hear from louie again this was unusual as the two wrote to one another regularly
in june jack heard through the grapevine that snowy was back in the you and me area
so he sent a reply paid telegram to snowy care of the unme post office inquiring as to louie's whereabouts
with a population of around 45 you and me offered nothing more than a general store a post office
a bank a pub a cafeteria and a small hospital meaning it was nearly impossible for
anyone to pass by unnoticed jack explained that the telegram was urgent but he never received a response
on august 9 jack wrote a letter directly to snowy snowy replied explaining that he had
responded to the original telegram and was unsure why jack didn't receive it he said that he and louis had first
traveled to mount magnan but louis had then continued on his own into geraldton louis had promised snowy he would send
some photographs but snowy never heard from him again snowy urged jack to come for a visit
writing i will explain to you better i'm no good at writing letters as you can see by this
i'll be going away for a few weeks i'll write when i come back the letter did nothing to ease jack's
concerns it made sense to him that louis would have traveled to geraldton but he couldn't understand why he would
stop writing if everything was okay jack wrote to geraldton inquiring about his friend
but with no result he also wrote to the pawnbrokers in perth to see if louis had collected his suit
yet but he had not by this point jack was growing increasingly worried about his friend's safety
[Music] meanwhile in the new zealand city of dunedin louie's friend w.a jackson was also
worried he hadn't heard from louis since may which was suspicious given how prolific he was at letter
writing jackson wrote directly to the mount magnet police who got his letter on december 31 1930
due to the transient nature of many workers in the area and to the limited means of
communication available the police were accustomed to receiving many such inquiries every year
as most of the people in question turned up in due course no further action was taken to
find louis almost a month later on january 21 1931 jack spoke with constable walter
hearn of the mount magnet police he reported that his friend louis quran hadn't written to him since
leaving the fountain out camp in may of 1930 constable hearn recalled the letter he'd
received a few weeks earlier from w.a jackson of dunedin who was also inquiring about louis
the constable was due to take annual leave but decided to postpone his departure
so that he could get to the bottom of the matter on february 17 1931 constable hearn was joined by constable
christopher mcarthur who was a veteran bushman and the two set out to make enquiries
they travelled 320 kilometers north of mount magnet to waluna the location where louis and snowy had
initially told jack they were heading to look for work no one in waluna recalled ever seeing
the two men so constables hearn and macarthur headed south down the rabbit-proof fence
to camel station where they set up their investigation headquarters the police soon learned that on may 20
1930 two days after leaving the fountain out camp snowy rolls had driven through
paynesville and stopped at the town pub which was owned by ted and laura moses he asked laura if she could cash a check
for 25 pounds but laura didn't have enough money to do so she advised snowy to speak to her
husband ted who indicated they would have enough cash later that day at around six o'clock in the evening snowy
returned to the pub and told ted he also needed petrol and supplies he agreed it could wait until morning
and decided to spend the night in one of the pub's rooms the following morning snowy loaded his
dodge with petrol groceries a pair of boots a gold panning dish and a few other small items
to pay for his haul he handed over a check for 25 pounds that was made out in the name of louis
carron when ted asked who louis was snowy replied he's my mate we're camped out in the
bush and is looking after the fox traps he's probably thirsty by now i'd better get some beer for him
after placing the beer in the car ted accepted the check and gave snowy his change in the form of
a 17 pound check and some small cash snowy gave the dodge some maintenance and told
ted that he was heading towar luna he then drove out of paynesville but instead of heading north to
he turned south towards you and me constable hearn interviewed jimmy and charlotte jones
who owned the general store in you and me they confirmed that snowy roles had arrived in town a few days after leaving
fountain camp with louie but nobody in you and me had actually seen louie [Music]
the police soon learned that snowy was now working at hill view station near mecca thorough a small town 190
kilometers north of mount magnet the constables worked their way along the bush tracks from the fountain out
camp in order to retrace snowy's route to paynesville and on to you and me even though more
than nine months had passed since louie and snowy left on their journey tire marks remained in the area
for a long period of time due to the isolation and the police were hoping to find some
clues they eventually reached the 183 mile gate on the number one rabbit proof fence
which was located in an isolated spot populated by dense narrow leaf to mulga shrubs the gate was
rarely used as it merely opened to a remote 800 meter track that led to a small iron hut and
campsite that had no access to water a boundary rider was required to check on the heart's condition
twice a year but other than that people seldom had any reason to visit and few likely knew of its existence
after deliberating whether or not to check out the campsite the constables decided to venture
through the gate and down the track 300 meters west of the hut was a dysfunctional water bore
and within the vicinity of this bore the constables found evidence of a large fire having been burned
they scoured the ashes and soon found a number of bone fragments including what appeared to be pieces of
a human skull they also found animal bones charred woolen material and a button made of bone
after detecting the remnants of ash trails the constables followed them deeper into the bush where they
discovered two more piles of ash the grass under these piles hadn't been burned indicating that the ashes had been
dumped at these locations rather than burned there among the ash the constables found artificial teeth
gold clips from a dental plate metal eyelets from a pair of shoes and a wedding ring
convinced they had discovered evidence of foul play constables hearn and macarthur sent the
evidence back to the mount magnant police station detective sergeant harry manning a
revered investigator from the perth criminal investigation department who had spent many years working in the
bush was assigned to lead the case he departed for mount magnet immediately and after arriving on march 1 1931
he and constable hearn returned to the 183 mile gate to conduct a more thorough examination of the camp
[Music] inspection of the main fire site determined it had measured eight feet by six feet with the ground
underneath burnt to a depth of three inches a nearby coffee tin had been severely
scorched on one side indicating the fire had been very intense the officers sifted through the ashes
using a fine mesh sieve and discovered more bone fragments a molar tooth and several unusual
wire stitches detective manning also inspected the camp oven near the main fire and
noticed that ash was stuck to the outside to him this suggested that the oven had
been used to transport some of the ashes to the other two piles tire tracks from a car or truck led from
the 183 mile gate to the side of the fire and then back again the officers returned to town and
detective manning started gathering witness statements louie's friend jack lemmon confirmed
that louis had false teeth as he had seen him clean them on several occasions detective manning began inquiring with
dentists and orthodontists throughout western australia and new zealand he soon discovered that a dentist named
arthur william sims had constructed dentures for louis that consisted of a complete lower set
of artificial teeth and a partial upper set that could be fixed to louie's existing teeth
using two gold clips similar to those found in the ashes jack lemmon also confirmed that louis
wore a wedding ring that was quote so tightly fitting that he once said he would have to have it filed off
detective manning tracked down louis's ex-wife minnie brown in new zealand who said her
former husband's wedding ring had been bought from a jeweller named a.t long mr long
examined the ring found in the ashes and determined that its unique markings and
parent number confirmed it had been made in new zealand he also recognised the visible
discoloration in a join on the ring which had been made by one of his inexperienced employees
during the resizing process mr long recalled that it had been resized at louis quran's request
confirming it to be his wedding ring detective manning learned that prior to louie's disappearance
he had sent two of his watches for repairs to a jeweler in perth named levinson and sans on april 11
1930 one was an open faced omega pocket watch and the other was a wristwatch detective manning contacted levinson and
sons who had recorded details of the repair in their register after the watches were
repaired they were returned on april 29 in a cardboard box the box had been constructed using wire
stitches similar to those found in the ashes of the fire the manufacturer of the box that
contained louie's repaired watches recognized the stitches as they had a slight defect
that matched the floor in one of his machines levinson and sons also said that on june
29 1930 a jeweler from mount magnet named fleming and co had sent them louise same
two watches seeking further repairs detective manning spoke to the owner of fleming and co
who confirmed that the person who had brought the watches to him for repair was snowy rolls louise travel companion
when he was last seen leaving the fountain out camp on may 18 1930 detective manning followed the trail
that snowy and louis had initially set out on he covered hundreds of kilometers filling books with notes about various
places distances dates and names eventually he had the name of every working man who was in the district at
the time of louis's disappearance word had it that snowy roles was currently employed on hillview station
those who knew him described him as a man of excellent character and a fine bushman detective manning
learnt that snowy had purchased his 1926 dodge utility truck from a man named james ryan
who had since left the district according to locals james ryan had left bernandi station with a man named george
lloyd in early december of 1929 and neither of the men had been seen for almost 18 months
james ryan was a former sailor aged in his early 50s known as a tough man he was five feet
eight inches tall heavily tattooed and spoke with a thick cockney accent he'd arrived in the murchison area
around 1920 rumors spread that he had deserted the royal navy to work in kalgoorlie's gold
mines for years james had mostly been based at the former gold rush sites of payne's
fine and mount magnon where he was known for being a conscientious worker and an excellent singer he was also
known to drink a lot and had been arrested a number of times for drunkenness as well as thrown out of all three pubs
in mount magnon on various occasions in mid-1929 james traveled to perth to purchase a 1926 dodge touring car
that had been converted into a light utility truck he drove it north to nandi station to
begin his next work assignment he was hired by the station manager hermann bogle
to build a fence along the eastern edge of the station james set up camp at the newly
constructed charlie bore a campsite and water access site that contained little other than a water tank a shed
and yards his first task was to clear a long strip of land through the mulga scrub known as a
skyline and then erect the fence down the centre it would take approximately four months
of solid work which meant james was scheduled to finish the job just before christmas of
1929 this was perfectly timed as james intended to spend the festive season in perth with a
female friend he hired an offsider named doug bell to assist him whom he ultimately sacked a few months
later in september 1929 30 year old george lloyd had arrived in the murchison area
after a long and arduous drive from his hometown of adelaide south australia this was an epic
journey at the time as there were no constructed roads and all travellers had to take their own
supplies and fuel george was a tall fit young man with fair hair who was married with two children
a motor mechanic by trade he had headed to the western australian outback after struggling to find work in
adelaide and was prepared to tackle any kind of job he soon accepted a position as james ryan's new offsider
and to celebrate james started on a drinking bander george abstained as he didn't drink
alcohol snowy rolls had also been working at nandi station around at the same time but he resigned
in early december 1929 he'd heard that james ryan had sacked his previous offsider doug
bell and was looking for a replacement snowy unaware that the position had already been filled
set off to take on the job on december 6 he drove out to camel station looking for james
only to be told he had passed through two weeks earlier on his way to perth to stock up on supplies
knowing that james was a heavy drinker snowy predicted he wouldn't have yet made it past the pub
at the wheatbelt town of baracopan and headed there in search of him driving his old hutmobile snowy only
made it as far as the 100 mile post on the rabbit-proof fence before his vehicle broke down
he decided to walk to a rainshed located at the 96 mile point and wait for james or another traveler
to pass through when snowy arrived at the shed he found a noisy party in full swing
those in attendance included an acquaintance by the name of george richie who was in charge of camel station and
responsible for keeping the buildings and equipment in working order james ryan and george lloyd were also
there like james george richie was a big drinker and his wild drunken behavior had put
him under the dog act which meant he was banned from all the pubs in the region it turned out that the trio had been
traveling along the rabbit-proof fans making their way through a stash of booze they'd purchased
george lloyd was the only sober one snowy was disappointed that james ryan had already found a new off-cider
but was grateful for the company and for a lift back to camel station he helped james and george richie finish
their booze and at the four camped at the rain shed overnight the next morning of december 7 1929
both james ryan and george richie were too hungover to drive so george lloyd drove james in his dodge
and snowy drove george richie in georgia's truck late in the afternoon the convoy rolled into camel station
where they all camped the night the following day snowy james and george lloyd loaded up the dodge and headed to
james's camp at charlie boar during the evening james entertained the men by singing
while george lloyd played along on his brand new accordion on december 9 the trio drove to the 100
mile post to pick up snowy's broken down hupmobile they brought it back to camel station
and left it in the shed there before returning to charlie board the next day the manager of nandi
station hermann bogle drove to charlie boar to check on the progress james ryan had made to the fence
when he arrived snowy was the only one there he explained that james and george lloyd
were out in the scrub cutting the skyline for the fence satisfied that the work was progressing
hermann headed back to nandi the following day of december 11 a mineral prospector named
james yates decided to camp the night at watson's gate another stopping point along the
rabbit-proof fence there he noticed to james ryan's dodge parked at the gate loaded up with supplies
mr yates knew both the james and snowy well and he soon spotted snowy drinking some
water snowy told him that james was a few kilometers west in the bush at yalanga bore collecting timber to
build a yard that evening snowy left in the dodge heading north this struck mr yates is odd if james was
out west as snowy had said then it didn't make sense that snowy had driven away in a different direction
mr yates decided to investigate the next morning he followed the dodgers tire tracks and
found that snowy had made his own route through the scrub purposely avoiding camel station
his tracks eventually linked up with charlie boar indicating that he never went to
yelangabor where he claimed james ryan was looking for timber mr yates was confused as to why snowy
had a lied he drove over to camel station to discuss the matter with the george richie
who was an old maid of his the two men were puzzled they wondered whether james and snowy
had perhaps discovered gold in the bush and were trying to keep it a secret eight days later on december 21 nandi
station manager hermann bogle arrived at charlie boar the fence was expected to be nearing completion
however herman discovered no one at the job site james ryan george lloyd and snowy rolls
were missing herman assumed they must have gone to boracan perhaps for a christmas bender
he searched the site and found a crowbar and a couple of shovels which he recognized as belonging to
james herman was annoyed as james owed him some money and had also borrowed his compass and
still surveying tape which hermann wanted back herman returned to charlie boar three
days later to check if james had returned but it appeared as though he and to the
others had cleared out for good leaving the fencing job unfinished arthur upfield was born in england in
1890 and by age 20 had been sent to australia by his father in the hopes that he would prove himself
as a man he spent several years working in the outback accepting whatever jobs came his way
including boundary rider shiraz cook fur trapper bullock driver and opal gouger arthur was a keen writer who spent his
spare time penning manuscripts his first novel a thriller titled the house of cain was
published in london in 1928 and his publisher quickly commissioned him to write three
more novels after completing his second book arthur traveled to mount magnan where he
secured a job as fence runner and camel breaker at camel station as the southern boundary rider he was
responsible for the portion of the number one rabbit-proof fence that stretched 163
miles south from camel station down to baracopan it was during this time that he met
snowy roles who was working as a casual station hand fox hunter and horse breaker in the area
by late 1929 arthur had heard snowy was constructing a stretcher fence line in the northwest with the james ryan and
george lloyd on december 23 arthur arrived in the town of you and me where he spotted snowy roles on the
steps of the you and me hotel snowy informed arthur that james ryan had quit the fencing job
because he owed station manager hermann bogle too much money snowy george and james had left the area
and traveled to mount magnon where the ladder decided to stay james let snowy burrow his dodge to
drive to you and me for christmas snowy had since picked up temporary work at the local hotel
where he also stayed after crossing paths with arthur upfield snowy ran into arthur's mate and
boundary rider counterpart lance madison he told lance that james had sold him the dodge for 75
pounds or the equivalent of about 9 000 australian dollars in today's currency neither lance nor arthur found snowy's
comments suspicious and didn't mention his conflicting stories to one another they both knew he was in the market for
a new vehicle given his hup mobile had died and that he had family in perth who had sent him
money in the past additionally they knew how much james ryan loved to drink and thought he'd be willing to sell the
shirt off his back in order to afford more booze it also made sense to arthur and lance
that george lloyd could have stayed in mount magnet to keep an eye on his friend
days later on december 26 a prospector named ted may bumped into snowy driving the
dodge in you and me ted recognised the vehicle as he had worked for james ryan earlier that year
surprised to see snowy driving it he asked after james to which snowy replied last i heard he
was in mount magnon he was talking about going up to waluna so i expect that's where he is now i bought the
truck off him for 80 pounds snowy continued working at the unme hotel until february 10 1930 after which he
returned to the rabbit proof fence where he worked as a freelance fox hunter and
dog trapper he mostly stayed in the you and me dromedary hills area but occasionally ventured further afield
one day he bumped into james ryan's former offsider doug bell who asked whether james was in town
snowy said the last time he had seen james was in nandi and he believed he was heading to
boracan from there he told doug that james had owed him 30 pounds which he didn't have so snowy had struck
up a deal to clear the debt paying james 40 pounds in exchange for the dodge in april 1930 snowy made his way to the
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best fiends detective manning was now certain that louis quran had met with vowel play
after leaving the fountain camp with snowy roles and he continued his investigation into
the new zealander's disappearance and suspected death during detective manning's inquiries
he also learned another interesting detail according to arthur upfield and a few of
his associates arthur had been working on his fourth manuscript in the months leading up to
james ryan and george lloyd's disappearance it was a follow-up to his second novel
the baraki mystery which focused on a murder investigation conducted by a fictional character
named detective inspector napoleon bonaparte known simply as boney the character of detective boney was
based on a friend of arthurs an indigenous man named leon whose mother had been murdered when he was a
baby consequently leon had been raised on a queensland mission and was later employed as a tracker with the
queensland police barracky mystery experienced the moderate success and arthur upfield planned to write more
novels in the detective bony series by mid-1929 he started brainstorming ideas for his next book
as arthur understood it a murder mystery required three key plot points the discovery of a
corpse followed by a detective beginning their investigation and then finally the killer being
identified and arrested wanting to be original arthur questioned whether the first plot point was even
necessary to his story without a victim's body detective boney would have to prove
a murder had been committed along with how and by whom resulting in a unique take on an
otherwise predictable narrative while the idea was very attractive to arthur he quickly realised the practical
difficulties the biggest problem was how the killer could dispose of a body so thoroughly as to leave no trace
most real-life murderers had failed to do so despite all their ingenuity arthur contemplated
the use of a crematorium or bath of corrosive acid but ruled them out as they weren't resources that the
average person in his fictionalized though realistic australian outback story would have access to
one night in the winter of 1929 arthur was playing cards with the george richie at camel station homestead
when he asked a george for a good way of completely destroying a human body without leaving any trays
george suggested the killer lure the victim into the bush shoot him and then burn the body clothes
and all after a few days the killer could return to the bush with a sieve and sift through the ashes to find any
metal parts and remaining bone fragments the metal objects could be thrown down a
well while the bones could be crushed to dust using a dolly pot a manual device used
to crush rock specimens when panning for gold and other minerals the killer could then shoot and burn a
couple of kangaroos on top of the same ash pile as a disguise arthur marvelled at the simplicity of
his friend's method but viewed it as too perfect if there was no evidence of a corpse
arthur questioned how detective boney could prove to a judge or jury that a murder had even been committed
the police and courts would require some identifiable remains before they could charge a suspect with murder
arthur decided that the killer would have to make a mistake as there needed to be evidence no matter
how small he offered to pay george richie one pound or the equivalent of around 120
australian dollars in today's currency if he could identify an error in the killer's disposal plan
george richie was determined to find a solution and reap the reward a few weeks later he ran into snowy
rolls who was on his motorbike near camel station george was carrying a rifle and without
providing any context he asked hey snow if i was to shoot you stone dead drag your body over to that dead scrub
burn it thoroughly then come back tomorrow with a sieve and go through the ashes for the bones and
the metal objects on your clothes dump the metal objects down a well and dolly your bones to dust
how could my crime be discovered snowy looked afraid and rode away on his motorbike without responding
he arrived at camel station where he found arthur upfield and told him about the odd exchange
he feared george richie had gone mad and wanted to shoot him amused arthur explained his new
detective bony project and to the offer he had made to george to come up with a flaw in his otherwise
perfect murder scenario arthur openly discussed his conundrum to others and it became a talking point during a
small party held at camel station in october 1929. everyone in attendance including snowy
tried to come up with a solution despite their best efforts they were unable to find
fault in george richie's idea arthur started to give up then one morning while he was preoccupied with these
camels he had an epiphany his fictional killer would not be aware that his victim had a small silver plate
in his head that was used to repair a wall wound when the killer shot the victim in the head
arthur decided the little silver plate would be sent flying to be eventually found by detective
boney bony would then be able to deduce that the missing victim was dead arthur also fine-tuned the disposal of
any remaining metal fragments with the body so that instead of throwing them down a
disused well his fictional killer would dissolve them in nitric acid small jars of which were available at
the stations in the area the plot was finally complete arthur began writing the manuscript
which he titled the sands of windy to detective manning it didn't appear to be a coincidence that louis quran had
been disposed of in the same manner described in arthur's upcoming novel armed with this new information he
returned to nandi with constable hearn and the duo drove down to james ryan's former campsite at charlie boar
it was a remote area 800 meters west of the rabbit-proof fence that was very rarely used
at the camp they discovered the remnants of eight fire sites similar to those where louis caron's
remains were found the officers scoured the ashes and found some metal eyelets from pairs of shoes
metal parts from an accordion and various bone fragments that were badly burned and broken
the bone fragments were so damaged that it was impossible to determine whether they were human
or animal however the presence of the shoe islets and accordion pieces convinced the officers there was a high
probability they were human and belonged to james ryan and george lloyd had the men
chosen to vacate the camp without their shoes or george's accordion they would have simply left these items
behind instead of burning them furthermore it made no sense for them to depart into the dense bushland
without their shoes as snowy rolls was the last man seen with the james and george
and was now driving james's dodge detective manning concluded that snowy had likely murdered both men as well as
louis coron although it was unlikely that snowy was motivated to commit the murders by
arthur upfield's fictional plot there was a high chance the novel had provided the inspiration
as it was highly improbable that all three men had been killed in separate fits of rage
detective manning determined that the deaths were calculated and had been financially motivated
in early march 1931 detective manning and constable hearn traveled with constable thomas penn from
the maker therapist to hillview station looking for snowy roles after learning he was stationed at an
out camp several miles from the hill view homestead the officers dressed undercover in worn
bushmen's clothing and made their way to the camp when they arrived snowy wasn't at his
heart so they kept a discreet presence the following afternoon at 2 30 snowy drove up in a lightweight horse-drawn
cart known as a sulky detective manning was a short distance away in the bush the constables hearn and pen were
sitting in their car nearby they watched as snowy unharnessed the horses from the sulky and led them
away the constables approached the cart and found a 22-bore rifle in the back when snowy returned to
the sulky after a short absence constable hearn was casually examining the rifle
at this point detective manning arrived on the scene to his surprise he recognized snowy
roles as none other than john thomas smith a convicted criminal who was wanted for
escaping from del wolenu prison in 1928 he asked snowy how long he had been going by the name
rolls snowy who evidently also recognized detective manning replied you know very well who i am and if i had
known who you were you wouldn't have got me so easily the officers said that they were looking
for louis coron james ryan and george lloyd all three of whom were last seen in snowy's company
when snowy was asked where he'd gotten the dodge utility truck that was in the shed
he explained he'd purchased it from james ryan snowy let the officers into his hut
where they found two loaded 32 boar rifles detective manning asked snowy if everything in the hut was his
to which he said yes except for the rifles the sewing machine and the gramophone
[Music] the officers gave snowy permission to cook himself some food while they searched the hut
in the drawer of the sewing machine they found a pair of expensive hair clippers
which snowy claimed to have bought from a traveling salesman one of the officers found a parcel
wrapped in newspaper sitting high on a shelf when he reached for it snowy said where the hell did you get
that i know nothing about it inside the parcel was a wristwatch three shirts a watch chain a pair of scissors and a
razor marked as being made in new zealand the officers also searched the dodge and
found an open face to watch that snowy claimed was already there when he purchased
the vehicle from james ryan as there was an outstanding warrant for snowy's arrest from the darwolo new
jailbreak he was informed that he would be returned to custody after finishing his meal he asked for
permission to change into a blue surge suit detective manning pointed out that this was unnecessary given the long
dusty ride ahead but eventually agreed the four men then drove 130 kilometers to the mykathara police station where
snowy rolls aka john thomas smith was returned to custody [Music] john thomas smith was born in western
australia on august 8 1905 to parents ernest and catherine he was one of seven children and the
family lived in a rented house in the suburb of north perth as a child john had white blonde hair which earned him the
lifelong nickname of snowy although intelligent he was a lazy student and prone to petty
theft by the age of 11 he was already known to the police and had appeared in children's court
three times snowy left school at age 14 and worked sporadically as an unskilled labourer he was almost always broke
and continued to get in trouble with the law by the time he was 20 years old snowy
had accumulated a string of fines predominantly for theft and unlawful possession
he acquired a motorcycle and whenever it needed a new seat he simply stole one from someone else's bike and installed
it on his own in april 1926 snowy robbed two employees from the wa boot manufacturing company as they
returned from the national bank carrying a briefcase full of cash for the weekly paychecks
the briefcase contained 333 pounds which would amount to approximately 40 000 australian dollars in today's
currency snowy was arrested found guilty of the crime and sentenced to two and a half years
imprisonment with hard labor he was released less than two years later on february 2
1928 at the age of 22. five months later he broke into a cooperative store in the small wheat
belt town of nangaran and stole some food a suitcase and clothing four days after that he and another man
burgled a store in the remote town of dao wolinyu taking seven pounds the equivalent of
around 840 australian dollars today as well as an assortment of goods and clothing
the police found a can of petrol and angelic knight left behind at the scene it appeared as
though the culprits had intended to blow up the shop safe but abandoned their plan at the last
minute snowy and his accomplice thomas wilson were found hiding in the bush and were placed under arrest they were
taken to dao walinu where they were charged and held in the wooden lockup behind
the police station on july 23 detective manning was dispatched from perth to appear at their committal
hearing before the district magistrate during which both men were committed to stand trial in perth
the following day of july 24 detective manning returned to perth to organize secure transport for the two thieves
that evening an officer entered snowy and wilson's cell to deliver their dinner but the men knocked the tray into the
office's face and bolted out of the open cell door they fled into the darkness as police
brandishing rifles pursued them wilson was hit and injured by one of the officer's bullets
so he surrendered while snowy escaped into the night the next day the only trace the police
could find of him was a report of a stolen horse the search eventually wound down but the
warrant for snowy's arrest remained active snowy soon found himself a motorcycle
and made his way to the murchison district where he adopted the name stanley rolls while continuing
to go by his nickname of snowy with snowy now held in the maker thorough lockup on account of his
outstanding arrest warrant detective manning questioned him about the trip he took with louis coron
snowy claimed that after leaving the fountain campsite the two men spent the night camping at
windermere the following day snowy went to paynesville to cash louie's check and
pick up supplies before spending the night at the paynesville hotel on the third day he returned to
windermere where he and louis began work shooting kangaroos on day four the two men travelled to
mount magnan where they parted company that night snowy slept by the roadside and then
continued on to you and me the following day detective manning then questioned him
about his time spent with the james ryan and george lloyd snowy claimed that after leaving nandi
station in early december the trio travelled to chalibor camp where they stayed for several nights
on their third day there james and george made a day trip to nandi and when they returned all three men
started to cut the skyline for the fence on day four james was having trouble with the tyres on his dodge
so snowy rode his motorcycle to nandi to retrieve the puncture repair kit the next day he fixed the puncture and a
man named herman bogle paid a visit to charlie boar james was working on the fence about two
kilometers down the track at the time and didn't see herman which he was relieved about as he owed
herman quite a bit of money snowy james and george stayed at chalibor for a few more days
before deciding to leave on the eighth day when they reached the 202 mile gate the
dodge broke down so they camped out on the track for the night the following day some men in two
separate vehicles drove by saying they were heading north james and george decided to hit a ride with the
men and james sold his dodge to snowy according to snowy that was the last he ever saw of either
of the men after snowy signed his statement he remarked a man must have a kink to do this sort
of thing i am sorry i did not take my old lady's advice she wanted me to give myself up when i
escaped from dao walinu and if i'd taken her advice i would have had that all over by now
and would not have had this other thing to face manning asked what other thing he was
referring to as snowy was only being held on his outstanding arrest warrant and hadn't yet been charged with
anything else snowy replied oh the less said about that the better snowy was taken to perth to stand trial
for his original crime of breaking and entering in del wolinhu in early 1928. he was convicted
and sentenced to three years in prison giving the authorities plenty of time to continue their investigation
into the disappearances of louis coron james ryan and george lloyd two eminent pathologists studied the
bone fragments that were discovered in the remains of the fire at the 183 mile gate they confirmed that the
non-artificial teeth were human with the one proving to be a molar tooth some of the smaller bones were suspected
to be human finger or toe bones although the pathologists couldn't conclusively rule out the
possibility that they were from animal pores the few skull fragments were fitted together
and it was determined they had most likely come from a caucasian male these skull fragments along with the
teeth were the only decisive evidence that the fires had indeed contained human remains
on january 7 1932 snowy rolls aka john thomas smith was formally charged with the murder of louis coron
and a mandatory coroner's inquest was ordered on january 9 the media reported that
earlier the previous year snowy had made two suicide attempts while in the maker thorough lockup
constable penn told the western argus newspaper that he'd found snowy attempting to hang himself in his
cell at which point snowy also admitted that he tried taking strychnine a highly toxic poison typically used as
a pesticide according to constable pan snowy said he would prefer execution to spending life in prison but
would rather hang himself before the authorities were given the chance to kill him
after the media reported this snowy's lawyer denied any suicide attempts had taken place
a few weeks later the coroner's inquest commenced with the aim of determining for certain whether louis quran was
deceased and if so who or what was the likely cause of his death louis's ex-wife the jeweler who had sold
the wee his wedding ring and louie's dentist were all flown over from new zealand to testify
with their expenses covered by the state of western australia several other witnesses also gave
evidence including detective manning arthur upfield louie's friend jack lemmon nandi station manager hermann bogle and
publican ted moses the inquest concluded on february 13 1932 with magistrate edward butler
finding that louis coron was indeed dead and while there was no evidence of the cause of death
snowy rolls was responsible prison officers escorted snowy to fremantle jail to awake trial
on march 10 1932 snowy's trial commenced before a jury of 12 men with the justice percy draper
presiding at the time it was the most sensational murder trial in western australia's
history and public interest in the case was enormous many people were strongly against snowy
though a majority of murchison locals who knew him personally wanted to believe that he was innocent
not only did they find him to be enthusiastic warm and hard-working but they also knew how easily men could
disappear in the bush sometimes the years would pass before a missing person's remains were found
while other times nothing was recovered at all additionally residents of murchison were
aware that many of the region's transient workers could have various reasons to voluntarily disappear
and believed that the three missing men might have gone off the radar of their own accord
however the fact that all three had disappeared around at the same time with two of them giving their belongings
to snowy made it impossible for merchants and locals to disassociate one disappearance
from the others as the trial progressed constable hearn detailed his discovery of the fire pit
at the 183 mile gate and the items he found amongst the ashes while detective manning clearly
described the course of the investigation [Music] pathologists testified as to their
findings in particular that the skull fragments and muller tooth were definitely human the jeweler and
dentist who had traveled from new zealand also provided evidence confirming that
the wedding ring dentures and demolar tooth belonged to louis quran [Music] when it was arthur upfield's turn to
testify the prosecution alleged that although he was in no way an accessory to the crime
he had inadvertently provided snowy with a way to destroy the bodies of his victims
arthur detailed how the fictional disposal method came about for his book and confirmed that snowy rolls was fully
aware of these details crown prosecutor clifford gibson called snowy's original police statement
a tissue of lies [Music] he called witnesses to the stand who were able to rebut snowy's version of
events around the time of louis caron's disappearance snowy was eventually called to the stand
by his defence council fred curran he impressed the court with his unhesitating responses
and clear well-modulated voice as he essentially repeated the original statement he had provided to detective
manning in concluding the defense case curran asked snowy if he knew anything of louis quran's present
whereabouts to which snowy replied no curran then asked his client if he had done anything to bring
about louie's death again snowy said no under cross-examination prosecutor gibson asked the snowy
why louis would send him a letter from geraldton as snowy had claimed yet not make any contact with his close
friends jack lemmon or w.a jackson in new zealand whom he wrote to regularly snowy responded that he didn't have to
account for that [Music] at the conclusion of the trial on march 19 justice draper summed up the case for
the jury noting that the discussion between arthur upfield and snowy roles about how
to destroy a human body without leaving any trace was a curious thing while he agreed that the evidence
indicated the method of disposal had been used in louis quran's case he told the jury quote
whether roles did it is a matter for you to decide in relation to the wedding ring and
artificial teeth found in the fire justice draper observed quote it would be a strange coincidence seeing
that quran possessed things identical to all these articles if those found in the fire did not
belong to him that afternoon the jury retired to consider their verdict their first task was to decide whether
the remains found at the 183 mile camp were in fact those of louis quran according to one juror who spoke to the
daily news after the trial while the jury was compelled by the presence of the false
teeth shoe eyelets and metal stitches it was the wedding ring that convinced them
that the charred remains belonged to louis the evidence given by jack lemmon that
louis wore the ring on his little finger and had remarked that it was so tight he
would have to cut it off convinced the jury that the ring couldn't possibly have fallen into the
fire by accident they therefore concluded that louie's finger was either cut off
or his whole body was thrown into the flames the next task for the jury was to decide
whether snowy roles was the person responsible they were unconvinced that louis had
been shot but were satisfied that the manner in which the bones had been crashed and the
ashes were distributed indicated intentional concealment it was this that they believed was
evidence of murder after deliberating for just over two hours the jury delivered their verdict
snowy was brought up from the holding cell and stared intently at the jury shaking his head as though he knew what
was coming the verdict was then read aloud with the jury finding snowy roles aka john thomas smith guilty of the
murder of louis quran when justice draper asked if snowy had anything to say he responded i have been found
guilty of a crime that has never been committed justice draper handed down his sentence
immediately declaring john thomas smith the sentence is that you be returned to your former custody
and that at a time and place to be appointed by the governor you be hanged by the neck until you were
dead may the lord have mercy on your soul on march 30 snowy's defence council fred curran lodged an appeal against the
conviction he cited that evidence relating to james ryan and george lloyd shouldn't have been admitted and nor
should the evidence provided by arthur upfield that snowy was present during a discussion about the disposal method of
a fictional victim curran also argued there was no evidence that louis was dead and claimed that justice draper had
misdirected the jury resulting in a miscarriage of justice the appeal was heard before the court of
criminal appeal on april 15 1932 two weeks later it was unanimously dismissed with the appellate judges disagreeing
with curran's arguments and pointing out it was snowy's own legal council who initially raised the
association with the james ryan and george lloyd during the trial snowy's legal team then appealed to the
high court of australia but this too was rejected leaving snowy with no more formal avenues for appeal
a non-denominational christian organization known as the groper brotherhood protested against snowy's sentence
due to their moral objection to the death penalty a groper is a slang term for people from
western australia taken from the name of an insect native to the state the groper brotherhood made a submission
to western australia's executive council arguing that the death penalty was designed to be reserved for cases of
quote repulsive willful murder where there are not mitigating circumstances and where no atonement or
reformation can be looked for as the circumstances of louis quran's death had never been established
and the evidence used to convict snowy was mostly circumstantial the brotherhood argued it wasn't
justified to take snowy's life they also claimed that a systematic search hadn't been carried out for james
ryan and george lloyd and therefore the two men shouldn't have been mentioned at snowy's trial
according to the brotherhood he should be granted mercy pending further police activity on their
whereabouts on june 3 1932 the attorney general received the brotherhood submission
but declined to their request explaining that forbidding the use of circumstantial evidence in murder trials
would essentially prevent the prosecution of virtually all murders other than those committed in front of
an impartial and reliable witness undeterred the brotherhood joined forces with the housewives association
who viewed themselves as acting on behalf of snowy's mother together they amended their objection to
the circumstantial evidence they drew up a formal petition requesting that mercy be extended to
snowy so that quote he may live to atone in the body for the deeds done in the body and we as
a christian society may discharge our creative and reformative responsibilities to the father of all the petition was
printed and distributed throughout perth in the hopes of accumulating signatures
on june 4 1932 snowy's lawyer fred curran held a press conference in which he announced that snowy had
confessed to what really happened to louis coron snowy had prepared a statement that read
karan and i were together it is true that we camped at the old windermere homestead
the police said we didn't camp there but we did we were getting short of stores and
quran asked me to slip into paynesville and cash his check he didn't sign it we hadn't any pens and ink karon said to
me you can sign it and i did when i got back i found karon dead he had apparently eaten by mistake one
of our poisoned butter pats which we had for poisoning foxes the body was in terrible condition the
crows had been at it i was in a rotten position i had just come back from cashing quran's check
i had a record and was an escaped prisoner my first impulse was to go and tell the
police but i knew they would take me and put me in prison so i decided to do away with the body
and say nothing about it the alleged confession seemed to sway many perth residents and the petition against
snowy's execution gained 50 000 signatures however it was a different story in the
outback where people became even more convinced of snowy's guilt to them this version of events seemed
utterly impossible especially considering the windemara homestead where snowy claimed louis had
died was 80 kilometers from the camp where his remains were then burned the petition was submitted to the
attorney general on june 7 1932 with the executive council declining to reprieve snowy citing that
the law must take its course the following day a letter from the groper brotherhood
appeared in the daily news announcing the organization felt it had discharged its spiritual obligation
and was relieved of any further responsibility snowy's execution was scheduled for june
13 1932. five days prior his mother and sister visited him at fremantle prison where they described him as being wasted
away to a shadow with sunken eyes snowy told his mother that he would rather the death sentence
over a life in prison he was also surprised to learn that his confession to his lawyer had been
published as he had only intended for it to be made public after his death on june 9 the family of george lloyd
sent a telegram from adelaide making a final plea for snowy to tell the truth about what
happened to their loved one but he declined to offer any information on june 11 snowy's lawyer fred curran
published a letter his client had written to him that served as a final public statement
the letter read if i could help clear up about james ryan and george lloyd i would
because they can't take my life twice and it would put other people's minds at rest
and save a lot of worry i had ryan's truck i paid 50 pounds for it there was no receipt
things are different up in the north to what they are in town you take a man's word for it what i told
you the other day was the truth about louis quran i have never taken a man's life
it is not me who has committed murder but the law death can be no worse than what i have
gone through for the last few months i should have told the truth in the first place but i had to make a fool of
myself and i have to pay for it the law will be satisfied i can die with a clear mind
at 8am on june 13 snowy rolls was hanged at fremantle prison some news outlets reported that rolls
made no final statement yet others asserted that his final words were i did not kill louis quran
snowy's mother inherited her son's small estate which included the dodge truck she
attempted to sell it to a motor wrecker but the police refused to release the vehicle into her possession
arguing that it technically still belonged to the estate of james ryan given that james never married or
had children he had no known heirs and the dodge was eventually auctioned off by the
government the proceeds were placed in a trust in case any of james heirs ever came
forward to claim the money but none ever did as a result of the case and its links to
arthur upfield's novel interest in arthur's book surged during snowy's trial his first three books were serialized in
western australian newspapers further adding to their popularity consequently arthur moved to perth's
eastern suburbs and started riding full time in late 1932 he relocated to a small
town in victoria and began writing articles for the herald newspaper before once again traveling the
countryside in 1934 arthur penned his recollection of the snowy role saga for a book titled the murchison murders
arthur upfield was essentially australia's first crime fiction writer over the course of
his career he wrote and published 36 novels the majority of which were part of the
detective bony series in 1954 arthur was the first non-american author to be awarded full membership
into the mystery writers guild of america and in 1957 he was nominated for the edgar
allan poe award for best mystery novel published in the united states at the age of 73 arthur upfield died of
a heart attack in his home in barrel new south wales his deep love of the australian outback
lasted throughout his lifetime with arthur commenting in his later years quote in me was born a passionate love for the
australian bush which will burn until the end a love stronger than love of family so strong
that even now it threatens to claim me capital punishment was abolished in western australia
in 1984 with snowy roles being the sixth last person ever executed in the state although james ryan and george lloyd
were eventually declared illegally dead no one was ever charged for their murders and
none of their remains were ever formally identified however many were convinced that they
both suffered the same fate as louis quran detective manning stated as a result of my
inquiries i don't think there is any doubt that both ryan and lloyd were murdered at charlie
boar and then their bodies cut up and burned on the different fires over the years the rabbit-proof fence
proved ineffective with rabbits and other animals managing to make their way through
gaps or via open gates which travelers often failed to close by the late 1940s the grand ideal of one great vermont
thwarting coast to coast fence had started to fade this feeling of defeat coupled with the
fact that many aussie men were called away from the outback to go to war meant it became difficult to keep the
fence in good repair as the century progressed the western australian government abandoned
stretches of the number one rabbit proof fence from gum creek junction to the north coast
and from the south coast to the 76 mile post north of baracopan the remaining portion became important
for repelling wild dogs and emus and therefore continues to be maintained in 1989 author terry walker visited the
untended 183 mile camp north of camel station where the remains of louis quran were found in his book about the case
titled murder on the rabbit proof fence terry wrote much has changed at the haunted camp
new fences passed through the area although the 183 mile gate still swings rather reluctantly on its rusty hinges
there is nothing there to suggest that it was the scene of a murder despite its dilapidated state camel
station was added to the western australia heritage register in march 2018 for its association with
the killings in an article for the west australian newspaper heritage minister david templeman said
the heritage listing quote encapsulates the fascinating story of the mergers and murders
and the hard and isolated life of boundary riders on the rabbit-proof fans [Music]
you

Case 150: The Murchison Murders

Although the Australian outback was isolated and sparsely populated, work was available in the small towns and stations along the fence for men who were willing to tough it out in the harsh conditions...

CREDITS

Narration – Anonymous Host Research – Holly Boyd Writing – Elsha McGill Creative direction – Milly Raso Production, scoring – Mike Migas and Andrew Joslyn

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RESOURCES

For all credits and sources please visit https://casefilepodcast.com/case-150-the-murchison-murders

Brief Summary

The episode details the murder of Louis Quran and the trial of Snowy Rolls in Western Australia.

Key points

Creating Your Sanctuary. Transform your home into a comforting sanctuary with stylish furniture.
The Rabbit-Proof Fence. Learn about the world's longest fence built to combat invasive rabbits in Australia.
Leslie's New Beginning. Leslie Brown, seeking a fresh start, adopts a new identity and heads to Australia.
Discovery of Evidence. Constables find artificial teeth, a wedding ring, and more in the ashes, suggesting foul play.
Snowy's Deception. Mr. Yates investigates Snowy's conflicting story about James Ryan's whereabouts.
Arthur Upfield's Writing Process. Arthur Upfield brainstorms ideas for his next murder mystery novel.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

He was unemployed and virtually broke.

8:25WatchJul 18, 2020

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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