Case 174
Vicki Arnold & Julie-Anne Leahy
*** Content Warning: grooming, child sexual abuse, suicide ***
One cold winter night in 1991, best friends Vicki Arnold and Julie-Anne Leahy vanished from their town of Atherton, Queensland. The two women had left for a late-night fishing trip but never came home. Two weeks later, their bodies were found in Julie-Anne’s car on a remote bushland track, in the opposite direction from where they’d been headed.
Within an hour of arriving on the scene, police determined the case was a straightforward murder-suicide, and Vicky was the culprit. But the strangeness of the scene left many unanswered questions. Some went as far as saying it had been staged, and that there was another person investigators should be looking at more closely: Julie-Anne’s husband, Alan Leahy.
CREDITS
EPISODE:
Research & writing – Erin Munro
Creative direction – Milly Raso
Narration – Anonymous Host
MUSIC:
‘Flatline intro’ and ‘Come play with me’ intro and outro – www.dl-sounds.com
Audio production – Mike Migas
Music – Mike Migas and Andrew Joslyn
OTHER:
Logo and website design – Paulina Szymanska
With special thanks to Vanessa Stewart and Robert Reid
PREMIUM
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RESOURCES
BOOKS
Third Party to Murder: The Search – Robert Reid
VIDEOS
Double murder cold case re-opened
60 Minutes: Murder at Cherry Tree Creek
COURT DOCUMENTS
Third inquest into the deaths of Vicki Arnold and Julie-Anne Leahy
WEBSITES
PODCASTS
Australian True Crime – A Convenient Murder Suicide
ARTICLES
Husband cleared over pair’s death – The Age
Alan Leahy denies double murder – AAP
Murder inquest hears love affair claims – ABC News
Leahy-Arnold double murder: Alan Leahy wins further court order over paying Attorney-General costs – ABC News
No charges for husband of FNQ woman murdered with friend in 1991 – Cairns Post