Case 70
The Kimberley Killer
*** Content Warning: gun violence ***
In June 1987, the bodies of Phillip Walkemeyer, Julie Warren and Terry Bolt were found shot dead at a campsite at the Pentecost River Crossing in Western Australia’s Kimberley Region. Their burnt-out vehicle was found nearby. Similarities were drawn to the double homicide of father and son, Marcus and Lance Bullen, that occurred days earlier at a remote river hundreds of kilometres away in the Northern Territory.
This would be no easy investigation. The murders occurred in the rugged, isolated wilderness, where off-road travel was strongly advised against without the help of an experienced guide. These were the kind of areas people visited in search of solitude and isolation. So just how do you catch a serial killer in one of the most remote areas of Australia?
CREDITS
EPISODE:
Research & writing – Gemma Harris
Narration – Anonymous Host
MUSIC:
‘Flatline intro’ and ‘Come play with me’ intro and outro – www.dl-sounds.com
Audio production – Mike Migas
Scoring – Mike Migas and Andrew Joslyn
OTHER:
Logo and website design – Paulina Szymanska
PREMIUM
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RESOURCES
BOOKS
Australia’s Serial Killers – by Paul B. Kidd (pp.231–235)
ARTICLES
‘Fear in the bush after 5 killings’ – The Sydney Morning Herald (17 June 1987)
‘Bolted doors in the town of fear’ – The Sydney Morning Herald (18 June 1987)
‘Outback tourists flee the shooting gallery’ – The Age (18 June 1987)
‘A lonely wait for the Northern killer’ – The Sydney Morning Herald (19 June 1987)
‘Outback manhunt for thrill murderer ends in gunfire’ – United Press International
‘Policeman gets his man when all seemed lost’ – The Age. Melbourne (20 June 1987)
‘Gunman Killed’ – The West Australian (20 June 1987)
‘Shootout ends hunt’ – The Sydney Morning Herald (20 June 1987)
‘Last breath of Top End Killer’ – The Sydney Morning Herald (21 June 1987)
‘Outback terror ends in morgue’ – The Age. Melbourne (22 June 1987)
‘Police have positively identified a West German man killed…’ – United Press International
‘Not our son, say parents of Top-End gunman’ – The Sydney Morning Herald (18 Dec 1987)
‘Weak gun law under attack’ – The Age (26 Dec 1987)
‘Josef Schwab’s killing spree, 30 years on: how the TRG stopped a madman in the Kimberley’ – The West Australian
‘On the Trail of a Madman’ – The West Australian
ARCHIVES
Kimberley Killer – Joseph Schwab – by John Horswell, Australian Police Journal
REPORTS
Kennedy Royal Commission – (2004, pp.117–118)
Management of Misconduct by Western Australia Police – (2011)
VIDEOS
The Kimberley Killer – Crime Investigation Australia (2007)
OTHER
Victoria River murder – Rae Allen
Guide to the Kimberley – Australia.com
‘A Forensic Collector’ – NT Police Museum & Historical Society Inc.
Home Valley Station – Wikipedia
Joseph Schwab – Wikipedia
Kennedy Royal Commission – Wikipedia
Joseph Schwab – Murderpedia
Pentecost River – Wikipedia
Police Tactical Group – Wikipedia
Victoria River (Northern Territory) – Wikipedia
Western Australian Police – Wikipedia
Timber Creek – Northern Territory Police
Timber Creek – NT Police Museum & Historical Society Inc.
Crocodile safety: Be Crocwise – NT.GOV.AU
Population of Northern Territory – Population Australia