Casefile True Crime - Case 249: Lorraine Wilson & Wendy Evans

Episode Date: June 3, 2023

*** Content warning: Sexual assault *** When trainee nurses Lorraine Wilson and Wendy Evans failed to return to work in Sydney after a holiday around Australia in 1974, fears arose that they could have fallen victim to the so-called Gold Coast Hitchhiker Murderer. But when a discovery is made in the rural town of Murphy’s Creek years later, an even more disturbing possibility emerges... --- Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – Elsha McGill Creative direction – Milly Raso Production and music – Mike Migas Music – Andrew D.B. Joslyn Sign up for Casefile Premium: Apple Premium Spotify Premium Patreon For all credits and sources, please visit casefilepodcast.com/case-249-lorraine-wilson-wendy-evans

Our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents. If you feel at any time you need support, please contact your local crisis centre. For suggested phone numbers for confidential support, and for a more detailed list of content warnings, please see the show notes for this episode on your app, or on our website. It was a windy Sunday night on October 6, 1974, as two Queensland police officers drove along the forested roads to Yuccanavale Youth Camp. They were greeted by the camp's caretakers, who appeared flustered. For the past half hour, their remote and peaceful surroundings had been intermittently disturbed by a frightening noise. The officers listened. A few minutes later,

they heard it for themselves. Blood-curdling screams. For the first time in Officer Ian Hamilton's career, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. He had never heard such a horrendous and terrifying sound. It didn't seem like the screams were coming from just one person, either. The difference in pitch indicated there were at least two women screaming for help. Like the caretakers, the officers couldn't determine what direction the screams were coming from. The Yuccanavale Youth Camp was situated on the uphill section of the Toowoomba Range, about halfway between the inland city of Toowoomba and the rural town of Withcott. This mountainous location, mixed with the blustery winds, meant the origin of the screams kept

changing. One minute it sounded like they were coming from the top of the range, the next it sounded like they were coming from the east. After 40 frustrating minutes helplessly listening to the distorted screams echo around them, everything went quiet. The officers drove up and down the range on the lookout for anyone in trouble. Every now and then they stopped and got out to see if the screams had started up again, but they were met with silence. For 20-year-old Lorraine Wilson, nursing had been an obvious career choice. The youngest of four children in a close-knit family, she followed in the footsteps of her mother who had served as a nurse in Sydney during World War II. The Wilson family lived on a farm 64 kilometers outside of

Dubbo, a small city in central New South Wales. They predominantly lived off the land, with the children helping their parents take care of the daily chores. It was a humble and enjoyable upbringing, which taught Lorraine the value of hard work. An avid animal lover, she especially loved taking care of the domestic pets, which included dogs, cats, chickens, lambs and birds. Lorraine's work ethic, combined with her compassionate nature, inspired her to pursue nursing after finishing high school. The last of her siblings to leave the nest, she moved to Sydney to begin her live-in training at St George Hospital. It was there that she met fellow trainee, 18-year-old Wendy Evans. Like Lorraine, Wendy shared the unique traits necessary to succeed as a nurse,

strength, empathy and understanding. She too had grown up in a close-knit family and was one of four children. Wendy had a more urban upbringing in Sydney's inner west, but that didn't prevent her and Lorraine from becoming close friends. They excelled at their training, topping their classes in such subjects as neurology. By late August 1974, Lorraine and Wendy had completed their first year of studies. To celebrate, they embarked on an interstate bus tour together, visiting popular tourist destinations like Townsville, Mount Isa, Catherine, Darwin and Alice Springs. The trip ended in Dubbo. The two friends spent a few days on the Wilson's family farm before heading off in Lorraine's Volkswagen Beetle for the final leg of their journey, an 800-kilometre road trip to Brisbane.

Halfway there, the car broke down and had to be towed to a mechanic who calculated it would take at least a week to fix. This threw a major spanner in the works. The friends were on a tight budget and didn't have extra money for alternative transport. They were hesitant about hitchhiking, but after some deliberation, they decided to take the risk. It paid off. The man who picked them up was so friendly he even stopped to buy them burgers before dropping them at the home of Wendy's sister, Susan, who lived in the suburb of Camp Hill. Lorraine and Wendy spent six days exploring and shopping in Brisbane while catching up with Susan and her family. By Sunday, October 6, the pair were ready to head home to be back at work on Thursday.

They were running out of money, but Lorraine's Volkswagen still wasn't ready to be picked up. They considered their options. Given the positive experience they'd had hitchhiking to Brisbane, they decided to hitch a ride back to the Wilson's farm in Dubbo. Susan urged them to reconsider. They were welcome to stay until Lorraine's car was ready, or she could lend them money for a train or bus ticket. Wendy considered her sister's offer, but Lorraine was confident that everything would be okay. The friends were sure their good luck would continue. Wendy reassured her sister, saying, I've got Lorraine to protect me. When the young women failed to arrive in Dubbo, Lorraine's mother, Betty, told herself that they

must have made last-minute plans. But she could feel in her bones that something was wrong. It was only after Lorraine and Wendy failed to appear for work on Thursday that the pair were realized as missing. A police investigator told her that she had been missing for a while. A police investigation was launched. Lorraine and Wendy hadn't told anyone what route they intended to take from Brisbane, or whether they intended to stop anywhere along the way. With no concrete information to use as a starting point, it was like searching for a needle in a near 900km long haystack. Lorraine's parents hit the road, retrieving the car from the road, the friends had taken on their journey up to Brisbane.

They showed photos to everyone they crossed paths with, and spoke to the media along the way, doing everything in their power to bring publicity to Lorraine and Wendy's disappearance. Reported sightings of the young nurses came in from all over the country, but none could be verified. Reported sightings of the young nurses came in from all over the country, but none could be verified. Neither Lorraine or Wendy had touched their bank accounts since the day before they left Camp Hill. As time wore on, the possibility grew that they had met with foul play. Taking the mentality that no news is good news, the Wilson family remained hopeful that the young women would be found alive. The Evans family were less optimistic.

By the time Wendy had been missing for four months, her sister Susan had given birth, meaning Wendy had become an aunt again. The fact she didn't reach out could only suggest that something terrible had happened. Wendy's mother Alice told reporters, I now feel the situation is hopeless for my daughter and just want to know where she lies dead. There is no doubt in my mind that the worst has happened. The investigation continued, but no promising leads emerged. By Friday, June 25, 1975, the two friends had been missing for almost 21 months. That day, an elderly couple went for a leisurely drive to Murphy's Creek,

a small historic settlement approximately 30 kilometres northeast of Toowoomba. The couple drove down Murphy's Creek Road, a rural thoroughfare surrounded by dense bushland and dry paddocks. About two and a half kilometres outside the township, they turned down an unsealed dirt road. After 900 metres, they parked their car near a split rail fence. It was an isolated area with residential homes few and far between. The closest farmhouse was about 800 metres away, making it an ideal spot for a private picnic. As they ate lunch in their car, a wallaby hopped past the couple's vehicle. They decided to get out and follow it.

The pair scaled a barbed wire fence that framed a private property before walking into a wooded paddock. After heading through a cluster of trees, they came across a small clearing. It looked like some kind of rubbish dump. On the ground, all kinds of items were strewn about, clothing, cosmetics, bags and other personal belongings. The man bent down to get a better look at a discarded camera, when his companion noticed something on the ground nearby. A human skull. This wasn't just a rubbish dump. It was a burial site. The couple rushed back to their car and drove towards Toowoomba.

By chance, they passed a police car and stopped to inform the officer what they'd found. The officer followed the couple back to the clearing, where he identified two human skulls and other human bones. Amongst the personal belongings dumped throughout the site was a transistor radio. A name was engraved on the back. Lorraine Wilson. Within hours, the remote site was teeming with police. They uncovered the mostly intact skeletons belonging to Lorraine Wilson and Wendy Evans. Although wildlife had dispersed some of the bones, it was clear that the two bodies had initially been dumped side by side. Their killer had made no attempt to hide the bodies.

They likely deemed it unnecessary, given the remote spot was obstructed by trees and at the rear of a 2000 acre plot of farmland. Both women had sustained fatal head injuries, possibly inflicted by a large piece of timber found nearby. Lorraine had been struck on the back of the head between one and three times, whereas Wendy had endured multiple extensive injuries. A forensic examiner determined that Wendy's face had been, quote, bashed to a pulp. Remnants of a thin, looped synthetic cord indicated both women had been hogtired, but the state of the remains meant it couldn't be ascertained whether either of them had been

sexually assaulted. Their jeans and underwear were still in place, their bra straps were fastened, and the cord had been tied over their jeans. Had they been raped, it likely happened sometime before they were killed. All up, a total of 90 personal items belonging to Lorraine and Wendy were found at the bush side, everything they'd been carrying on their journey from Brisbane. Only a few items were missing, both of their wallets and two bank books. However, it didn't necessarily seem that the killer was motivated by robbery. Lorraine and Wendy still had their jewellery, including a pendant necklace,

a gold bracelet, and Lorraine's prized antique ring. Using a metal detector, an army officer scanned a dry mound of dirt nearby. They located a men's silver signet ring with a large green stone. This was the only item that couldn't be attributed to either Lorraine or Wendy. While it was possible that the killer had accidentally lost the ring, another scenario had to be considered. What if the killer, or someone who knew of the crime, had intentionally left it behind as a clue? The crime scene was around a two-hour drive west of Camp Hill, where Lorraine and Wendy were last seen alive.

Investigators deemed it unlikely that the pair had been killed elsewhere before being dumped at Murphy's Creek. It would have been too difficult to cut their bodies over the barbed wire fence and dense bush to the burial site. It made much more sense that Lorraine and Wendy had met their fate in this isolated location, where no one would hear them scream, except someone did. When police officer Ian Hummelton heard about the discovery of the remains, he immediately thought back to the night of Sunday, October 6, 1974. He and his partner had been unable to locate the source of two women screaming in the Toowoomba Ranges region.

He checked his records and confirmed that the incident had happened on the same day that Lorraine Wilson and Wendy Evans went missing. Based on this information, investigators concluded the screams had come from the two nurses and that they had likely been killed the same day they left Brisbane. Lorraine and Wendy had briefly mentioned wanting to go sunbathing on the Gold Coast. This became a significant detail. In July 1972, 18-year-old Robin Hoinville-Bartram and her friend 19-year-old Anita Cunningham had hitchhiked to Queensland and were last seen in the Gold Coast suburb of Coulangatta. Four months later, Robin's body was found under a bridge in the rural town of Charter's Towers. She had been shot twice with a rifle.

Anita's body was never found, but police were certain she'd met the same fate. Then on October 6, 1973, one year to the day before Lorraine and Wendy went missing, best friends Michelle Riley and Gabrielle Jenke got out of a taxi in Brisbane's CBD. The 16- and 19-year-old planned to hitchhike to the Gold Coast. A week later, Gabrielle's decomposing body was found at the bottom of an embankment on the side of the Pacific Highway. 11 days on and 25 kilometres away, Michelle's body was found in bushes off the Mount Tambourine Highway. Both teens had been sexually assaulted and bludgeoned to death in what police described as a

frenzied attack. On May 5, a month and a half before Lorraine and Wendy's bodies were found, Gold Coast teenager Margaret Roseworn attempted to hitchhike from surface paradise to a party in nearby Burley Heads. 16 days later, her body was discovered amongst overgrown grass on a vacant block in West Burley. She had been beaten so ferociously that dental records were needed to make a positive identification. It appeared as though a struggle had taken place on a nearby road, leading investigators to believe Margaret had tried to flee from someone's car. Including Lorraine and Wendy, all seven women were of a similar age group and had gone missing while hitchhiking in the Brisbane Gold Coast areas. Five of them were bludgeoned to death

and likely sexually assaulted, their bodies disposed of relatively out in the open. The similarities seemed too strong to be purely coincidental. Was it possible that all seven of the young women had fallen victim to the same cold-blooded killer, who the public had dubbed, the Gold Coast Hitchhiker Murderer? A $100,000 reward for information pertaining to the Wilson and Evans case was offered, the largest ever for a Queensland homicide. A bus driver came forward to report that on Sunday, October 6, 1974, he'd been completing his route on Ipswich Road in Western Brisbane. As he passed the Oxley Police Academy, he saw two young women who matched the descriptions of

Lorraine and Wendy sitting on the side of the road. A faded light green EK Holden pulled over, and the women got in. Two men aged in their early 20s were sitting inside. The driver had shoulder-length, fair hair, and his passenger had an afro. This sighting coincided with the time that Lorraine and Wendy left Camp Hill, prompting detectives to conclude it was genuine. They appealed for anyone who had seen a similar vehicle in the area to come forward. The appeal caught the attention of Brisbane resident Anthony Doherty. On Sunday, October 6, 1974, he'd been parked in front of the Oxley Hotel when he overheard her two young women disagreeing about whether or not they should accept a ride.

The women matched the description of Lorraine and Wendy. The shorter of the pair, presumably Wendy, was reluctant. Her friend said, I'm going whether you come or not. She walked over to the car parked next to Anthony's, a green Holden with a white top. In the passenger seat was a young male around 20 years old with dark hair and a round face. He had a scruffy look and a quote, silly grin on his face. Another male of similar age stood next to the Holden as though waiting for the girls to make up their minds. He was tanned with dark medium-length hair and a tattoo on his upper arm.

Eventually, the shorter girl picked up her luggage and followed her friend into the back seat of the Holden. Anthony watched as the tanned male got into the driver's seat. The vehicle then sped off towards Ipswich Road, kicking pebbles in its wake. Anthony called the police to report this sighting, but the sergeant he spoke to thought he must have been mistaken. Convinced Lorraine and Wendy had fallen victim to the Gold Coast hitchhiker murderer, they believed the girls had actually been traveling in the opposite direction, down the Pacific Highway towards Sydney. Consequently, the sergeant wasn't interested in Anthony's sighting and didn't take a statement. This was despite the fact that the Holden had

also been sighted in the vicinity of where Lorraine and Wendy's bodies were discovered. A local musician drove down Murphy's Creek Road every Saturday night for several weeks during September and October 1974. Each week, he noticed the car parked in the same spot, not far from where Lorraine and Wendy's bodies were eventually found. It was a light-colored 1964 EH Holden. Officer Ian Hamilton knew the vehicle well. Over his years working as a traffic cop, he'd pulled over a similar Holden several times. Although it was a common model, he remembered its distinct chrome wheels and the way it sat low at the front and and higher at the back. He'd issued defective tickets upon realizing there were no interior

door handles or window winders in the back seat. He told detectives working the Wilson Evans case everything he knew about the vehicle and those associated with it. Regardless, these leads went nowhere and the case eventually went cold. Nine years passed with no further developments until an inquest was finally held in October 1985. No witnesses were called and no suspects were named. Based on the known facts, the coroner could only conclude that Lorraine and Wendy had been killed in Murphy's Creek by a person or person's unknown. Lorraine's brother, Eric Wilson, had an overwhelming need to uncover the truth of what happened, explaining, it's hard to accept that we might never ever find out. The thing is, you compound it every day.

It makes it worse in your mind if that's possible. All those unanswered questions, they're not knowing. You walk around every day with a mountain of fear sitting on your shoulder. Three years after the inquest in October 1988, Detective Senior Constable Paul Rouge of the Toowoomba Criminal Investigation Branch received a word that an inmate in New South Wales had implicated two men in the Wilson Evans homicide. According to this witness, several years after Lorraine and Wendy were killed, he'd been drinking with two acquaintances when the subject of the nurse's murders came up. One of the men allegedly admitted that they'd picked the pair up to drink with them, to which the other allegedly responded. Yeah, but more than that happened, didn't it?

We screwed them and killed them. Case file will be back shortly. Thank you for supporting us by listening to this episode's sponsors. Thank you for listening to this episode's ads. By supporting our sponsors, you support case file to continue to deliver quality content. The witness named the man is Toowoomba locals Donald Laurie and Trevor Hilton. This confession turned out to be a bust. Trevor Hilton had been incarcerated at the time Lorraine and Wendy were killed. Still, Detective Rouge's interest was peaked. He requested the Wilson and Evans case file to find all it contained was a few notes and newspaper clippings. There were no witness statements, no running sheets, nothing.

Rouge was left to piece together the case using the scant paperwork and limited physical evidence. The more he learned, the more shocked he became. The inmate's confession wasn't the first time that the names Hilton and Laurie had been mentioned in relation to the murders. The extended Laurie and Hilton families were interrelated by blood and marriage. They had lived around Toowoomba for decades, where some members of the families had earned a fierce reputation for being violent and dangerous. Local police were very familiar with several members of the two families due to their history of alcohol abuse, domestic violence, and run-ins with the law. Following the discovery of Lorraine Wilson and Wendy Evans remains,

three separate people had suggested police look into the Hilton and Laurie crew. It was well known that some of the young men associated with the group had a habit of picking up teenage girls for sex, whether consensual or by force. They'd go as far as grabbing them off the street and throwing them into the boot or back seat of their cars. Survivors described that handles and window-winders had been removed from the back doors to prevent their escape. The group were also known for throwing alcohol-fuelled parties out in the bush, including at Murphy's Creek. Despite this information, none of these men had been questioned at any point, for reasons Detective Rouge couldn't ascertain.

Back when the bodies of Lorraine and Wendy were found, a local couple had reported a strange encounter they'd had on the Toowoomba Range in early October of 1974. Brian and Velma had been driving home from visiting their sick infant daughter in hospital when they noticed a vehicle parked in a small turnoff on the left-hand side of the road. It was a pale green E.J. or E.H. Holden with a white top. Judging by its angle, the Holden looked as though it had abruptly skidded to a stop. Both passenger side doors were open. Towards the back of the car, a man was throttling a young woman while trying to force her inside. About 20 metres away, another man was marching a second young woman towards the Holden,

pinning her arms behind her back. The woman looked directly at Brian and Velma and screamed, help me, oh God, help me. Velma ordered her husband to stop and he slowed down a little further ahead. Brian and Velma looked back. In the front seat of the Holden, they could see two other men and a third woman. Velma and Brian wanted to offer assistance, but they had their three-year-old daughter in the back seat and were scared they might put her or themselves in danger. Overcome with fear, they decided to keep driving. They soon passed a pay phone, but decided not to call the police in case the men drove past and suspected what they were doing.

Instead, they went home. The next morning, Velma reported the incident to a police officer whom they knew. The officer wasn't too worried. There hadn't been any news of any assaults the night prior or missing person reports filed. When the bodies of Lorraine Wilson and Wendy Evans were discovered not far from where they witnessed the altercation, Brian and Velma were convinced they had seen something significant. They reported their concerns to the same officer they'd initially spoken to who looked into their claims. Apparently, hospital admission records for Brian and Velma's sick daughter didn't match up with the alleged timing of Lorraine and Wendy's murder.

Their accounts were therefore eliminated as a potential lead in the investigation. Detective Rouge wasn't so sure. He showed the couple a photo lineup of 16 men. Despite over a decade passing, Brian confidently pointed to one photo. It was Wayne Hilton. Better known by his nickname Boogie, Wayne was a prominent member of the Hilton Laurie clan. 19 years old at the time Lorraine and Wendy were killed, he had a reputation for turning violent if he didn't get his way. He reportedly had a tyre lever stored under the front seat of his car that he wielded as a weapon. Some of Wayne Hilton's close cohorts included friends and relatives, Alan Shorty Laurie, Alan Unge Laurie, Donald Laurie, Desmond Hilton, Larry Charles and Jimmy O'Neill.

Due to their proclivity for heavy drinking and fighting, many of the men were banned from every pub into Wumba. Another member of their crew named Kingsley Hunt didn't drink. He took on the role of designated driver and ferried the gang to parties and pubs out of town. There were several vehicles that could be attributed to the crew. One was a pale green Holden with a white top. Detective Rouge turned his focus to one of the only pieces of physical evidence at the crime scene, the cord used to bind Lorraine and Wendy. It was fairly commonplace, much like the kind used on Venetian blinds, but Rouge had his suspicions about where it might have originated. He visited the Darling Downs Bacon Company into Wumba. The pig processing plant was one of the largest in the

state and employed many of the town's locals. Rouge presented the cord to an employee and asked if it looked familiar. The employee said yes, a similar type of cord was used in the factory to hang bacon. This was a significant revelation. Wayne Hilton had been employed at the Darling Downs Bacon Company around the time Lorraine and Wendy were killed. Detective Rouge spoke with another man named Neil who had worked with Wayne Hilton on and off for several years. According to Neil, one day Wayne suddenly announced that he'd soon have to quit his job. When Neil asked why, Wayne allegedly said, did you see the picture of our cars in the paper? They're right onto us. You would have heard about the nurses being murdered a bit over the range.

May and the brother done that. Neil assumed Wayne was talking about his brother Trevor, but realized he'd been in jail at the time. Instead, he figured Wayne was talking about one of his uncles who were close in age to Wayne and with whom he had a close relationship. According to Neil, Wayne went on to explain that the nurses had gotten away from them and gave them, quote, a bit of trouble. He said he was afraid of getting caught and asked for advice. Neil asked why he did it, to which Wayne responded, full of piss and bad manners. Although Neil found it odd, he didn't really believe what Wayne was saying,

even when he went through with quitting his job. Neil said Wayne mentioned his involvement in the murders on several other occasions. But it was only years later that Neil suspected he might actually be telling the truth. Wayne Hilton's cohort, Alan Laurie, who went by the nickname Shorty, had also worked at the Darling Downs Bacon Company. Shorty turned 22 the day Lorraine and Wendy were murdered. Perhaps the most violent of the group, he was feared by many and labelled by some as a psychopath. Shorty's violence knew no boundaries. He once punched and stomped on his own mother and had bit his father's ear off over a fight about a sausage. Detective Rouge visited Alan Shorty Laurie at home and asked if he could come by

the station to answer some questions. He made no mention of Lorraine and Wendy, simply saying he wanted to discuss a car that Shorty had previously owned. Shorty became highly anxious, but reluctantly agreed to come by later that day. He arrived at the station hand in hand with his wife. Shorty was clearly agitated, almost to a point of panic. Everything about his demeanour was in complete contrast to the menacing character that Detective Rouge had been led to expect. When placed in an interview room away from his wife, Shorty entered a full-blown state of panic. He started breathing heavily and frothing at the mouth. When told, we need to ask you some questions about your involvement in the nurse's murders,

Alan Shorty Laurie leapt to his feet and started bellowing like a bull. It was so loud that other officers rushed to the interview room to see what was going on. He repeatedly cried out, I didn't do it, I didn't do it. His distress was so extreme that Detective Rouge couldn't continue with his questioning. He requested that Shorty return to the station later on for a formal interview. Instead, Shorty hired a lawyer who advised that his client wouldn't be answering any further questions. Detective Rouge was eventually transferred to another district, which meant he could no longer have any involvement with the Wilson and Evans case. He collated all the information and witness statements he'd obtained and sent them to

the homicide squad, hoping someone would pick up where he left off. Although tips continued to come through over the years, things soon came to a standstill. No arrests were made. In fact, none of the remaining persons of interest were even questioned. Lorraine's brother Eric spent his adult life tormented by the murders. In 2003 he wrote a book about the case titled The Echo of Silent Screams. It sparked renewed interest in the case, putting pressure on the Queensland Police Commissioner to reopen the investigation. The job went to Detective Inspector Kerry Johnson, a former member of the Homicide Squad known for his success raid at Solving Cold Cases. For the first time, all the case material was reviewed

in thorough detail. It was abundantly clear that poor policing, lack of investigative resources, and conflicting witness statements had contributed to Lorraine and Wendy's killers going unpunished. Motivated to finally find closure for the Wilson and Evans families, Detective Johnson said about reinterviewing all of the key witnesses and persons of interest, piecing together the known information and trying to fill in any gaps. It appeared that the circumstances surrounding Lorraine and Wendy's murders were an open secret amongst many people in Toowoomba. Over the years, others had reported worthwhile information that implicated the same group of men. The morning after the murders, Wayne Hilton's neighbour claimed to have seen him ripping the

carpet out of the backseat of a Green Holden. When she asked what he was doing, Wayne told her to mind her own business. The neighbour left but couldn't ignore what she saw on the carpet, a large reddish-brown stain that looked like blood. Another associate of the group, Desmond Hilton, recalled that one morning in October 1974, Wayne Hilton and Donald Lorry were drinking at his house when a light green E. H. Holden pulled up. Inside were Alan Shorty Lorry, Jimmy O'Neill, Larry Charles and Alan Unge Lorry. They revealed that they'd quote, given two girls are hiding down the bottom of the range. According to Desmond, Shorty bragged and demonstrated how they kicked and stomped on the girls.

Desmond claimed that the men offered him beer in exchange for cleaning their car. He agreed, too scared to say no. Across the backseat was a light smear of blood, as though an injured person had been dragged across it. According to Desmond, Wayne Hilton and Donald Lorry then went back to the range to check on the girls. When they returned, they had blood on their hands. It was only years later when Desmond found out about the murders of Lorraine Wilson and Wendy Evans that he realized the group had been talking about the nurses. Donald Lorry had seemed terrified ever since, and it now makes sense why. He'd admitted to Desmond that he'd taken a ring from one of the girls that he'd later sold for beer money at the local pub.

While sick in hospital years later, Donald Lorry allegedly told a friend, we killed the nurses. I was there. I didn't do it. According to this witness, Donald directly implicated Wayne Hilton, Unge Lorry and Shorty Lorry, but also said that three or four carloads of people were involved. When asked why he hadn't gone to police, Donald apparently replied that the others would have killed him if he had spoken up. Another associate had once seen gang member Lorry Charles crying, which was completely out of character. When asked what was wrong, Lorry allegedly responded, it was two years today that them girls got killed at Murphy's Creek.

Lorry then apparently confessed to having picked up Lorraine Wilson and Wendy Evans with Wayne Hilton, Shorty Lorry, Donald Lorry and Jimmy O'Neill. They took the women into the bush, at which point Unge Lorry, Desmond Hilton and a few of their friends arrived. The whole group, excluding Lorry, then took turns raping and bashing the women. The next morning, Wayne Hilton and Shorty Lorry had a whispered conversation. Then, quote, they both walked towards the girls, picked up a big stick each and just wailed and wailed into them. Fear of retaliation had kept some silent, but the poor policing couldn't be ignored. Back in 1974, a 19-year-old woman had accepted a lift home from Shorty Lorry and one of his friends.

Instead of taking her home, she claimed they pulled over and took turns raping her in the back seat. She reported the incident and was examined by a medical officer, but never heard another word about it and was too scared to follow it up with the police. This was just one in a long series of similar allegations. Detective Inspector Kerry Johnson was deeply troubled by this information and the fact that nothing had been done to reprimand those involved. But perhaps most concerning was there were other innocent bystanders that had witnessed the attack against Lorraine and Wendy as it unfolded. Case file will be back shortly. Thank you for supporting us by listening to this episode's sponsors.

Thank you for listening to this episode's ads. By supporting our sponsors, you support Case File to continue to deliver quality content. On Sunday, October 6, 1974, married couple Neil and Jocelyn had been driving down the Toowoomba Range when one of their children fell car sick. They pulled into a turn-off, only to find two cars already parked there. Clothing was strewn on the side of the road, leading Neil and Jocelyn to believe the two cars had been involved in an accident. Two men were escorting a young woman into a black Ford Falcon as though offering her assistance. One of the men was scrawny and ill looking and dressed all in white.

This fit the description of the designated driver of the Hilton and Laurie crew, Kingsley Hunt. His job at a pest control company required him to wear a white uniform. The young woman turned to face Neil and Jocelyn. That's when they realized the men weren't helping her at all. They were forcing her into the car. The young woman screamed, please help me. Another young woman was in the backseat of the other car, a light-colored Holden. She was wrestling with a dark-haired man aged in his early to mid-20s. He attempted to restrain her as she lent forward and yelled for help. Another man was pacing around nervously outside the vehicle with his hands on his head.

Too scared to stop, Neil and Jocelyn continued down the range. They considered reporting the incident to the police, but instead they drove onwards, convincing themselves that it was just a lover's tiff of some kind. They decided to let it go unless they heard anything in the news over the next few days, which they never did. Another married couple, Vivian and Rose, were driving down the range at dusk when they saw a car pulled over on the left-hand side of the road. A man and young woman were lying across the front bonnet in what appeared to be a lover's embrace. Thinking it was a strange place to stop

for a cuddle, they soon realized it wasn't a romantic moment at all. The man was restraining the woman who was trying to break free. At that moment, another young woman raced out onto the road screaming for help. A dark-haired man of average height and build was chasing close behind her, undeterred by the fact that Vivian and Rose had seen what was going on. Vivian applied the brakes, but the couple had their three young children in the backseat, so Rose urged him to keep driving. They drove to the nearest police station, where the officer on duty said they'd contact the Tawumba police to send a patrol car down the range to check it out. Vivian and Rose never

heard another word about it. When the bodies of Lorraine Wilson and Wendy Evans were found, Rose contacted police again. She did so again when the case was featured on Australia's most wanted in 1989. No one ever so much as asked for her contact details, let alone took a statement. Norma was preparing dinner alone at her home in the Tawumba Ranges in early October 1974, when she heard a panicked woman's voice. It was coming from her back door. Norma found a young woman with light brown hair standing there. She begged for Norma's help, saying she had just been at a party with a group of people whom she now wanted to get away from. She had escaped from their vehicle and needed somewhere safe to stay for a while.

Norma didn't know what to do. Her husband was due to arrive home, so she told the young woman she could wait inside until he returned. They'd figure things out from there. But the woman became increasingly frantic. She said she couldn't wait around because the group had her friend, and they were going to kill her if she didn't go back. Norma told the woman she could sneak out the back way, who in turn responded, they would probably find me anyway. Norma offered to call the police, but the woman declined, saying, I better go.

Norma returned to her kitchen only to hear a loud scream. She rushed to a front window where she saw a car idling outside. The woman who had just been in her house was struggling with a young man who had a long, wavy, dark hair. He struck the woman across the face as he tried to force her into the back seat of the car. Norma could see a second young woman in the back of the vehicle. She too was in the throes of a struggle with another man. It looked as though she was trying to get out, but the man wouldn't let her leave. At that moment, Norma's husband pulled into the driveway. He had also witnessed the struggle

and headed inside to ask Norma what was going on. She filled him in, but he responded, quote, it was probably just a domestic. The couple returned to the front window. By then, the men, the women, and the car were gone. Two weeks later, Norma was reading the newspaper when she came across a photo of Lorraine Wilson and Wendy Evans. Norma immediately recognized Lorraine as the young woman who had knocked on her door and Wendy as the woman in the back seat of the car. She wanted to contact the police, but her husband warned her not to get involved. When Lorraine and Wendy's bodies were discovered, Norma informed her parents what she had witnessed

two years earlier. They agreed that she should obey her husband's wishes and not get involved. Memories of the women's cries for help haunted Norma for years. By the time a segment about the case appeared on Australia's Most Wanted in 1989, Norma and her family had relocated into state. Unable to keep it to herself any longer, she finally contacted the police. They had her identify Lorraine and Wendy from a photo, but whether anything else was done beyond that is unknown. When Lorraine's brother Eric heard about this, Eric heard about this, he was crushed. He remarked, My sister was standing in front of a woman who was the same age as her mother.

She was looking for a mother's protection, a mother's advice on what she should do. She got nothing. She was on her own. There is a famous saying, Evil exists when good men or women do nothing. How true a statement that is. For almost 40 years, Lorraine Wilson's family had tried to move on with their lives, but the lack of closure made it impossible. By 2012, Lorraine's father was suffering from dementia. Her brother Eric wanted answers not only for himself, but for his elderly parents. With all the new information that had come to light since the initial inquest in 1985,

the Wilson family felt that Lorraine and Wendy at the very least deserved another inquest. Lorraine's mother Betty wrote to the coroner, To this day, no one has been held accountable for the murder of Lorraine, my daughter, and her friend Wendy. It is important to me, my family, and the public at large to have these suspects fully accountable and have them named in the public domain. For the sake of justice and history, I feel it is important that with all the new evidence in this investigation to be laid out in clear view for all to see. I wish to rest in peace, and I urge for the sake of the girls who do not have a voice, as well as my own, for you to convene a coronial inquest to wear these findings.

Three days after writing the letter, Betty was working alone in the garden when she slipped and severed an artery. She tried to make it back to the house, but the blood loss was too severe. Betty passed away without ever seeing justice served for her daughter. Betty's request for accountability was denied, much to the outrage of the public. Media rallied around Eric Wilson, propelling the murders back in the headlines. The coroner succumbed to the public pressure, and it was announced that a new inquest would be held with the aim of determining whether there was enough evidence to warrant a trial. By this point there was no shortage of witnesses. Some had seen Lorraine and Wendy accepting a ride, others had seen them trying

to escape their attackers. Others had received confessions or incriminating statements from the suspected perpetrators. The problem was inconsistencies were rife. Some had described the perpetrator's car as an EJ Holden, others said an EH Holden, both remarkably similar models. The physical description of the men involved also varied, making it difficult to pinpoint which individuals were responsible for which acts. A full forensic review was ordered on all available evidence, but there was even less to go by than originally thought. There were hopes that the cord used to hog tile Lorraine and Wendy would reveal traces of the perpetrator's DNA, but the tests proved negative. Some of the evidence had been disposed of in 2010, while other items had

been lost altogether. Amongst the missing items was the silver men's signant ring that was found at the crime scene. Wayne Boogie Hilton was known to wear a similar ring. Given the ring had been misplaced, images of it couldn't be circulated to facilitate the identification of its owner. In the 1970s, the Laurie family had owned a pale green EH Holden with a white roof. The shell of this vehicle was tracked down and examined. Traces of blood were detected inside, but too much time had passed for it to be of any use. There was one notable discovery. There were no interior handles or window winders on the back doors. The inquest commenced into Wumba in April 2013. For the first time, the seven primary suspects were publicly named. They included Wayne Boogie

Hilton, Donald Laurie, Alan Shorty Laurie, Alan Ungey Laurie, Desmond Hilton, Jimmy O'Neill, and Larry Charles. Kingsley Hunt, the gang's designated driver, was noted as a person of interest, but not nominated as a primary suspect. Over several days, evidence was heard from the various witnesses who claimed to have seen Lorraine and Wendy with a group of men on the day they went missing. Other individuals who provided testimony ranged from the reliable to the questionable, with one member of the Laurie family claiming to have witnessed the murders himself when he was 10 years old. Many witnesses connected to the persons of interest gave vague, non-committed answers. Some backtracked from damning claims they'd made in the past,

while several retracted their statements pertaining to alleged confessions. Those implicated flat out denied any involvement in the crime. Yet, there was an air of anticipation when one particular person finally took the stand. 1984 marked a decade after Lorraine Wilson and Wendy Evans were killed. Towards the middle of that year, Kim Sandercock had been having a tough time at home. She headed to Toowoomba's Crown Hotel for a breather. Kim sat nursing a drink when a woman whom she'd never met approached her table. The stranger took a seat and introduced herself as Ellen.

The two women engaged in small talk for a while before Ellen, who was clearly intoxicated, asked, Have you ever had to carry around a secret that you couldn't tell anybody? It was clear to Kim that Ellen had something she wanted to get off her chest, so she let her talk. But Kim wasn't prepared for what came next. Ellen revealed that she'd been present when Lorraine Wilson and Wendy Evans were murdered, and she was sick of covering up for those responsible. Ellen claimed that she'd been driving around in a 1963 Holden with two men when they decided to pick up the two nurses in the hopes of getting sex. But the nurses refused the men's advances

and were labelled as, quote, prick teasers. The men wanted to teach the nurses a lesson. The plan was to take them to an isolated area and rape them. But during the drive, things went haywire. The nurses became terrified and tried to escape. One of them had been sitting in the front seat, and the driver began hitting her over the head and pulling her hair. The other man, who was sitting in the back seat, grabbed a bar of some kind. He reached over and bashed the woman across the head. She flung forward, blood flying everywhere, and it was obvious that she was dead. The other nurse was hysterical. She began screaming. The men panicked and decided they'd have to kill her, too.

They pulled up to a remote side in Murphy's Creek and dumped the first body. The remaining nurse saw this as her chance to escape. She got out and ran, but the men chased her down. They launched a frenzied attack, bashing her multiple times in the head until she was no longer moving. They then dragged her body alongside her friend. When Ellen finally stopped talking about the murders, Kim was shaking as she got up to leave. Ellen grabbed her firmly by the shoulder and warned, if you ever tell anyone what I just told you, you'll end up the same way as the nurses. Kim was terrified. She kept this information to herself for five years before finally going to

the police. By then, she couldn't remember much about Ellen herself, but could remember every detail about the story Ellen had told her, including the names of the men involved. Shorty Laurie and one of the Hilton boys. By the time Kim Sandercock appeared at the inquest in 2013, she was in a wheelchair and hooked up to a morphine drip as the result of a spinal injury. She relied heavily on strong pain medication, which severely hindered her memory. Consequently, Kim claimed she had absolutely no recollection of Ellen and the conversation they shared in 1984. The court wasn't buying it. They believed it was more likely that the encounter with Ellen was a fabrication to cover for the fact that Kim knew more than she was willing

to admit. After all, what were the chances that an individual would approach a complete stranger in a pub to confess to witnessing a murder? Furthermore, the level of detail she'd managed to retain in her statement was outstanding. A more plausible explanation was that Kim herself had witnessed the crime and wanted to unburden herself without fear of retaliation or punishment. This fit with the witness statement from Brian and Velma, who claimed to have seen a third woman in the car with Lorraine and Wendy. Alternatively, someone close to Kim might have been involved and had told her the story enough times for her to retain such an accurate level of detail. These possibilities were put forward to Kim's Sandercock in court.

She flat out denied being present when Lorraine and Wendy were attacked, or having any first-hand knowledge of what happened. The coroner made it clear that Kim could be given immunity if she was willing to share what she knew. Kim replied, I can't remember. I just can't. The coroner presented his findings in June 2013. He concluded that the witness statement that held the most veracity was the one given by Kim Sandercock. The details she provided aligned with the crime scene. Lorraine had been killed by a single blow to the head before the perpetrators carried out a rage-fuelled frenzy on Wendy as she tried to escape. The coroner concluded that Kim

had to likely either be present when the crimes were committed or had a close connection to someone who was. The coroner viewed the alleged confession that Wayne Hilton had made to his former colleague as valid. As for the number of witnesses who ignored Lorraine and Wendy's screams for help, he put this down to the bystander's effect. This socio-psychological phenomenon dictates that the more witnesses there are to an event, the less likely any one of them will offer help. The coroner remarked, with the failure of any of those people to even attempt to intervene went the girl's last chance of survival. He went on,

the lives of these two fine young women and the happiness of their families were shattered by an unprovoked violent vicious attack mounted to satiate the perverse sexual dysfunction of a despicable gang of thugs. Their family's suffering was made worse still by a long period of not knowing. Speaking about the seven persons of interest, the coroner stated that they'd gotten away with committing their habitual sexual assaults in the 70s because of the victim-blaming mentality of the time and the fact that survivors were too scared to come forward. He concluded, it is more likely than not Lorraine Wilson and Wendy Evans tragically stumbled into this putrid pool of miscreants and were killed by them. Undoubtedly, they were abducted and killed by more

than one person, but the identity of those responsible cannot now be established with sufficient certainty, with one exception, namely, Wayne Hilton. I am satisfied the evidence implicating him in the death of the two women reaches the required standard for a coroner's finding to that effect. By the time he was implicated in the double homicide, Wayne Hilton had been dead for 27 years. He was killed in a car accident in 1986. As such, he would not face any justice for his involvement. As for his associates, the coroner conceded that there was insufficient evidence to have any of them stand trial. With that, the inquest was closed. Three other members of the Hilton-Lorraine gang were deceased by the time the 2013

inquest was underway. A car accident had claimed Alan Shorty Lorraine's life in 2001. Larry Charles took his own life in 1993. Donald Lorraine had died in 1994 from a long-standing illness. According to one friend, Donald had made a deathbed confession, saying, "'We killed the nurses. I was there. I didn't do it.'" The friend claimed to have reported this to police, who took no significant action. Those who were still alive were Desmond Hilton, Jimmy O'Neill and Alan Ungey-Larry, all of whom were aged in their early 60s. When appearing at the inquest, all were notably cagey. Desmond, who had been warned he could be charged with being an accessory after the fact for cleaning

the car after the others allegedly spoke of giving two girls a hiding, claimed he had no memory of ever making such a statement to the police. On the stand, each of the three men attempted to distance themselves from the others by denying they were ever friends or spent time together back in the 70s. Back in 1976, Officer Ian Hamilton of the Toowoomba police had met with detectives working the Wilson Evans case to divulge everything he knew about the Green Holden and the Hilton and Lorraine men who were associated with it. It was only through the inquest that he learned no record was ever made of this meeting. Officer Hamilton told the Courier Mail, there is no doubt in my mind that if those leads were followed up, the case would have been solved

and solved quickly, because the suspects would have been shitting themselves and someone would have squealed. Whether they would have got them all, I don't know, but someone would have been brought to justice. Although Lorraine and Wendy's loved ones were disappointed that no tangible justice had been served, they were grateful that someone had finally been held accountable and that those suspected of being involved had been publicly named and shamed. Outside court, Lorraine's cousin told reporters, I don't think they'll be able to walk down the street now and feel comfortable. I think naming them has probably been the best outcome that we could have here.

Lorraine's brother Eric found peace with the fact that the community was now aware of the criminals walking among them. Quote, the mountain of fear that sat on my shoulders can sit on theirs now. Eric sought permission from the Toowoomba Regional Council to install a memorial plaque in a park garden in the name of his sister and Wendy Evans. After some back and forth, Eric's request was denied. Eric said of the decision, it was an excellent opportunity to make amends and acknowledge what happened, not only to the girls, but the community who have been held hostage for 40 years. Had it been installed, the plaque would have included the message,

fear and intimidation must never again silence a community. The so-called Gold Coast hitchhiker murderer who is believed to be responsible for the deaths of Michelle Riley, Gabrielle Janky, Robin Huyenville-Bartram, Anita Cunningham and Margaret Rosewarn has never been brought to justice. Investigators don't believe that the Hilton and Lurie gang were involved with these crimes. Hopes remain that advances in genealogical DNA testing could soon lead to the killer or killers being identified. A plaque in memory of Lorraine Wilson and Wendy Evans was installed on the grounds of St George Hospital in Sydney where the pair had worked as trainee nurses. For Lorraine's mother, Betty, it was ironic that her daughter had a particular

interest in psychiatric nursing. Prior to Betty's death, she remarked, It seems the kind of people Lorraine wanted to help most ended up killing her. you