Prime Crime: Solved Murders - Graeme Thorne Pt. 2

Episode Date: May 19, 2021

After his abduction on July 7th, 1960, Graeme Thorne's body was discovered in a vacant lot in Sydney, Australia. The entire country longed to see his killer brought to justice, and the identity of his killer would surprise everyone who followed the case. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Due to the graphic nature of this murder case, listener discretion is advised. This episode includes dramatizations and discussions of the murder and assault of a child that some people may find offensive. We advised extreme caution for children under 13. On August 28, 1960, hundreds of people attended 8-year-old Graham Thorne's funeral. Mourners from all over the city converged on St. Mark's Church in Darling Point, Australia. By the time the service began, the mourners overwhelmed the pews, spilling out into the surrounding streets. Many of Graham's classmates were present, dressed smartly in their school uniforms. They formed an honor guard around his body.

During the ceremony, Basil and Frida Thorne broke down into tears inconsolable. Hundreds of men, women, and children grieved openly for Graham. The Reverend addressed the large crowd with an impassioned and, speech. Graham's brutal kidnapping, ransom, and murder had caused untold suffering for his family, indeed for all Australians. While the nation wept for its lost son, it demanded justice be done. The congregation grieve for Graham and prayed for his soul. They committed themselves to unmasking Graham's killer and punishing him to the fullest extent of the law. Welcome to Solved Murders, True Crime Mysteries, a Spotify original from Parcast.

I'm your host, Carter Roy. And I'm your host, Wendy McKenzie. Every Wednesday we step into the world of true crime's most fascinating murder cases and tell the tale of how real-life detectives closed the case. You can find episodes of Solve Murders and all other Spotify originals from Parcast for free exclusively on Spotify. This is our final episode on the Abyss. of Graham Thorne. Last week, we covered his kidnapping,

the frantic search to bring him home, and the grim discovery that Graham had been murdered. This week, we'll see how forensics helped police discover the kidnapper's identity and the trial that followed. We have all that and more coming up. Stay with us. Yamava Resort and Casino at San Manuel

is California's number one entertainment destination for today's superstars. Catch the Jonas Brothers return to the Yamava Theater, stage on April 30th, the powerful vocals of Demi Lovato on May 17th, and the signature Southern Country Rock of Eric Church on July 19th. Tickets on sale now at yamava Theater.com, only at Yamava Resort and Casino, celebrating its 40th anniversary. You in? Must be 21 to enter. In the summer of 1960, the citizens of Sydney, Australia rallied together with a single goal to find eight-year-old Graham Thorne. He was kidnapped on July 7th, while

on his way to school. But after five weeks of searching, culminating in the largest manhunt in the nation's history, the efforts to bring Graham home safely proved futile. A group of children found Graham's body in a vacant lot in a suburb of Sydney.

Graham was found rolled up in an old blue tartan rug amongst underbrush and rocks. He was still dressed for school in his uniform over a coat. His school tie was nodded exactly, the way Frida had done it for him the morning he went missing. The two handkerchiefs that he normally carried in his pants pockets were still there unused. According to the coroner's report, Graham had died shortly after being kidnapped. His body was probably dumped the very same day.

After so many weeks, his body was already in an advanced state of decomposition, but the coroner determined that the cause of death was a combination of exfixiation and blunt force. trauma to the head. The timeline of his murder was also determined by the discovery of fungi on Graham's shoes. It was in an advanced state of growth that takes at least four weeks to achieve. This fungi would not have grown if the shoes were being used. Scientists also discovered microscopic worms, which had eaten at Graham's socks. This showed that the socks had not been walked on for up to 45 days and corroborated the

timeline. While forensic scientists continued searching Graham's body and clothing for clues, detectives investigated the source of the rug. They tracked down the manufacturer to a textile mill in South Australia. The blue and gray checked pattern on the rug was a style produced in 1955 and 1956. Some 3,000 units had been created. The task of tracking down the original owner of this particular rug seemed impossible. So the police turned to the public for help. Magazines and newspapers agreed to print images of the rug's pattern to help jog people's memories. The police got many false leads, but slogged through all of them hoping that one would lead them to Graham's killer. Police were also still searching for every blue 1955 Ford Custom

Line car in the Sydney area. An eyewitness had tied this specific car. to the kidnapping, and the police were trying to determine if it belonged to the kidnapper or was just stolen and used to perpetrate the crime. As detectives combed department of motor transport vehicles records, they came across a car owner named Stephen Bradley. He lived in Clontarf, a suburb of Sydney that was very close to Seaforth near where Graham's body was found. This made Stephen a clear person of interest. However, witnesses described the kidnapper as being of foreign origin, and the name Stephen Bradley hardly sounded foreign. Still, the police wanted to investigate everyone, so they arranged to meet Stephen and take a look at his Ford. On August 24, 1960,

eight days after Graham's body was found, a detective came face to face with Stephen at his place of work, a poker machine factory. What he saw, surprised him. Stephen Bradley was a heavy-set, 34-year-old man who had an olive complexion, dark-wavy hair, and a distinctly European accent. He matched the description of the suspect exactly. What can I do for you, Detective? We're investigating the kidnapping and murder of the Thorneboy. Yes, of course. What a tragic story. I'm a father myself. If that happened to one of my children, I don't know how I could stand it. I'm glad to hear that you're sympathetic, because we think you can help.

Of course, anything for that poor family. Where were you on the morning of July 7th? Well, let me think. Oh, that was moving day. Yes, I remember it very well. I was at the old house in Clontarf, waiting for the movers. And what about your car, the 1955 Ford Custom Line? It was in the garage the whole time.

Did the mover see your car in the garage? No, the movers never went into the garage, nothing to pack in there, but I assure you I was not out and about that morning, and neither was my car. It may have just been a coincidence that Stephen Bradley looked exactly like the suspect and owned a blue Ford custom line, but it was also very suspicious. For now, however, there was nothing the police could do but continue to gather evidence. As they would later find out, Stephen Bradley was born in 1926 in Budapest, Hungary, and was born with a name Istvan Berenier. He immigrated to Australia in 1950. He changed his name in 1956 to Stephen Leslie Bradley in order to fit in with his newly adopted, anglicized home.

The police discovered that Stephen Bradley had been married three times, once in Hungary and twice in Australia. His first marriage had ended in divorce. His second wife, Eva Laslow, died in a somewhat suspicious car crash. He and Eva had one daughter. Eva's father was sure that Stephen had deliberately caused her death by sabotaging the car's brake line. It was investigated extensively by the police, but they found no evidence of foul play and determined the crash was truly an accident. In 1955, Stephen met Magda, a Hungarian and an Auschwitz survivor who was married with two children.

The attraction between Stephen and Magda was instant and intense. Magda ran away with Stephen in 1957, taking her two children with her, and they married the following year. The blended family got along together exceedingly well and were very close. Stephen treated his stepchildren like they were his own. The police were puzzled by Stephen's profile. His appearance and accent matched multiple eyewitness accounts. He owned the exact car used in the kidnapping. However, on the day of Graham's disappearance,

Stephen and his family had moved. That part of his alibi was true. But Stephen had decided to take care of the work alone. On the morning of July 7th, while his wife and children went to the airport, he stayed behind and waited for the movers to arrive. He had no one to corroborate his alibi for when the kidnapping occurred. But Stephen was clearly a devoted father and husband.

By all accounts, he was a family-oriented man in a happy marriage. He was hardly the type of person you envisioned kidnapping and murdering a child. So the police kept an eye on Stephen, but continued their search for Graham's killer. Meanwhile, forensic reports were starting to come in. The blue tartan rug revealed a number of hairs, both human and animal. The same animal hairs were found attached to the back of Graham's coat and were determined to be from a Pekingese dog. Forensics also found two types of foliage from cultivated cypress trees on the rug

as well as on Graham's scarf, coat, and pants. There weren't any cypress trees in the area where his body was. found, implying that the foliage came from the location where Graham was held captive. Reports also showed traces of a pink limestone mortar on Graham's clothing. The distribution of the mortar indicated that Graham had probably been lying on his back next to or near a building when the scarf was tied around his neck. The combination of pink mortar, cypress trees, and Pekingese dog hairs made the police think that Graham had been held in a residential location.

But tracking down a house in the Sydney area that fit the bill would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. The police turned to the postal service for help. They asked postal workers to look for locations on their roots that encompassed all these forensic clues. They distributed information about the cypress trees, the 1955 Blue Ford Custom Line, the dog, and the pink mortar. Weeks passed without any leads.

Then one day, towards the end of September, a postal worker contacted the police. Detective, I was out in my route today, and I think I know a place that checks your boxes. Are you sure? Positive. Well, there is one problem, though. What's that? The car's not there anymore. The family moved some time ago.

In July, I think. Can you tell me about this family? The man was very friendly. It was a couple with three children, if I recall. I'm guessing they were some kind of European. When the police went to the house that the postal worker described, they discovered it was formerly owned by none other than Stephen Bradley. They found the pink mortar and the cypress trees.

Stephen Bradley had officially become their number one suspect. Coming up, the hunt for Stephen Bradley leads to startling discoveries. Wayne Simmons spent 27 years undercover for the CIA. When he retired from spy work, he got a big break, terrorism analyst on Fox News. Then he met Kent Clisby. So I'm a real CIA guy. This is total nonsense.

I'm Alex French, and I'm here to figure out who's telling the truth. Was Wayne Simmons a spy, or was he nothing but a con man? Impostors is a Spotify original from Parcast, follow and listen exclusively on Spotify. And now, back to our story. A few weeks after discovering Graham Thorne's body on August 16th, 1960, police had honed in on a prime suspect. A plethora of forensic information all pointed to Stephen Bradley.

But by this time, roughly a month after the police had first contacted Stephen, he and his family had disappeared. The Bradley's had fled Australia and were on their way to London. But even in his absence, the case against Stephen Bradley was getting stronger. Police searched Bradley's former house in Clontarf and found a tassel from a rug in the garage. The tassel fibers matched the blue tartan rug found with Graham's body. From interviewing a friend of Stephen's wife, they learned that the rug had been given as a gift to the Bradley family.

They were now certain the rug was Stevens. To add to this, the Bradley's former neighbors told police that the Bradley's did in fact own a Pekingese dog. Stephen had left the dog at a veterinary clinic with instructions for the dog to eventually be sent overseas to reunite with the family. The police recovered the dog and compared its fur to the hair samples

they had recovered from the crime scene. The samples matched. The police also tracked down a vacuum cleaner that the Bradley sold before leaving for London. The hairs in the vacuum cleaner, or human and animal, matched the samples that were found on the rug. But the biggest break came when the police finally tracked down the 195 Ford Custom Line.

When they searched the trunk of the car, investigators found fibers matching those found on Graham's school clothes and the rug. At this point, in early October, the police were absolutely certain that Stephen Bradley was their man. To cement their suspicions, the police invited Frida Thorne, to the police station to look at a photo lineup. They wanted to determine if she could pick out the strange private investigator who'd come to the house a few weeks before the kidnapping.

When Frida flipped through batches of photos, one caught her eye. She was sure it was the same person. It was a picture of Stephen Bradley. The police now knew they had to intercept him as soon as possible. They learned that the ship he was traveling on, the SS Himalaya, would be stopping in Colombo, Ceylon, which is now Sri Lanka, before heading on to London. Sydney police contacted the captain of the ship who kept Stephen Bradley under surveillance.

When the ship docked on October 10th, Bradley was arrested and forced to disembark in Colombo. He sent his family onto London and immediately proclaimed his innocence. The police wanted to extradite Stephen Bradley back to Australia. However, because Ceylon did not have an extradition treaty with Australia, the process was complicated and time-consuming. Finally, on October 21st, after weeks of legal argument, the extradition request was granted, and police officers flew to Colombo to retrieve their prisoner. After a lengthy extradition hearing in Colombo, Stephen Bradley was finally handcuffed and taken on a long flight from Colombo to Sydney, accompanied by a lengthy extradition hearing in Colombo, Stephen Bradley was finally handcuffed and taken on a long flight from Colombo to Sydney, accompanied by two detectives. Please fasten your seatbelts.

Mr. Bradley, it has been a pleasure flying with you. Truly it has. I'm just excited to get off this plane and out of these handcuffs. It's a shame what you've been accused of. Looking at you, I don't know how you could have done such a horrific crime. I appreciate that, detective. I could never hurt a child. I'm a family man.

And a man's gotta take care of his family. Exactly. I'm just glad this will all be over soon. No, I'm afraid it won't be over anytime soon. Without a confession, the whole process could drag on for months, even years. And it'll be terribly difficult for that family of yours. And with a confession? Your family would certainly be better off.

All I've ever wanted was to give my family a better life. That's... Well, that's why I did it. That's why I kidnapped the boy. remarkably Stephen Bradley confessed to kidnapping Graham Thorne while still on the plane home. Upon arrival in Sydney, he was interrogated at length and made a full written statement. But while he admitted to kidnapping and ransoming Graham, Stephen denied killing him. He refused to take any responsibility for Graham's death.

Shortly after arriving in Sydney, Stephen Bradley was put in a police lineup, both Basil and Frida Thorne were brought down to the station to ID him. At that time in Australia, it was customary to touch the shoulder of the person that you were identifying in the police lineup. Both Basil and Frida identified Stephen Bradley as the man who had come to their door, but they refused to touch the man who had murdered their son. Australia's trial of the century began on March 20, 1961. Hundreds of people gathered at the courthouse. The whole country was invested in bringing Graham Thorne's killer to justice.

This court is now in session. Mr. Bradley, do you understand the nature of all the charges against you? I do. And how do you plead? Not guilty. Murder! Stephen now claimed that he had absolutely nothing to do with either the kidnapping or murder of Graham Thorne. Stephen's lawyer argued that the written statement and confession on the plane were coerced.

Throughout the trial, Stephen was calm and controlled. In fact, the people in the courtroom marveled at just how unremarkable he was. There was nothing about him that would suggest he could commit such a horrific crime. But the case against him was overwhelming. Dozens of witnesses, including policemen, were called to give testimony. all the forensic evidence was presented. Experts declared that the cause of death, asphyxiation and blunt force trauma to the head,

could not have been accidental. During the trial, all eyes were on Basil and Frida, who had to relive the most traumatic experience of their lives while looking at their son's murderer. At one point, while giving testimony, Frida was overwhelmed. She started trembling and crying and pointed at Stephen Bres.

Bradley, shouting that he was the one who killed her boy. After eight days, the trial came to a close. The judge reminded the jury of exactly what a murder charge means. It is not just the intentional taking of a life, but also when a life is taken because of reckless indifference. This is distinct from manslaughter and meant that even if Graham Thorne's death was somewhat accidental, Stephen Bradley could still be convicted of murder. because of his intention to kidnap Graham and his neglect of Graham's needs while the boy was in his care.

After deliberating just three and a half hours, the jury came back with a verdict. Stephen Bradley was found guilty of murdering Graham Thorne. At the announcement, the crowds inside and outside the courthouse erupted in celebration. Order in the court, order! Mr. Bradley, do you have anything you'd like to say? Thank you, Your Honor. I do. I knew before I came to this court that I would be convicted of a crime which I did not commit. The main factor is the publicity this case got from the newspapers. I am not saying that the people of the jury are bad people. I am sure they are good people, but they were already prejudiced against me from the very beginning. Order! Order, I say. Stephen Bradley, you are hereby sentenced to penal servitude for life. As Stephen Bradley was escorted out of the courtroom, he was mobbed by a group of screaming women.

But security held them back, and Stephen was unharmed. Basil and Frida left the courtroom hand in hand. They had finally gotten justice for their beloved Graham. Coming up, we reveal what exactly happened to Graham on that fateful day. Now, back to the story. In March of 1961, Stephen Bradley was convicted of the murder. of eight-year-old Graham Thorne. He was sentenced to life in prison. All of Australia had invested their time, money, and energy into finding Graham.

After the boy's death, they were even more invested in learning why Stephen Bradley carried out such a heinous crime in the first place. In 1959, Stephen Bradley was working for T&G life insurance company. This was one of a string of jobs in different industries that Stephen had charged. harmed his way into. According to the book kidnapped by Mark Tedeschi, Stephen Bradley had a history as a con artist and a risk-taker, often faking his credentials to get a job and then defrauding his employers and investing in real estate that he couldn't afford. Following this pattern, he and Magda bought a large expensive house in Clontarf. It was well above his means, but he'd splurged.

Unfortunately, shortly after buying this house, Stephen was fired for stealing. He was caught pocketing insurance premiums. In dire financial straits, he began working at the poker machine manufacturer for a much lower wage. Stephen quickly realized he had no way of paying off his new expensive home. He desperately needed cash. It was around that time in June, 1960, that Stephen saw Basil Thorn's name and picture splashed across the newspaper as the winner of the Sydney Opera House lottery. A few days later, he also read an article about the recent kidnapping of Eric Pujot,

of the well-known car manufacturing family. The four-year-old had been kidnapped easily, ransomed successfully for millions of dollars, and returned safely to his family. It's possible that when Stephen decided to kidnap one of Basil Thorne's children, he modeled his plan on the Pugé case. He hoped to take the Thorn's youngest child, three-year-old Belinda, believing that she would not be able to identify him to police

because she was so young. With this plan in mind, he began to scout out the Thorn's residence. He found that Belinda was almost never out of her mother's sight, making her difficult to snatch. But eight-year-old Graham was allowed some freedom. He was the best candidate for kidnapping. Then Stephen must have called the telephone company and asked for the number to the Thorns flat.

He would need to call the Thorns later to demand the ransom, so the correct phone number was of the utmost importance. When he tried the number and learned that it had not yet been connected, he had to find a way to confirm that it was in fact the right number. This was when Stephen hatched his plan to show up at the Thorn's front door, pretending to be a private investigator. Stephen Bradley was so sure that his plan would work that he and Magda put their Klontarf house on the market

and started shopping for an even larger house. The Klontarf house sold before they had settled on a new place, so Stephen decided to move the family into a rented apartment as they continued their search for a new, grander residence. And he must have decided that moving would be the perfect alibi. He arranged for Magda and the kids to go on a short vacation in the town of Surfer's Paradise in Queensland on July 7th, while he took care of moving from the Clontarf House into the apartment.

Early that morning, before his wife and children were awake, Stephen took off in his blue, 1995 Ford Custom Line, to kidnap Graham. He knew that his family would leave for the airport while he was gone, and he'd return just in time for the movers to arrive. Stephen conspicuously parked the car in the way of Graham, Graham's path to the corner shop, figuring it was the best place to intercept him with no one noticing. We don't know exactly what Stephen Bradley said to Graham to get him into his car. From his surveillance, Stephen knew that Graham was normally picked up in front of the corner shop by a woman with two kids.

Stephen probably told Graham that the woman who usually picks him up was sick. Graham, being a trusting and friendly boy, likely got into the car without a second thought. The prosecutor of Stephen Bradley's case hypothesized that Stephen must have then driven to Centennial Park. It would have been fairly empty in the morning, meaning Stephen could count on privacy. There he was able to gag Graham, tie him up, and stow him in the trunk. He then drove to the spit bridge and made the first ransom call to the Thorn House, speaking to Frida and unknowingly Sergeant O'Rourke. Then Stephen drove back to the house in Clontarf, parked the car in the garage, and waited for the movers to arrive.

Based on the details of the case, some of which were reconstructed by author Mark Tedeschi, it seems that Graham was fatally injured while he was held in the garage. He was most likely making a noise, and Stephen was worried that the movers would hear and come and investigate. In desperation, he probably hit the boy on the head to make him be quiet. Graham was then left gagged and injured in the trunk of the car for several hours while the movers continued to do their job. When Stephen came to check on Graham hours later, he discovered that the boy was dead. The combination of the restricted airflow in the trunk and the head injury ultimately caused his death. By now, Stephen would have seen the news and learned that everyone was searching for Graham.

He must have taken Graham's schoolcase, driven down a highway, and thrown it out the window of his car. He then dumped Graham's body, which was wrapped up in the rug, only a couple of miles away in Seaforth. Even though Graham was dead, Stephen decided to still try to collect the ransom money. But he knew that the police could trace phone calls, so he had to be very careful when he made the second ransom call at 9.47 p.m. on July 7. This was the call that Stephen abruptly ended without divulging instructions for the money drop. Stephen likely assumed that the call was being traced and he hung up in panic. After that, Stephen Bradley gave up his quest for the ransom money. He had hoped to simply cut his losses and slide into obscurity, but he had made too many mistakes.

By scattering Graham's various personal effects in close proximity to the Clontarf House, he'd made sure that the police would scour the area thoroughly. By parking his car in a conspicuous manner to catch Graham, he'd drawn the attention of two eyewitnesses. By approaching Basil and Frida at their home, he'd assured their remembrance of him. Stephen also made the mistakes of using his own car for the crime, leaving his scarf tied around Graham's neck,

and using his family's rug to store the body. Together with Graham's clothing, this is what allowed forensic scientists to collect the evidence necessary to convict Stephen Bradley. In fact, this was one of the first cases in Australia to use such pioneering forensic methods, proving just how powerful science could be in aiding police investigations. For a few weeks, Stephen must have thought he'd gotten away with it until the police contacted him about his 1955 Ford Custom Line. Stephen then realized he had not yet escaped his crime.

He tried to flee with his family, but by then it was too late. Stephen's guilty confession on the plane and complete reversal of it during the trial was most likely caused by him finally understanding the seriousness of his situation. Once Stephen realized he could still be charged with murder even though it wasn't premeditated, he decided that it was in his best interest to deny everything. including what he'd already confessed to. Stephen Bradley knew that he was friendly, charming, and likable. He'd used those qualities in the past to obtain jobs and wives,

and he assumed he could use those same qualities to win over the jury. But Stephen underestimated how strongly the people of his adopted country would react to his heinous crime. Though the police were too late to help Graham Thorne, they helped deliver justice by making. making an airtight case against Stephen Bradley and putting him behind bars forever. Magda, Stephen's wife, never overcame the suspicions of the Australian public. Everyone assumed she had helped kidnap Graham.

She divorced Stephen Bradley in 1965 and moved back to Europe with its children permanently. Even though he'd been convicted of kidnapping and murdering a child, Stephen got along well with prison guards and inmates. This afforded him perks, like a job in the infirmary and extended outdoor time. In 1968, Stephen Bradley died of a heart attack at age 42 while playing tennis. Until the day he died, Stephen Bradley maintained his innocence and disavowed any responsibility for the kidnapping and murder of Graham Thorne. Outside of Stephen's conviction, the case had several reasons.

ripple effects. Never again were the addresses of lottery winners printed in the news in Australia without the winner's consent. The Australian government realized that to their horror, they didn't have any laws on the books regarding the kidnapping and ransoming of a child. Graham Thorne's murder led to the creation of stricter laws and more severe punishments for crimes against children. In December of 1961, the crime of kidnapping was added to the Crimes Act by the New South Wales Parliament. The Thorns eventually moved away from Bondi Beach. They never fully recovered from the loss of their boy.

Basil Thorne died in 1978 and only 56. Frida died in 2012 at the age of 86. She was laid to rest alongside her beloved son, Graham. Many Australians who lived through Graham's kidnapping and murder believed it marked the end of innocence for the country. Before his kidnapping, parents allowed their children to roam the streets in play unsupervised. But after Graham's murder, parents became much more fearful of strangers. Kids were no longer allowed to wander freely.

Graham's death ushered in a new age of paranoia and stranger danger for Australian parents. Graham Thorne's death tore the country apart. but the shared quest to find his killer and bring him to justice ultimately had a lasting effect. While the nation may have lost its innocence, it would never again be caught unaware of the dangers that lurked in its own backyard. Thanks again for tuning into Solved Murders. We'll be back next Wednesday with a new episode. For more information on Graham Thorne's murder,

amongst the many sources we used, we found kidnapped the crime that should, Shock the Nation by Mark Tedesky to be extremely helpful to our research. You can find all episodes of Solved Murders and all other Spotify originals from Parcast for free on Spotify. We'll see you next time. If we live till next time. Solve Murders True Crime Mysteries was created by Max Cutler and is a Parcast Studios original. It is executive produced by Max Cutler. Sound design by Michael Langsner with production assistants by Ron Shapiro, Trent

Williamson, Carly Madden, and Isabel Away. This episode of Solve Murders was written by Shilpy Roy, with writing assistance by Giles Hofsef, research by Mickey Taylor, and fact-checking by Claire Cronin. The amazing cast of voice actors includes Drew Lawn, Ellie Schiff, and Jen Wong. It stars Wendy McKenzie and Carter Roy.