#gatton

October 23, 2022

In the town of Gatton, west of Brisbane and the capital of what was known then as the Colony of Queensland in Australia, the Murphy family owned a farm at Blackfellow’s Creek. 

Michael and his brother Daniel Murphy had both left Gatton, Michael working on a government farm near Westbrook and Daniel was a police constable in Brisbane. 

On December 26, 1898, Michael, who had come home for the holidays had taken his sister Ellen to the Mount Sylvia Races in nearby Caffey. At 8pm, Michael, Ellen and their other sister, Norah, left home to go to a dance that was at the Gatton Hall. When they arrived at the dance at 9pm, they found out it had been cancelled and decided to return home. They never made it back. 

Early the next morning, December 27, 1898, Mrs. Murphy asked her son in law, William M’Neill to look for Michael, Ellen and Norah in Gatton. Michael had actually borrowed William’s sulky (a light weight two wheeled cart horses are hitched to) and William noticed his sulky’s tracks turning off the road through a slip rail. William followed the tracks over a km before he found the bodies of his relatives.

All three of the siblings bodies were found in a field 1.2 miles from Gatton. Michael and Ellen were lying back to back within 2 feet of each other. Norah was laying on a neatly spread rug, 28 feet to the east. Both Ellen and Norah had their hands tied behind their backs with handkerchiefs. 

The sulky faced south, and had formed a triangle between Michael and Norah. William’s horse had been shot in the head. The siblings legs were arranged with their feet pointing west. 

William went to the Brian Boru Hotel in Gatton and told the patrons of the murder, which resulted in around 40 people rushing to the murder scene, which could destroy evidence. 

William was later criticized for not going directly to the police but testified that he had asked where he could find the police sergeant at the hotel. William did contact the Acting-Sergeant William Arrell, who arranged for police from Brisbane to come to the scene. However, further delays led to officers not arriving until 48 hours after the bodies had been discovered.

Daniel, the brother of the victims who was a police officer got a telegram from a family friend on December 27, informing him of the murders. Daniel got a three day leave but failed to catch the 1pm train to Gatton. When returning to the headquarters, Daniel discovered that no action had been taken as there was rumours that the murders were a hoax. 

At 4pm on December 28, it was confirmed the murders were not a hoax, but the Commissioner of Police was not informed until 5 hours later because the info did not come through official channels. 

The bodies had been moved to the hotel. An autopsy was conducted by Dr. Von Lossberg. It was determined that Michael had been shot and struck with a blut instrument on the right side of his head. Ellen had her skull fractured by two blows to the left side of her head. It was also determined that Michael and Ellen were sitting upright and back to back when struck. 

Norah had been struck on the left side of her head, her brain was actually protruding out from the skull. Norah had a harness strap tied around her neck, which was so tight it could have caused her death. Both Ellen and Norah had been raped, and semen was found on their clothes. It appeared they both had been raped with the brass mounted handle of a whip, the whip was never found. 

William, the brother in law who had found the bodies, testified that Michael’s hands were not tied when he first saw the body, but it did appear that his hands had been tied behind his back at some point, with one holding an open purse. 

All other witnesses stated that Michael’s hands were not tied, but that a breeching strap lay nearby, and an empty purse was lying a short distance from the body. 

When Michael’s body was removed from the scene around 1:30pm, he was found to have the breeching strap between his untied hands, with the empty purse in one hand. The purse was known to have about 15 shillings in it (about $100 in 2010), the night before, so it was speculated that someone may have untied Michael’s hands to get to the purse. 

Witnesses and police determined Michael to have been shot in the head, but Von Lossberg did not find this, despite claims that he had been asked to look for a bullet. The bodies had been exhumed, and it was found that the original autopsies were no more than an examination from Von Lossberg. 

Decomposition was advanced but it was found that Michael had indeed been shot in the right side of his head and then struck on the same spot with a blunt instrument. This would have partially obscured the bullet hole, but the bullet was recovered from his skull. 

Sub-Inspector Percy Galbraith testified that Von Lossberg told him he had completed the autopsies and said he found what looked like a bullet hole with no exit wound but couldn’t find the bullet in the skull. 

Von Lossberg testified that he told Galbraith he had not performed an autopsy because he was suffering from blood poisoning and did not want the bodies to be buried. 

William, the brother in law had contacted Sergeant Arrell at 9:15am on December 27. They both went to the murder scene and were there for 30 minutes; in this time, Arrell had not taken any notes, did not interview anyone present, and made no effort to protect the site from people destroying the crime scene. 

Arrell requested an urgent telegram be sent, but was told the police had no authority to send urgent telegrams; however this was not true and Arrell was later criticized for not knowing he had that authority. 

An investigation went on for 5 months, but no one was charged with the murders. There were rumours of cover-ups and incest in the Murphy family but they were only rumours and never were proven. 

A man named Theo Farmer, also known as Thomas Day and Thomas Furner, was the prime suspect for the Gatton murders. Thomas was employed as a butcher in Gatton and lived in a hut around 900 feet from the murder scene. He had been witnessed walking along the road on previous nights where the Murphy siblings had disappeared. 

A witness claimed to have seen Thomas washing blood from a pullover a few days later. There was also evidence against him that he had been involved in the killing of a man named Alfred Stephen Hill in nearby Oxley, a few weeks before the Gatton murders. The same revolver had been used in both crimes. 

In 1906, a revolver with the same number as the shots spent in the Oxley and Gatton murders was found near the butchery where Thomas worked. Thomas enlisted in the army shortly after being questioned but left in May 1899.

Sports Team:

music makes me feel like im at a party grooving with my friends, getting wasted. slightly funky but mostly 80′s with a lot of synth. slightly beach boys with the guitar strumming. 

recommended song(s): M5 and Camel Crew

Jacob Noah:

music is rad to be driving near the beach at night with the windows down and the salty air stinging your nose. I can literally smell the sunscreen and sea water. sort of 80′s funk but sounds more like Dayglow mixed oddly enough with The NBHD

recommended song(s): If It Wasn’t (For you)

Fran Vascilic

music similar to Frank Ocean with white boy vocals. slow drive to the airport at 3 in the morning. feels like when you’re coming down from a bad trip. has slight Joji vibes with the guitar picking and vocal fry. musical progression feels akin to the “Up” sad song (you know which one i’m talking about)

recommended song(s): It’s Been a Fun Ride, but it’s Time to Say Goodbye and Day 39/167

Maris

super underrated I think. Jazz. straight up Jazz. she is absolutely fantastic. I’m in a Smokey bar with red lipstick and a cigarette I’m not even smoking hanging off my finger. Or in at a funeral in New Orleans. there is no in-between. she is an acquired taste, but you can really get into it. 

Recommended song(s): Two Part Invention

Gatton: 

a new age Sam Smith. I know we’re all a little tired of it, but he’s worth listening to. Listen to him while in your shower, turn the lights out, and lean dramatically against the wall. influenced by Christianity but he’s not a Christian artist. 

recommended song(s): When Scars Become Art and They Just Exist

The Ugly Boys

They are not ugly, just a forewarning. you will probably develop crushes. late 90′s pop. heavily influenced by boybands but with a funky vibe. imagine if the Wallows were a boyband. the boy who cruises on his skateboard in a wife-beater and dickies in Venice beach probably listens to this song. they also rap, but white boy rap. The guitar progressions sound influenced by The Eagles.

Hi, I just wanted to share something with you guys. Remember the song I recommended for Part 43 of She’s Exquisite? 🥺

Well it’s actually not a breakup song because it’s about inner conflict, about how people aren’t there to save you from yourself, and how Gatton has learned to be grateful for all the pain and sorrow he has experienced because without them, he wouldn’t have learned that it was only up to him to grow from every wave.

I’ve been listening to it since August because at that time, I was going through something that almost made me unable to smile and look forward to brighter days. Basically this song helped me write She’s Exquisite 🥺 and the Cheol in my series really resonates to this song!

And now that She’s Exquisite is coming to an end, I just had to thank Gatton for comforting me with his music. AND HE REPLIED 🥺🥺🥺 and he left a very important note at the end that I wanted to share to you guys:

We aren’t able to understand the way life works and why pain, sorrow, and loss exists because that’s just the way life is. It’s up to us to see these things as something else and be able to turn them into something beautiful.

For everyone who thinks that they won’t meet brighter days, I want you to know that it will come someday. Maybe not now, not tomorrow, or not soon, but my dear, it will definitely be there someday.

So here’s his song about how pain, joy, love, and loss just somehow fits perfectly and makes this one big tapestry that we call life. 🤍