Mount Isa Murders

Karen Edwards and her partner Tim Thomson, along with his friend Gordon Twaddle[1] were on a motorcycle expedition through central Australia, travelling from Alice Springs towards Melbourne. They were last seen in the Moondurra Caravan Park in Mount Isa, where they appeared to have befriended another man, who police later stated was a person of interest. All three were found shot dead 12 km (7.5 mi) north of Mount Isa in North West Queensland at Spear Creek on October 24, 1978. The body of Karen Edwards was discovered by local resident, Stan Harris while on a walk at Spear Creek with his greyhounds. He found her body sprawled against a tree. The following morning, police found the bodies of Tim Thomson and Gordon Twaddle, nearby and similarly positioned.[8] All three bodies had been left to decompose in the open.[1]

• September 30, 1978: Edwards arrived in Alice Springs where she met up with Thomson and Twaddle before they rode North.[8]
• October 2, 1978: The trio stopped at Aileron in the Northern Territory where they camped overnight.[8]
• October 3, 1978: The friends made four stops at Wauchope, Devils Marbles, The Three Ways and Frewena before they camped overnight in the Barry Caves. Between The Three Ways and Frewena, they met up with another male motorcyclist who travelled on with them to their campsite at the Barry Caves.[8]
• October 4, 1978: It is believed this male cyclist continued to travel with the friends until they reached Moondarra Caravan Park, where the trio and their dog checked in for two nights. That evening, another unidentified man driving a brown and white Toyota Land Cruiser joined the friends at the campsite.[8]
• October 5, 1978: The trio were last seen leaving the caravan park in the morning. That afternoon, the Toyota Land Cruiser returned to the caravan park and witnesses reported hearing a male voice calling for Thomson's Doberman, Tristie.[8]
• October 6, 1978: Tristie was found abandoned at the Mount Isa Dump.[8]
• October 24, 1978: The bodies of Edwards, Thomson and Twaddle were discovered by a local on a morning walk.[2][8]
• October 30, 1978: The helmets, gloves, jackets, tents and other possessions of the friends were found at the Mount Isa Dump.[8]

The original investigation focused on linking the triple murder to other murders at the time.[9] The murder of John Tzelaidis[10] in Western Australia was originally thought to be associated with the Mount Isa Murders.[9] There is little public information on the original investigation and a suspect was never identified or charged.

In 2018, detectives from the Cold Case Investigation Team along with the Mount Isa Criminal Investigation Branch launched a review of the unsolved triple homicide.[9] This included a review of the information provided by witnesses over the years.[9] In March 2019, a new appeal was made by police, urging anyone with information regarding the murders to come forward.[8] These appeals led to almost 50 leads in the span of a week.[1][8] Police revealed that while some of these contained information they already had, there were some new leads.[8]

On Friday 12 April 2019, the Homicide Cold Case Investigation Team arrested 63 year old Goulburn man and former prison guard, Bruce John Preston, on three counts of murder.[11] Preston was known to the victims, and was originally interviewed by police in 1978, when they found him in possession of Edwards' distinct red and gold motorcycle with sidecar.[2] Preston had the motorcycle cleaned, the wheels changed and parts removed. In 1978, he was convicted of theft of the vehicle and fined $300.[11][12] Despite this progress in the 2019 investigation, police continue to look for any further information regarding the killings, and are offering indemnity from prosecution for any accomplice who can provide insight.[12]

Detective Senior Sergeant Tara Kentwell stated that little was known regarding Preston's motives.[12] Preston's lawyer appeared in court on behalf of the accused in April 2019, stating that his client denied being in Mount Isa at the time of the murders and would be appealing the charges.[12] His claim contradicted by an earlier statement in an interview prior to his arrest when he stated that he was in Mount Isa when the three friends went missing.[13] Preston remained in custody and was not permitted to apply for bail.[13] The crown prosecutor in the case denied bail based on remarks made by Preston which indicated he might take his own life to avoid a prison sentence: "I am not going to prison. I'd rather walk out into the street and blow my head off before I go to jail."[13] Preston made this comment during a recorded phone conversation with his wife while in police custody.[13]

The friends were last seen entering a brown Toyota Land Cruiser. At the time, Preston's father owned a car similar to this description.[13] Preston was also on a motorcycle trip across Australia at this time.[13] Witnesses saw a man matching Preston's description with the victims the night prior to their murder and he was found in possession of Edwards' distinct red and gold motorcycle.[11][13] He was charged with theft at the time but maintained that he had found the motorcycle.[11][13]

The following are excerpts from family members of the victims in 2019, following the :

"Tim was a kind and gentle and much loved brother and always obliging when asked for help in any way... He loved his dog and old motorcycles in equal parts...Tim invited me to go on the trip through the centre of Australia with him and Gordon and Karen but I was unable to go otherwise I would probably not be writing this letter. My parents were shattered by the murders and I still feel a numbness that I don’t think will ever disappear." - Statement from David Thomson (Tim Thomson's brother)

"I write this statement for my brother Gordon Twaddle who was murdered in Australia. This horrible event has played on my mind for 40 years and I feel for the families of these three friends who were cold bloodily murdered. Gordon my brother was not only my best friend but we had a common interest in motorcycling which created a very strong bond between us. I also knew Tim as a friend but unfortunately had never met Karen but knowing the two boys I am sure she was a lovely person. It was that interest in motorcycling that found him in the wrong place at the wrong time. I feel that a result and conviction of the person (persons) responsible for these murders would bring some peace of mind and form some closure but it will never take away the pain of knowing how their lives ended far too soon in such a horrible way. Finally, I would like to thank the Australian Police for continuing to investigate this case over such a long period of time. I trust that you may now have a solid case to convict this person (persons). - Statement from John Twaddle (Gordon Twaddle's brother)