The Gatton Tragedy: Murder of the Murphy Siblings

Norah              Michael                Ellen

On the night of  Boxing Day on December 26, 1898, around 8 p.m. 27-year-old Norah, 18-year-old Ellen, and 29-year-old Michael Murphy left their home at Black Fellow's Creek outside of Gatton, Australia in a two-wheeled cart.  Michael was driving his sisters to a dance held at the Gatton Divisional Hall and hoped to arrive by 9.  They were looking forward to the dance.

Unfortunately, they didn't know until they arrived at the dance hall that it had been canceled. It was canceled due to the lack of females that were going to arrive. So the trio had to return back home. But they were never to arrive back home.

When they didn't return their mother knew something was off and asked her son-in-law William McNeil to go look for them. He found them that morning after following his Sulky's recognizable tracks due to a wobbly wheel. 

He found them in a horrifying sight. All three of them were dead and the horse had also been killed. William shocked went to a hotel that was close by and told them of the news and contacted the police. Due to him telling people at the hotel people flocked to the scene and this caused evidence to be contaminated by the onlookers. 

At the scene, Ellen and Michael were laying back to back while Norah lay a few yards away on a neatly spread rug. The girls had them hands tied behind their backs with handkerchiefs Micheal may have had his hands tied at one point. Micheal had been both beaten and shot to death. The girls had been sexually assaulted and then they were beaten to death. Norah may have also been strangled with the hames strap that was tightly wrapped around her neck. Their horse had been shot and killed and 15 shillings were missing from Michaels purse. His purse was in his hand and a breeching strap nearby. 

Some suspected maybe they were killed by family members or they had been killed by a local priest as someone heard a woman screaming "father" that night. But the police believed that it may have been a transient who was in the area who killed the three. 

They had two main suspects one was man name Richard Burgess, but he had a solid alibi and the other was a man named Thomas Day. Thomas's hut was near the scene and someone claimed to see him wash the blood from a pullover days later. But there was no clear evidence of who the murderer or murders were. No one was charged with this case and will remain unsolved. 

SOURCES:
Wikipedia
Gatton Murders
Western Mail
Daily News
Huff Post