Spear Creek

The Courier-Mail

It was a real-life Wolf Creek. In 1978, three friends left Alice Springs on an adventure exploring the Australian outback. Weeks later, a man walking his dog stumbled across their bodies in a remote area of bushland in North Queensland. They’d been hunted down and shot, one of the victims dying as he clutched hold of a tree. Police brought in to investigate were badly injured in a helicopter crash and soon after, the investigation stalled. The Courier-Mail explores one of Australia’s most forgotten mysteries: The Spear Creek murders. The killer is still out there.

Episodes

Episode 5: The arrest

A major breakthrough: A former unit commander from Australia's hardest supermax prison is charged with three counts of murder in conn...

Apr 12, 2019

6 min

Episode 4: Thieves and leads

Hear from the detective who recovered Tim Thomson's missing bike in the weeks following the discovery of the three friends' bodies. Who...

Apr 11, 2019

26 min

Episode 3: Crash landing

The investigation into the Spear Creek triple murder takes a hit when several investigators are injured in a helicopter crash while sur...

Apr 7, 2019

23 min

Episode 2: The Mystery Man

Karen Edwards, Tim Thomson and Gordon Twaddle set off on their motorbikes for their outback adventure, meeting other travellers along t...

Mar 31, 2019

22 min

Episode 1: Outback Adventures

In 1978, a couple walking their greyhounds through bushland near Mount Isa discovered the body of a man in a dry creek bed. They alerte...

Mar 24, 2019

30 min

Trailer: Spear Creek

In 1978, three friends set out on an Australian outback adventure. Weeks later, their bodies were found in a remote bushland after they...

Mar 22, 2019

1 min