…‘She wrecked my life. I wanted revenge. I wanted to kill her.’
On 6 December 1971, the ‘Emergency Squad,’ from CIB’s Scientific Section, were called to an address in a northern suburb of Brisbane. An explosion had severely damaged a car and injured the occupant, who suffered head and possible internal injuries. Detectives arrived at the scene to find the wrecked car on the footpath, hard up against a front fence. It was obvious that the explosion was deliberate as the discernible odour of burnt gelignite wafted from the boot area of the car.
Further inspections identified collateral damage from flying debris up to 200 metres away, and a heavy deposit of fragmented components including glass, metal and fibre packing lay across the road. It was noted by detectives who carefully swept the area, that indentations in the bitumen pinpointed the exact location of the vehicle at the time of the explosion. They also recovered two pieces of detonator wire.
The investigators concluded that a detonator had been wired to several sticks of gelignite, then connected to the indicator stalk on the car. The victim had completed the action of reversing her car from the garage and onto the roadway, then as she turned and drove the short distance to the nearby intersection, she indicated as she approached, thereby setting off the device.
Apprehending a dangerous suspect
Her son-in-law was the logical suspect. He’d threatened her on numerous occasions and was suspected of having fired two .22 calibre bullets into her front bedroom on 14 July that year. The mother-in-law also reported to the local police that her son-in-law harassed her in his utility truck whilst she was driving.
There was considerable publicity given to the police search for the suspect as he was considered extremely dangerous and possibly armed with firearms and explosives. Detective Inspector Bardwell’s team was called to a sighting near Killarney. The Officer-in-Charge of the Killarney Police Station had arranged with a forestry worker to alert him using a portable police radio, if the suspect, believed to be the son-in-law, left his camp near the Queensland/NSW border. There was only one road in and out to the Killarney township.
The Emergency Squad selected a kerb roadside cutting with steep rock walls for the roadblock, placing one of the police vehicles across the roadway. The call came from the forestry worker informing them that the suspect was on his way. He duly arrived half an hour later and stopped his vehicle at the roadblock. Using a loudhailer, police asked him to alight from his vehicle with his arms up. His options were few – he was covered by police marksmen with high-powered rifles. Three detectives approached with their revolvers drawn then strip searched him. He was then escorted to the Killarney police station where he was interviewed, then charged.
The interview
‘If you really knew her, you’d put a bomb under her too.’
Portions of the record of interview between the suspect and the arresting officer make for interesting reading as follows:
Q. Where were you going when you were intercepted about three miles South of Killarney on the Queen Mary falls Rd?
A. I was heading for Brisbane.
Q. At about 1:00 o’clock yesterday afternoon, Mrs…., 48 years (of age), of.…. Street reversed her sedan registered number.… out of her garage onto …… Road and shortly afterwards an explosion occurred in the rear section of the car which resulted in pieces of the car being blown over a wide area and damage being caused to private houses and property in that vicinity. Mrs…., in her car continued down …… Road for about 100 yards and then the car crashed into a fence. Mrs…. lost consciousness and was removed to the Royal Brisbane Hospital by ambulance. It was found that she only had minor injuries and she was admitted overnight for observation. Is Mrs…. your mother-in-law?
A. Yes, she is. If you really knew her, you’d put a bomb under her too. She upset my marriage.
Q. Were you responsible for causing the explosion Mrs Smith car yesterday which resulted in her being injured?
A. Yes. I put six sticks of gelignite and a detonator in the boot of her car, and I connected a detonator to the stick of gelignite. I pushed the detonator into the stick of gelignite, and I connected one of the wires to the turn indicator light wire and the other one I earthed on the spring of boot.
Q. What was your reason for doing this?
A. I fitted it up this way so that it would explode when she put the indicator light on.
Q. Did you realise the consequences of your actions?
A. Yes. She wrecked my life and I wanted revenge. I wanted to kill her.
Q. Where did you obtain the gelignite?
A. From Banks in Grey Street, South Brisbane.
Q. How did you obtain the gelignite from Banks?
A. Last Saturday morning, I went in and told the bloke that I wanted six sticks of gelignite and two detonators, and he sold me some.
On the 26th of May 1972, R. Turner was found guilty by a jury and sentenced by Justice Williams to 10 years imprisonment with hard labour.
The Queensland Police Museum acknowledges the unpublished work ‘No Stone Unturned’, a collection of works by former Detective Inspector Les Bardwell, who preferred to be known as a ‘field forensic scientist. He believed that it was important to have first-hand contact with the aftermath of crime and violence. His stories are a source of inspiration in the writing of this blog, and hopefully are authentic in reflecting the legacy of 35 years at the forefront of forensic science with Queensland Police Service. Leslie James Bardwell passed away on 23rd March 1995 aged 78 years.
This story was re-written by Museum Assistant Debra Austin using the information from ‘No Stone Unturned’.
The Police Museum is open 9am to 4pm Monday to Thursday and 10am to 3pm on the last Sunday of the month (Feb-Nov) and is located on the Ground Floor of Police Headquarters at 200 Roma Street, Brisbane.
Contact: E: museum@police.qld.gov.au
“FROM the VAULT – The Confession 1971” by the Queensland Police Service is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (BY) 2.5 Australia Licence. Permissions may be available beyond the scope of this licence. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/au/legalcode