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Murchison Murders
Murchison Murders
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The Murchison Murders were a series of three murders, committed by an itinerant stockman known as "Snowy" Rowles (born John Thomas Smith),[1][2] near the rabbit-proof fence in Western Australia during the early 1930s. Rowles used the murder method that had been suggested by author Arthur Upfield in his then unpublished book The Sands of Windee, in which he described a foolproof way to dispose of a body and thus commit the perfect murder.

Key Information

Rowles

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Rowles was born in 1905 in North Perth, Western Australia. His original name was John Thomas Smith. Prior to the murders, Rowles served three months in jail for theft.[3]

Upfield's search for a plot

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Upfield had already written three novels,[4] but was working as a fence boundary rider on the rabbit-proof fence in Western Australia. He had decided to write another detective novel, but with a plot difference; there being no body for the detective to find. Unfortunately, he could not think of a way to dispose of a body.

He mentioned this difficulty to a colleague, George Ritchie. Ritchie devised a disposal method: burn the victim's body along with that of a large animal, sift any metal fragments out of the ashes, dissolve them in acid, pound any remaining bone fragments into dust, then discard the remains into the wind. But Upfield had a problem, as he believed the method was too efficient and would leave his character Bony (a fictional detective) with no way to detect or prove the murder.

Upfield challenged Ritchie to find a flaw in the method and offered him £1 if he could. Ritchie, however, was unable to do so. The plot of the novel hinged on this point. One day Ritchie met Rowles, whom Upfield also knew. Ritchie mentioned the problem to him. All of Upfield's friends and colleagues were soon aware of Upfield's difficulties with his plot.

On 5 October 1929, Upfield, Ritchie, Rowles, the son of an inspector of the fence, and a north boundary rider for the fence, were all present at the Camel Station homestead when the murder method for Upfield's book was again discussed. Upfield said that Rowles knew of the murder method before this date, but the meeting and discussion were later used as evidence in court to prove that Rowles was aware of the method.[5]

Ryan, Lloyd, and Carron disappear

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In December 1929, Rowles was in the company of two men, James Ryan and George Lloyd. On 8 December 1929, Rowles, Ryan and Lloyd departed from Camel Station. Several days later, Ritchie arrived at Camel Station. He said he had met a prospector named James Yates. Yates had told Ritchie that he had seen Rowles driving a car; Rowles told Yates that Ryan and Lloyd were walking through the scrub, though Yates did not see them himself.

On Christmas Eve, 1929, Upfield was with a colleague in the small town of Youanmi when he met Rowles, who told him that Ryan had decided to stay in Mount Magnet and had lent him his truck. Rowles later told another person he had purchased Ryan's truck for £80.

A New Zealander named Louis Carron had arrived in the Murchison area in 1929, having come from Perth with a friend. He had found a job at Wydgee Station. In May 1930, Carron left his work and was seen with Rowles.[6]

Rowles cashed Carron's pay cheque at the town of Paynesville, east of Mount Magnet. Carron's friend sent a reply-paid telegram to Rowles at Youanmi asking for information about Carron, but Rowles did not reply.

Investigation and trial

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Carron had kept regular correspondence with his friends, and thus his disappearance was noticed. The area at the time had a large transient population. For a man to appear or disappear from the area was in no way otherwise remarkable.

It was not until police detectives started investigating Carron's disappearance that they learned that Lloyd and Ryan were also missing. Like Carron, they had last been seen in Rowles' company.

Upfield's attempts to find a plot for his novel The Sands of Windee were well known. The detectives soon learned about the method he proposed to hide a murder. They found the remains of Carron's body at the 183-mile (295 km) hut on the rabbit-proof fence. Among other items found was a wedding ring that would later be positively linked to Carron by both a New Zealand jeweller and Carron's wife.

Detective-Sergeant Manning was sent to arrest Rowles, and immediately recognised him as John Thomas Smith, a burglary convict who had escaped in 1928 from the local lock-up in Dalwallinu. Rowles was sent back to prison, giving Manning more time to investigate. While awaiting trial, Rowles attempted to commit suicide.[6]

Rowles was tried only for the murder of Carron. Following the murders of Ryan and Lloyd, Rowles is believed to have strictly followed Upfield's fictional method for the disposal of evidence, leaving a total lack of physical evidence that could be used in a court. In the case of Carron, he had omitted one step – destroying all metal remains with acid. Several items which belonged to Carron were found and identified as his.

Carron had assumed a new name, and was previously known as Leslie George Brown.[6] His wife, Mrs. Brown, had attended a jeweller in Auckland to have a wedding ring recut. The jeweller's assistant had accidentally used a 9-carat solder to rejoin the ends of the 18 carat ring. Normally he would have rectified this error but had been too busy to do so. The result was a distinctive mark on the ring from the different-coloured solder, which made the ring unique and identifiable as Carron's. (Upfield used the "mended ring" device in a later novel The New Shoe.)

Evidence was provided to the court regarding Carron's items, Rowles's behaviour, his knowledge of the fictional murder method, and the various lies that Rowles had told about his movements.

There seemed to be no doubt that Rowles had committed three murders. On 19 March 1932, after two hours of deliberation, the jury found him guilty of the wilful murder of Louis Carron.[5] Asked if he had anything to say, Rowles said, "Only this. I have been found guilty of a crime that has never been committed."[7] Rowles was sentenced to death. His attempts to appeal his conviction were rejected.

Rowles was hanged at Fremantle Prison on 13 June 1932.[8]

In media

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Upfield's novel The Sands of Windee (1931) featured the method for hiding a murder. He later wrote a book about the events related to Rowles' actions, including his being charged and convicted of murder, in his novel The Murchison Murders.

In 1993, author Terry Walker wrote Murder on the Rabbit-Proof Fence, documenting the case.

In June 2009, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation produced a telemovie, 3 Acts of Murder, based on the Murchison Murders, starring Robert Menzies as Upfield and Luke Ford as Snowy Rowles. It was directed by filmmaker Rowan Woods.

See also

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References

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Further reading

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Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Murchison Murders

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from Grokipedia
The Murchison Murders were a series of three killings that occurred in the remote Murchison district of in late 1929 and 1930, perpetrated by escaped convict and itinerant stockman John Thomas Smith, alias "Snowy" Rowles, who targeted fellow laborers for robbery using a gruesome method of shooting and incinerating their bodies to destroy evidence—a disposal technique strikingly similar to one discussed by author while working as a boundary rider in the area. The first two victims, James Ryan from and George Lloyd from , both fence workers, disappeared in December 1929 near the "Haunted Hut" at the 183-mile gate along the No. 1 , following a violent dispute with Rowles over £18 owed for Ryan's that escalated into a shooting; Rowles later confessed to a cellmate that he shot Ryan intentionally and Lloyd accidentally during a struggle over the gun, burying their bodies in a shallow grave. The third victim, French-Canadian prospector Louis Carron (also known as Leslie George Brown), vanished on May 18, 1930, after cashing a £25 that Rowles later forged and used; Rowles shot Carron near the same region and burned his body, but imperfectly sifted the ashes, leaving behind identifiable items like teeth, a ring, metal buttons, and a that linked him to the crime. Rowles, who had escaped from a Perth prison in 1929 while serving time for , was arrested in 1931 after police connected him to Carron's cheque and discovered the remains during a search prompted by suspicions raised in the investigation. He was tried solely for Carron's murder in Perth , where Upfield testified about the "perfect murder" method he had outlined—burning the body, crushing bones, and dissolving metals in acid—which Rowles had apparently adapted but failed to execute flawlessly, as the retained metal objects proved damning. Convicted after a two-hour jury deliberation, Rowles was hanged at on June 13, 1932, maintaining his innocence until the end, while the cases of Ryan and Lloyd remained unprosecuted due to lack of direct evidence despite strong suspicions and his confession to a cellmate. The murders, set against the harsh outback landscape of the Murchison goldfields and , highlighted the isolation and lawlessness of 1930s , inspiring Upfield's 1931 novel The Sands of Windee and later adaptations, including a 2011 telemovie; the at Camel Station in was added to the State Register of Heritage Places in 2018 for its historical significance.

Background

The Murchison Region

The Murchison region in Western Australia's Mid West is a vast, arid expanse covering approximately 281,000 square kilometers, characterized by semi-desert shrublands, rugged ranges, and the intermittent Murchison River, which drains into the . This remote area, far from major population centers, experienced a transformative beginning in 1891 with discoveries along the Murchison River near Cue, drawing thousands of prospectors and spurring the development of mining towns like Peak Hill and Meekatharra during the 1890s. By the post-World War I era, the initial prosperity had waned as shallow alluvial deposits were exhausted and deeper reef mining proved costly, leading to a decline in gold production through the and fostering an reliant on transient workers in diminishing mining operations and emerging pastoral stations. This shift contributed to a mobile workforce of itinerant laborers, often former miners, who traveled the region seeking sporadic employment in , fencing, or stock work amid sparse and harsh environmental conditions. Central to the region's geography and utility was the State Barrier Fence, originally the No. 1 , constructed between 1901 and 1907 to curb the eastward spread of invasive rabbits threatening agricultural lands; spanning about 1,800 kilometers from Starvation Boat Harbour on the south coast to Ilkurlka in the north, it formed a continuous wire-mesh barrier supported by wooden posts. Beyond , the fence evolved into a critical linear pathway through the trackless interior, followed by stockmen driving and itinerant workers for and access to water points, while its isolated stretches offered seclusion for various activities, including the disposal of remains due to the area's inaccessibility. In the late , socioeconomic hardships intensified in the Murchison as the global economic downturn compounded the , resulting in widespread among itinerant laborers who endured low wages, rudimentary living conditions in camps, and irregular work opportunities. was notably sparse, with police resources limited to key settlements such as Cue and Murchison town, leaving expansive rural districts policed infrequently by mounted constables on patrol, which underscored the challenges of maintaining order in such a isolated .

Snowy Rowles

John Thomas Smith, better known by his adopted alias "Snowy" Rowles, was born in 1905 in North Perth, , to parents Ernest Charles Henry Smith and Catherine Eliza Frances Cheeseman. The surname Rowles may have been derived from relatives, including a possible Edith I. M. Rowles or Harry Rowles. As a young man in the , he engaged in seasonal labor, including carting in the Carnamah district. Rowles had a history of petty , beginning with an in July 1928 alongside Thomas W. Wilson for breaking into and entering a store in Dalwallinu. Following this, he escaped police custody and stole a near Dalwallinu on 25 July 1928, remaining at large and continuing his itinerant work in the Murchison region until his 1931 ; these actions led to a three-month sentence in March 1931 for and escaping custody. Physically, Rowles was described as having a tall, wiry build suited to his rugged occupation. He lived a nomadic existence as an itinerant stockman and trapper in the Murchison region, often traveling along the while working on remote stations as a and poisoner. The isolation of the Murchison area enabled this transient way of life, where he associated with other itinerant workers and laborers. Contemporaries portrayed Rowles as cunning and calculating, traits evident in his interactions and choices. Unlike many in his of rural laborers, he was literate and showed a keen interest in , which set him apart during discussions among stockmen. Employers regarded him as reliable and skilled, valuing his abilities as a bushman and buckjumper in the demanding environment.

Arthur Upfield's Fictional Murder Method

Arthur Upfield (1888–1964) was an Australian author renowned for his detective fiction, particularly the series featuring Inspector Napoleon "Bony" Bonaparte, a half-Aboriginal police detective who solved crimes in remote Australian settings. Upfield drew heavily from his own experiences as a boundary rider, tracker, and stockman in the outback to craft authentic narratives blending Indigenous knowledge with procedural detection. In , while working as a cook at Wheeler's Well in Western Australia's Murchison , Upfield conceived a hypothetical "perfect murder" method as a for his writing, initially discussing it in general terms among small circles of acquaintances in the area. The core idea involved a seemingly undetectable body disposal technique to challenge his . This concept evolved through conversations with stock inspector J.M. (George) Ritchie, a fellow boundary rider and friend, who contributed practical details during their travels. The refined method, detailed in a key discussion on October 5, 1929, at the Dromedary Camel Station homestead, centered on shooting the victim after luring them into the bush with dry wood, followed by burning the body thoroughly with dry wood and carcasses to mask human remains in a bushfire-like , with ashes sifted the next day to recover bones, which were pulverized in a dolly-pot and scattered. Any metal objects, such as belt buckles or buttons, would be dissolved in or disposed of in a well to prevent identification. Upfield offered Ritchie £1 for the disposal idea and another £1 for a potential flaw, but none was identified at the time by Ritchie or others present. The method circulated verbally among a limited network of stockmen and writers in Western Australia starting from 1926, with the 1929 discussion at Dromedary—attended by Upfield, Ritchie, Lance and Mrs. Maddison, David Coleman, and mutual acquaintance Snowy Rowles—providing direct exposure by October 1929. Rowles, known for his avid reading of detective stories, likely absorbed the concept through these interactions. Upfield incorporated the technique into his novel The Sands of Windee, his second Bony mystery, where it forms the basis of the central crime: a station owner's unexplained disappearance, solved by Bony detecting a flaw in the execution. The manuscript was submitted to his London agent in mid-1930, and the book was published in 1931 by Hutchinson, after the initial verbal sharing but before the full public revelation of its real-world implications.

The Murders

Disappearance of Ryan and Lloyd

James Ryan, approximately 50 years old from , was an itinerant worker seeking employment in the Murchison region during late 1929. He was last seen in early December 1929, leaving Camel Station with Rowles and Lloyd, where he had been involved in well-sinking and prospecting activities typical of the area's transient laborers. George Lloyd, approximately 32 years old from , was similarly employed as an itinerant laborer in the Murchison district. He was last seen on December 8, 1929, leaving Camel Station with Ryan and Rowles, after joining Ryan for work on local stations and bores. Lloyd, described as a companion to Ryan, shared the same nomadic existence, traveling between stations in pursuit of short-term mining and fencing contracts amid the economic hardships of the era. Both men encountered John Thomas "Snowy" Rowles, a boundary rider patrolling the , in early December 1929 while heading toward Camel Station and Narndee Station for potential . Rowles, who had met Ryan earlier near Burracoppin in November, joined them for the journey, and the trio was seen departing Camel Station together on December 8 in Ryan's vehicle. Rowles later claimed that Ryan and Lloyd had received wage advances and proceeded independently to for further work, but no subsequent sightings, letters, or communications from the pair ever materialized. The disappearances initially raised little alarm due to the men's transient professions and the isolated nature of outback life, where workers frequently moved without notice. Relatives and associates only began inquiring months later, in early , prompting formal reports; Rowles, as their last known associate, provided the only account of their movements during this period. Notably, Rowles subsequently used Ryan's truck, claiming he had bought it, a detail that emerged during later investigations but did not immediately trigger suspicion given the informal financial practices among itinerants.

Murder of Carron

Louis Carron, born Leslie George Brown, was a 27-year-old itinerant worker originally from , who had adopted the alias possibly to obscure his past while seeking opportunities in Western Australia's . He arrived in penniless on February 6, 1930, after sailing from , where he had been married since December 30, 1925, and had two young children, though he had abandoned his family in 1929 due to domestic troubles. Described in contemporary accounts as a French-Canadian by background, Carron made his way to the Murchison region in May 1930, hoping to engage in opal prospecting and station work amid the area's mining boom. On May 13, 1930, Carron met John Thomas Smith, known as "Snowy" Rowles, a local stockman and trapper, at the Fountain outcamp on Narndee station, approximately 180 miles south of Mount Magnet, through an introduction by John Lemon. The following day, May 14, Carron departed with Rowles in a motor toward Watson's Gate on the , carrying a £25 from his recent at Wydjie station, intending to prospect en route to Wiluna. Rowles later cashed a £17 in Carron's name without authorization at the on May 21, claiming it was payment for scalps, while Carron was last confirmed seen alive around May 18 near the 183-mile gate on the . This financial transaction occurred shortly after Rowles had reportedly accompanied Carron to collect a £5 pay advance from his employer. Carron's disappearance raised immediate concerns among his contacts, as he failed to correspond with his friend John , with whom he planned to rejoin after collecting his earnings. On December 31, 1930, Lemon alerted Mount Magnet police to Carron's absence, eight months after his last known movements, prompting initial inquiries into his whereabouts. Rowles provided conflicting accounts to investigators, first stating that Carron had decided to head to alone, and later claiming they had camped near Windimurra homestead before parting ways amicably for separate prospecting ventures. These inconsistencies, combined with Rowles' unexplained possession and cashing of Carron's , fueled early suspicions of foul play, echoing the unexplained vanishings of earlier travelers James Ryan and George Lloyd in the same remote region.

Investigation

Initial Searches and Suspicions

Following Louis Carron's disappearance in late May 1930, his friend and fellow boundary rider grew concerned when Carron failed to send promised letters or return to work at Narndee Station. Lemon had last seen Carron departing outcamp with Snowy Rowles on May 18, 1930, in Rowles' truck, heading toward the en route to Wiluna. In July 1930, Lemon telegraphed Rowles at Youanmi to inquire about Carron's whereabouts, but received no reply. Cue police initiated an inquiry into the cashing of Carron's £25 pay cheque at Paynes Find shortly after his vanishing, noting that it had been endorsed by a man whose description did not match Carron's but aligned with Rowles. Investigators interviewed Rowles at Hill View Station, where he denied any involvement in Carron's disappearance and claimed Carron had continued alone to in search of work. By July 1930, police expanded the probe, drawing tentative connections between Carron's case and the unsolved 1929 disappearances of James Ryan and George Lloyd, as Rowles had been documented associating with all three men in the Murchison region prior to their vanishings. Searches were launched along the No. 1 , including old bush tracks near the 183-mile gate, but these early efforts produced no concrete findings. Key suspicions arose from witness accounts confirming Rowles' close ties to the victims; and other station hands at Narndee verified that Rowles had traveled and camped with Carron immediately before his absence. Further red flags emerged when police discovered Rowles in possession of Carron's personal effects, including a New Zealand-manufactured , wristwatch, and watch-chain, items inconsistent with Rowles' own belongings.

Discovery of Remains

In early 1931, police investigations into the disappearance of Louis Carron, reported missing since May 1930, led to the discovery of confirming foul play along the No. 1 rabbit-proof fence in the Murchison region of . Near the 183-mile gate, west of the Haunted Hut in the Bowgada mulga area close to Meekatharra, officers Constable Hearn and MacArthur sifted through camp-fire ashes across hundreds of miles of remote bushland, focusing on sites linked to known movements of itinerant workers. This breakthrough followed exhaustive searches in areas like Youanmi and Paynesville, where the ashes yielded small fragments of charred bone, a molar tooth with a distinctive dental filling, and an old . Forensic examination at the time confirmed the bones as through microscopic , with the molar identified as belonging to Carron (also known as Leslie George Brown) via records from dentist Arthur Sims and corroboration from witnesses, including Carron's wife who recognized the ring sold to him by jeweler Andrew Long. The , inscribed and matching descriptions of Carron's possession, was found amid the ashes, alongside molten lead scraps suggestive of a component. Nearby, police noted scattered animal carcasses that appeared to have been burned in a similar manner, indicating an attempt to mask the site through additional fires, though no complete human skeletons were recovered due to the dispersal and destruction of remains. The evidence directly implicated Snowy Rowles, as the discovery site aligned with his known travels along the fence line after Carron's last sighting with him on May 18, 1930, and several of Carron's personal items, including a camera and Omega watch, were later recovered from Rowles' possessions. These finds provided the tangible proof needed to elevate suspicions into charges, confirming that Carron's disappearance—initially thought to be a voluntary swagman's departure—had ended in .

Upfield's Role in Linking the Crimes

, an experienced bushman who had previously served as a tracker for the police and was employed as a boundary rider patrolling the No. 1 from 1927 to 1931, was also developing his career as a author during this period. In early October 1929, while stationed at the Dromedary camel padlock in the Murchison region, Upfield engaged in a discussion with fellow boundary rider George Ritchie and stockman John Thomas Smith (known as Snowy Rowles) about a hypothetical method for disposing of a murder victim's body without leaving a corpse, an idea he was incorporating into an unpublished plot. This method, which involved shooting the victim, burning the body on a wood fire, sifting the ashes for unburnt fragments, crushing any remaining bones in a dolly-pot, and scattering the residue to mimic natural animal remains, was intended to create an undetectable "." Following the disappearances of James Ryan and George Lloyd in December and Louis Carron in May 1930—cases initially investigated as routine missing persons reports—suspicions of foul play intensified in late 1930 and early 1931 as inconsistencies emerged, including Rowles' possession of the victims' belongings. Upfield, still active in the region until September 1931, learned of the suspected body disposal techniques through local networks and immediately recognized their precise alignment with the method he had outlined in his 1929 discussions and unpublished , later expanded into his The Sands of Windee (published in 1931). Acting in his dual capacity as a local expert tracker familiar with the vast, arid terrain and as the originator of the disposal concept, Upfield voluntarily consulted with Western Australian police investigators in 1930, providing contextual insights into how such a scheme could be executed along the isolated fence line. His input marked a turning point, transforming the inquiries from isolated vanishings into a cohesive of premeditated serial killings. Upfield's practical contributions extended to guiding search efforts for the victims' remains, which the perpetrator had scattered across to evade detection. Drawing directly from his fictional , he recommended systematic sifting of ash piles and examination of nearby scrub for overlooked fragments, metal artifacts, or dental remains that might survive partial —elements the method could not fully eliminate. This advice proved instrumental; in early 1931, police searches informed by Upfield's suggestions uncovered critical evidence at sites near the 183-mile fence gate, including a human molar tooth, fragments of artificial , and calcined dust consistent with dolly-pot processing, linking the sites to Carron and, by extension, the earlier victims. During the 1932 inquest and of Rowles for Carron's , Upfield provided key testimony in Perth, affirming under oath that Rowles had been present at the October 1929 conversation and could readily have absorbed the disposal technique through their overlapping professional circles of fence patrollers and itinerant workers. He underscored the premeditated intent required to implement such an elaborate , noting the need for specialized tools and isolation only feasible for someone intimately acquainted with the Murchison's remote water points and travel routes. Although defense counsel challenged the testimony's relevance, Upfield's account corroborated forensic findings and Rowles' access to the idea, bolstering the prosecution's case without directly implicating him in inspiration. Upfield's multifaceted involvement ultimately reframed the Murchison incidents in the eyes of and the public, elevating them from puzzling disappearances to a rare instance of patterned serial predation enabled by borrowed ingenuity. By bridging his authorial creation with , he facilitated the evidentiary chain that led to Rowles' , while later chronicling the events in his 1934 pamphlet to explore the blurred boundaries between imagination and criminality. This collaboration not only resolved the cases but also amplified awareness of vulnerabilities in isolated communities.

Trial and Execution

Arrest and Charges

On 6 March 1931, Snowy Rowles, whose real name was John Thomas Smith, was arrested at the Hillview Outcamp in the Murchison district of on suspicion of murdering Louis Carron. Although the initial arrest stemmed from an outstanding warrant for his escape from Dalwallinu lock-up on 25 July 1928, where he had been imprisoned for , police immediately connected him to Carron's disappearance after discovering a distinctive gold wedding ring in his possession, which was positively identified as Carron's by the New Zealand jeweler who had repaired it using mismatched gold solder. During subsequent interrogation led by Detective-Sergeant Leo Manning of the Police, Rowles repeatedly denied any involvement in Carron's death, claiming ignorance and offering alibis for his movements that were contradicted by witness statements and , including items from searches along the . His defenses weakened as Manning presented details of the burned remains and Carron's possessions, leading to formal charges of wilful against Rowles solely for Carron's killing, given the conclusive such as the ring, dental records matching a recovered , and charred bones. While police inquiries extended to the unsolved disappearances of James Ryan and George Lloyd, both of whom had traveled with Rowles in the months prior, no additional charges were filed due to the lack of identifiable remains or sufficiently direct evidence to support prosecution.

Court Proceedings

The trial of John Thomas Smith, known as Snowy Rowles, for the wilful murder of Louis Carron (also known as Leslie George Brown) commenced on March 10, 1932, in the Criminal Court of Perth, Western Australia, and lasted eight days until March 19. Presided over by Mr. Justice Draper, the proceedings drew significant public attention due to the remote nature of the alleged crime and the circumstantial evidence involved. The Crown's case was led by prosecutor A.H. Woodward, who outlined a meticulously built narrative relying on forensic and testimonial evidence to establish Rowles' guilt beyond reasonable doubt. Woodward's strategy emphasized recovered from the scene near the 183-mile peg on the No. 1 , including charred human s and teeth identified by a dentist as belonging to Carron, as well as a distinctive ring and watches found in Rowles' possession shortly after the disappearance. Over 40 witnesses were called, including Carron's widow, local stockmen who observed Rowles' behavior, and jewellers who confirmed the items' origins. A pivotal element was the testimony of author , who detailed a 1929 conversation with Rowles about a fictional murder method involving body dissolution in and bone pulverization—precisely mirroring the disposal technique used, which Woodward argued demonstrated premeditation and a suggesting serial intent across multiple in the region. The defense, represented by F. Curran, countered by portraying the prosecution's case as a web of coincidences built on indirect proof without a single eyewitness to the murder. Curran rigorously cross-examined key witnesses, such as Detective-Sergeant Manning, to highlight gaps in the timeline and potential contamination of evidence during the 10-month delay in discovery. Rowles himself testified, maintaining his innocence and asserting that Carron had departed voluntarily with his belongings after a brief stay at the camp, leaving no indication of foul play. The defense briefly referenced Rowles' earlier alibi inconsistencies as honest errors amid the isolation and stress of outback life, urging the jury to acquit due to the absence of direct linkage.

Conviction and Hanging

Following a trial that concluded on March 19, 1932, the jury deliberated for nearly two hours before returning a verdict of guilty on the charge of wilful murder of Louis Carron, though Rowles was not convicted of the murders of James Ryan or George Lloyd due to insufficient direct evidence linking him to those crimes. Justice Draper immediately imposed the death penalty, sentencing John Thomas Smith, known as "Snowy" Rowles, to be hanged by the neck until dead. Rowles lodged an appeal against the conviction on March 30, 1932, alleging a , including the wrongful admission of evidence related to the disappearances of Ryan and Lloyd, as well as testimony from author about a fictional body-disposal method. The Court of Criminal Appeal heard arguments starting April 15 and unanimously dismissed the appeal on April 27, finding no misdirection of the jury by Justice Draper. A subsequent application for leave to appeal to the was also denied, sealing his fate. Rowles was executed by hanging at on June 13, 1932, at 8 a.m., in the presence of officials including the prison chaplain, sheriff, and doctor; as was customary, he was administered mixed with to dull his senses beforehand. On the scaffold, he made a brief final statement denying his guilt, declaring, "I never killed Louis Carron," and offered no remarks regarding Ryan or Lloyd, maintaining to the end that he would "die game." The case captivated the Australian public, with widespread newspaper coverage portraying Rowles's attempt to execute a "perfect crime" through Upfield's described sulfuric acid disposal method as a dramatic failure, fueling national fascination with the Murchison outback's isolation and the ingenuity of the detection that unraveled it.

Cultural Impact

In Literature

The Murchison Murders inspired several literary works, most notably those by Arthur Upfield, the author whose fictional ideas inadvertently influenced the crimes. In his 1931 novel The Sands of Windee, the second book featuring detective Napoleon Bonaparte, Upfield described a method for committing a "perfect" murder involving shooting the victim, incinerating the body with petrol until reduced to ash, crushing the bones, and dissolving metal remnants in acid to evade detection, a plot device he developed while working on the rabbit-proof fence. This fictional technique gained notoriety when stockman Snowy Rowles adopted a similar approach in the 1929 killing of Louis Carron, prompting Upfield's involvement as a witness in the subsequent investigation and trial. Upfield later documented the real events in his 1934 non-fiction booklet The Murchison Murders, providing a firsthand account of the case, including Rowles's use of a body disposal method similar to the technique and Upfield's role in linking the crimes through shared conversations about the plot. The work, published by Midget Masterpiece Publishing, blends Upfield's detective expertise with journalistic detail, offering insights into the setting and the psychological motivations behind the murders. In 1993, historian Terry Walker published Murder on the Rabbit-Proof Fence: The Strange Case of and Snowy Rowles, a comprehensive reconstruction drawing on archival records, trial transcripts, and Upfield's writings to explore the intersection of the author's life and the criminal acts. Walker's book emphasizes the historical context of the and the social dynamics of itinerant workers in during the late 1920s. The Murchison Murders feature prominently in Upfield biographies, underscoring their lasting impact on his literary career and reputation as a writer. For instance, Jessica Hawke's 1957 biography Follow My Dust! A Biography of devotes sections to the case, portraying it as a pivotal moment that elevated Upfield's public profile while complicating his separation of fact from . This blurring of boundaries—where Upfield's imaginative -solving inspired real violence—has influenced literature by highlighting the ethical dilemmas of depicting undetectable murders, as explored in scholarly analyses of Australian .

In Film and Other Media

The Murchison Murders have been depicted in the 2009 Australian telemovie 3 Acts of Murder, directed by Rowan Woods and produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, which dramatizes author Arthur Upfield's unwitting involvement in the case through discussions that inspired the crimes. The film stars as Upfield and features portrayals of murderer Snowy Rowles—played by —and the victims, focusing on the intersection of fiction and reality that led to Rowles's conviction. It highlights the sensational 1930s trial and its impact on Upfield's career, presenting the events as a true story that blurred the lines between literature and life. In audio formats, the case received detailed coverage in the July 18, 2020, episode of the True Crime podcast (Case 150), narrated anonymously and running over 90 minutes, which recounts the disappearances of Louis Carron, James Ryan, and George Lloyd along the , emphasizing Upfield's novel The Sands of Windee as a key to the investigation. The episode draws on historical records to explore the isolation of the Murchison region and the forensic breakthroughs that solved the murders, attracting listeners interested in Australian outback crime stories. Digital video content has further popularized the case in the 2020s, including the June 1, 2024, documentary "The Murchison Murders | SOLVED" by the channel Dark Curiosities, a 18-minute video with nearly 20,000 views that outlines Rowles's use of Upfield's fictional disposal method and the ensuing police work. Modern discussions, such as Bill Casey's 2018 academic article in Australian Aboriginal Studies, address ethical concerns around Upfield's narratives, including the marginalization of Aboriginal trackers' roles in the investigation and the broader erasure of frontier violence in Australian history, urging inclusive teaching to contextualize such events. These portrayals underscore the murders' enduring fascination in non-literary media, filling gaps in earlier coverage by highlighting digital accessibility and cultural reflections absent from print adaptations.

References

  1. https://www.wa.gov.au/government/media-statements/McGowan%20Labor%20Government/%27Perfect-murder%27-crime-scene-State-heritage-listed-20180306
  2. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/59310186
  3. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/75719294
  4. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/58656340
  5. http://museum.wa.gov.au/explore/wa-goldfields/rush-gold
  6. https://www.australiasgoldenoutback.com/see-do/outback-experiences/gold-prospecting-and-fossicking
  7. https://www.wa.gov.au/system/files/2022-10/Thematic_History_of_WA.pdf
  8. https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/programs/landline/2024-08-25/future-survival-western-australia-murchison-remote-outback-towns/104218538
  9. https://www.dpird.wa.gov.au/businesses/pests-weeds-and-diseases/control-methods/state-barrier-fence/
  10. https://slwa.wa.gov.au/stories/wa-history/rabbit-proof-fence
  11. https://www.goldenpipeline.com.au/see-do/no-1-rabbit-proof-fence/
  12. https://www.breakingthecycle.education/breaking-the-cycle-in-australia/the-rabbit-proof-fence-part-i/
  13. https://molinari.au/family/molinari/murchison/
  14. https://www.carnamah.com.au/bio/john-thomas-william-smith
  15. https://www.hesperianpress.com/index.php/booklist/2011-06-16-12-23-53/m-titles/235-murder-on-the-rabbit-proof-fence
  16. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/4458216
  17. https://books.google.com/books/about/Murder_on_the_Rabbit_Proof_Fence.html?id=0qurAAAACAAJ
  18. https://www.arthurupfield.com/attachments/TravisLindsey.pdf
  19. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/32651534
  20. https://trackcare.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/TCWA_Camel-Station_Reconnaisance-Report_2019-3.pdf
  21. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/16834664
  22. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/46848796
  23. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/58655329
  24. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/38889403
  25. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/58657504
  26. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/85406794
  27. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/128300928
  28. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/32392259
  29. https://library.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/1379053/07-Handson-Outback12.pdf
  30. https://inherit.dplh.wa.gov.au/admin/api/file/587246dc-ceef-4810-80ed-5188acb56846
  31. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/83569549
  32. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/83571831
  33. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/4442017
  34. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/94976915
  35. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/83571385
  36. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/83571047
  37. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/58659662
  38. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/201095049
  39. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/240316846
  40. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/67300853
  41. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/83432605
  42. https://arthurupfield.com/main/page_biography.html
  43. https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/ielapa.719076384366256
  44. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1331332/
  45. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1331332/fullcredits/
  46. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1331332/plotsummary/
  47. https://casefilepodcast.com/case-150-the-murchison-murders/
  48. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJDOqBYUW40
  49. https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:4b73517
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