WEBVTT 1 00:00:03.120 --> 00:00:07.000 On the night of September nineteenth, nineteen fifty two, a 2 00:00:07.040 --> 00:00:10.080 twenty year old woman stepped off the tram in Brisbane 3 00:00:10.160 --> 00:00:12.279 and began her short walk home that she had taken 4 00:00:12.320 --> 00:00:16.039 countless times before. It was a familiar route through a 5 00:00:16.120 --> 00:00:20.079 quiet suburb where nothing about the evening felt unusual. However, 6 00:00:20.800 --> 00:00:25.280 she never arrived home, and by morning, Brisbane would wake 7 00:00:25.600 --> 00:00:28.559 to a crime that shattered its sense of safety and 8 00:00:28.600 --> 00:00:34.520 became the longest running unsolved murder in Queensland's history. This 9 00:00:34.679 --> 00:00:38.640 is the tragic and true story of Betty Shanks. 10 00:00:39.520 --> 00:00:43.039 My name's Ben, I'm Nicole, and you're listening to Wicked 11 00:00:43.079 --> 00:00:43.840 and Grim, a. 12 00:00:43.759 --> 00:00:45.119 True crime podcast. 13 00:00:46.280 --> 00:00:46.640 Warning. 14 00:00:47.240 --> 00:00:53.719 The following podcast and material intended for a mature audience. 15 00:00:54.520 --> 00:01:17.640 Listener discretion is advised. Cheers, it is almost Christmas. 16 00:01:17.680 --> 00:01:20.079 Cheers, Cheers to Christmas eve. 17 00:01:19.920 --> 00:01:23.599 Eve, Christmas eve Eve. Indeed, I don't know about anyone else, 18 00:01:23.599 --> 00:01:25.920 but I have consumed far more calories in the last 19 00:01:25.959 --> 00:01:29.280 few days than I have in the last previous few months. 20 00:01:29.599 --> 00:01:33.879 Honestly, my belly already kind of hurts. So that's uh, 21 00:01:33.959 --> 00:01:35.200 that's you know what that means? 22 00:01:35.760 --> 00:01:38.480 Tis the season to start thinking about going to the 23 00:01:38.480 --> 00:01:40.079 gym in about a week. You know. 24 00:01:40.519 --> 00:01:42.319 Well even the other day, wasn't I just like, Oh, 25 00:01:42.439 --> 00:01:44.480 just don't even worry about it, just eat it, ben Like, 26 00:01:45.120 --> 00:01:47.319 because you were like, gosh, I've eaten so much today. 27 00:01:48.319 --> 00:01:50.359 I mean, sometimes you got to do that. Sometimes you 28 00:01:50.400 --> 00:01:52.200 got to worry about your health. But this is not 29 00:01:52.319 --> 00:01:55.120 the season to really concern yourself with calories. 30 00:01:55.640 --> 00:01:55.879 I know. 31 00:01:56.200 --> 00:01:57.680 This is the season of just enjoying. 32 00:01:57.760 --> 00:01:59.959 I was planning for us to have salad for lunch, 33 00:02:00.079 --> 00:02:01.120 so there you go. 34 00:02:01.519 --> 00:02:03.280 If I'll have room for salad. 35 00:02:03.200 --> 00:02:06.799 I know we'll probably be eating cookies and stuff and 36 00:02:07.000 --> 00:02:08.000 that will be our lunch. 37 00:02:08.120 --> 00:02:10.719 That's pretty much how Christmas generally goes. Oh I'm going 38 00:02:10.800 --> 00:02:13.439 to plan a good meal, but I'm too full to 39 00:02:13.479 --> 00:02:15.719 have that good meal because of all the junk in between. 40 00:02:16.400 --> 00:02:18.360 But it is kind of nice just the visiting too, 41 00:02:18.400 --> 00:02:20.479 and stuff right, and lots of times with the visiting 42 00:02:20.520 --> 00:02:22.199 comes like drinks and food. 43 00:02:22.000 --> 00:02:25.000 And true, well, like last night we had a good 44 00:02:25.000 --> 00:02:27.080 dinner with some friends, for example, with some good drinks 45 00:02:27.080 --> 00:02:29.439 and food. This morning we had a good friends dot 46 00:02:29.479 --> 00:02:31.240 buy and he said he hadn't had a drink yet today, 47 00:02:31.240 --> 00:02:32.319 so we had a drink with them. 48 00:02:33.159 --> 00:02:34.919 You had a drink. I didn't have a drink. Well 49 00:02:34.919 --> 00:02:36.639 to say, I was like, it's not even noon. 50 00:02:36.520 --> 00:02:38.960 Bro, Well, and it was whiskey. You're not a whiskey person, 51 00:02:39.120 --> 00:02:42.759 So very long. Yeah, but yeah, it's a good time 52 00:02:42.759 --> 00:02:43.120 of year. 53 00:02:43.639 --> 00:02:43.960 It is. 54 00:02:44.159 --> 00:02:46.280 It is. But I also have a very interesting story 55 00:02:46.280 --> 00:02:46.840 for you today. 56 00:02:46.960 --> 00:02:48.199 It seems as though you do. 57 00:02:48.360 --> 00:02:51.759 It's not really a Christmas case, per se. I was 58 00:02:52.039 --> 00:02:55.000 thinking about doing a Christmas one, but this one kind 59 00:02:55.000 --> 00:02:56.960 of came on my radar and I really liked it. 60 00:02:57.000 --> 00:02:59.000 And I've got a good reason on why I'm doing 61 00:02:59.080 --> 00:03:01.479 it this time of year, and we'll talk about that. 62 00:03:01.520 --> 00:03:02.080 Don't worry. 63 00:03:02.159 --> 00:03:04.560 Well, some people might be like, f Christmas, right and 64 00:03:04.840 --> 00:03:05.879 be totally fine with that. 65 00:03:05.879 --> 00:03:06.360 That's true. 66 00:03:06.439 --> 00:03:08.639 It is thrown in our face this season, that's. 67 00:03:08.479 --> 00:03:10.919 True, and not everyone celebrates it. So I totally get it. 68 00:03:10.960 --> 00:03:14.080 But I digress. This is still a story that I 69 00:03:14.120 --> 00:03:17.479 really thought, you know, it was appropriate. Let's say that. 70 00:03:18.240 --> 00:03:20.680 So well, before we dive in, we should thank our patrons. 71 00:03:20.919 --> 00:03:24.479 Yes, of course, So these people have been supporting us 72 00:03:24.479 --> 00:03:26.840 over on Patreon. They signed up this week along with 73 00:03:26.879 --> 00:03:29.800 many other people, and big shout out to a let 74 00:03:30.319 --> 00:03:36.159 Nikki Bell, Penya Sherry, Stutz, Shaston Kasheal, and Ava Armstrong. 75 00:03:36.319 --> 00:03:38.120 So thank you very much for signing up and supporting 76 00:03:38.159 --> 00:03:39.039 us over on Patreon. 77 00:03:39.439 --> 00:03:40.719 We appreciate you. 78 00:03:40.919 --> 00:03:42.960 We seriously do. We got a lot of cool people 79 00:03:43.000 --> 00:03:45.520 who have joined that community over there, so seriously, thank 80 00:03:45.560 --> 00:03:46.120 you very much. 81 00:03:46.240 --> 00:03:50.000 Reads a lot, and we have one more little tiny announcement. 82 00:03:49.479 --> 00:03:51.800 To make we do you want to do the honors? 83 00:03:52.639 --> 00:03:55.120 Just basically that we have this episode out today, we 84 00:03:55.159 --> 00:03:58.599 will not be having Fridays out, just kind of a 85 00:03:58.599 --> 00:04:01.680 little bit of you know, rest, relaxation time, and we'll 86 00:04:01.719 --> 00:04:03.319 be back on the following Tuesday. 87 00:04:03.479 --> 00:04:05.759 Yes, so we are taking one day off, so there 88 00:04:05.759 --> 00:04:08.159 will not be an episode on Friday, which is I 89 00:04:08.199 --> 00:04:11.919 believe Boxing day, and then we're back the following week 90 00:04:11.919 --> 00:04:12.719 on the Tuesday again. 91 00:04:12.879 --> 00:04:15.400 Yeah, so that's not too much time away from us. 92 00:04:15.439 --> 00:04:17.959 So no, it's just one episode that we're taking some 93 00:04:18.319 --> 00:04:19.800 relaxing time to enjoy the holiday. 94 00:04:19.839 --> 00:04:21.759 And people are probably also busy right now anyway, and 95 00:04:21.759 --> 00:04:23.240 they're most likely and that's fair. 96 00:04:23.319 --> 00:04:26.120 Probably they probably understand they're probably not even gonna be 97 00:04:26.160 --> 00:04:28.279 listening to this until like a month later when they've 98 00:04:28.279 --> 00:04:30.160 caught up on all their to dos in their life 99 00:04:30.199 --> 00:04:34.199 and busyness, things start to slow. But I think if 100 00:04:34.199 --> 00:04:35.879 you're ready, I'm ready to get into the story. 101 00:04:36.120 --> 00:04:36.920 Let's do it. 102 00:04:37.160 --> 00:04:40.519 Okay, I'm going to set the scene here. On most nights, 103 00:04:40.600 --> 00:04:44.079 Thomas Street was barely worth noticing. It was the kind 104 00:04:44.079 --> 00:04:47.800 of suburban road people walked without thinking, lined with modest 105 00:04:47.800 --> 00:04:51.439 homes and shaded by trees that stood well longer than 106 00:04:51.439 --> 00:04:55.439 those houses themselves. In nineteen fifty two, this part of Brisbane, 107 00:04:55.480 --> 00:04:59.800 the capital of Queensland, Australia. It's settled. Early after dark, 108 00:04:59.800 --> 00:05:02.680 the street fell quiet, except for the occasional city tram 109 00:05:02.680 --> 00:05:05.199 in the distance, or the sound of a radio drifting 110 00:05:05.240 --> 00:05:08.920 through an open window. People felt very safe here, safe 111 00:05:09.000 --> 00:05:11.680 enough to leave doors unlocked, safe enough to assume that, 112 00:05:12.040 --> 00:05:15.399 you know, raised voices were nothing more than kids fooling around, 113 00:05:15.519 --> 00:05:18.079 or maybe a small late night argument that would burn 114 00:05:18.120 --> 00:05:25.079 itself out, you know, nothing anything dangerous. But that Friday night, well, 115 00:05:25.560 --> 00:05:28.800 something was different. Yes, the air was warm, and the 116 00:05:28.800 --> 00:05:31.600 week was ending, and families were in fact settling in. 117 00:05:32.399 --> 00:05:35.399 There was a tram line that reached its final stop nearby, 118 00:05:36.040 --> 00:05:39.079 emptying its passengers into the streets, the ones that they 119 00:05:39.160 --> 00:05:42.079 knew by heart. On their walks home. Most of them 120 00:05:42.079 --> 00:05:44.879 would be home, in fact, within minutes, and no one 121 00:05:45.079 --> 00:05:48.240 standing on Thomas Street that evening could have guessed that 122 00:05:48.399 --> 00:05:53.160 something irreversible was about to happen. There were no warnings, 123 00:05:53.639 --> 00:05:56.160 no signs of a threat waiting in the dark, just 124 00:05:56.319 --> 00:05:59.800 a familiar walk, a familiar route, and a sense of 125 00:06:00.240 --> 00:06:03.920 see that would not survive the night, because by morning 126 00:06:04.639 --> 00:06:08.519 the street and its city would no longer feel the same. 127 00:06:09.399 --> 00:06:13.120 And before, honestly, this fateful day, and before she became 128 00:06:13.160 --> 00:06:16.759 the name attached to Queenland's most oldest cold case, well, 129 00:06:16.839 --> 00:06:19.639 Betty Shanks was just a young woman getting on with 130 00:06:19.680 --> 00:06:22.879 her life. Betty was twenty two years old in September 131 00:06:22.920 --> 00:06:25.720 of nineteen fifty two, living with her parents and younger 132 00:06:25.720 --> 00:06:28.639 brother in Brisbanes, Inner North. She had grown up in 133 00:06:28.680 --> 00:06:31.279 the area and while she never really left it, there 134 00:06:31.319 --> 00:06:33.600 was no dramatic reason for that. It was simply where 135 00:06:33.639 --> 00:06:37.680 her life was. Home was safe, familiar, and close to 136 00:06:37.720 --> 00:06:42.160 everything she needed. She was bright, driven and quietly ambitious. 137 00:06:42.959 --> 00:06:46.000 Betty had graduated from the University of Queensland with a 138 00:06:46.040 --> 00:06:50.480 Bachelor of Arts specializing in psychology, which was not common 139 00:06:50.519 --> 00:06:51.600 for women of that time. 140 00:06:51.959 --> 00:06:53.800 It really wasn't so good for her. 141 00:06:53.959 --> 00:06:55.800 Yeah, we're talking the fifties here and she's going to 142 00:06:55.800 --> 00:06:59.560 post secondaries. So awesome, incredible. Now she worked as a 143 00:06:59.600 --> 00:07:03.279 trainee personnel officer for the Commonwealth Department of the Interior 144 00:07:03.600 --> 00:07:07.000 in Brisbane, CBD, a solid government job that she took 145 00:07:07.120 --> 00:07:11.160 very seriously. Friends and coworkers described her as very intelligent, 146 00:07:11.639 --> 00:07:15.000 kind and dependable, someone who showed up, did her work 147 00:07:15.040 --> 00:07:18.759 and didn't seek attention for it. Betty was not the 148 00:07:18.800 --> 00:07:22.279 reckless kind of person. She wasn't impulsive, She didn't drink heavy, 149 00:07:22.439 --> 00:07:24.600 she didn't stay out late for no reason, and didn't 150 00:07:24.639 --> 00:07:28.079 bounce from relationship to relationship. In fact, as far as 151 00:07:28.079 --> 00:07:30.439 anyone close to her new, she wasn't even seeing anyone 152 00:07:30.480 --> 00:07:33.199 at all. She kept a very small circle of friends, 153 00:07:33.720 --> 00:07:37.040 mostly other women, and spent much of her time studying, working, 154 00:07:37.199 --> 00:07:40.480 or at home with her family. If something was troubling her, 155 00:07:40.800 --> 00:07:44.879 she certainly didn't broadcast it. Now. Just a few months earlier, 156 00:07:45.360 --> 00:07:49.600 Betty had experienced a very rare stroke of luck. In 157 00:07:49.639 --> 00:07:53.600 April of nineteen fifty two, she won three thousand pounds 158 00:07:53.759 --> 00:07:56.920 as Australia was still using the British style currency system, 159 00:07:57.399 --> 00:08:00.759 and she won this in the Golden Casket lottery, which 160 00:08:00.920 --> 00:08:04.480 exchange and inflation considered, that's about the equivalent of roughly 161 00:08:04.639 --> 00:08:06.360 a quarter million US dollars today. 162 00:08:06.720 --> 00:08:07.959 Holy shit. 163 00:08:08.519 --> 00:08:11.480 Yeah, so she got some bank she scored, baked us, 164 00:08:11.680 --> 00:08:14.120 she did, and so it made newspapers and her name 165 00:08:14.160 --> 00:08:16.759 was printed in bold black letters. You know, all of it. 166 00:08:17.199 --> 00:08:19.959 But the wind didn't exactly change her personality. In fact, 167 00:08:20.040 --> 00:08:22.680 it didn't really change her at all. She actually used 168 00:08:22.720 --> 00:08:26.040 the money quite responsibly, paying off her parents' mortgage, helping 169 00:08:26.079 --> 00:08:29.399 renovate the family home, and covering medical treatments she needed 170 00:08:29.439 --> 00:08:32.759 for a spinal condition. There was no flashy purchases and 171 00:08:32.840 --> 00:08:37.759 no sudden lifestyle shift. By all accounts, Betty was content. Busy, yes, 172 00:08:37.840 --> 00:08:42.080 but she's happy and settling into her life now. Brisbane 173 00:08:42.120 --> 00:08:45.360 in nineteen fifty two mirrored the same quiet sense of order. 174 00:08:45.759 --> 00:08:49.360 It was often described as a big country town, the 175 00:08:49.480 --> 00:08:51.679 kind of place where people slept with their windows open, 176 00:08:51.840 --> 00:08:55.200 doors unlocked, and children walked home alone after dark without 177 00:08:55.240 --> 00:08:59.440 a second thought. Violent crime was rare, and strangers attacking 178 00:08:59.440 --> 00:09:03.159 people were almost unheard of. If someone screamed in the night, 179 00:09:03.200 --> 00:09:06.159 for example, the assumption wasn't that it was danger, it 180 00:09:06.200 --> 00:09:10.039 was probably teenagers fooling around, or a small domestic argument 181 00:09:10.080 --> 00:09:15.279 that would eventually and harmlessly resolve itself. Friday, September nineteenth 182 00:09:15.320 --> 00:09:18.039 and nineteen fifty two began no differently than any other 183 00:09:18.080 --> 00:09:21.600 weekday in Betty's life. That morning, she left her family's 184 00:09:21.600 --> 00:09:23.879 home in Grange and headed into the city for work, 185 00:09:24.159 --> 00:09:27.000 just as she always did. Her job with the Commonwealth 186 00:09:27.000 --> 00:09:29.480 Department of the Interior kept her busy during the day. 187 00:09:29.759 --> 00:09:32.960 By all accounts, nothing about that Friday stood out now 188 00:09:32.960 --> 00:09:36.679 because it was Friday. Betty had night classes after work 189 00:09:36.960 --> 00:09:39.759 that was part of her ongoing studies and professional development. 190 00:09:40.639 --> 00:09:43.799 So Wednesday and Friday's nights those were dedicated to lectures 191 00:09:43.799 --> 00:09:45.759 and they were part of her normal routine, something she 192 00:09:45.799 --> 00:09:48.799 committed to week after week, and she took them quite seriously. 193 00:09:49.559 --> 00:09:53.240 So when the workday ended, Betty didn't rush home. Instead, 194 00:09:53.320 --> 00:09:56.799 she and her supervisor, John Doocey drove together from the 195 00:09:56.799 --> 00:09:59.759 CBD to the location of the class. Now it was 196 00:10:00.159 --> 00:10:02.080 near George Street and so that's where they were going. 197 00:10:02.480 --> 00:10:05.320 The lecture, well, it wrapped up just before nine pm. 198 00:10:05.559 --> 00:10:08.840 Several students were in attendance, along with the lecturer, Edwin 199 00:10:09.320 --> 00:10:13.279 Millicaton now Millicaton lived in a direction that was partially 200 00:10:13.320 --> 00:10:17.159 overlapping with Betty's route home, so on some evenings he 201 00:10:17.200 --> 00:10:19.879 would offer to give her a lift, and that's what 202 00:10:20.000 --> 00:10:24.080 happened that night after class. He drove her towards Windsor 203 00:10:24.279 --> 00:10:27.720 dropped her off at a tram stop along Lutwich Road. 204 00:10:28.279 --> 00:10:30.720 From there she boarded the four to thirty four tram 205 00:10:30.960 --> 00:10:34.960 bound for granch Now. The ride itself was uneventful. Other 206 00:10:35.000 --> 00:10:37.200 passengers came and went as a tram moved through the 207 00:10:37.240 --> 00:10:41.240 North suburbs, eventually reaching the final stop at the day's 208 00:10:41.320 --> 00:10:45.080 road terminus. The clock read just after nine thirty pm. 209 00:10:45.799 --> 00:10:49.840 When the tram doors opened, Betty stepped down onto Thomas Street. 210 00:10:50.720 --> 00:10:53.480 In fact, a friend, Jane Osborne, saw her at that 211 00:10:53.639 --> 00:10:56.600 very moment as she was leaning forward slightly about to 212 00:10:56.639 --> 00:11:01.080 step off that tram onto the pavement. Was small, rather 213 00:11:01.159 --> 00:11:05.519 forgettable detail at the time, but ultimately it would later 214 00:11:05.600 --> 00:11:09.200 become the last confirmed sighting of Betty Shanks alive. 215 00:11:10.960 --> 00:11:13.440 A moment in time that you take so for granted 216 00:11:13.759 --> 00:11:15.240 that you have no idea that's going to be the 217 00:11:15.279 --> 00:11:16.240 last time you see an. 218 00:11:16.080 --> 00:11:18.320 Individual right just in passing. 219 00:11:18.600 --> 00:11:21.840 Oh and it's just so often I mean, right, someone 220 00:11:21.919 --> 00:11:25.799 gets I don't know what exactly happens here, but they're 221 00:11:25.840 --> 00:11:29.039 going to have that last moment that someone just doesn't realize. 222 00:11:29.200 --> 00:11:32.399 Well, there's always a last moment. There's a last everything, 223 00:11:32.519 --> 00:11:36.960 I guess, so you just never know. So I'm not 224 00:11:37.000 --> 00:11:39.840 going to get all like sappy on us. Yeah, I'm 225 00:11:39.840 --> 00:11:42.879 just going to leave it at that. Now, from the terminus, 226 00:11:42.919 --> 00:11:46.120 Betty walked home and it was honestly quite a short walk. 227 00:11:46.320 --> 00:11:49.159 Less than four hundred meters is all she had to travel, 228 00:11:49.399 --> 00:11:51.879 just a few minutes at most. She had walked it 229 00:11:51.960 --> 00:11:55.720 countless times before, at all hours, without any sort of incident. 230 00:11:56.200 --> 00:11:59.000 The street was quiet, residential and lined with houses and 231 00:11:59.039 --> 00:12:03.200 shaded by trees. Nothing about it was really threatening. But 232 00:12:03.279 --> 00:12:06.679 she never arrived home. She never made it. Now. What 233 00:12:06.840 --> 00:12:10.759 makes the Betty Shank story so unsettling is the small 234 00:12:10.840 --> 00:12:15.039 window of time. Investigators would later determine this took place 235 00:12:15.080 --> 00:12:18.919 somewhere between nine thirty eight pm and nine fifty three pm, 236 00:12:19.440 --> 00:12:23.159 just twelve minutes. In that brief span, a young woman 237 00:12:23.440 --> 00:12:27.480 stepped off the tram. She would then encounter someone on 238 00:12:27.519 --> 00:12:30.960 a quiet residential street and was brutally attacked less than 239 00:12:31.000 --> 00:12:34.799 a block from the safety of her home. The timeline 240 00:12:34.840 --> 00:12:37.840 begins to tighten almost immediately after Betty leaves the tram 241 00:12:37.879 --> 00:12:41.440 as well, just after nine thirty pm. Several residents in 242 00:12:41.480 --> 00:12:44.960 the area later told police that they actually heard screams 243 00:12:45.000 --> 00:12:48.879 coming from Thomas Street. They weren't vague noises or distant shouts. 244 00:12:49.080 --> 00:12:52.799 They were described as very sharp, panicked, or unmistakably human. 245 00:12:53.519 --> 00:12:57.200 The screams were heard between nine thirty eight and nine 246 00:12:57.440 --> 00:13:01.240 forty pm. Now at the time, no one rushed outside. 247 00:13:01.440 --> 00:13:04.039 This was Gronge in the early nineteen fifties, a place 248 00:13:04.039 --> 00:13:08.559 where violent crimes just weren't existing. Some residents yeah glancedale 249 00:13:08.600 --> 00:13:10.919 their windows, but they saw nothing unusual in the darkness 250 00:13:10.919 --> 00:13:13.440 and return to what they were doing. Others assumed the 251 00:13:13.480 --> 00:13:16.840 noise was just teenagers or who knows what, so no 252 00:13:16.840 --> 00:13:21.440 one called police. Those few minutes would haunt the suburb 253 00:13:21.639 --> 00:13:25.440 for decades. Now. By the early hours of Saturday morning, 254 00:13:25.480 --> 00:13:28.960 Betty's parents would awake and be very worried with Betty 255 00:13:29.000 --> 00:13:32.159 not being home. She was never careless about coming home, 256 00:13:32.320 --> 00:13:35.399 and by one thirty am her father reported her missing 257 00:13:35.480 --> 00:13:39.799 to the police. Officers began checking nearby tramlines and school grounds, 258 00:13:39.840 --> 00:13:42.919 assuming that she'd missed her stop or needed help getting 259 00:13:42.960 --> 00:13:46.159 back home for some reason. It was just after five 260 00:13:46.320 --> 00:13:49.200 thirty am as daylight began to creep into the quiet 261 00:13:49.200 --> 00:13:53.200 streets of Grange. Alec Stewart, an off duty police officer, 262 00:13:53.879 --> 00:13:57.080 stepped outside of his home onto the corner of Cranberry 263 00:13:57.320 --> 00:14:01.360 and Thomas Street to collect the morning newspaper, and what 264 00:14:01.480 --> 00:14:04.879 he saw stopped him in his tracks. It was his 265 00:14:04.919 --> 00:14:09.240 neighbor's front garden. Just there, sitting inside the fence line 266 00:14:09.399 --> 00:14:12.759 of missus Hill's property, lay the body of a young woman. 267 00:14:13.720 --> 00:14:16.679 She was found laying on her back. Her clothes were disheveled, 268 00:14:16.720 --> 00:14:19.639 Her blouse had been pulled open and its buttons torn away, 269 00:14:20.080 --> 00:14:23.039 and her underwear had been removed. The position of her 270 00:14:23.080 --> 00:14:25.320 body and the condition of her clothes made it immediately 271 00:14:25.360 --> 00:14:28.399 clear that something violent had taken place. In fact, blood 272 00:14:28.440 --> 00:14:31.440 was present at the scene. There was bloody handprints that 273 00:14:31.480 --> 00:14:35.000 were visible on the fence railing nearby, Oh my Goodness, 274 00:14:35.159 --> 00:14:39.120 which indicated the attacker had been in contact, specifically with 275 00:14:39.159 --> 00:14:42.960 the property. Her handbag laid close as well, its contents 276 00:14:43.000 --> 00:14:46.519 scattered across the garden, though nothing of valuable. Nothing appeared 277 00:14:46.519 --> 00:14:49.639 to be missing that was worth anything a tram ticket. 278 00:14:49.679 --> 00:14:51.759 In fact, the one that she used to ride that 279 00:14:51.799 --> 00:14:55.039 tram that night was still clutched in her hand. The 280 00:14:55.159 --> 00:14:59.039 injuries were severe and consistent with an extreme physical assault, 281 00:14:59.200 --> 00:15:01.879 and for Constable Alex Stewart, the man who found her, 282 00:15:01.919 --> 00:15:05.759 the meaning of the scene was unmistakable. This was not 283 00:15:05.879 --> 00:15:09.600 an accident. This was clearly a homicide. 284 00:15:09.679 --> 00:15:12.240 Well, no shit, yeah, And it is surprising to me 285 00:15:12.279 --> 00:15:16.919 that it just happened right in like the open of people, 286 00:15:17.200 --> 00:15:19.159 like a neighborhood, pretty much right in. 287 00:15:19.080 --> 00:15:22.279 The middle of a street manicured lawn there I'm picturing. 288 00:15:22.320 --> 00:15:24.000 I don't know if this is correct, but in my 289 00:15:24.120 --> 00:15:26.799 mind I picture like a little white picket fence with 290 00:15:26.879 --> 00:15:29.600 like bloody handprints on it and a body sprawled in 291 00:15:29.679 --> 00:15:30.360 some flowers. 292 00:15:30.720 --> 00:15:32.559 Like, how the shit does that even happen? 293 00:15:32.679 --> 00:15:36.080 Yeah, So, within minutes, the street began to fill with 294 00:15:36.120 --> 00:15:39.519 police officers as he called the authorities, the garden was 295 00:15:39.519 --> 00:15:41.799 cordoned off as a crime scene, and the neighbors emerged 296 00:15:41.840 --> 00:15:45.320 from their houses, confused, then horrified as words spread that 297 00:15:45.360 --> 00:15:48.639 a woman had been murdered only meters from where they slept. 298 00:15:48.879 --> 00:15:53.440 When identification was made, the shock deepened the victim was 299 00:15:53.480 --> 00:15:56.320 in fact Betty Shanks, the local girl known in the 300 00:15:56.320 --> 00:15:59.519 area who was reported missing only hours ago. Well. She 301 00:15:59.600 --> 00:16:02.559 was now found dead less than four hundred meters from 302 00:16:02.559 --> 00:16:05.639 her family's door. Her tram ticket, as I mentioned, still 303 00:16:05.679 --> 00:16:08.519 grasped in her hands, and evidence suggests that the attacker 304 00:16:09.039 --> 00:16:13.799 well had thrown her over the fence. Her body landed 305 00:16:13.840 --> 00:16:16.200 just meters from the bedroom where Constable Stuart had been 306 00:16:16.240 --> 00:16:20.799 sleeping hours before. As officers examined the scene, the reality 307 00:16:20.840 --> 00:16:25.279 set in this had happened quickly, violently, and under the 308 00:16:25.279 --> 00:16:30.600 cover of darkness, and when reconstructed, Betty's movements, while one 309 00:16:30.679 --> 00:16:35.159 detail of them, stood out immediately. She was clearly attacked 310 00:16:35.200 --> 00:16:38.600 incredibly close to home, and that distance from the tram 311 00:16:38.679 --> 00:16:41.600 terminus to her home was short enough that she should 312 00:16:41.639 --> 00:16:44.519 have been inside within minutes. Yet the screams came from 313 00:16:44.559 --> 00:16:47.000 a point only two or three minutes walk from where 314 00:16:47.000 --> 00:16:50.879 she got off the tram. Now that discrepancy raised an 315 00:16:50.919 --> 00:16:55.200 unsettling question. Why hadn't Betty gone straight home? Because from 316 00:16:55.240 --> 00:16:57.840 the time that she got off the tram station to 317 00:16:57.919 --> 00:17:00.960 when the screams had occurred, she should already been in 318 00:17:01.000 --> 00:17:01.679 her front door. 319 00:17:02.799 --> 00:17:06.119 But she wasn't well. I mean, A, she could have 320 00:17:06.200 --> 00:17:08.559 ran into someone that she knew and was chit chatting 321 00:17:08.640 --> 00:17:11.720 or something, and b whatever, she felt like someone was 322 00:17:11.759 --> 00:17:14.960 following her, so she like in a kind of flurry, 323 00:17:15.039 --> 00:17:17.640 took like the wrong way or something to get rid 324 00:17:17.680 --> 00:17:18.279 of this person. 325 00:17:18.519 --> 00:17:20.920 You're already thinking exactly like the officers. 326 00:17:20.519 --> 00:17:23.000 Were, Okay, exactly, maybe I should be an officer. 327 00:17:23.119 --> 00:17:25.920 Maybe maybe maybe you should have a little bit of 328 00:17:25.960 --> 00:17:28.119 a career switch here. I might be looking for a 329 00:17:28.160 --> 00:17:30.000 new co host soon, I guess, as Nichole's going to 330 00:17:30.039 --> 00:17:34.319 be solving murders instead of talking about them. Anyways, an 331 00:17:34.359 --> 00:17:38.240 interesting thing happened here too. Her wristwatch provided a very 332 00:17:38.319 --> 00:17:41.680 crucial detail for this timeline. It was found that her 333 00:17:41.720 --> 00:17:44.920 watch had stopped at nine fifty three PM, and a 334 00:17:44.960 --> 00:17:48.559 watchmaker would later confirm the stoppage was consistent with a 335 00:17:48.640 --> 00:17:53.440 sudden violent impact. So that gave police that window of 336 00:17:53.519 --> 00:17:56.680 time between the screams at around nine thirty nine and 337 00:17:56.720 --> 00:17:59.680 the watch stopping at nine point fifty three. Police believed 338 00:17:59.680 --> 00:18:04.920 the higher attack unfolded, but something delayed her after she 339 00:18:04.920 --> 00:18:06.759 stepped off that trap. Whether it was, like you said, 340 00:18:06.759 --> 00:18:10.759 a conversation, maybe a confrontation or encounter she didn't anticipate. 341 00:18:10.799 --> 00:18:14.079 We don't know, but Betty did not immediately begin her 342 00:18:14.119 --> 00:18:18.519 walk home, and that pause, whatever caused it, placed her 343 00:18:18.519 --> 00:18:22.480 in the wrong spot at the wrong time. Now it 344 00:18:22.519 --> 00:18:25.119 was clear, simply by looking at Betty's body that she 345 00:18:25.240 --> 00:18:28.039 had been subject to extreme violence in a very short 346 00:18:28.039 --> 00:18:30.359 span of time. I'm pretty sure we can all have 347 00:18:30.440 --> 00:18:32.920 this bit of an image of what we see her like, 348 00:18:33.000 --> 00:18:35.640 and it's not a pretty picture. Her injuries told a 349 00:18:35.680 --> 00:18:39.759 story of sustained, frenzied aggression rather than a single blow 350 00:18:39.920 --> 00:18:44.839 or momentary loss of control. In fact, her injuries were 351 00:18:44.920 --> 00:18:48.799 quite extensive. Her jaw was fractured. One of her teeth 352 00:18:48.799 --> 00:18:51.400 had been dislodged with such force that it was later 353 00:18:51.440 --> 00:18:54.559 found several meters away from her body. Her face showed 354 00:18:54.599 --> 00:18:58.240 a heavy trauma, her tongue and mouth were badly injured, 355 00:18:58.240 --> 00:19:02.319 and investigators concluded that she'd been struck and kicked repeatedly. 356 00:19:02.799 --> 00:19:07.079 In fact, dark smudges of black boot polish were on 357 00:19:07.119 --> 00:19:12.599 her face and legs, which means the attacker's shoes had 358 00:19:12.680 --> 00:19:16.359 connected with those spots. As police believed she was kicked 359 00:19:16.400 --> 00:19:17.559 while she was on the ground. 360 00:19:17.920 --> 00:19:24.440 Whoa which actually means this person was a disgusting, disgusting human. 361 00:19:24.920 --> 00:19:28.960 Yeah, he's a douche canoe for sure. Holy Now, two large, 362 00:19:28.960 --> 00:19:31.640 bloodstained handprints were found on the top rail of a 363 00:19:31.720 --> 00:19:35.119 fence boarding the garden. The position of the prince suggested 364 00:19:35.160 --> 00:19:37.759 that Betty had been thrown or pushed over the fence, 365 00:19:38.039 --> 00:19:40.799 and that her attacker used it as support for his 366 00:19:40.880 --> 00:19:44.440 weight as he followed or leaned over. From the size 367 00:19:44.440 --> 00:19:48.480 of the prince, detectives believed the attacker was a physically 368 00:19:48.839 --> 00:19:54.559 large man. Now, despite the violence, robbery was quickly ruled out. 369 00:19:55.079 --> 00:19:57.640 I mentioned that Betty's handbag was found nearby with its 370 00:19:57.640 --> 00:20:01.440 contents scattered, but nothing was stolen. Her jewelry, for example, 371 00:20:01.559 --> 00:20:03.519 was even still in her body. There was no sign 372 00:20:03.920 --> 00:20:05.880 that money or valuables had been taken. 373 00:20:05.640 --> 00:20:08.759 Whatsoever, Okay, because I was wondering that she just won 374 00:20:08.799 --> 00:20:09.920 the lottery, right. 375 00:20:09.799 --> 00:20:14.960 So that's true, But didn't seem like anyone stole anything, Okay. Now, 376 00:20:15.000 --> 00:20:20.039 her clothing complicated this picture. Her blouse had been torn 377 00:20:20.079 --> 00:20:23.200 open buttons ripped away. Her bra strap was in fact broken, 378 00:20:23.240 --> 00:20:25.400 and her underwear had been removed and it lay near 379 00:20:25.440 --> 00:20:29.119 her body. At first glance, it appeared to be a 380 00:20:29.200 --> 00:20:33.680 very sexually motivated attack, but the post mortem told a 381 00:20:33.680 --> 00:20:37.160 different story because there was no evidence left behind that 382 00:20:37.240 --> 00:20:41.160 proved Betty had been raped or sexually assaulted, so investigators 383 00:20:41.160 --> 00:20:43.880 began to suspect that the undressing may have happened after 384 00:20:43.920 --> 00:20:47.920 the attack, either as a failed attempt at sexual assault 385 00:20:47.920 --> 00:20:50.240 and the perpetrator had to get out of there before 386 00:20:50.599 --> 00:20:54.319 you know, doing whatever he was going to do, or 387 00:20:54.359 --> 00:20:59.680 potentially as a deliberate act to mislead police. 388 00:21:00.480 --> 00:21:03.559 Okay, yeah, I'm still just shocked though that no one 389 00:21:03.680 --> 00:21:04.599 heard any of this. 390 00:21:05.039 --> 00:21:07.000 People did hear screams, okay. 391 00:21:06.680 --> 00:21:08.920 But I guess it just wasn't like alarming enough. 392 00:21:09.200 --> 00:21:12.039 Yeah, something they heard the screams, assumed it was, you know, 393 00:21:12.559 --> 00:21:14.759 just maybe a couple people fighting and they'll get over it, 394 00:21:14.880 --> 00:21:17.720 or kids playing. This sort of stuff didn't happen here. 395 00:21:17.799 --> 00:21:19.880 Oh crazy, So their mind just didn't even go there. 396 00:21:20.160 --> 00:21:22.480 Yeah, their mind didn't go that it was actually anything. 397 00:21:22.279 --> 00:21:25.319 Dangerous, which is really freaking sad. 398 00:21:25.119 --> 00:21:29.839 It is now. Ultimately, strangulation was determined to be Betty's 399 00:21:29.880 --> 00:21:33.079 cause of death, and by mid morning on September twentieth, 400 00:21:33.200 --> 00:21:39.519 nineteen fifty two, the news about it was everywhere everyone 401 00:21:39.599 --> 00:21:41.559