Police & CourtsA woman who still has bullets lodged in her head and body after she was shot by a man who would later go on to kill his estranged wife and injure others, is pleading with authorities not to release him from prison.
Police & CourtsWhen a Brisbane teen plunged to his death from a Surfers Paradise high-rise balcony last month – after allegedly being stabbed, tortured and assaulted by other teens – Detective Superintendent Brendan Smith decided enough was enough.
Crime in FocusHe’d done it before. Childers backpacker murderer Robert Long had a long history of being a violent, suicidal pyromaniac who stalked women, lit fires, tried to kill himself and invented wild stories. SEE HIS SUICIDE NOTES
Crime in FocusFlames were exploding from the Palace Hostel as first responders desperately tried to save those trapped inside. Then a flaming body fell through the ceiling – it was the first of the 15 people they’d find dead. Now, 20 years after the horror Childers inferno, those at the scene recount how it all unfolded.
Crime in FocusWhen Robert Long set fire to the Palace Backpackers Hostel the fire alarm was inoperable, exits were blocked by furniture and bars had been built over windows. Fifteen people died. That night changed led to massive changes across Queensland.
Crime in FocusShell-shocked backpackers stood on the street, some barely clothed, as firefighters battled to extinguish the Childers Backpackers fire. It was in this moment local Donna Duncan realised she had to step in.
Police & CourtsHe was the mayor of a small town who had to deal with 15 dead backpackers and their grieving families. Now Bill Trevor tells of the toll the Palace hostel fire has had on him and why the decision was made to rebuild it.
Crime in Focus‘I’m dying anyway. I started that fire.’ It’s the dying confession on a $10 note of Childers arsonist Robert Long who had just stabbed a cop in the jaw during a dramatic arrest. He thought he’d been shot and would die shortly, but the next twist would end in bizarre circumstances. SEE THE $10 NOTE
Crime in FocusHe deliberately set fire to the Palace Backpackers hostel in Childers, killing 15 people who were trapped inside. But 20 years on, suicidal pyromaniac Robert Paul Long won’t be prosecuted for killing 13 of his victims.
Crime in FocusLisa Webb remembers the stab of fear when she saw a newspaper article about a fire far away in Australia. Her sister had left the UK to travel Down Under. Her last postcard was from Childers. Then came the screams down the phone.
Original URL: https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/special-features/in-depth/page/35
