How six-day police manhunt into Mansfield stabbing unfolded

About 200 police officers over six days hunted down four suspects wanted over a brutal daylight execution. This is how it unfolded.

As night settles around a small Warwick motel, guests inside getting ready for bed are oblivious to the dozens of police waiting outside their windows.

After six days, these officers are about to end one of the most significant manhunts in South East Queensland’s recent history, which included up to 200 officers and hours of meticulous planning.

Regional Crime Co-ordinator, Detective Superintendent Andrew Massingham, has given an insight into the Mansfield fatal stabbing manhunt, how police tracked down the suspects, how the arrests unfolded, and why it was one of the biggest operations he’s ever worked on.

Police attend the scene of a stabbing in Carindale near the Goodlife Health Club. Picture: Nigel Hallett

On September 12, word came in to police that a man had been fatally stabbed in a street at Mansfield, and four suspects were on the run.

Crews mobilised quickly to start the search for the men, but there was one thing about this homicide investigation that set it apart from the others – the speed of information.

The stabbing occurred about 1pm on a Monday, in broad daylight on a busy street, and in front of many witnesses who started to call police immediately.

Speaking to The Courier-Mail this week about the manhunt, Superintendent Massingham said there were so many leads coming in that police had to move with the beast. 

“It was a rolling ball that quickly gained pace,” he said.

“This one was quite different in nature as we were able to determine quite early on who was (allegedly) involved, but it was a matter of locating them.”

Police attend the scene of a fatal stabbing in Carindale near the Goodlife Health Club. Picture: Nigel Hallett

The victim was identified as Levi Johnson, 21, and the four suspects as Stuart Galloway, Luke Moore, Kyle Martin and Thomas Myler.

Galloway was arrested just a few hundred metres from the stabbing scene and taken into custody, but the remaining three had fled in a car.

Several police units came together to form Operation Uniform Challenger to track the men down, including detectives, homicide officers, Taskforce Maxima, forensic teams, negotiators, specialist teams and aerial assets. 

Levi Johnson, who was fatally stabbed in Mansfield.

At one point, about 200 officers were working on the job.

“It was one of the largest in recent history in terms of the number of police involved and the speed at which we had to work,” Superintendent Massingham said.

“Sixty detectives were assisted by homicide and Maxima … underpinning that was some really heavy lifting from our forensic teams.”

Detective Superintendent Andrew Massingham. Picture: Steve Pohlner

Officers started researching their suspects and looking into their movements, and found that the men allegedly claimed to be a part of a gang called 13 Kings.

Police located the alleged gang’s clubhouse and raided it in a search of multiple properties in the Brisbane area.

They arrested the second suspect, Moore, during these searches on September 15, but there were still two people left.

Police then released the names and images of Myler and Martin in the hope the public would be able to help, and they delivered.

“There have been a total of 43 calls from the public (including crime stoppers) in relation to Operation Challenger as of today (September 22),” Superintendent Massingham said.

“I still consider this number to be high for a homicide investigation reflecting the public interest in the job.”

Kyle Martin was arrested over the murder of Levi Johnson.

Thomas Myler was also charged.

On September 17, police released updated photos of the two outstanding suspects, and just hours later a tip-off led police to the third suspect, Myler, at a house at Wellington Point.

“That was a situation where we were able to put PolAir over within 10 minutes and virtually straight away we got him and another lady (coming) out of the house, and (he) appeared to be loading firearms into the car,” he said.

Police will allege Myler then buried the firearms at a property and drove back to the house, where police and negotiators surrounded them.

Myler took several minutes to negotiate out of the house, but he was eventually taken into custody. He was allegedly found in possession of a loaded gun.

The scene where Thomas Myler was arrested in Skinner Ave, Wellington Point

The last outstanding suspect, Kyle Martin, was more difficult to track down, but “old school detective work” did the trick.

“Casting the net really wide and looking at known associates and people connected to those known associates (was important),” Superintendent Massingham said.

“It’s really about getting into the mind of the wanted person.

“It took us some time to identify he was in the Warwick area. It came to our attention around lunchtime on the Saturday, but we didn’t really receive any confirmation.”

Police had tracked a vehicle linked to Martin’s girlfriend to a motel in Warwick on September 17.

The motel was full of tourists in town for the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers, which posed a tricky balancing act for police if Martin was inside.

They waited for hours, and it wasn’t until about 9.30pm when a woman left to get takeaway food for two people that Superintendent Massingham knew their man was inside.

“My thought at that time was that I was confident he was inside that room.

“We were able to observe her, she was very nervous in the way she was doing things. The fact she went to the trouble of paying cash. That for me was sufficient.”

Police have released body-worn camera vision of the fourth man arrested at Warwick for the murder of 23-year-old Levi Johnson at Mansfield on September 12.

They called in the Special Emergency Response Team (SERT) and negotiators, and devised a plan.

Superintendent Massingham said it was a “balance” to figure out who to evacuate from the motel, and who to leave in their rooms. 

“The difficulty you have in that scenario is everyone in rooms are close to one another. We were aware these people were highly sensitive to any movement around where they were.”

Luckily, Martin surrendered himself to police within 30 seconds and was taken into custody. 

Kyle Martin was arrested at a motel room in Warwick on September 17.

Superintendent Massingham said police could not have tracked down the men without the help of the public.

“That was really important and I was really quite humbled with how the public embraced this search.

“I think the nature of the offending, being so public, struck a chord with the general public.”

His decision to hold the final press conference back at the scene of the stabbing also held meaning for those who witnessed the graphic attack.

Flowers are left at the scene of a fatal stabbing, across the road from a Goodlife Gym carpark in Mansfield. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Dan Peled

“That’s watermarked in their memory for a long time.

“The reason we did the press conference back at the crime scene was (to show) that the job was done … and that they could have confidence to go about their business there.

“Closing that chapter.”

All four men have since been charged with murder and will face court in the coming months.