Wieambilla inquest day 7: Inside the ‘off-grid’ property of doomsday Train trio
Aerial and video footage has shown inside the property where the Train trio engaged in a shootout with police while new details have emerged of how the family lived. FOLLOW DAY 7 LIVE
Police & Courts
Don't miss out on the headlines from Police & Courts. Followed categories will be added to My News.
An investigator tasked with coordinating the crime scene has described how the Trains had set up their home for “off-grid living”, with non-perishable foods in the kitchen, further supplies in an esky inside a car and large amounts of toilet paper stored in the pantry.
A marathon inquest into the murders of police Constables Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold, good Samaritan Alan Dare and the shooting deaths of the Trains is in its second week.
The two constables were killed by the trio within minutes of their arrival at the Trains’ Western Downs property on December 12, 2022.
Constables Keely Brough and Randall Kirk managed to escape while under fire, with Constable Kirk taking a bullet to the hip.
The four officers were there to conduct a missing persons inquiry but instead were ambushed by the Trains, who had set up sniper hides to lay in wait for police, who they considered to be the enemy.
Neighbour Mr Dare was killed by the Trains when he saw smoke coming from their property and came to investigate.
Nathaniel, a former school principal, had been reported missing with NSW Police, who had asked their Queensland counterparts to look for him at the property of his brother Gareth.
Gareth was married to Stacey, who had previously been married to Nathaniel.
Southern region forensic coordinator Senior Sergeant Kirsty Gleeson said there was no mains power connected to the house and a number of solar panels on the roof connected to inverters in the laundry.
The house was sparsely furnished and there were four water tanks connected to the home.
There were eight rooms inside the home which included two bedrooms.
“I wouldn’t say they were very sophisticated,” Sen Sgt Gleeson said when asked about the setup of the house and living conditions.
“There was a makeshift Faraday box on the kitchen bench and inside that were six mobile phones.
“They just had basic furnishings, there was a TV on top of a TV unit.
“There was a large number of books.
“Within the bedrooms it was again sparsely furnished, not a great deal of personal effects within the wardrobes or cupboards, drawers.
“So there were a number of diaries that were located, a number of little letters, little notes, throughout the house.”
Sen Sgt Gleeson said she didn’t believe a landline telephone was connected to the home.
“So there was not a great deal of pre-packaged foods,” she said.
“A lot of non-perishable items, in fact the Toyota Koba that is in the backyard there, there was an esky in the boot (and) it was filled with non-perishable foods.
“They stored a lot of toilet paper in their pantry cupboards.
“But there was a lot of healthy living, healthy food, in the kitchen.”
Sen Sgt Gleeson said the property was 107 acres and was fully fenced.
There was a 339m driveway to the front gate of the house yard area which was also fenced.
116 NON POLICE CARTRIDGES FOUND
The inquest was told there were 84 QPS discharged cartridge cases found at the scene.
Of the 84, 22 were fired from Glocks which included 15 from Constable McCrow and one from Constable Kirk.
There were also an additional six cartridge cases found in the L-shaped log barricade after Nathaniel Train fired Constable Arnold’s Glock at specialist police.
The inquest was told there were 62 cartridges from SERT operatives found.
There were 116 discharged cartridge cases fired by non-QPS firearms however Sen Sgt Gleeson it was not possible to say if all were fired that night.
The BearCat had 16 points of damage caused by the impact of 18 bullet or bullet fragments.
Projectiles were found in its grill, front passenger tyre and front differential casing.
Another light-armoured vehicle had damage from eight bullet or bullet fragments.
NATHANIEL’S DNA ON MAIN HIDE
The inquest heard a forensic examination of the main sniper hide found it appeared to have been used by Nathaniel Train.
This included four spent cartridges found inside being matched to Nathaniel’s weapon.
Nathaniel’s DNA was also found on items inside the hide, including on the mouth of a 2L water bottle left on a double mattress inside a tent.
Sen Sgt Gleeson said two books were found inside the hide, including a copy of The Godfather.
”Within the hide there was a hand strengthening device, a hand weight, a hand saw, a 20L drum that was used as a fireplace, a jar of crystals, a jar of kindling and a shortened chair,” she said.
The inquest heard the shot fired at Constable Arnold came from that sniper hide, as well as at least one of the first shots to hit Constable McCrow.
Constable McCrow was then shot at close range by Gareth.
Sen Sgt Gleeson said “based on the value of the evidence”, it was most likely the two officers were initially shot by Nathaniel from the main hide.
The inquest heard Nathaniel used a 30-06 Springfield calibre Tikka T3 with a scope and torch attached. His DNA was located on the weapon and he was using it at the time he was shot by SERT operatives.
Stacey was using a rifle which had a scope attached with six-time magnification and a torch attached.
The firearm was registered to Nathaniel Train.
There were 13 discharge cases found around the house yard area from the rifle but none around the rest of the property. The rifle had been firing .22LR ammunition.
There were projectiles recovered on the duchess of the second bedroom and on a window shelf near the rear verandah, with Sen Sgt Gleeson saying it was possible Stacey had fired the rifle inside the house during the incident.
GARETH TRAIN THE MAIN SHOOTER
A detective who investigated the deaths of Nathaniel, Gareth and Stacey Train at the hands of elite police snipers has told how Gareth spent nearly an hour firing a high-powered rifle while his brother sat at an outdoor table and his wife remained inside their house.
The late-night shootout took place on the Trains Western Downs bush block when a SERT heavily armoured vehicle and three light armoured vehicles gradually surrounded the house.
Operatives were given the order to shoot the Trains if they tried to escape because the danger to the community was considered so extreme.
The inquest heard multiple orders were given to the trio to drop their weapons and surrender but all negotiation attempts were ignored.
The hearing was told that Gareth alone was active and firing at police for much of the shootout while his brother remained sitting down at a table.
Ethical Standards Command Detective Senior Sergeant Nathan McCormack said when SERT teams first arrived, it was the BearCat that took the lead moving up the driveway towards the house soon after 9pm.
At 9.13pm, the heavily armoured vehicle came upon a barricade across the drive.
The inquest was told the Train brothers used this opportunity to open fire on the BearCat, which was forced to withdraw.
He said it was at that point that the officers inside the BearCat realised they were being hit by a high-powered rifle.
“(They) also understood that the shooter has some capability with that rifle due to the placements of the shots,” Det Sen Sgt McCormack said.
He agreed the BearCat continued to sustain hits to the windscreen from Gareth “continually firing” as it retreated.
“Gareth was quite open with his movements,” he said.
“He was never barricaded behind anything. It appeared to me he was never expecting any return fire.”
The inquest was told Gareth also fired a significant number of rounds at a police helicopter as it circled the house.
Det Sen Sgt McCormack said things changed at 10.04pm when a SERT officer returned fire, hitting a water tank where Gareth was standing with a single shot.
He agreed this shot came 52 minutes after the first shots were fired at the BearCat.
He said the return fire “changed the behaviour” of the Trains, with Nathaniel taking a prone position behind an L-shaped barricade by the house and Gareth also taking cover.
At 10.05pm, the inquest heard the BearCat moved forward once again and another attempt was made using the loud speaker to encourage the Trains to drop their weapons.
“At that time, negotiators in the BearCat have called on Nathaniel and Gareth to stop firing and lay their weapons down,” Det Sen Sgt McCormack said.
He said at 10.19pm, Stacey emerged from the house with a rifle. He said she fired three shots in total from a .22 rifle throughout the siege.
At 10.32pm, Gareth was shot and killed after firing at a light armoured vehicle.
He was shot in the head as he attempted to reload.
One minute later, Stacey emerged from the house and fired a round towards police before disappearing inside.
The inquest heard negotiators made another attempt to call for her surrender and at 10.36pm, she walked back out and raised her weapon.
She was shot in the head and killed.
Nathaniel was killed three minutes later as he continued to fire at the police vehicles.
WHY TRAINS HAD TACTICAL ADVANTAGE
Large log barricades, deliberately lit fires, sniper hides and mirrors scattered around the Wieambilla property gave the Train trio a “tactical advantage”, the inquest has heard.
Det Sen Sgt McCormack said a large log and metal barricade was placed on the driveway, just over 100m from the house which impeded police driving closer.
The barricade was on a corner of the driveway and said it was blind for the people coming from around the tree line but there was a clearer view from the house to it.
Sen Sgt McCormack said the BearCat was stalled when it got to the barricade.
Gareth then shone a roof-mounted hunting light on to the BearCat and he and Nathaniel fired shots, hitting the vehicle and its windscreen.
Glass shards could be seen coming off the BearCat after the brothers shot at operatives in the vehicle.
Mirrors placed just after the barricade also hindered the view of the SERT operative trying to drive up closer to the house.
Sen Sgt McCormack said there were also fires lit in a horseshoe shape around the house which provided a “tactical advantage” for the Trains.
He said the smoke hampered operatives moving forward but also helped in some SERT teams moving into other positions.
During the incident, Nathaniel was seen hiding in an L-shaped barricade, about 1m off the side of the house.
Two logs had been cut and placed tightly together at a 90 degree angle, which provided protection to Nathaniel as he fired on police.
The footage originally appeared to show Nathaniel moving what police thought was a couch to the area but it was in fact bedding put behind the logs.
Sen Sgt McCormack said the logs were hardwood and “extremely bullet resistant” and were later found to have been struck by police during the shootout.
The inquest was told a number of operatives during their interviews said they had originally believed they could shoot through the area they thought was a couch and there was initial confusion as to why firing at the area was not effective.
The inquest heard Gareth and Stacey bought the remote block in 2015.
Det Sen Sgt McCormack said he obtained satellite images that showed barricades, sniper hides and mirrors were in place in October - two months before the shootings.
He said a tent at “sniper hide one” was visible, as well as the barricade blocking the main drive.
He said “well worn tracks” could also be seen leading from the house to hide one.
The hides and barricades were not present in images from 2018.
Det Sen Sgt McCormack said he was not able to obtain many images from the Trains’ time at the property because of its remote location.
POLICE EYES IN THE SKY RESTRICTED
Officers on board a police helicopter had to take screenshots of television monitors to send to colleagues on the ground because communications around Wieambilla were so poor.
An investigator has told the Wieambilla inquest that when police helicopters arrived on scene to monitor three shooters from the air, they were unable to stream footage to specialist police on the ground.
Instead, officers took screenshots and used a police computer system to send the still images showing where rifle-wielding shooters were located.
Det Sen Sgt McCormack told the inquest he conducted an investigation into the deaths of the Trains, who were killed by snipers attached to the Special Emergency Response Team following a lengthy shootout.
Det Sen Sgt McCormack said 19 highly-trained SERT operatives arrived on scene, including four by helicopter, and more in the heavily armoured BearCat vehicle.
Three light armoured vehicles also went to the scene and entered the Trains’ bush block.
He said four SERT negotiators made various attempts to secure the Trains surrender, including two who called six different mobile numbers every five minutes.
Two others travelled onto the property inside the BearCat and made attempts to speak to the trio via a loud speaker.
All attempts to negotiate with the Trains were either ignored or answered with gunfire.
Det Sen Sgt McCormack agreed communications were an issue for the officers who responded on the day.
He said the police helicopters were sent as “eyes in the sky” but footage was unable to be streamed to the ground.
“Several screenshots were taken of in-helicopter screens passed by (a police computer system) to officers on the ground,” he said.
He said SERT officers also used radios that operated “direct radio-to-radio” without going through a repeater because the Trains had taken the radios of murdered officers McCrow and Arnold.
More Coverage
Read related topics:Wieambilla inquest
No jail time for teen in Vyleen White’s stolen car after fatal stabbing
A teen charged with unlawful use of a vehicle linked to the stabbing death of Vyleen White has been sentenced after his parents marched the “out of control” boy to a police station in the days following the incident, a court has heard.
Read more
Farewells planned for teens killed in Wappa Falls tragedy
Details for the funeral services of two teenagers who tragically died at Wappa Falls have been revealed, with those attending encouraged to wear something bright in honour of the pair.
Read more