Inquest into death of Tony Jones begins in Townsville
FOR more than 30 years, Tony Jones’ fate has been one of Australia’s biggest mysteries. Startling new evidence could help.
NEW suspects, a killer who gained pleasure from destroying lives, and startling new evidence will emerge at an inquest that hopes to end one of Australia’s biggest mysteries.
What happened to 20-year-old Tony Jones in November 1982 is a question that has never been answered. Detectives in Queensland have tried to solve the case for decades, and his devastated family have been relentless in their own hunt for the truth.
Mr Jones was hitchhiking between Mt Isa and Townsville but vanished — and his disappearance was the catalyst that sparked National Missing Persons Week, which tries to reunite people with their loved ones every year.
He become the infamous Two of Spades in a missing persons playing card pack designed to flush out information.
But almost 34 years later his body hasn’t been found and no one can say with certainty what happened.
An inquest into the case begins today in Townsville, and is expected to hear evidence via phone from Andy Albury, a Northern Territory prisoner who was convicted of the murder of Gloria Pindan in 1983.
He stabbed her more than 30 times, and mutilated her with a broken beer bottle, severing her nipples and gouging out an eyeball, throwing it 4m away from her body.
But Albury has reportedly confessed to as many as 14 murders, including that of Mr Jones. While police don’t believe he is the real killer, he will be questioned at the inquest regardless, The Weekend Australianreported.
Instead, the newspaper said two new “prime suspects” had emerged and their alleged involvement will come under scrutiny during the two-week inquest.
The men were teenagers at the time of Mr Jones’ disappearance.
It is believed Mr Jones was picked up while hitchhiking near Townsville and taken to the town of Hughenden, 400km away, where he drank with a number of people.
It is alleged he was killed and then the killer asked a second person to help cut the body into pieces and dispose of it in the Hughenden abattoir.
The Sunday Mail reported he died from a “one punch” attack by the then teenager, who still lives in Townsville.
It has previously been speculated that Mr Jones was shot and killed by someone he crossed paths with or possibly even a serial killer stalking lonely outback highways.
His brother Mark Jones told news.com.au on Monday morning he believed the emergence of the new “suspects” was just the start.
“We don’t think it’s the whole story — it’s the start of the story, there is so much more to it. Unfortunately, we have had to do our own investigations.”
He said the police brief handed to them late last week ahead of the inquest was “ramshackle and incomplete”.
Mark Jones said there was much more to his brother’s murder than meets the eye.
“I don’t think the police have put right credibility in the right witnesses and failed to see the right possibilities.”
He expected there would be more questions before they finally got answers.
“We expect that as the next two weeks progress more and more layers of this thing unfold ... We’re nowhere near the end point but a new beginning.”
He accused investigators of being “tunnel visioned” and trying to fit their theories to “their narrative”.
The family inquiries had uncovered “shocking and sordid” crimes they believed could be related to Mr Jones’ murder.
“We were shocked at what we uncovered in terms of what may or may not be related. A series of shocking, sordid crimes that police [have] disregarded,” Mark Jones said.
Above all though, all the Jones family wanted was the truth. And justice for Tony.
“We’ve been waiting 34 years.”
“Mum went to the grave not knowing, dad is 91. We’ve been fighting for so long — it’s like pushing a car that has four flat tyres. As soon as you stop pushing it comes to a screaming halt. We need to get on with our lives, we are sick of pushing.”
In 2014 — in what homicide detectives said was a major breakthrough — police began searching through the slaughterhouse and a hotel in Hughenden. At the time they would only say the locations were “places of interest”.
Three people had come forward to say they saw Mr Jones, who was also known as Anthony, at the Grand Hotel in Hughenden in November 1982.
Police have confirmed they believe Mr Jones was killed in Hughenden.
An earlier inquest in 2002 concluded that Mr Jones’ death was “at the hand of a person or persons unknown” and police investigations should continue.
Police have previously said there are “several persons of interest”.
Last year, police announced they were looking for a distinctive firearm they believed Mr Jones had with him when he disappeared.
It’s thought the Voere .22 calibre bolt-action rifle could help identify the killer but so far the weapon hasn’t been found.
andrew.koubaridis@news.com.au