Wieambilla coronial inquest hears new details about fatal ambush awaiting young police officers
A police officer has revealed how he tried to help his colleagues during a horrific ambush unfolded at a rural Queensland property, a coronial inquest has been told. WARNING: Graphic content
WARNING: Graphic
A police officer has revealed the moments he watched his colleague be murdered in front of his eyes as a horrific ambush unfolded at a rural Queensland property, a coronial inquest has been told.
Constables Rachel McCrow, 29, and Matthew Arnold, 26, were murdered after they attended the Wieambilla property of Gareth Train and his wife, Stacey, while performing a welfare check for Gareth’s brother, Nathaniel Train, in December 2022.
Unknowingly, the officers had walked into an elaborately staged trap where they, along with two other officers – Constables Keely Brough and Randall Kirk – were met with gunfire, an inquest into the deaths has been told.
Footage from Constable Kirk’s body-worn camera was played in court as counsel assisting the coroner, Ruth O’Gorman KC, gave her opening address.
The vision shows the four officers jumping the fence at the Train property about 4.35pm to approach the house on foot.
Ms O’Gorman said less than two minutes after the officers entered the property “a shot rang out”.
Constable Arnold was only 120m from the front gate where the officers had come from when he shot in the chest and died.
The inquest was told the fatal bullet had been fired by Nathaniel, who was most likely in a “hide-out” lying in wait.
About seven minutes later, Constable McCrow was murdered by Gareth, who shot her with his rifle at close range.
The Trains then lit fires to try to smoke out Constable Brough, who had managed to escape to bushland metres away from where her colleagues were murdered.
The call for help
The inquest heard Constable Brough had called triple-0 on her mobile as she lay in eight inch tall grass trying to hide from the gunfire.
The person who answered her call for help was Toowoomba police communications dispatcher Katherine Beilby.
Ms Beilby told the inquest on Tuesday when she received the call from Constable Brough she immediately declared the incident a “hot job” which makes it a “code 1” callout.
“This was a decision I made because of the severity of the job. I knew it was because I knew police were in trouble, and what Keely had initially told me,” Ms Beilby said.
As the two women stayed on the phone, Constable Brough continued to give updates about what she saw while laying in the grass.
Ms Beilby became teary on the stand as she recalled how she tried to keep Constable Brough calm during the alarming situation.
Ms Beilby said she “felt helpless” as the situation unfolded but tried her best to keep Constable Brough calm.
“I didn’t want to put Keely in any more danger and just wanted her to remain where she was and keep her as calm and positive as possible and to let her know, ‘we are there for you’,” she said.
Ms Beilby said at times Constable Brough was whispering to her as they spoke as to not raise attention to her location.
The inquest heard the Trains set fires to try to smoke Constable Brough out, with the fire reaching 1m from her feet as she hid.
“I had said to Keely, I need to speak to the ComCo. Do not hang up,” Ms Beilby said.
“This is when the fire was nearby, very close to Keely.
“I wanted some advice. I felt helpless. I said (to the ComCo) this fire is very close to Keely. She can feel it through her shoes, through her feet. What should I tell her?
“He couldn’t give me any advice.”
Ms Beilby said she had been told to instruct Constable Brough that when she told her code words “pink and blue” it meant she should run and the extract team would guide her out.
“The dispatcher said, tell Keely when she hears pink and blue, make a run for it,” she said.
“Shortly after the code did come through and Keely did run for safety.”
It wasn’t until these moments that Ms Beilby received support from Toowoomba Police station to help with the protracted incident.
“And so this officer came over, put my headset on but by this stage Keely had been given the go ahead... to run,” she said.
Legal counsel for Queensland Commissioner of Police Steve Gollschewski, Dr Ian Freckelton, addressed Ms Beilby to express the sentiments of the QPS.
“I’d like to express him to you, in public, his appreciation for your extraordinary calmness, compassion and professionalism that day,” he said.
“Not only did you make a difference but you may well have saved a life. Thank you very much.”
The inquest heard Ms Beilby was also map Constable Brough’s location to assist the SERT team.
‘Do you have eyes on the others’ – horror moment for cop
Constable Kirk had also managed to escape the ambush after he made a frightening dash back to his police vehicle at the front gate while being shot at by the Trains.
Constable Kirk told the inquest on Tuesday he’d been assigned the Code 3 job to attend the Wains Rd property with his colleague Constable Brough when the pair started their shift at the Chinchilla Police Station at 4pm on December 12.
Constables Arnold and McCrow had also been tasked with the job and a plan was made for the four officers to meet at the road near the property as the Tara crew had never been to the house.
It was the second time Constable Kirk had been to the property, having attended with another officer in August 2022 looking for Nathaniel.
The inquest heard the two officers didn’t go past the locked gate and left a note in the letterbox about the reason for their visit.
This time however, the four constables jumped the locked front gate because an arrest warrant had been made and a missing persons welfare check for Nathaniel.
Constable Kirk said two separate crews were called to the Code 3 job because property was in an area with poor reception.
“There’s sorts of areas you have between Chinchilla and Tara you have what you call black spots … having more crews at specific jobs tends to help,” he said.
As the four officers walk up the dirt driveway, they were captured on Constable Kirk’s body worn footage chatting together.
Constable Kirk is heard saying “there’s an arrest warrant for this fella”.
He told the inquest relaying that type of information “tends to help everyone” as they approach a job
About 120m from the gate, a single shot rings out and Constable Arnold is killed.
The inquest heard that Constable Kirk says ‘get back, get back’ to his colleagues as they try to seek cover.
“I recall myself going behind a tree,” he said.
“I don’t recall where Keely Brough went and I could see where Rachel was, still at the same position…where the initial shot went.
“I recall dropping, laying on my stomach. I don’t recall specifically when I dropped.”
When asked why he dropped to the ground, Constable Kirk simply replied it was “to try not to get shot”.
He told the inquest he “assumed” the “loud” gunshots had come from “in front” of where the officers had been walking but he didn’t see it happen and didn’t notice anyone on the property.
As he tried to remain hidden from sight, Constable Kirk was able to move to another tree that provided him better coverage.
“It was my only protection,” he said.
“I remember getting to the tree. I remember scanning to get eyes on Keely, Matt and Rachel.
“I don’t recall seeing anyone initially. I don’t recall where the shots had come from.
“I do recall trying my radio, and then that not working and then having to use my phone to the sergeant.”
Constable Kirk was able to make a phone call to his supervising officer, Sergeant Justin Dryer, to relay what was unfolding at the rural property.
From his position, he was able to tell Sergeant Dryer what was happening to him and his colleagues.
“I was constantly scanning around the tree trying to find out where Keely was as well as to confirm the status of Rachel,” he said.
“My observations was (Constable Arnold) just wasn’t moving. (Constable McCrow) was rolling around, screaming out.”
Constable McCrow had been shot three times moments after Constable Arnold was killed and she lay about 30m from where Constable Kirk hid.
The inquest heard all four officers were wearing their assigned Glocks, which has an accuracy distance of “within 15m”.
Ms O’Gorman asked Constable Kirk whether he was able to “turn your mind” to if he could “physically” get to Constable McCrow to assist her after she received the first three non-fatal shots.
“I did but I wasn’t able to get there.. to the nature of where the shots were coming from, it was still unknown,” Constable Kirk explained.
The inquest heard Constable Kirk was able to see “one shooter” - later identified as Gareth - emerge from the hide “well over 50-60m” away but he was too far away to shoot at him.
“I first saw him come out to what we now know is the hide, I saw him on that treeline,” he said.
“From there it was kind of a constant (pearing) from my tree to see where he was going.
“There was interruptions (to his surveillance of Gareth), I kept going back behind my tree to lose sight but also to provide myself cover.”
Constable Kirk said he couldn’t remember when he saw Nathaniel emerge from the hide but saw him standing at the tree line.
He said he thought he told Sergeant Dryer that Nathaniel was carrying a “cross bow”.
The inquest heard Gareth went over to Constable Arnold and removed his Glock from him.
“I saw him walk up to Constable McCrow, they exchanged words and then he fatally shot her,” Constable Kirk said.
The inquest was told Constable McCrow had fired 15 shots from her Glock at Gareth moments before he killed her.
Upon hearing the gunfire, Constable Kirk discharged his Glock once firing in the direction of Gareth.
Ms O’Gorman asked the constable why he’d only fired one shot.
“The main reason was Constable McCrow was in the line of fire as well as it being outside of my glock Glockement range,” he replied.
“The single shot was an attempt to hit the target.
“If that was the case I would have gone for more shots, given it was ineffective... I returned to my cover to not give up my location.”
Constable Kirk said he became aware Gareth knew he was nearby.
“He was sort of swaying side to side, moving his head as if he was trying to peer around the tree where I was at,” he said.
In the following moments, Constable Kirk managed to run for his life back to his car after his supervisor told him to “look after” himself when he asked him if he should run.
“(I did) try and maneuver (between) a few trees and bush to try to provide myself enough cover while I ran,” he said.
Despite being shot in the hip, Constable Kirk was able to get to his car and drive away to call for help.
The Dares’ call for help
Alan Dare, 58, lived at a nearby property and came to investigate after seeing smoke in the area.
He was murdered moments after he arrived to help.
It’s understood he was fatally shot in the back by one of the Trains, but the inquest was told an investigation could not determine by who.
The inquest was told Mr Dare’s wife, Kerry, called triple-0 at 5.13pm after the couple had spotted fires coming from the Trains’ property.
Mrs Dare called again four minutes later at 5.17pm to report an update on the fire as her husband was getting in his car to drive off to investigate and lend assistance.
Detective Inspector Suzanne Newton said through her investigation, the operator speaking to Ms Dare told her that her husband should “absolutely” not go to the property where the fires were.
When asked if she knew if Mr Dare was told the warning, Inspector Newton said she was unable to confirm through listening to the call’s audio if he received the message.
“I’m not in a position to say if he heard it or not,” she said.
“Mrs Dare was on the phone at the time, he was getting into his Ford Territory.
“You cannot hear on any recording that Mrs Dare has relayed that information to Mr Dare.”
Inspector Newton said she was also unable to determine where Mrs Dare was when she made the second call to triple-0.
Ms O’Gorman said Mr Dare had arrived at the Trains’ property about 5.30pm in response to the smoke he spotted coming and was “killed without warning”.
Ms O’Gorman said he died from a gunshot wound to the torso “while looking out for his community”.
Her investigation also confirmed all four officers who attended the Wains Rd property had performed their duties according to QPS policies and procedures.
She said they’d been carrying out a “low level routine job” for a code 3 call-out to perform a missing persons welfare check for Nathaniel.
The inquest was told there was also an arrest warrant out for Nathaniel after he’d allegedly crossed the Queensland border months prior during Covid lockdowns and dumped three weapons as he crossed.
Harrowing moments before murders
Ms O’Gorman said both officers “died in the line of duty” and in their service to their community.
Images of the Trains’ hide-out were displayed in court on Monday.
They showed an elaborate set-up hidden among tree debris that featured a large tent, dumbbells, a copy of the book The Godfather and a chair with sawn-off legs that allowed the shooter to have a direct line of vision through the cutout to see anyone who approached the front gate.
Ms O’Gorman said before the first shot, the officers were not aware they were walking into an ambush.
The inquest was told Constable McCrow was shot in the back while trying to use her radio to call for help.
She was then shot in the lower right leg and upper left leg at 4.38pm.
“She also recorded a message of love for her family.”
The inquest was told while it was unclear who fired the three non-fatal shot at Constable McCrow, Gareth likely pulled the trigger causing the fatal shot.
Ms O’Gorman said Constable McCrow showed “great courage and honour” during her final moments.
“It was about seven minutes from the time of the shot that killed Constable Arnold to the time of Constable McCrow’s death,” she said.
“In that time she was injured by gunshot wounds, her shooters unknown to her.
“Despite being ambushed, in pain and no doubt terrified, Constable McCrow showed great courage and honour.”
Inspector Newton told the inquest on Monday she’d been able to identify the voices heard in audio captured by the officers’ body-worn cameras through the assistance of Nathaniel and Stacey’s son.
The former couple had two children before separating and Stacey went onto marry Nathaniel’s brother, Gareth.
The inquest was told that through the body-worn camera audio, both brothers could be heard speaking to each other moments after Constables Arnold and McCrow were killed.
“He f**king ran,” Gareth said.
“The other car’s gone … took a car.”
Nathaniel replied: “Do you want to move forward or stay here?”
Inspector Newton said moments later Nathaniel said “one went right and three went to the left”.
“In the scope, there were three to the left of him … I was looking at them,” Nathaniel said.
“He could have broken that way, but I’m pretty sure he went to the right.”
It’s understood Nathaniel was describing Constable Brough’s movements in this verbal exchange with his brother before the pair started several fires to try to smoke her out.
On Monday, the inquest was told Constable Brough spent nearly two hours waiting to be rescued as flames licked her feet.
The officer, who had only been on the job for less than nine weeks, had managed to seek shelter in bushland.
The inquest was told she was able to call triple-0 on her mobile phone at 4.34pm as she tried to remain hidden in the grass, which was about 20cm tall.
Ms O’Gorman said a male’s voice could be heard on Constable Arnold’s body-worn camera saying “there’s one more somewhere”.
Constable Brough, who remained on the line with the triple-0 call operator, revealed her concern for her life.
“I think they know I’m here, I’m scared,” she said.
She was rescued about 6.34pm after running to the front gate where officers were waiting to collect her when it was safe to do so.
Special Emergency Response Team officers shot all three members of the Train family following a lengthy siege within seven minutes of each other.
Ms O’Gorman said Stacey was killed first – at 10.32pm – from a gunshot wound to the head.
Gareth was killed four minutes afterwards, also from a gunshot wound to the head.
Nathaniel was the last standing Train member before he was shot in the head and torso, at 10.39pm.
Months after the massacre, police confirmed the Trains had prescribed to an extremist Christian ideology known as “premillennialism” and acted as an “autonomous cell” to carry out their “religiously motivated terrorist attack”.
The inquest was told on Monday that Gareth and Stacey had been seen by Polair sitting at a table during the hours after they killed two police officers and a civilian and recording a video that was later uploaded to YouTube.
In the video, which was played to the court, the married couple confirmed they’d killed two police officers.
“They came to kill us and we killed them,” Gareth says in the video.
“If you don’t defend yourself against these devils and demons, you’re a coward.”
Stacey then adds: “We’ll see you when we get home.” And then: “We love you.”
Gareth says: “We’ll see you at home Don.”
Ms O’Gorman told the inquest “Don” was a man in America whom the couple had been speaking with about their beliefs.
She said “home” referenced to seeing Don in the afterlife.
The inquest continues.
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