‘Lucky to be alive’: Survivor remembers night double homicide shocked Maryborough

A pool player who survived a bloody shooting in which two women were killed at a Maryborough pub has marked the 25-year anniversary of the tragedy with a poignant tribute and shared haunting memories.

Rachel Anne Merlow, 29, and Perri Lee Straton, 37.

A shocking double homicide that rocked Maryborough has been remembered on the 25th anniversary of the tragedy.

On March 29, 2000, two women were shot dead at the Shamrock Hotel by a man who took his own life moments later.

Bar attendant Perri Lee Straton, 37, and Rachel Anne Merlow, 29, were both killed by Ben McConnell, 26, who had reportedly kept nine guns at his Maryborough flat.

Ms Merlow was his ex-partner and after an argument at the hotel, Mr McConnell had gone to his flat a few hundred metres from the hotel, grabbing two of the guns before returning to the hotel and killing the two women.

The front page of the Fraser Coast Chronicle on March 31, 2000, summed it up – “He was always scary”.

According to reports at the time, Ms Merlow had been doing work experience at the hotel at the time of the shooting.

Mr McConnell had yelled at about 15 people in the bar that he was going to shoot them all before leaping over the bar to shoot his former girlfriend as she tried to barricade herself in the hotel office.

She died instantly from head wounds, while Ms Straton was shot in the back while she tried to flee.

Her partner arrived minutes later to find her lying in a pool of blood, while her killer had shot himself dead.

Between 15 and 20 shots were fired during the incident.

Bar attendant Perri Lee Straton, 37.

This week, Terry Boyce-bacon, who was at the hotel at the time, shared his grim memories of that night.

“This is a sad memory for me and the families of these two girls,” he wrote on a Maryborough Facebook page.

“I was playing pool in a pool comp for the Shamrock Hotel in a home game at the Shamrock.

“It was going to be the worst experience of my life.

“Sadly, for Perri and Rachel their lives were cut short.

“The night had started as normal.

“About halfway through the competition I can’t remember if it was Perri or Rachel that served me my beer, with a smile as always.

“I took a couple of sips and then it was my turn for my shot at pool.

“I bent down to take my shot with my back to the bar and then I heard people yelling ‘he’s got a gun,’ and they started running towards the exits.

“I turned around and couldn’t see anybody.”

Mr Boyce-bacon said he heard a noise that sounded like fireworks.

“So, I ran outside and then with a couple of others went next door to ring triple-0,” he said.

Rachel Anne Merlow, 29.

“I walked down the side of the hotel to see if I could see the shooter through the windows but nothing.

“Then around the corner in Walker St I saw a person lying face down on the footpath.

“As I got closer, I realised it was Perri.

“I stood next to her until the paramedics arrived.

“It seemed to take forever for the police to arrive.

“By now it was all over I walked inside with the police and could see Rachel’s body lying face down behind the bar.

“They found the shooter’s body in the office – he had taken his own life.

“Apparently, he was the ex-boyfriend of Rachel and about an hour or so before the shooting he was harassing Rachel because she was working in a place that he considered his own turf.

“So Perri who was only doing her job and asked him to leave.

“He then returned with an arsenal of weapons, so he was prepared to do some carnage.

“I consider myself and others lucky to be alive in that hotel that night.

“I only lived a couple of doors down from the Shamrock Hotel in Walker St at the time.

“So, I was regular there for a few years and I knew Perri and considered her as a friend.

“As for Rachel, I only knew her for a couple of weeks, but she was always friendly.

“Perri was so happy about being just being approved for a loan to buy her own house.

“Rachel was happy about having new job with a great boss.”

Mr Boyce Bacon said he wanted to ensure the memories of the two women wouldn’t be forgotten.

Man killed in incident involving truck on private property

Women ‘nipped’ on lower legs by dingoes on K’gari

Originally published as ‘Lucky to be alive’: Survivor remembers night double homicide shocked Maryborough