Imagine a world where the most spine-chilling fiction is about to morph into grim reality. Welcome to the first act of the Murchison Murders, an eerie tale set in the vast landscapes of Western Australia during the 1930s, where a crime novel’s plot transforms into a blueprint for a series of heinous murders.
The story begins with a man, a stockman known as “Snowy” Rowles but born John Thomas Smith. In 1905, the stark landscape of North Perth, Western Australia, witnessed the birth of this man whose life was to take a sinister turn in the years to come. But before our tale plunges into the depths of his darkness, let’s meet another crucial character – Arthur Upfield.
Arthur Upfield, an author with three novels under his belt, was toiling under the sun as a worker on the rabbit-proof fence in Western Australia. However, the call of storytelling was hard to ignore, and he found himself grappling with the plot of another detective novel. But this was no ordinary murder mystery. Upfield sought to craft a tale where the detective was confronted with an unusual obstacle: a murder with no body to be found.
Such a chilling idea sparked intrigue and conversation among his colleagues. One of them, George Ritchie, was so captivated by the concept that he devised a gruesome method to dispose of a murder victim’s body. It involved burning the victim’s body with that of a large animal, eliminating any trace of the crime by carefully processing the remains, and then scattering them into the wind. But as they say, a plot is only as good as its conflict. The method was so efficient, so foolproof, it presented Upfield with a new problem: How could his detective prove a murder when there was no evidence left?
This is where our protagonist and antagonist’s paths converge. “Snowy” Rowles, known by Upfield, was part of the group who found amusement in dissecting this method, unknowingly laying the foundation for a plot twist no author could have imagined. The technique for committing the ‘perfect murder’ was unwittingly presented to Rowles, a man who was soon to demonstrate the horrifying power of a dangerous idea in the wrong hands.
As the sun set on the 5th of October 1929, Rowles, Upfield, Ritchie, and a couple of others convened at Camel Station homestead. The topic of their discussion? The perfect way to dispose of a body, of course. They had no idea that they were not merely engaging in an intellectual debate but setting the stage for a series of chilling real-life murders. The line between fiction and reality was about to blur, leading them into the bloody heart of the Murchison Murders.
When Reality Mirrors Fiction
Shadows of suspicion begin to creep across the barren Western Australia landscape as fiction becomes a dreadful reality. The story takes a terrifying turn when, in December 1929, James Ryan and George Lloyd, two unsuspecting souls, set off from Camel Station, accompanied by “Snowy” Rowles. The men were last seen journeying into the vast expanse of the Australian Outback, their faces etched with a sense of adventure and camaraderie. Little did they know, the friend in their company was far more dangerous than the harsh, unforgiving wilderness they were venturing into.
Days passed, and George Ritchie turned up at Camel Station with a chilling anecdote. A prospector named James Yates had seen Rowles alone, driving a car. According to Rowles, Ryan and Lloyd were trekking through the scrub. The unsettling absence of the two men was enough to cast a shadow of doubt over Rowles’ claim. By Christmas Eve, Rowles presented a troubling story to Arthur Upfield, stating that Ryan had decided to stay in Mount Magnet and had lent him his truck.
The eerie narrative doesn’t end there. By May 1930, another name was added to the list of the disappeared – Louis Carron, a New Zealander who had been working at Wydgee Station. Like Ryan and Lloyd, Carron was last seen in the company of the seemingly harmless Rowles.
Afterwards, the clues start to paint a horrifying picture. Carron’s paycheck was cashed by none other than Rowles. Carron’s consistent correspondence with his friends ceased, and his friend’s reply-paid telegram to Rowles, inquiring about Carron, was met with ominous silence. The unsettling pattern was impossible to ignore: men were disappearing, and their paths were converging onto one man, “Snowy” Rowles.
When Carron’s disappearance caught the eye of the police, it shed light on a grim fact: Ryan and Lloyd, too, were missing. All three men had last been seen with Rowles. Soon, the detectives stumbled upon a haunting connection. They learned of Arthur Upfield’s infamous murder method, a method that Rowles was known to be familiar with. This chilling discovery marked the horrific collision of fiction and reality.
Unveiling the Truth
The relentless investigators left no stone unturned in their quest for truth. Among the eerie quiet of the rabbit-proof fence, at the 183-mile hut, they discovered the charred remains of Louis Carron’s body, unearthing a nightmarish tableau. A wedding ring was recovered, a tiny symbol of life amidst the devastation. It was this ring that would ultimately break open the case.
The ring bore a unique mark, a distinctive signature left by a jeweler in Auckland who had repaired it with a different carat solder, leading to an identifiable contrast. It was Carron’s wife who identified the ring, providing the first tangible proof linking the murders to “Snowy” Rowles.
Arrested for the crimes, Rowles, or rather John Thomas Smith, was a familiar face to Detective-Sergeant Manning, who recognized him as a former burglary convict. Manning was given more time to investigate as Rowles was sent back to prison. It was there that the magnitude of his deeds seemed to crash upon him, leading him to attempt suicide.
In the grim theater of the courtroom, the tale of the Murchison Murders unfolded in all its horrifying detail. Despite the damning evidence against him, Rowles only faced trial for the murder of Carron. For Ryan and Lloyd, he had meticulously followed the method outlined in Upfield’s yet-to-be-published novel, leaving no physical trace behind. For Carron, however, he made a fatal error – he failed to dissolve all metal remains in acid.
The courtroom drama saw the recounting of Carron’s missing items, Rowles’s erratic behavior, his intimate knowledge of the fictional murder method, and the various lies he spun to explain his movements. As the evidence mounted, the specter of guilt cast a long, inescapable shadow over Rowles.
On 19 March 1932, after two hours of deliberation, the jury found “Snowy” Rowles guilty of the willful murder of Louis Carron. He maintained his innocence to the very end, stating that he had been “found guilty of a crime that has never been committed.” His attempts to appeal his conviction fell on deaf ears, and he was sentenced to hang. On 13 June 1932, within the cold walls of Fremantle Prison, Rowles met his fate.
The harsh landscape of Western Australia will forever bear the scars of this crime, a grim reminder of the day when fiction bled into reality, leaving in its wake a trail of death and mystery.
Deep Lore 