crimesandcuriosities: “If you don’t get the money, I’ll feed the boy to the sharks
crimesandcuriosities: “If you don’t get the money, I’ll feed the boy to the sharks.“ The First Kidnapping for Ransom in AustraliaOn 1st June 1960, the lives of Bazil and Freda Thorne (top right) changed drastically following a £100,000 lottery win - today worth approx. USD $3 million. However, Australian lottery winners at the time could not opt for privacy, and so details of their win were publicised on the front pages of national newspapers. Due to this, the family’s excitement soon came to an abrupt end and their lives changed again for the worst.Just one month later, on 7th July, their 8 year old son Graeme Thorne (top left) set off for school on his usual route. He was to walk to the end of the street, where family friend Phyllis Smith would pick him up in her car and then drive him the rest of the journey and drop him off at the school gates. However, on that day, somebody else was parked in Phyllis’ usual spot. A man named Stephen Leslie Bradley (bottom) had been waiting there and convinced Graeme that he would drop him off at school instead, and so the little boy obligingly got into his car. Phyllis arrived to collect Graeme shortly afterwards. When he failed to turn up, she sensed he may have just been running late and drove to the Thorne family household to collect him there. However, his parents informed her that he had already set off. They each sensed that he may have just made his own way to the school, but a phone call to his teacher alerted them to the fact that Graeme had never turned up. Beginning to panic, Bazil and Freda immediately alerted the authorities.Just over one hour after Graeme went missing, an unknown man rang the Thorne household and demanded £25,000 from the Thorne’s lottery winnings in exchange for the safe return of their son. If they failed to deliver, the caller claimed he would feed Graeme “to the sharks”. Following the call, a manhunt ensued on the largest scale Australia had ever known. Houses, apartments, hotels and other shelters in areas surrounding the Thorne family home were searched within hours of the kidnap taking place, and Graeme’s parents appeared on televised news to plead for his safe return.On 8th July, just over 24 hours after Graeme was abducted, his school case was located near a busy highway on the outskirts of Sydney. The relentless search continued; hundreds of police officers, including officers recalled from leave to help with the search, were assisted by army units, and helicopters and tracker dogs were also deployed to comb other areas. Just 3 days later, Graeme’s school cap, school book, lunch box and raincoat were found one mile away from where his school case was found.While the search for Graeme continued, police asked his parents if they had noticed any strange activity in the days or weeks preceding their son’s abduction. Mrs Thorne recollected that a man with a European accent had knocked on their door a few days after their lottery win and asked if a “Mr Bognor” was home. Confused, Freda had informed the man that no such person lived at the address. Acting puzzled, the man drew a piece of paper from his pocket and read aloud the street address and telephone number of the Thorne household, claiming that he believed these were personal details for a ‘Mr Bognor’. Mrs Thorne confirmed that those details were hers, and the man simply apologised and left. This now seemed extremely suspicious, and police suggested that this may have been a ploy for the man to confirm that it was in fact the now wealthy Thorne household.Five weeks after his abduction, the search for Graeme ended on 16th August with a tragic outcome. Sadly, the little boy’s body was found within some overgrown vegetation on an unoccupied plot of land in Seaforth, New South Wales. He had been gagged and bound in twine so tightly that it had cut into his ankles, and he had also been wrapped in a blanket and was still fully dressed in his school uniform. It was determined that he had likely died within 24 hours of his disappearance. Fortunately for investigators, the disposal of Graeme’s body had been a very sloppy job and enough evidence to provide new leads had been left behind, including: Hairs from a Pekinese dog found on Graeme’s uniform.Traces of pink lime mortar used in construction found on his body.Leaves from two unique Cypress trees found close to where his body lay.Now equipped with this new information, and also the account of a man speaking in a heavy European accent, police were able to hone their search. As the leaves were perhaps the most distinct piece of evidence, they began scouting for homes which had Cypress trees growing in the garden and also appealed to the public for help. By early October 1960, investigators were able to locate the house they were looking for: the Bradley residence in Clontarf, Queensland. It was over a 10 hour drive from where Graeme’s body was found, but it featured two different Cypress trees growing on either side of a garage, and a closer inspection of the home identified that pink mortar was present in its foundations. It also came to light that the Bradley family had recently owned a Pekinese dog.Unfortunately, the potential abductor’s home had already been deserted. Not-so-coincidentally, Stephen Bradley had sold his house and moved out of the country in the days following Graeme’s abduction. However, this abandonment gave police more time to further solidify their case against Mr Bradley, as a search of his home turned up incriminating photos. In one photograph, one of Bradley’s own children sat posing on the same blanket which Graeme’s body had been found wrapped in. Police were also able to show pictures of Stephen Bradley to Mrs Thorne, who confirmed that it was the same man who had knocked on her door. Mr Bradley was a Hungarian immigrant who had moved to Australia 10 years previously, which also explained the European accent Freda Thorne had heard.Further investigation found that Bradley intended to flee to England with his unsuspecting family, but the police were able to intercept their planned stop-off in Sri Lanka and Bradley was arrested on 10th October 1960. During the deportation flight back to Sydney, Stephen Bradley confessed to abducting Graeme but claimed that his death was accidental. According to Bradley, he had hidden Graeme in his car boot in order to keep the abduction from his family, but when he later went back to check on him the little boy had stopped breathing. However, the autopsy report refuted this, as there was evidence to show that Graeme had actually been hit on the back of the head with a blunt instrument, causing a skull fracture and significant bruising which likely resulted in his death.After arriving back in Australia, Bradley signed a written confession which only hastened his conviction. At his trial in March 1961, Bradley was found guilty of Graeme’s abduction and murder, and he was sentenced to life imprisonment. However, he only went on to serve 7 years of it. On 6th October 1968, Stephen Bradley died after suffering a massive heart attack while playing tennis in prison. -- source link
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