1937: Convicted of Kidnapping: Two Years Before Becoming the Last Prisoner Executed in NSW
John Trevor “Jack” Kelly was found guilty of kidnapping on 23rd September 1937, and was sentenced to eighteen months’ imprisonment, with a recommendation that he undergo observation following concerns about lasting effects from a motor accident. Released in November 1938, Kelly committed murder less than three months later. Read more →
1952: Australia’s First Thallium Poisoning Murder Conviction: Yvonne Fletcher Sentenced to Death in Sydney
At the Central Criminal Court in Sydney, 30-year-old Yvonne Gladys Fletcher of Newtown was sentenced to death after a seven-day trial for the 1948 murder of her first husband, Desmond George Butler, who died after months of wasting illness caused by thallium poisoning. Read more →
1983: The KFC Murders: Five Shot Execution-Style in Texas
On the night of September 23, 1983, armed robbers held up a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant in Kilgore, Texas, just before closing. Read more →
1986: Carved with a Scarlet Letter: The Unsolved Murder of Beth Barnard on Phillip Island
In the early hours of September 23, 1986, 23-year-old penguin parade worker Beth Barnard was found stabbed to death in a house on Phillip Island, Victoria. Read more →
