1867: The Magistrate Who Rode With the Gold Escort: Arrested for Murdering His Own Troopers
Thomas Griffin was the police magistrate entrusted with escorting a gold shipment through remote country in Queensland, riding alongside two troopers, Power and Cahill. The gold never reached its destination, and when the troopers were found dead, a doctor's examination uncovered bullet wounds hidden in their skulls, wounds that had at first gone unnoticed.
On 11 November 1867, a detective lured Griffin into casual conversation at the murder scene, a distraction that let Sub-Inspector Elliott seize and handcuff him before he could react. Griffin's response was almost clinical in its calm: he said he could only expect to be arrested, since he was the last person known to have been in the company of the victims.
