2009: Millionaire Michael McGurk Shot Dead Outside His Cremorne Home

On the evening of 3 September 2009, millionaire businessman Michael McGurk was shot dead in the driveway of his home in Cremorne, Sydney. His young son witnessed the killing. McGurk had been embroiled in a bitter legal dispute with property developer Ron Medich over a failed business deal.

The murder triggered one of the most complex organised crime investigations in New South Wales in years. Ron Medich was ultimately convicted in 2019 of arranging the killing, and sentenced to a minimum of 30 years in prison.

Dispute
Dispute

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1816: Constable Thomas Wright Killed After Removing an Illicit Still from the Army Barracks

Early morning, September 2nd 1816, Constable Thomas Wright was standing outside the Guard Room at the army barracks in Sydney‘s outer settlement of Windsor when he was assaulted with a cutlass. The attack is believed to have been motivated by his earlier removal of an illicit still from the barracks.

Three soldiers, were tried for his wilful murder and all three were acquitted owing to conflicting witness statements. According to the Sydney Gazette, the trial had excited considerable interest and ended in a manner gratifying to general feeling, but left the true circumstances of Wright’s death unresolved.

Vintage Moonshine Still.
Vintage Moonshine Still.

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1984: The Milperra Massacre: Seven Dead in Father’s Day Bikie War at Sydney Tavern

On Father’s Day, 2 September 1984, a heavily armed convoy of Comanchero motorcycle club members descended on the Viking Tavern car park in Milperra, a south-western suburb of Sydney.

The Comancheros had been at war with the newly formed Bandidos, a breakaway chapter, whose split from the Comancheros founder had curdled into open conflict. When both clubs converged on a swap meet that day, gunfire erupted in the car park. Seven people died, including a 14-year-old girl caught in the crossfire, and twenty-eight others were wounded.

The Milperra Massacre became the bloodiest single clash in the history of Australian outlaw motorcycle clubs.

Biker
Biker

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1934: The Pyjama Girl: A Body in a Culvert and a Mystery That Lasted Decades

On 1 September 1934, the body of a woman with a bullet through the neck was found in a culvert beneath near Albury, New South Wales.

Dressed in silk pyjamas, she remained unidentified for a decade, preserved in formalin and viewed by thousands before police named her as Florence Linda Agostini, an English-born woman who had lived on Darlinghurst Road in Kings Cross and later moved to Melbourne with her husband Tony Agostini.

Tony Agostini confessed to killing Linda and was convicted of manslaughter, sentenced to six years. He served just over three years before being deported to Italy.

Photograph of Linda Agostini(Linda Platt) - Pyjama Girl Mystery
Photograph of Linda Agostini(Linda Platt) – Pyjama Girl Mystery

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On This Day in True Crime History

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