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Died 19 September 1952
Grange, Queensland, Australia | ||
The Murder of Betty Shanks is one of the oldest and most notorious unsolved murder cases in Queensland, Australia.
Contents
Overview
On the night of 19 September 1952, 22-year-old Betty Shanks got off a tram at Days Rd. Terminus in the Grange, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, and started her short walk home. Her violently beaten body was found in the garden of a house on the corner of Carberry and Thomas Streets the next morning at 5.35am, by a policeman who lived nearby. At the time it was Queensland's biggest criminal investigation ever, and as of 2010 a reward of A$50,000 is still current.
Investigation
An attack by a sex offender was considered very early in the investigation. Another theory is that the murderer attacked the wrong woman, and was actually interested in a doctor's receptionist - who also walked home down the same street at the same time, and had keys to the surgery which contained drugs. A number of people have confessed over the years, however all have proved to be false.
Books
Several books have been written about the murder and the authors have outlined who they believe the murderer to be. These works include: