Persons Unknown
Persons Unknown
Betty Shanks (Unsolved Murder) Part 2
This is part 2 of Betty Shanks (Unsolved Murder). If you haven't done so already, please make sure you listen to part 1 first.
In Part 2 the many theories and persons of interest surrounding this cold case will be
explored.
Sources for the epsiode can be found here
Promos
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This is part 2 of Betty Shanks (Unsolved Murder). If you haven’t done so already, make sure you listen to part 1 before continuing.
I will now take you through the many theories surrounding the 1952 murder of Betty Shanks. I will also detail persons of interests that have emerged over the decades that followed.
The Doctor
A rumour circulated shortly after Betty was murdered that she had been killed by a medical doctor. This doctor's name is in the public domain but I will refer to him as Dr C. Dr C lived in the city of Ipswich, about a 45 minute drive from Wilston. Dr C was found dead at his home 51 hours after Bettys was murdered. He had died by suicide. His throat had been cut with a butcher's knife. Dr C’s suicide and Betty's murder were often featured next to each other on the front pages of newspapers. DS Ted Chandler, who had been one of the first detectives at the scene of Betty's murder, believed that Dr C was the mysterious man in the brown suit seen at the tram terminal. His theory was the doctor had murdered Betty and then, racked with guilt, had taken his own life. Chandler was never able to prove that Dr C and Betty were acquainted. In 2005 two sons of Dr C provided DNA samples which were compared to a DNA profile found on Bettys clothing. There was no match. Even before this the Dr C theory had largely been dismissed.
While it could not be proven that Dr C and Betty Shanks knew each other, they did have a common connection. This was a man called Leonard. Leonard's full name is in the public domain but I’ve decided not to use it. Leonard worked in insurance and had worked with Dr C when the doctor was in the process of purchasing a house. He was said to be a close friend of Dr C and also an acquaintance of Betty Shanks. Dr C’s sons believe their father did not die by suicide but was murdered by Leonard in order to frame him for the murder of Betty Shanks. A murder they think Leonard himself had committed.
Leonard
True crime author Ted Duhs has seen a police file in which a woman named Joan W gave a statement to police in 1953. Joan and her solicitor friend, Ronald, met Betty Shanks together with a 29 year old married man named Leonard in the Sunshine Coast resort town of Caloundra, an hour and twenty minutes drive north of Brisbane. Joan W described Leonard as a ladies man. If you remember, there were reports in the press shortly after Betty’s murder that she was in love with a 29 year old married man. Joan W went on to level the allegation that Leonard had murdered Betty and then paid her hush money in the thousands to keep her from talking. I should mention that Leonard’s brother was a prominent influential QC.
Leonard was interviewed by police in March 1953 but was able to provide a solid alibi, backed up by multiple people, that he was in Ipswich at the time of the murder. Police were satisfied with this and he was released without charge. In 2009 DNA from one of Leonard’s children was compared to the DNA profile found on Bettys clothing. It was not a match.
Dr C’s sons are sceptical about the reliability of the DNA profile taken from Betty's clothing and suggest it could well be contaminated. (They say this with the knowledge it would mean DNA evidence could not exclude their father). They continue to be suspicious of Leonard and believe he made contradictory statements to police.
The soldier
Ken Blanch was one of the first journalists at the scene on the morning Betty's body was found. Through his own extensive investigation he concluded that Betty's killer was a former army lorry driver. In 2006 he authored a book “Who Killed Betty Shanks? Brisbane's greatest murder-mystery” in which he outlined his theory.
In 1952 this suspect was a driver in the army. The man’s name first came up during an investigation into the death of a taxi driver in Southport on the Gold Coast, about an hour and a quarter’s drive from Brisbane. This was three months prior to Betty's murder. As part of that murder inquiry police talked with a 17 year old female witness who told them an interesting story. A man had tricked her into accepting a lift home in his car. He won her confidence because he claimed he knew her best friend. As soon as she got into the car he began driving in the opposite direction to the girl’s home. The teenager didn't panic and acted like nothing was wrong. As soon as the opportunity arose she got out of the car and fled.
Two detectives, Bill Howley and Frank Gorman, managed to trace this man based on the information the girl had provided. He was a soldier living in barracks in Peel Street, south Brisbane. He was questioned but there was some confusion over dates and they had no concrete evidence with which to charge the man. However, the detectives got a bad vibe from him and noted they believed it likely he would commit a sexual assault in the future.
In the immediate aftermath of Betty’s murder this man was not questioned because Betty had not been sexually assaulted. Also I believe the detectives’ notes about him were placed in the wrong file.
It was journalist Ken Blanch who first told investigators working the Betty Shanks case about the incident in Southport. He came across the statement given by the 17 year old girl while he was researching the murder of the taxi driver.
As a military driver this man would have often found himself with plenty of free time while waiting to collect people. The barracks he lived in was close to the scene of the murder, and on the evening of September 19th many soldiers were in the vicinity as there was a dress rehearsal for a military tattoo happening at the Exhibition ground. The stamp marks on Betty’s face could have been made by well-polished military boots. Betty had an unusual, pin-prick type wound on her forehead. It is argued this could have been made by a military gaiter strapped over an army boot.
According to Blanch the man was in a Brisbane nursing home in 2007 but suddenly disappeared. Blanch has found no record of the man after this date and can find no living relatives.
Eric Sterry
For many decades Brisbane resident Desche Birtles has claimed that her father Eric Sterry was Betty’s killer.
Sterry was a former soldier who at the time of the murder worked as a carpenter, handyman and locksmith. He was married and had two children. In 1952, his marriage was falling apart. By all accounts he was a violent and abusive husband and father. Desche says she was groomed and sexually assaulted by him. At one point she ran away pregnant with her father's child. Eventually the police tracked her down and returned her home. Desche claims her father told her if she did something like that again he'd kill her, just like Betty.
Over the years Desche had gone to the police numerous times. The first occasion was in 1960, 8 years after Betty’s murder. Descehe was 16 at this time and had been just 8 when Betty was killed. She says the police told her not to spread lies about her father. The local officers knew him reasonably well as he had installed the locks in the police cells. Desche went many more times to police over the years but was met with the same response. The story first came to the public's attention in 1999 when it featured on the front page of the Courier Mail . In the early 2010’s crime writer Ted Duhs spent eighteen months with Desche listening to her story and gathering evidence. In 2014 he released a book “I know who killed Betty Shanks” claiming that the unidentified man seen in the brown suit and loud tie hanging around the Grange tram terminal was Eric Sterry. Since the book's publication a second and third edition have been released with updated information.
This theory purports that several months before the murder Eric Sterry met Betty whilst doing work on her parents’ home. Also it is possible that Betty may have come across him through her work. As part of her administrative role Betty would assign jobs to tradespeople.
Desche says she believes that her father and Betty had some kind of relationship for a few months prior to her murder. As a little girl Desche remembers her parents fighting over an affair Eric was having.
Desche Birtles remembers meeting a woman she believes was Betty Shanks. Desche and her little brother were driven by their father Eric, who parked the car on Inglis Street, near Wilston state school. This is just around the corner from Betty's parents’ house. Their father left the car and went to a tram stop. He returned a short while later with a young woman she said was Betty Shanks. Betty was obviously very uncomfortable with this situation and did not want to meet the children. She was upset and exited the car. As Betty was walking quickly away Sterry went after her and grabbed Betty’s arm. He raised the other arm and it looked like he was about to strike Betty. At that moment Desche’s little brother cried out in terror. This seemed to bring Sterry back to his senses and he lowered his arm.
Desche tells of an occasion she believes was the night Betty was murdered. On that day her mother Bernadette was at a party. Her father drove Desche and her younger brother to the same spot in Inglis Street. Sterry disappeared again and Desche was expecting he would return with Betty but he came back alone. He drove home and sent the children straight to bed. Later that night Desche said she witnessed her father burning his clothes in the yard. The next day Sterry asked Desche to clean his soiled shoes. It was only years later that it dawned on her that she was cleaning out of the shoe tread what she believes was blood and human tissue. She also remembers that that day her father felt unwell and was suffering with a migraine.
The premise is that Sterry was delusional. His medical notes from the army and serving in World War 2 say he was discharged because he was medically unfit. In November 1944 a psychiatrist said he was psychotic. Sterry had also been diagnosed with anxiety hysteria. Desche believes he killed Betty in a psychotic rage as she had rejected him. Sterry had hoped that Betty would become his life partner, but Betty was not interested in this.
In his aforementioned book Ted Duhs paints a picture of how the murder may have happened. He speculates that the call made to Betty's place of work on Wednesday September 17th was made by Eric Sterry. He arranged to meet her at the Grange tram stop on Friday evening after the lecture. He collected her from the tram and the pair walked down Thomas Street together (if you remember one witness, Elwin, said he saw two people cross the road, though he couldn't tell if it was a man and a woman or two men). Sterry had parked his car in Inglis Street by the school as he had done before. When they got to the intersection of Thomas and Carberry Streets they would have needed to cross the road and cut through the school grounds. Duhs speculates that Betty refused to go and an argument broke out. Betty rejected Sterry and he flew into a rage and hit her causing her to fall over the fence. He then jumped over the fence, kicking and then strangling her.
There are several pieces of circumstantial evidence that point to Eric Sterry. He looked like the description of the brown suited gentleman seen at the tram terminal. There are many old photographs which show him dressed in similar attire. In photographs I have seen he also had a good head of hair and wore it brushed back. He also had access to a car, although police have told Desche that he didn't have a driver's licence. She disputes this.
Perhaps most damning is the following detail. Sterry had a large collection of photographs contained in an album. They were all family members. Apart from a single studio shot of Betty Shanks.
This theory is not without criticism. Historian Jack Sim said this theory besmirches Betty’s good name. According to friends she had no boyfriends and there is no evidence of a jilted lover. Another true crime expert Mike King, who I will detail more about shortly, is also sceptical about the notion that a successful, bright woman like Betty would have an affair with a man like Eric Sterry. A Courier Mail article in 2014 says police looked into this theory but it didn't add up.
After Duhs published the book Marie Patton (although she now used her married name) who had been on the same tram as Betty and had walked down Thomas street just minutes before her, came forward with additional information. The now 87 year old told the author in June 2015 that she saw a man in a brown suit on the corner of Carberry and Thomas Streets, looking up the hill toward the Grange terminus. Marie was shown a picture of Eric Sterry and she said the man she had seen did have a similar build. Obviously a witness bringing forward new information almost 70 years after the event does mean certain questions have to be asked about its reliability.
The third edition of Duh’s book, published in 2022, contained yet more revelations. Ted Duh was contacted by a man named George Cowin, whose aunt Winifred Owen had been friends with Betty at Grammar school and university. Following university Winifred Owen worked for the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation. (ASIO) In 1958 Winifred sadly took her own life following almost a decade in this high stress, high stakes environment.
Duhs gained access to Winifred’s ASIO file and within it found a reference to Betty Shanks. It suggested that ASIO had plans to recruit Betty. An ASIO agent arrived in Brisbane on Sunday September 21st to meet Betty only to find out she had been brutally murdered two days before. Apparently the ASIO were interested in Betty because of her association with a married man who was a member of the Australian communist party. This married man was not Eric Sterry as he was a devout anti-communist, but perhaps Sterry had been jealous of this other man. Again you may remember from part 1 that Betty's mother, Eizabeth was asked at the inquest whether her daughter was a communist. .These facts are simply extraordinary, you would think this was too far-fetched if it came up in the plot of a novel. It's unclear if it has any connection to Betty’s murder.
Eric Sterry passed away in 1998. His daughter Desche claims that by the end of his life he was ashamed of the person he had been. She hopes DNA testing will prove her father was Betty’s killer. As of yet this has not happened.
The motorbike
Author Lyle Reed’s 2016 book “The Thomas Street Affair'' adds yet another theory into the mix. As a note, although the book has been finished and written about in the press, as far as I can see it has not been released as Lyle Reed has not found a publisher. Reed believes Betty was hit by a motorbike while crossing the road. He thinks she was less than a metre from the kerb when the bike ran into her. As you will remember several witnesses mentioned hearing a motorbike going down Thomas Street on the evening of September 19th 1952.
Reed completed three years of research developing this theory. While he does not name his suspect, he says the man was a member of his family, and police motorcyclist. In an article in the Courier Mail on June 12th 2016 Reed states the man was his uncle until 1955 when he then became divorced from his aunt. He refers to him as a rogue police officer.
In another article from the Courier Mail in December 2015 it seems to suggest that Reed’s book attests that the man deliberately ran down Betty. However this is not made clear in other articles or reporting about the book and it is often attested that the collision was accidental. What is clear is that according to Reed's theory the motorcyclist then stopped, picked Betty up and threw her over the small fence into the backyard of the Hill’s house. At this point Betty was unconscious but not dead. Chillingly, Reed says the motorcyclist returned about an hour later and strangled Betty. He feared if she survived he would be caught. This ties in with Jack Coats' story of hearing a slight moan at around 10.40pm followed by the sound of a motorcycle. The motorcyclist deliberately removed Betty’s underwear to make it look like a sexual crime in order to confuse police.
Reed believes he knows what caused the odd wound pattern on Bettys forehead. He suggests it was the rubber knee pads situated on the fuel tank of the motorbike that made the pin prick type mark. He has studied motorbikes from 1952 says the inner border of the pads contained hundreds of little pins or rubber needles just over a millimetres apart. Reed had considered the marks could have been made by the rubber handle grips or even a traffic police officers glove but favours the knee pad theory.
Reed also states that the clutch lever of the bike is the object that smashed into the right side of Betty’s jaw, which then lacerated her tongue, dislodged a molar and came to rest just above the larynx. Having seen the post-mortem photographs Reed attests that another type of lever on the bike (the advanced retard lever) could have caused damage to the left side of Betty’s lower lip.
Reed makes mention of black polish which was found on Bettys out legs. Having spoken to a former police motorcyclist from the time 23.05 Reed says this could have been caused by the saddlebags of the bike, which were often shined up using shoe polish, or the rider's boots.
Reed has not named his suspect (though perhaps he will if his book is ever published). The man died in 2012 aged 85. One thing to note about the man is that he was said to have large hands, and if you remember a set of large hand prints were found on the rails of the fence at the crime scene.
Lyle Reed has sent a manuscript of the book together with a video interview he did with his aunt to investigators. His aunt is convinced that her ex husband killed Betty. He has been visited by a cold case detective on at least two occasions
Lyle Reed has shown photographs from the pathology report to a doctor who said Betty's injuries 24.06 were consistent with being hit 21.21 by a motorbike.
24.10 This theory has been heavily criticised by people such as Ted Duhs who say Betty’s injuries are not consistent with being hit by a motorbike. Likewise the blood splatter found on the footpath and fence does not match this account.
In an article in the Courier Mail from October 2017 Reed lamented the fact that the police did not seem to be following his theories up. He had written to the Attorney General's office to try and find some answers but the police seem content that they have looked into this matter as much as they can.
Ex-Cricketer Jimmy
Historian Jack Sim has put forward a theory implicating the witness Jimmy. The ex-professional cricketer told the inquest in February 1953 that he had heard a slight moan followed by the sound of a motorbike at 10.40pm. No other witnesses reported hearing anything as late as this and Sim is very suspicious of Jimmy’s story. The Courier Mail reported on December 27th 2015 that Sim goes as far as saying Jimmy lied at the inquest. There is not much evidence implicating Jimmy. He knew Betty Shanks by sight but had no known affiliation with her, so deciphering a motive is problematic. Jack Sim notes that Jimmy was a Korean war veteran and may have owned old army boots that could have made the marks on Betty’s head and face. I’ve also read on the true crime site Criminal that the odd wound pattern on Bettys forehead could have been made by the wound of a cricket boot. This is definitely one of the more fringe theories and it is why I have not included Jimmy's full name.
Mistaken identity
Jack Sim, together with author Ken Blanch, has also developed a theory that Betty was killed as a result of mistaken identity. The intended victim was a woman named Ena Hamilton who worked as a receptionist at Dr Knott’s surgery, which as you may remember was close to the Grange tram terminal. Ena walked down Thomas Street every Friday between 9.30pm and 10pm on her way home from work. Ena and Betty were said to have been remarkably similar in appearance.
Joe
Mike King has 28 years of law enforcement experience under his belt. He retired in 2004 as Chief of Staff in the Utah Attorney General’s Office. Mike was trained by the FBI in the science of profiling and has taught criminal profiling all over the world. He has some serious credentials and now uses them making and presenting true crime content across various media platforms. In 2019 Mike visited Australia, participating in numerous media interviews. After a TV slot where he happened to mention the case of Betty Shanks he was contacted by a man named “Ken” who claimed his father had committed the murder.
Ken's story was subsequently told in a four part podcast hosted by Mike King and produced by Esri Australia called Mapping Evil. (season 2) Ken explained that his father, who is referred to as “Joe” in the podcast, was an abusive bully. To escape the trauma of her life Ken’s mother began an affair with a man named Jack. One night Ken alleges Joe discovered his wife had gone to see her boyfriend Jack. In a rage Joe ended up murdering Betty who again was said to have looked a lot like his wife.
Mike King obviously believed there was merit in what Ken was sharing but specific details, such as where Joe and Ken were living in 1952 were not shared. However the full story came to light on March 12th 2023 during a symposium on Betty Shanks’ murder being held at Brisbane Square public library. The authors Jack Sim and Ted Duhs as well as another true crime expert Robert Contantine were present, sharing theories about the unsolved murder. During the evening a man stood up and declared that what the experts were sharing wasn't the truth. He said he was Ken from Mike King’s podcast and went on to give his full name and the real name of his father “Joe”. I've decided not to include their real names here. Obviously this created quite a storm and derailed the planned program of the evening.
According to author Ted Duhs, Ken first went to the police about this matter in 2010. Police would not investigate his claims and encouraged him to stop. While there hasn’t been a lot of evidence presented to support “Joe” as the killer, Ken remains certain that his father killed Betty.
As you can see there are a plethora of ideas and opinions about who killed Betty Shanks. I have tried to present all the information as plainly as possible and will leave you to draw your own conclusions. After over 70 years it is unlikely a conviction will be made, but with the DNA profile the police have there remains a chance that answers will be forthcoming. As mentioned, there have been some doubts about the reliability of the DNA evidence. Nevertheless I do believe it would have been discarded by police if it was known to be contaminated. They must be confident that whatever
they will stand up to scrutiny.
In part one I detailed the sightings of the “Moon face” man seen near the crime scene at 10.30pm and the man with blood on his face and clothing who caught a taxi on the night of the murder. It's possible they could be one of the persons of interest I have mentioned. As far as I can tell the identity of both men and whether or not they had anything to do with the crime remains a mystery.
In many ways this two part episode has only skimmed the surface of this complicated cold case. I understand other books on the matter are being planned.
In 1952, Brisbane police commissioner S Smith told the Barrier Miner newspaper that the killer of Betty Shanks would be hunted for a lifetime if necessary. It looks like that statement has come to pass.
The murder of Betty Shanks remains an open case. If you have any information about this unsolved murder you can contact Brisbane Homicide branch on 3364 4150, Crime Stoppers 1800 333 000.
Sources
