Radcliffe Killings

The Radcliffe Murders is the common name given to a series of murders conducted in two separate townships in West Mainland between May 1974 and October 1979. At least eleven people, and possibly as many as six more, are counted as official victims of the killings. The killings are named for the two brothers who were convicted for the murders in July of 1980, Roger Radcliffe and Barry Radcliffe. The names are now synonymous with the murders, but there is evidence, emerging during the trial, that others may have been involved. The killings sparked fierce debate both at the time and afterwards, with some, including a number of high-profile jurists and officials, remaining unconvinced of the Radcliffe brothers’ total complicity. Few doubt that both Roger and Barry Radcliffe took part in at least eight of the killings, based on police statements, witness accounts and a confession by Barry Radcliffe, later retracted, in which he confirmed his and his brother’s part in the murders. The murders have become a part of Georgeland’s popular culture, having captured public imagination through the long timespan of the killings (particularly those of Martin Collins and Alison Staley) and the notorious media treatment of the Radcliffe brothers after their arrest.

Background
The Radcliffe boys had been orphaned at a young age and brought up in a foster home. During their school years, each had been suspended several times, and Roger had been expelled for assaulting a teacher. Roger spent time in juvenile detention between 1965 and 1967. Roger was an outspoken and aggressive youth who despite this was highly intelligent and literate – he enjoyed reading philosophy and psychology. Barry, by contrast, was proven (much later) to have had an IQ in the high 80s and was subsequently dependent on Roger for support. The brothers were inseparable throughout most of their adult lives. Around 1972, the brothers relocated from their home town of Packer Lake to the township of Point Hobson on the western Mainland coast, approximately 40km from Chipwich and a popular holiday destination. Both worked a variety of menial jobs, unable to find other work. In July 1973, Roger was charged but acquitted of the rape of a 18-year-old local, Sandra Bonnetti. His violent tendencies began to manifest around this time. In early 1974, a co-worker described his temper as “raging” and that Roger was obsessive about cleanliness and order. When a fellow employee (at a café in the town) knocked over a tray and spilled food, Roger apparently threatened her.

Martha Davis
On May 14, 1974, a 22-year-old woman named Martha Davis disappeared while walking on the beach near the township. A police investigation later recovered Davis’ body buried on the beach. A post-mortem revealed that Davis had been murdered by stabbing with a hunting knife. The sand near where her body was buried had been raked back and forth to remove footprints. Later, Barry Radcliffe admitted he had raked the sand after Roger told him to. During the trial, it was revealed that Roger had been sitting on the beach in the early evening when he struck up a conversation with Davis. Amid the conversation he became violent and attacked her. The knife he stabbed her with was carried in a sports bag, and also used for later murders. Criminal psychologists revealed Roger may have deliberately meant to kill someone on the beach, hence why he carried the knife. Police found no connection between Davis and Radcliffe, though because the town was small it was likely they were casually acquainted. Davis’s time of death was established sometime mid-evening on May 12.

Sam Schumann
During the investigation of Davis’ murder, a second body was found 300 meters further down the beach, this one of Santa Christina local Sam Schumann, who had been reported missing on May 10. Police suspected the murders to be related, and investigations revealed Schumann had been killed with the same knife as Davis. Like the murder of Davis, there were no witnesses with which to establish motive. Later, Roger admitted having spoken at length to Schumann the evening of May 12, but denied killing him. Police believed Schumann had been killed almost immediately after Davis (forensic evidence confirmed this) and that he was likely killed because Roger Radcliffe believed he would be a witness to Davis’s killing. Schumann had been vacationing in the township at the time but apparently did not know Roger Radcliffe. Between the second and third killings, Roger apparently related the story to Barry, and had his younger brother rake the sand away from where Davis’s body was buried. Both brothers returned to the beach and buried Schumann, though the sand was not raked back. Afterwards, the brothers returned home. ==Third and fourth murders== On the morning of May 13, Radcliffe returned to work but workmates reported he was ‘distracted’ and was sent home early. In the early afternoon, Roger and Barry drove around Point Hobson, apparently in an attempt to find sexual partners. This continued until the late evening, when the brothers met with two English backpackers, Margaret Barrows and Lisa Cohn, whom they met in a backpacker hostel in the town. The tourists consented to “go for a drive” with the brothers, and were driven to a point overlooking the bay. Police alleged the brothers, led by Roger, then tied the women up and gagged them, then attempted to rape them before shooting each of them in the head. The bodies were left in the car while Roger drove back to the brothers’ house. The two bodies were then left in the garden shed until they were eventually found on May 18. In the period following his capture, Barry Radcliffe seemed unsure of what had happened, and declared he did not know whether or not he had been involved in the murder.

Fifth murder
By this point, Roger had apparently become increasingly erratic and concerned that his four murders would be found out. According to his co-workers, Roger did not show up for work on the morning of the 14th and was telephoned at home, only to abuse his manager, Shaun Curry, and threaten to kill him. Curry thought about phoning the police but opted not to, and instead simply returned to work. Roger apparently took this as a slight. Both brothers apparently decided to kill Curry. Curry had been described as “unpleasant” by co-workers and “chauvinistic” by several women working in the café. Barry knew Curry through his work as a cleaner and disliked him – he reported later that Curry had “called him names”. At 5:30 pm, as the café was closing, Roger and Barry entered the café and confronted Curry, who was still there. After a long argument, Barry allegedly punched Curry in the face. Roger then used the same gun he had used to kill Barrows and Cohn to shoot Curry six times. Witnesses (the café was empty, but the street outside and shops on either side were not) reported hearing six shots and then seeing both brothers leave the café and drive away. That evening, the Radcliffes heard a news report that reported the deaths of Davis and Schumann. Roger now declared they would have to escape and the two brothers packed several days food and clothing and opted to leave the township. Police called to the scene of Curry’s shooting had quickly concluded the Radcliffes were responsible and went to his house, but found both brothers missing and the bodies of the backpackers in the shed. A state-wide manhunt was declared.

Manhunt
Police failed to locate the two brothers. The whereabouts of Roger and Barry Radcliffe is disputed, with witnesses apparently sighting them as far away as Doubledance; most of these claims have been dismissed. On May 16, Roger Radcliffe’s car stopped at a petrol station to refuel – the clerk later recognised Roger from his photo and reported Barry had been waiting in the car. Later that same day, another witness reported both brothers entering his roadside café, where they bought coffee and donuts, before departing.

Sixth murder (Martin Collins)
On May 18, a sixth murder was reported, the last one for more than five years. 68-year-old retiree Martin Collins was walking his dog through a park in Clearvale, 242 km from Point Hobson, when he was shot dead. The dog was also shot. Barry Radcliffe declared to police that he was not present at the time. Police matched the gun used to Roger Radcliffe’s. Witnesses in Clearvale reported seeing men of the brothers’ descriptions over several hours; one claimed that Barry Radcliffe had asked her for a cigarette, but she had none.

Between the killings
The Collins murder was the last confirmed killing by the brothers until late in 1979. While the hunt for the brothers continued for some time, and they remained on the Most Wanted list, the search eventually petered out and life in Point Hobson returned to normal. Exactly where the Radcliffes travelled in this period is unclear. They did not remain in Clearvale for long after Collins’ murder. In April 1977, Roger Radcliffe arranged to rent a flat with his brother in the town of Wolfham, in the state’s south, under the name “David Shelby”. As Shelby, Radcliffe had set himself up as a carpet layer, but he had no skills in this area. Instead, to make money he apparently grew and cultivated drugs (mostly cannabis) and sold them to local people. Barry claimed later that he had almost never left the flat, and that Roger would bring him food and clothing while Barry attended to the “crops”. This existence continued for over two years.

Seventh murder (Alison Staley)
On or about the morning of 17th September 1979, local social worker Alison Staley doorknocked in the apartment building on behalf of a local charity. Roger apparently believed her to be a police officer (it is not clear why). When he opened the door, he invited her in and, after a brief conversation, killed her by strangling her. Afterwards, he is alleged to have dismembered the body and taken it to his car. Barry admitted helping Roger to dismember Staley’s body, but denied killing her.

Eighth, ninth and tenth murders
The brothers, now convinced police had found them, began to panic. Their “sloppy” attempts to cover their trail was credited by police as the main reason for their capture. Roger drove himself and Barry to the outskirts of the town after Staley’s murder and buried the body (exactly why it was dismembered is unclear). Afterwards, the brothers returned to town. Barry reported that his brother “couldn’t relax” and thought everybody was out to get him. On the evening of September 24, Roger Radcliffe hired prostitutes, Sandra Epsley and Danielle Pinkerton, for himself and his brother, driving them out to a lookout overlooking the town. There, it is believed, the brothers had sex with the two women and then killed them – Epsley was strangled, Pinkerton had been stabbed. Barry admitted killing Epsley but not Pinkerton. Barry also confirmed that Roger didn’t want to pay the women for their services and that this might have been the reason he elected to kill them. The bodies were left where they were when the Radcliffes heard an oncoming car and, panicking, fled into the nearby woods. At 9:20 pm, the car in question, driven by George Clifford, stopped when Clifford saw the two bodies lying by the side of the road. Clifford, a 45-year-old driving instructor, happened to have a car phone in his vehicle and phoned the police, then waited in his car. When police arrived at 9:32, Clifford was dead, the victim of a shotgun wound to the head. Radcliffe’s car, which Clifford had reported, was missing. Police concluded that either Barry or Roger Radcliffe (each claimed it was the other) had doubled-back and shot Clifford as he waited for the police. It remains unclear when Barry and Roger met up again. Barry claimed he drove back to town, but this is unlikely as he had no license and had never driven a car before. Police conjectured Barry had hitched a lift back to Wolfham while Radcliffe drove his own vehicle. There being no living witnesses, police did not immediately connect the Wolfham murders to the others. However, when police investigated the tire tracks from Radcliffe’s car, they discovered a match from the Point Hobson killings and concluded they were after the same killers. Barry and Roger initially returned home (neighbours reported seeing them in their flat on the evening of the 24th), but later drove away sometime before morning on the 25th, when police arrived, having located the brothers based on descriptions of neighbours.

Final confirmed murder
Roger Radcliffe apparently drove himself and his brother out onto Highway 4, which led away from Wolfham and towards Romphumburg. His intent, Barry reported, was to “start again” in the bigger city where it would be easier to hide. Barry reported that in the car he had expressed remorse about Epsley’s death (but evidently no others) and that Roger had told him to “shut up and let [him] think.” Barry reported his brother seemed terrified and that he had never seen him like that before.

Attack on Roger Garrett
It was on the highway that the brothers encountered John Garrett, a 19-year-old student whose car had broken down. It was approximately 3:30 in the morning when the two brothers stopped and Roger offered to help Garrett repair his car. The light was dim, but Garrett later reported feeling that he recognised the brothers. After Roger realised the car couldn’t be fixed, he apparently lost his temper and attacked Garrett, hitting him several times with a makeshift club. Garrett reported Barry joined in the attack, but Barry denied this. Garrett was severely beaten but managed to run away and hide from the pair. Garrett reported that one of the brothers came looking for him but was called back. Garrett ran to the closest settlement, Piersley, and notified the authorities.

Death of Willard Green
At approximately 7:10 am the Radcliffe brothers arrived in Gateshead, a satellite town of Romphumburg. They entered a service station in the town, where clerk Willard Green was on duty. Roger had pumped petrol into his car but had not been able to pay for it – when Green confronted him, Roger shot him. Badly wounded but alive, Green hit his police alarm and summoned authorities – when they arrived at 7:18, Green was dead. The Radcliffe car was still at the station, and the area was quickly cordoned off.

Capture and trial
At 8:15 am, local shopkeeper Terry Wales and his wife reported seeing the brothers trying to hitchhike away from the town, but did not stop. Wales said that he heard a gunshot and saw that one of the brothers (probably Roger) had fired a shotgun at the car but missed. Wales immediately drove to a police station and informed them. Police quickly arrived at the scene and were able to follow the brothers’ tracks for about three kilometres overland, until they lost the trail. Barry reported that Roger seemed to have “lost it” completely at this point, and said the two hid in the forest while he tried to calm Roger down. Roger then shot his gun at his brother but missed, leading to a fight between them. The noise attracted the attention of police in the area, who entered the forest with guns drawn and found Barry unconscious and a trail of blood leading away. Barry later claimed to remember nothing after the first shot was fired – he had not been shot. Police were able to follow the trail where they found Roger Radcliffe having passed out some 400 meters further away. Both men were taken to Gateshead Hospital and treated for their injuries, which were not particularly severe. When police confirmed the two men had been responsible for both the Point Hobson and Wolfham killings, as well as those of Collins and Green, the brothers were arrested and charged with eleven counts of murder and two of aggravated assault (against Garrett and Wales). During interrogation by police, Roger Radcliffe protested innocence in all the killings, apparently attempting to blame Barry. Barry confessed to killing Sandra Epsley and detailed his brother’s killings, but some details were later proven incorrect. He also retracted the confession before the trial. Both brothers were committed to stand trial in the Mainland Supreme Court on June 14, 1980. The trial lasted for twenty-six days and saw depositions from dozens of witnesses, though none had witnessed the killings themselves. Prosecutors used Roger Radcliffe’s car, seen at several killings, and his sociopathic nature (diagnosed by a psychologist) as key evidence, as well as the hunting knife and two different guns used in several of the slayings. The case against Barry Radcliffe was less well-defined. The brothers’ defence team claimed that evidence against the brothers in many of the slayings was circumstantial. They cited, for instance, that Sam Schumann was killed on the 12th, yet had been reported missing on the 10th. However, as the case progressed, the team increasingly used Roger’s obvious mental illness and Barry’s intellectual disability as justification for innocence on grounds of diminished responsibility. On July 15, 1980, Roger Radcliffe was convicted of nine counts of murder for the killings of Martha Davis, Sam Schumann, Margaret Barrows, Lisa Cohn, Shaun Curry, Martin Collins, Alison Staley, Danielle Pinkerton and Willard Green. Barry was convicted of the murder of Sandra Epsley and of accessory to the murders of Davis, Barrows, Cohn, Curry and Staley. The prosecution was unable to secure a conviction for either brother for George Clifford’s death, as doubt remained who had shot him. Roger Radcliffe was sentenced to nine life sentences for his part in the slayings, which was later revised after prosecutors appealed to a sentence of never to be released. Barry received a lighter sentence of 30 years, with his aid to police taken into consideration. This sentence provoked outrage among many, who believed Barry to be just as culpable as his brother.

Aftermath
The killings shocked the communities they took place in, and when the connection was established, the revelation took the wider community by surprise and led to several reports of other murders, either connected to the Radcliffe killings or similar to them. No conviction for either brother has occurred for any other murder. In 1986, Roger Radcliffe attempted suicide in Farrow Prison, but was prevented from doing so by warders. He was subsequently interned in a special section of the prison for dangerous offenders and those likely to cause self-harm. In 1995, Radcliffe, after fifteen years jail, was said to have begun to show remorse and to have converted to Buddhism. Both brothers remain incarcerated as of 2007. Barry will be eligible for parole in 2008 based on good behaviour, but is not expected to be released. In 2010, Barry Radcliffe’s sentence will be complete and he will be released from prison, despite community concerns.