Graeme was a

well-mannered

and responsible

eight-year-old.

His disappearance

shocked the nation

14 Murder Most Foul From Lottery Win To Kidnap And Murder

I

T WAS the end of the Age of
Innocence. And it was the dawn of
modern-day forensic science.
Criminal investigation in Australia
would never be the same again. So
many individuals were involved, each
bringing different skills, and it was this
intricate teamwork that set an important
pattern for the future.
What had looked like a mystery that
might never be solved was slowly, piece
by minute piece, unwrapped to reveal

FROM LOTTERY W

KIDNAP AND MURDER

FROM LOTTERY W

KIDNAP AND MURDER

the cold-blooded killer of an innocent

little boy.

The kidnap and killing of Graeme

Thorne outraged the whole country.

Australia demanded action. And, after

weeks of painstaking and laborious

investigation, police finally got their

man – on the other side of the Indian

Ocean.

The country breathed a sigh of relief

that the country’s first kidnap-for-

ransom case had been solved. But the

case changed the country. Never again

would parents let their youngsters go

off to play all day in the hills and forests

of the vast country without a worry in

the world.

The kidnapping of the eight-year-old

who lived at Bondi, in the eastern

suburbs of Sydney, and the long search

for him, changed the lives of virtually

everyone.

In future, parents, grandparents,

guardians, teachers and neighbours

Lottery winner Bazil
Thorne was the luckiest
man in Australia – until
the kidnapper struck

This Case

Report By

william

robertson

and

HarolD

HeYs

Sydney

Shocker

Sydney

Shocker