Mount โIsa inquest Hears Testimony from โMan Linked to 1978 Tourist Murders
Mount Isa, Queensland – An inquest into the deaths of three tourists shot deadโค north of Mountโค isa in โ1978 resumed Tuesday, with Bruce Preston, a man previously accused in connection with the murders, giving evidence. preston โขwas warned by Coroner David O’Connell that he couldโฃ be charged with perjury if he was found to be โคlying.
“I think you need to have a very goodโฃ think about your evidence overnight, come back in the morningโ andโ answer things with a lot more conviction as to what is truthful,”โข Coroner O’Connell told โthe court.
the inquest heard evidence that Preston’s now-deceased father,โข Arthur Preston, confided in a friend inโฃ 1978 about the murders. Counsel assisting the coroner,โค Mr.โค Aberdeen, questioned Ian Preston,โ Bruce’s older brother, about a statement allegedly โขmade by Arthur Preston: “Theโฃ little bastard done it. But he’s a tough little โbastard. They can’t break him.”
Mr. Aberdeenโ also askedโ Ian Preston โฃif his father instructed him to tell police that Bruce โคhad called โฃfrom Adelaide to sayโค he bought a red BMW bike that was being transportedโ to Mount Isa in 1978. Ian โคPreston responded, “The sequence of events is very cloudyโ to me. I did go to โคpolice โฆ I don’t recall having a conversation with my father โฃwith him โdirecting me to.”
Merril Anderson, a neighbor of the Preston family in 1978, testified that she recalled seeing the red BMW motorbike in the Preston’s โshed during the police inquiry. She also recounted Arthur Preston โoffering to help search a nearby lake for evidence, suggestingโ he might have beenโค attempting to run “interference” in the investigation.
“I thoght it was strangeโ that โa man who knew motorbikesโ didn’t say he had one inโข his shed,” Anderson told the court.
The inquest continues on Wednesday.
[Image of a 1977 BMW motorcycle belonging to Tim Thomson who was found shot dead north of Mount Isa in 1978. (Supplied: Queensland Police)]