This is Part Two of our Highway of Death investigation. After hearing the victims' stories in Part 1, we now examine the hunt for justice, or rather, the spectacular failures of justice. The confessions that led nowhere. The corruption exposed by the Fitzgerald Inquiry that destroyed investigations and let killers walk free. The suspects who died before facing trial. The families who've waited fifty years for answers.

And at the center of it all, one haunting question. Were these ten murders the work of a single serial killer who stalked the Flinders Highway for decades? Or multiple predators who independently discovered that isolation makes the perfect hunting ground?

After fifty years, over $1.25 million in rewards, and hundreds of thousands of investigative hours, these cases remain unsolved.

Content Warning: This episode discusses police corruption, systemic failures of justice, and the ongoing impact on families of unsolved murders.

Sources:

• Fitzgerald Inquiry Report (1987-1989): "Report of a Commission of Inquiry Pursuant to Orders in Council"
• "The Hunters" - Channel 7 documentary (March 2025)
• Fisher, Ian (Coroner). (2002, February). Inquest into the disappearance of Anthony "Tony" Jones. Queensland Coroner's Court.
• Wilson, Nerida (Coroner). (2021). Inquest into the death of Jayden Penno-Tompsett. Queensland Coroner's Court.
• R v Arthur Stanley Brown (1999). Queensland Supreme Court. Trial transcript, October 1999.

Title Music: by Jesse Frank from Pixabay

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