Was murder

He committed Mr Leahy to stand trial, but his ruling was overturned by Justice James Henry in the Cairns Supreme Court.

“The decision of the State Coroner included errors of law,” Justice Henry said.

In 2015 the Department of Public Prosecutions dropped the case against Alan Leahy, who has maintained his innocence.

Questions remain whether standover man Christopher Dunlea – murdered in 1994 – was involved with their deaths.

However, Queensland Police now consider the matter “finalised.”

But former Cairns journalist and now Townsville-based writer and filmmaker Derek Tipper is scathing of the investigation and has written a film – now in its third draft.

“In the second inquest (in 1999) the family of Vicki Arnold put out an alternate theory – I won’t say what it is because that will give away our film,” Mr Tipper said.

“On the night they went missing, the family say a third person went missing.”

He said Julie-Ann Leahy and Vicki Arnold and had been denied justice.

“They have been utterly misrepresented from beginning to end,” Mr Tipper said.

“All the investigations around this story are so bad and ludicrous that you have to send it up.

“I’m not trying to solve it – police ineptitude has made that task impossible.”

Filming of the project is expected to begin in Atherton and Townsville next year.