City fury at sisters’ murders
POLICE have begun a hunt for the murderer of two schoolgirls who were abducted on Wednesday morning just minutes from their Aitkenvale home
They have put out a description of a man they want to interview in connection with the killings of sisters Judith Elizabeth Mackay, 7, and Susan Debra Mackay, 5.
Their bodies were found in a dry creek bed near Antil Plains, 24 kilometres west of Townsville.
Judith’s body was spotted first; she had been raped, strangled, and left wearing only a pair of pink underwear in a small culvert of the creek bed.
Susan’s naked body was found face down in the sand less than 50m away from her sister.
She had also been sexually assaulted and was smothered to death by her attacker.
Both sisters had also been stabbed three times in the chest by their killer.
The murderer had taken the time to neatly fold and pile each sister’s clothing which was found beside their respective bodies. Their school bags were found nearby.
The discovery of the bodies ended a massive two-day search which involved thousands of volunteers.
The alarm was first raised when the girls failed to catch a school bus on Wednesday morning, just 200m from their Albert St home in Aitkenvale.
Police said the man they are searching for is described as 30 years of age, about 175cm and of ‘grubby’ appearance.
He is believed to have been driving a 1963 or 1964 light grey Holden sedan.
Detectives are following several leads in connection with the murders which are among the most savage in the city’s history.
Police believe the girls died sometime on Wednesday afternoon.
Only minutes before the discovery of the bodies, the girls’ father Bill Mackay bravely made an impassioned plea for help before a media scrum.
He said he and his wife were clutching to the belief that a woman had abducted the girls and had them hidden at her home.
He had just finished talking when he received the horrific news that a report had been received from the Antill Plains area
Mr Mackay was taken to the area and had only walked about six metres when he was restrained by police, who needed to protect the crime scene and the stoic control that Mr Mackay had shown up until that moment was gone.
He slumped into the arms of friends and cried out, and friends quickly rushed him home where his distraught wife is under sedatives.
Even hardened detectives were left visibly shaken.
Police said every available resource has been thrown into the investigation, and hundreds of calls from the public have been received since the news was broadcast of the girls’ deaths.
A grim mood has descended over the city and hostility towards those responsible for the murder is reaching fever pitch.
Police have revealed they have received calls from residents threatening violence against the murderer
Police Commissioner Mr Bauer has urged all Queenslanders to help find the killer.
“I appeal to people to report to police anything at all that they remember which may help in the hunt for this killer,” he said.
The alarm was first raised when the girls failed to catch a school bus on Wednesday morning.
*The murder of the Mackay sisters remains one of the most horrific criminal cases in North Queensland history and has haunted many of those who were involved in the search for the girls and the following criminal investigations.
Following a breakthrough in investigations in 1998 Arthur Stanley Brown was charged over the murders, but was eventually ruled as unfit to stand trial because he was suffering from dementia and alzheimer’s disease.
All charges were dropped in July 2001 and Arthur Brown died a year later as an innocent man in the eyes of the law.