Man cleared of killing

Press, 26 November 1981, Page 3

Man cleared of killing

NZPA Brisbane A man being questioned in connection with the death of a young naval rating has been cleared of any link with the killing of two New Zealand men at Spear Creek, near Mount Isa, three years ago. Superintendent Tony Murphy, of the North Queesnland police, said yesterday from Cairns that there was no evidence to suggest that the man was linked with the deaths of two men and a woman whose

bodies were found near the Mount Isa rodeo grounds in October, 1978. The man had been questioned about several killings in Queensland in the last few years but these inquiries were merely routine. The Sear Creek victims were Gordon Twaddle, of Dunedin; Timothy Thompson, of Christchurch; and Mr Thompson’s girl friend, Karen Ann Edwards, of Victoria. The man who has been questioned appeared in the

Mareeba, Queensland, Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday on a theft charge laid by police in the Northern Territory. He was to appear in court again yesterday at Cairns to face extradition proceedings. Earlier, the Northern Territory police had issued a description of the man, saying that they wanted to question him about the death of a naval rating, Ross Browning, at Tennant Creek, in the Northern Territory, two weeks ago. The man has not been charged in connection with any of the killings.