The Betty Shanks murder is one of the oldest and most notorious unsolved murder cases. in Queensland, Australia.

Overview

On the night of 19 September 1952, 22 year old Betty Shanks got off a tram at Days Rd. Terminus in the Grange

Grange, Queensland

Grange is an inner-northern suburb of Brisbane, capital of the Australian state of Queensland. It is located north of the central business district, on the southern side of Kedron Brook. In 2001, the population of Grange stood at 3,941....

, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, and started her short walk home. Her violently beaten body was found in the garden of a house on the corner of Carberry and Thomas Streets the next morning at 5.35am, by a policeman who lived nearby. At the time it was Queenslands' biggest ever criminal investigation, and as of 2010 a reward of A$50,000 is still current.

Investigation

An attack by a sex offender was considered very early in the investigation. Another theory is that the murderer attacked the wrong woman, and was actually interested in a doctor's receptionist - who also walked home down the same street at the same time, and had keys to the surgery which contained drugs. A number of people have confessed over the years, however all have proved to be false.