Murder of Betty Shanks
# Murder of Betty Shanks

The Murder of Betty Shanks 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 Road Terminus in Grange, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, after attending classes in the city 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 5:35 AM, by a policeman who lived nearby. At the time it was Queensland's biggest criminal investigation ever, 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 proven to be false.

## Related works

### Books

Several books have been written about the murder and the authors have outlined who they believe the murderer to be. These works include:

* Who Killed Betty Shanks? (2006 (revised in 2012), author: Ken Blanch) Blanch suggested that Shanks was killed by a soldier.
* "I Know Who Killed Betty Shanks" (First edition 2014; Second edition 2019; Third edition 2022; author: Ted Duhs) Duhs theorized that Eric Sterry killed Shanks.
* The Thomas St Affair (2016, author: Lyle Reed) Reed proposed that Shanks was killed by a police officer riding a motorbike. The author did not reveal the killer's name in interviews prior to the book being published but did indicate he was a member of his family.

### Film

* The Wilston Murder: The story of Betty Shanks (2012) This documentary was produced and directed by student filmmakers Maya Weidner and Becky Newman, respectively, as a university project. The women believed the story was one that could resonate with a modern-day audience. Newman recalled learning about the murder at a young age, as her family was interested in history and had read Ken Blanch's book, Who Killed Betty Shanks? but believed the story was largely forgotten among her generation.
