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The Telegraph, Thursday Evening, April 2, 1936.
One of the first reports of the ghastly discovery of the bodies of the victims in the sleeper train carriage.
One man was found dead, Mr H Speering, and two severely injured. Mr F Costello died soon after his arrival at hospital. Mr Boys, the train conductor, was alive but 'close to death'.
How these men were killed and by whom was a mystery.
The Telegraph, Brisbane Evening, April 2, 1936.
Most of the country's newspapers carried the story about the seemingly cold-blooded murders and vicious attacks.
Obviously there was much interest about the Queensland victims. All of the men were considered upstanding citizens.
Both of the deceased were husbands and fathers. The nation could not understand why these men were attacked in such a grueso
The Daily Standard, Brisbane, Friday, April 3, 1936.
Information was starting to be available about the horrific murders and battering on the Pullman Death Car No. 997.
The car was a first class sleeper carriage. Investigations showed that there was a third man booked for the carriage and he had disappeared along with the Conductor's map of passengers and where they slept.
This crime was reported as
The Telegraph, Saturday Night, Brisbane, April 4, 1936.
The national papers follow the investigation across two states so far.
Interesting that on the same front page is an article about the execution of a murderer in the United States. By 1936, Queensland had abolished capital punishment, the first to do so in the British Empire.
The Sunday Mail, Brisbane, April 5, 1936.
The whole front page of the Sunday Mail was devoted to the hunt for the fugitive. The murderer had been using blood stained coins and notes to pay cabs.
Motives were still being considered. The latest in this report was that there was gold on the train and this was probably the motive for the murders.
It was still a mystery as to where and when the murderer
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The Courier Mail, Brisbane, Monday April 6, 1936, p.15.
After a three-state chase, a Melbourne Hotel Clerk was responsible for the arrest of Herbert Kopit, dressed as a woman.
You can read about this bizarre story in two blog posts on The Crime page of this site.
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The Courier Mail, Brisbane, Tuesday April 7, 1936.
The Queensland warrant for the arrest of Herbert Kopit for the wilful murders of Costello and Speering was flown to Sydney. The warrant was met by Qld Sen Det Brannelly and Det Mahony in Sydney. The officers then travelled to Melbourne to charge Kopit who was being held by Russell St Police.
Sunday Mail, April 12, 1936.
Much interest was reported about the arrival of Kopit in Brisbane. He had been escorted by Qld Police to Sydney, where Kopit took the detectives on a tour of where he had stayed and bought his disguise.
Much to the annoyance of the press, Kopit and his escort left the train before Brisbane Central Station to avoid crowds and press.
The Telegraph, Brisbane Monday Evening, April 13, 1936.
Kopit appeared briefly in the Brisbane Police Court (Magistrates Court) and was remanded to until the following week.
Crowds lined the court room and police yard. Seats had been removed from the public gallery to fit as many spectators as possible. Normally only one orderly was needed but on this day six were needed.
Kopit was well dressed in
The Telegraph, Brisbane Evening, April 20, 1936.
The gardens around the Police Court were crowded with people eager to get a glimpse of Kopit.
Press entered the courtroom first and at 10 am, the public were admitted. They were warned that cameras were not allowed and that they would be in contempt of court if they took photos.
In addition to the charge of wilful killing of Mr Speering, Kopit faced f
The Telegraph, Wednesday 29 April, 1936.
Kopit's committal trial had started at the Police Court in Brisbane evidence from Melbourne CIB was presented. A confession by Kopit was presented but not read out to the court. The first witness called was Detective Garvey, Victoria Police who had charged Kopit after finding him dressed as a woman in the Victoria Hotel.
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The Telegraph, Brisbane, Saturday Night, May 2, 1936.
While Australia watched the rise of Hitler in Europe from a safe distance, Herbert Kopit was committed to trial in Brisbane, Queensland for the murder of Harold Speering.
Kopit was remanded for the murder of Michael Costello and attempting to kill Tommy Boys.
During the commital trial, which lasted three days in the Brisabne Police Court, 39 witne
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The Telegraph, Brisbane, April 30, 1936, p 1.
When Kopit was finally arrested for the horrific crimes, he had committed, he admitted he was pleased he had been caught. Kopit said that the whole situation was getting on his nerves. On several occasions, Kopit talks to police and reporters about whether he was feeling nervous at certain points in his life. One imagines that having nerves would not be
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Sunday Mail, July 3, 1936
The recent life sentence imposed on Herbert Kopit revived discussions on the question of capital punishment.
The Sunday Mail, July 3, 1936 provided an interesting coverage of the debate. The writer reported the last execution in Queensland. Queensland was the first state in the British Empire to abolish capital punishment.
The Bulletin, Vol. 57, #2935, p. 8 points out the "
The Bulletin, Vol. 57, #2935, p. 8
Kopit escaped the gallows as he was tried and convicted in Queensland. Every other state continued capital punishment.
Kopit remarked at his arrest in Melbourne, Victoria, a state that still had capital punishment, that in Melbourne murderers were hanged,
" But up north", he smiled, " you can only go to the boob for life".
He was referring to Queensland as being up n
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The Telegraph, May 1, 1936
A.A. Bourne, a taxi driver, drove Herbert Kopit from South Brisbane to Coolangatta, a trip of around 105 km.
Little did the taxi driver know he was transporting a killer fleeing police.
Kopit also had taken two other taxis while fleeing the crime scene. On both occasions, he paid with blood-stained coins and notes. These would be used later as evidence against him.
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The Saturday Night Telegraph, Brisbane, April 11, 1936, p. 1.
Tensions are building across the globe in Europe as extra precautions are made in Brisbane for the arrival of Herbert Kopit.
He travelled with his police escort in a train's special, inaccessible compartment from Sydney.
Many onlookers crowd South Brisbane Station to witness his arrival, only to be disappointed.