- Joseph Schwab
Infobox Serial Killer
name=Joseph Schwab
caption=
birthname=Joseph Schwab
alias=
birth=
location=
death=1987
cause=Shot to death by WA Tactical Response Group
victims=5
country=Australia
states=Western Australia andNorthern Territory
beginyear=June, 1987
endyear=July 22 ,1987
apprehended=
penalty=Joseph Schwab, born approximately 1961, was a German who murdered five tourists across the
Northern Territory andWestern Australia in 1987.Background
His victims were a father and son, a newly engaged couple and their friend. [cite web|url=http://www.throng.com.au/cia-crime-investigation-australia/the-kimberley-killer-tuesday-11-september|title=The Kimberley Killer - Tuesday 11 September|work=throng.com.au|accessdate=2008-02-17|date=7 September, 2007]
They were:
*Marcus Bullen (June 9, 1987)
*Lance Bullen (as above)
*Phillip Walkemeyer (June 16, 1987)
*Julie Warren (as above)
*Terry Bolt (as above)The killer was referred to in the press as the Kimberley Killer, after the region in which he committed the murders.
Killings
The gunman’s first victims were a father and son, who were shot dead while scouting for a fishing location on the banks of Victoria River in the Northern Territory. [ [http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,21335415-5005382,00.html The Kimberley killer | PerthNow ] ] Roadblocks were set up but the murderer eluded police and escaped across the border into Western Australia.
A week later three more tourists were shot dead at Pentecost River Crossing near
Kununurra .A helicopter pilot, Peter Leutenegger, from Napier Downs station, raised the alarm after spotting the gunman's camouflaged vehicle in bushland near
Fitzroy Crossing in the Kimberley region, where the townsfolk were preparing for the annual rodeo.The gunman was killed on June 16 in an exchange of gunfire with a seven-member team of police officers from the Tactical Response Group (“TRG”), and an officer from the forensic division. They had been sent by chartered aircraft from Perth to Kununurra to assist Kimberley police with the investigation.
As police approached the hidden vehicle, a gunman with an automatic weapon emerged firing at the police team. [ [http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,21335415-5005382,00.html The Kimberley killer | PerthNow ] ]
Identity
The killer was identified as Joseph Schwab, a 26-year-old German tourist. A security guard in his native country, his motive for the random killings remains a mystery.
Television series
The first episode of a
Foxtel show, Crime Investigation Australia, hosted bySteve Liebmann , detailed the Kimberley Killer. Several police officers who were involved in the investigation were interviewed for the show. This show was broadcast on March 29, 2007. [cite web|url=http://www.kimberleyecho.com/archive/2007/20070201/story07.html|title=Film on killer finished|date=1 Feb 2007|work=Kimberley Echo|accessdate=2008-02-17]References
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