New campaign for probe into 2012 death of gold prospector Bruce Schuler

News.com.au

3 days ago

Serious concerns linger over the evidence used to convict a husband and wife of murder on a remote Queensland property 13 years ago, as they face dying behind bars.
Dianne Wilson-Struber and Stephen Struber were found guilty at trial of killing gold prospector Bruce Schuler, 48, at the couple's giant Cape York leasehold in July 2012.
Mr Schuler's body has never been found, but police alleged in a circumstantial case that he was shot dead by the Strubers before they hid his remains.
Both Dianne and Stephen maintain they had nothing to do with Mr Schuler's disappearance and their case led to the introduction of 'no body, no parole' laws in the Sunshine State.
Retired detective Graeme Crowley, who wrote a book and made a podcast about the investigation and trial, said 140 'discrepancies' he has identified led him to believe the wrong people might be in jail.
'There are there are serious concerns with the investigation, there are serious concerns with the evidence, there are serious concerns with the way the prosecutor presented the evidence,' he told news.com.au.
'So if you accept any or all of those, then likely they didn't commit this murder.'
Family of Ms Wilson-Struber in March launched a petition to the Queensland government for a long-awaited inquest to be held into Mr Schuler's disappearance.
Petition author Sharon Ferguson wrote that the inquest would enable legal teams currently investigating the case to test evidence brought against her sister, Dianne.
But Mr Schuler's widower, Fiona Splitt, has condemned the campaign and says the only mystery is the location of her husband's body.
No body, no weapons
Mr Schuler disappeared from Palmerville Station, a property twice the size of Singapore, after camping there overnight with his dog Red and three prospecting friends on July 8, 2012.
They did not have permission to be on the land, and the Queensland Supreme Court heard Struber had confronted one of the party for trespassing a week earlier.
On the morning of July 9, Mr Schuler's companions reported hearing two gunshots ring out 10 to 15 minutes apart coming from the direction he was last seen.
They later gave evidence at trial of seeing a car belonging to the Strubers driving toward a key crime scene.
After searching for Mr Schuler, his friends reported him missing to police that night.
Police arrived the next morning to conduct a wide-ranging land, water and air search, and executed a search warrant at the Schuler's home.
Officers discovered three of the Strubers' large array of guns – two .22 calibre rifles and a .357 magnum – were missing, and the couple was arrested for questioning.
They were not charged with Mr Schuler's murder until October 30, 2012, without police finding the Mareeba man's remains.
'There's no body, there's no cause of death, the witnesses didn't see Bruce Schuler shot, they didn't see him carried away,' Mr Crowley said.
'All they heard was two gunshots. And from there, the police concluded he was murdered.'
The evidence
What police did find during the searches of Palmerville Station was tyre marks in cow pats and burnt patches of grass near where Mr Schuler was reportedly last seen.
There were two pieces of twine containing his DNA and spent projectiles found in bloodstained glass.
Mr Schuler's DNA was also located on a bloodstained leaf, a white film canister, and four partially burnt matches.
Forensic officers noted damaged trees and a broken termite mound consistent with recent vehicle contact, which they said showed marks matching Mr Struber's vehicle.
Police later established that Wilson-Struber made an anonymous call to the Palmerville Station homestead from a payphone in Mareeba three days after Mr Schuler disappeared.
She advised the officer who answered that the police were looking in the wrong spot and that they should be looking '12-15km east'.
At trial, Struber stated he and his wife had spent the day of July 9, 2012 repairing a loader and were not in the area where shots were reported.
'We weren't there,' he said.
A jury rejected this claim, after deliberating for just four hours, and Justice Jim Henry sentenced them both to life in prison.
The couple's subsequent appeals over their convictions also failed.
Ms Splitt's campaigning led to the introduction of 'no body, no parole' laws in Queensland in 2017, after more than 8000 people signed her petition.
The U-turn
One of the key 'discrepancies' Mr Crowley zeroed in on during his research is what witnesses said about a four-wheel-drive seen at the time shots were reported.
It was alleged at trial that after first being shot at, Mr Schuler ran up a steep gully toward a secondary crime scene.
The Strubers were said to have driven their car from where the first shot was fired 200m away to the second site where the blood and burnt patches were found.
'But all three prospectors told the police after the first shot, the car drove about somewhere between 20 and 50m,' Mr Crowley said.
'When it got the trial, the jury didn't hear that.'
Mr Crowley said the prosecutor instead put to the witnesses that the car was seen heading in a northerly direction, toward crime scene two, to which they agreed.
He said this 'one of the most important, disturbing, significant discrepancies' in the case.
'Because how do you murder someone … how do you put a body on the trail of the ute … if the ute does not go to the crime scene?'
A new campaign
Ms Ferguson is firm in her belief that her sister, Wilson-Struber, is innocent.
She described her sister as a 'happy, caring, loving person' before the incident that changed their family – who had been in possession of Palmerville since the 1960s – forever.
'She cared about people, animals. She enjoyed her lifestyle on the property because she grew up on that property, and it was just part of her life.'
Ms Ferguson's petition calling for an inquest to finally be held into the matter gained more than 5000 signatures, and is due to be introduced to parliament in August.
A coroner handed down non-inquest findings in 2016, following the Strubers' convictions and based on police material and evidence heard at trial.
'I was very disappointed with that,' Ms Ferguson said.
'I think if they would have done a proper coronial inquest in the first place, maybe they would've been a lot more answers.
'The ultimate, result for me would be that we find out what really happened to Bruce Schuler, where his body may be.
'So his family can have closure and the right people who committed this crime can be incarcerated for what they did.'
Ms Ferguson said a new legal team had been engaged to prepare a fresh court appeal, which could be heard in November.
Ms Splitt recently told the Cairns Post that the latest wave of attention on the case had taken a toll on her family.
Although she has also wanted an inquest to be held, she rejected the assertion that the petition was also aimed at supporting Bruce.
'The insensitive comments and things that people say on social media and calls for an inquest take an immense mental and emotional toll … and it is hurting my family and Bruce's family,' she said.
'We have trusted the legal process throughout this entire ordeal, and we trust that the authorities will continue their investigation based on the facts, evidence, and proper legal procedure.
'We are confident that the truth will prevail if we continue to focus on the facts and not get sidetracked by distractions.'