Posted in Jack Sim

SPECIAL WILSTON MURDER CRIME TOUR TO BE RESCHEDULED

Thank you all who have written in wishing to join the special Wilston Murder that was scheduled for this Saturday. 

There is no doubt that this crime still attracts interest - We have had an unexpectedly large number of people indicate their interest  - this has necessitated a need to acquire a larger coach & unfortunately have to change the date for the tour.  

It is to be rescheduled for a few weeks time - there will a few vacancies - those on the standby list will be the first to know!

If you would like to attend, write to admin@jacksim.com.au - indicating how many are in your group.

"EVERYBODY KNOWS THE DOCTOR DID IT"

The front page of The Queensland Times on Monday, 22 September 1952 was dominated by the bold headline "NATION-WIDE SEARCH FOR SEX-KILLER"

The tragic death of Ipswich doctor Donald Carter appeared in a smaller article beside the account of Betty Shanks' murder. Within days Ipswich locals had connected the two events. Even an experienced detective came to believe there was a connection the two people. 

In WHO KILLED BETTY SHANKS? Is The Wilston Monster Still Alive? Ken Blanch reveals his thoughts about the tenuous link claimed to exist and silences the speculation once and for all.

Sixty years after the initial article in their newspaper The Queensland Times will tomorrow publish a comprehensive article including an interview with Dr Carter's sons who have spent their lives trying to have their father's name cleared.

Read The Queensland Times - Saturday 29/9 

Meet Ken Blanch at Angus & Robertson Ipswich Saturday 29/9 between 11am and 1.30pm. Come and share your thoughts and meet the author.

LAST PICTURE TAKEN OF BETTY SHANKS...

dressed formally for a cousin’s wedding weeks before her death.

This rare photograph, originally published in The Courier Mail, captures a happy, vivacious young woman, who loved life.

Raised by loving and proud parents, had she lived, Betty would have gone on to contribute a great deal more to society.

Her callous, cold-blooded murder sixty years ago tomorrow, was without reason or justification.

As Ken Blanch and I research and promote this case, we do so with the constant hope that Betty's murderer will eventually be brought  to justice, or may yet confess to his evil crime.

Though that a coward has managed to elude capture for six decades is disheartening, his act in no way diminishes what Betty brought into this world.

Tomorrow, 19 September, will mark the anniversary of her death. As such, I will not be posting a blog tomorrow. Ken and I will be on air on 4BC radio at 1.05pm to talk about this anniversary and his revised book.

We ask that everyone reading this blog please spare a thought tomorrow for Betty Shanks, her parents, brother, friends and family - all the victims of this tragedy. 

For more than 60 years this crime has been an open wound on our city.

Ken Blanch and I dedicate his book to all the women of the world who have suffered or died at the hands of brutal men.

Thank you for your ongoing support of my books and publications.

Jack

Unidentified Male Caller Upsets Victim Days Before Death

On Wednesday 17 September 1952, two days before her death, Betty Shanks received a telephone call at her workplace that affected her demeanor.

John Ducey, Betty’s supervisor at the Commonwealth Department where she was employed, was to say she “was not her usual self” after taking it:

I answered the phone and the caller asked for Betty Shanks. It was a male caller. As far as I could detect, he was speaking in a normal Australian accent. I had no particular interest. I told the caller she was out and that I could get her to call him back, but he said ‘No’ and then he rang off. Shortly afterwards the telephone rang again. I answered the phone and the caller asked for ‘Betty Shanks’. She was then in the building and I handed her the phone and she spoke to the caller. She made no comment to me at all after finishing that call. That was unusual, as in most cases she would make some mention of the nature of the call. It was usual to seek permission to use the phone and to make some record of the call. She was not her usual self after receiving that call. I have no idea who the caller might have been. 

The male caller's identity has never been ascertained. For more than 50 years police sought to find something in Betty's background which may have led to the attack on her.

In 2006 in book WHO KILLED BETTY SHANKS? Brisbane's Greatest Murder-Mystery Ken Blanch was able to show that the killer was not actually waiting for Betty Shanks...

Betty was one of us. Her story must be told.   

Discover Brisbane's criminal history. Buy WHO KILLED BETTY SHANKS? Is the Wilston Monster Still Alive? 2012 REVISED EDITION by Ken Blanch.

Ken Blanch is appearing at these bookstores over the next few weeks to sign his book:

Dymocks Carindale                            Thursday 20 September 2012     4pm - 9.00pm     

Angus & Robertson - Brookside      Saturday 22 September 2012     10am-12.30pm

Dymocks Chermside                         Saturday 22 September 2012      1.00pm - 4.00pm 

State Library Cafe                              Thursday 27 September 2012      6pm - 7.30pm

Angus & Robertson - Ipswich           Saturday 29 September 2012      11.00am - 2.30pm  

Thomas & Daisy - Wilston                  Saturday 6 October 2012             11.00am - 1.00pm

A Lot of Books - Ipswich                    Thursday 4 October 2012            11.00am - 1.00pm      

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