Qld coronial inquest to probe key moments of horrific Wieambilla terror attack
The cold-blooded murders of two Queensland Police officers and a good Samaritan will be put under intense scrutiny as part of a coronial inquest into their horrors that unfolded at a remote property on the Western Downs.
State Coroner Terry Ryan has been tasked with the month-long inquest from Monday that will examine the horrific massacre at Wieambilla on December 12, 2022.
Constables Rachel McCrow, 29, and Matthew Arnold, 26, were murdered by members of the Train family – brothers Nathaniel and Gareth and his wife, Stacey – after they attended a welfare check at a Wains Rd property.
Camera IconConstable Matthew Arnold and Constable Rachel McCrow were gunned down Credit: Supplied
The two constables had arrived at the property with two other officers – Constables Keely Brough and Randall Kirk – after Nathaniel, a former NSW school principal, had been reported missing.
However, when the four officers arrived, they were met with gunfire, leaving two dead, Constable Kirk injured and Constable Brough escaping into bushland as bullets flew by.
Constable Brough was then forced to hide from her assailants as they tried to smoke her out.
The Trains also lit the police vehicles on fire.
Alan Dare, 58, had lived at a nearby property and came to investigate after seeing smoke rise in the area.
Camera IconAlan Dare was also killed at Wieambilla. Supplied Credit: SuppliedCamera IconQueensland Police led an extensive investigation into the horrific murders. Picture David Clark / NewsWire Credit: News Corp Australia
He was murdered by one of the Trains moments after he arrived to see if he could help.
It’s understood he was fatally shot in the back.
Special Emergency Response Team officers shot all three members of the Train family following a lengthy siege.
Months after the massacre, Queensland Police confirmed the Trains had prescribed to an extremist Christian ideology known as “premillennialism” and had acted as an “autonomous cell” to carry out their “religiously motivated terrorist attack”.
Premillennialism followers believe Jesus Christ will return to Earth after a period of extreme suffering.
Following the murders, investigators discovered diary entries from Stacey where called police “demons”.
Gareth and Stacey also admitted to killing the police officers in a chilling YouTube video uploaded just hours after the shootings but before they were shot dead.
Camera IconStacey and Gareth Train posted a video hours after the shooting to a now deleted YouTube channel. Credit: Supplied
Their religious beliefs and the lead-up to the murders are among nine issues to be explored by counsel assisting the coroner Ruth O’Gorman when the inquest begins in Brisbane on Monday.
Ms O’Gorman intends to call more than 60 witnesses to give evidence before the inquest.
Those witnesses are expected include QPS officers, academic experts and family members.
The inquest will examine the circumstances of the six deaths and why four constables attended the Wieambilla property in the first place and what communication they received from NSW Police.
Nathaniel Train’s unlawfully entry into Queensland when he crossed the closed border at Talwood from NSW during the Covid-19 pandemic will also be examined.
The former school principal had been reported missing by his estranged wife in NSW.
Police had also issued a warrant for his arrest in connection to firearm offences after he left guns he owned abandoned when he illegally crossed the border.
It’s understood he had been staying with or nearby his brother and Stacey, who was previously married to Nathaniel.
Camera IconNathaniel and Stacey, who later married his brother Gareth. A Current Affair Credit: Channel 9Camera IconGareth Train had been living at the Wieambilla property with Stacey. A Current Affair Credit: Supplied
QPS Deputy Commissioner Tracy Linford told media in February 2023 that Chinchilla police had been tasked with trying to find Nathaniel after he was reported missing.
An officer had even attended Gareth and Stacey’s property to find Nathaniel long before it was clear a threat was imminent.
“They (the Train family) had become aware that Nathaniel had been reported as a missing person, they were also aware that police had been trying to locate him in relation to the firearms offences,” Ms Linford said.
“I don’t think there’s any question that they would have known that at some point in time police were coming, but whether or not they would have anticipated that it would have specifically been that day, we wouldn’t say that.
“The way they had set their property up, there were clear indications they had done a lot of planning.”
Camera IconCounsel assisting the coroner Ruth O’Gorman (left) will probe the shootings at Wieambilla. NewsWire / John Gass Credit: News Corp Australia
Another consideration will focus on the “adequacy and appropriateness” of the QPS response to the shooting, including whether advice given to constables Kirk and Brough was appropriate and if the recovery and extraction team acted appropriately.
The officers’ body-worn cameras had revealed what happened when they arrived at the remote property, which had helped the investigation and preparation for the inquest.
In a pre-inquest hearing in June 2023, Ms O’Gorman told the court that constables McCrow and Arnold had their body cams turned on when they jumped the fence of the Wains Rd property in the afternoon of December 12.
“The body-worn camera footage of both officers demonstrated there were no interactions with the people on the property,” she said.
#Qld #coronial #inquest #probe #key #moments #horrific #Wieambilla #terror #attack