Gun Alley Murder

The Gun Alley Murder was the rape and murder of 12-year-old Alma Tirtschke in Melbourne, Australia, in 1921. She was a schoolgirl who attended Hawthorn West High School and had last been seen alive close to a drinking establishment, the Australian Wine Saloon; under these circumstances her murder caused a sensation.

Gun Alley Murder
Victim Alma Tirtschke
LocationMelbourne, Australia
Date30 December 1921 (1921-12-30)
Attack type
Child murder by strangulation, child rape
VictimNell Alma Tirtschke, aged 12
AccusedGeorge Murphy (posthumously accused)
ConvictedColin Campbell Eadie Ross (posthumously pardoned)
Verdict
  • Guilty (1922)
  • Verdict overturned (2008)
ConvictionsMurder
BurialTirtschke:
Brighton Cemetery
Ross:
Bendigo Public Cemetery
SentenceDeath

More recently, the case has become well known as a miscarriage of justice. 29-year old Colin Campbell Ross was convicted and executed for Tirtschke's murder, but professed his innocence until his death. When the case was re-examined decades later, DNA evidence confirmed Ross's innocence, and in 2008 he was granted a posthumous pardon. Since Ross's arrest, Tirtschke's family believed that Ross was innocent and that the wrong man had been convicted for Tirtschke's murder.

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