CATCHING THE KIMBERLY KILLER

THE MOTIVE FOR JOSEF SCHWAB’S TOP END MURDER SPREE REMAINS A MYSTERY

- John Burfitt

It was supposed to be a happy occasion – a wedding in the beautiful Kimberley region of Western Australia between two young people very much in love.

But only weeks before Phillip Walkemeyer, 26, and his fiancée Julie Warren, 25, were to be wed, they were murdered by German tourist Josef Schwab as part of his maniacal reign of terror, which ultimately claimed five lives and saw him renamed as ‘The Kimberley Killer’.

This month marks the 35th anniversary of the June 1987 killing spree across the Top End of NT and WA. It’s a time of sad reflection for Kununurra resident Norma Wainwright, the celebrant who was to perform the ceremony at Phillip and Julie’s wedding.

“They were so excited and looking forward to a lifetime of making plans,” Norma, now 91, tells New Idea. “They were two young people cut off at the prime of their lives and no-one expected this. You expect to be allowed to live your lives, but that was cut off for them.”

Schwab, who had a range of criminal convictions in Germany, arrived in Brisbane on April 18, 1987, hired a white Toyota 4Runner four-wheel drive and went to purchase a range of rifles, shotguns and ammunition. He then set off on the long drive across the Top End.