19. The Gun Alley murder in 1921
Alma Tirtschke was a 12-year-old Australian schoolgirl who was raped and murdered in Melbourne in 1921, after having been last seen alive near a saloon. Alma had been engaged on a family errand when she was accosted, raped, and murdered. Eventually, the police, who relied on informers to build a case against a suspect, arrested Colin Campbell Ross, the owner of the Australian Wine Saloon, located near the alley where Alma’s naked body had been found. Reliance on informers continued during Ross’ trial, including one prisoner, previously convicted of perjury, testifying that Ross had confided his guilt in the case to him while awaiting trial. The prosecution contended that Ross had served the 12-year-old wine for three hours in the saloon, after which he raped and murdered the girl.
Ross was convicted and sentenced to death, and after appeals failed to obtain another trial for him he was executed by hanging in April 1922. The trial had been the first in Australia to rely on forensic evidence presented by human hair, but the court misinterpreted the evidence. Subsequent study of the physical evidence and the conduct of the court revealed substantial flaws in the government’s case, and in 2008 Ross was officially pardoned by the Australian state of Victoria. To date, it remains the only example of a pardon being issued in Australia for a person executed by the state. Speculation over who actually murdered Alma Tirtschke continues nearly a century later.