Tracy Muzyk Murder

A horrific case of mob mentality led to the brutal torture murder of an 18-year-old girl in Adelaide. The strength of the attack, not only vicious and merciless, shocked South Australia’s public, even more so when it was revealed that some of the attackers, were younger than their victim.
 It was December 1996 when a gang of six held down Tracy Muzyk and viciously attacked and killed her.

 Her attackers were:
Matthew Austin – aged 22,
Ian McKenzie – aged 19,
Tara Kehoe – aged 19,
Lyle Bascombe – aged 17,
Amanda Pemberton – aged 17,
and another 17-year-old teenager, whose identity was suppressed.

 The group of killers claimed that Ms Muzyk owed $70 to Amanda Pemberton, a teenager Ms Muzyk had recently befriended. They began to beat and humiliate Ms Muzyk. they held her down and put out cigarettes on her skin. They strangled her to near death, then beat her again, then sprayed her face with mace.
 Ms Muzyk was then forced to shower in scalding water before having her hair cut off as an act of humiliation.

 She was forced to walk to a tree in a paddock, where she was tied to the tree and beaten severely again, before being strangled, then beaten with a large steel pole and bashed with a rock.
 Ms Muzyk’s badly beaten body would sit in the paddock near Westlakes High School, tied to the tree and covered with lawn clippings for another 4 days before being found by passers-by.
 
 Detectives working on the case didn’t take long to piece together what had happened and track down the aforementioned killers.
 They were rounded up and put to trial with all found guilty. The sentences given by Justice Kevin Duggan of the Adelaide Supreme Court were as follows:

Matthew Craig Austin – sentenced to life with a non-parole period of 22 years.
Ian Bruce McKenzie – sentenced to life with a non-parole period of 22 years.
Tara Maree Kehoe – sentenced to life with a non-parole period of 18 years.
Amanda Pemberton – sentenced to life.
Lyle Brankik Bascombe – sentenced to life.

Another offender was given a 15 month suspended sentence for her part in the attack.
In 2000, an appeal led to Tara Kehoe's non-parole period being reduced to 15 and a 1/2 years and Pemberton's minimum term to 14 years, causing outrage to the public and from the family of Ms Muzyk.

References: 

The Age, Melbourne Victoria, Friday, May 29^th, 1998

Editors note: In October 2016, 42-year-old, Ms Tara Kehoe was found dead in Adelaide's South.

The “Insanity” of a 15 Year Old Boy.

The “Insanity” of a 15 Year Old Boy.

 In June 1941, Adelaide was waking up to headlines about the trial of 15 year old boy Brian John Turner of Linden Park Gardens, sentenced to life imprisonment in Yatala Labor Prison for the murder of Boot-maker, William Thomas Halse.

 William Halse lived with his Wife and son in Kensington. He owned a boot making shop on O’Connell Street in North Adelaide, and had operated out of the premises for 28 years. Mr Halse loved routine, and would always return home on a Friday night at 9:30pm.
 On May the 2^nd, Mr Halse hadn’t returned to his home. The family waited until 1am before the son went to the North Adelaide Police station and reporting his absence.

  A police officer and Mr Halse’s son went to the O’Connoll street shop, and found it locked and in total darkness. They jumped the side fences and found the back door of the shop wide open, but the lights turned off at the mains power board.
  Near the back door, they found a pool of blood. The blood trailed across the rear garden and into a small shed at the rear of the property. The two men entered the shed cautiously, and found there, lying in a pool of blood, the 77 year old man.
 Mr Halse had been viscously attacked with a blunt metal instrument. The back of his skull was broken into pieces, he had cuts across his face and jaw and one of his eyes was severely damaged.
 
 An investigation began into goings on almost immediately. A search for a murder weapon was undertaken, with no missing hammers of other tools in the workshop missing, which meant the murderer had brought the weapon with him.
 The inquiry turned up evidence that this was not a robbery. Mr Halse had 3 pound notes in one pocket, and 2 pounds of silver in a wallet in his jacket.
 His apron was found hanging on its hook, and he was wearing his jacket, which led the detectives to believe he was readying to leave the shop and his assailant was waiting in the yard for him. Mr Halse’s hat was found under a table, with a small hole in it that matched up exactly with a hole in the back of his skull, leading the investigators to further deduce that his attacker attacked first from behind and took Mr Halse by Surprise, then bludgeoned him at least another 30 times..

 Investigations led to Ward Street, North Adelaide, and the home of the Fergusons. On Friday night, the night of the murder, Brian Turner had showed up at the house about 7 o’clock with what looked to be a hammer wrapped in brown paper, like one would buy from a hardware store at the time.
  Turner was soon arrested on this evidence, and when questioned by the police, with no emotion, admitted to the crime.

 The court case was fairly swift by today’s standards. The defence team for Turner were pleading “insanity” and tried to prove their defence by using character witnesses such as Tuner’s Father. Turner was described as a “morose, underachiever and loner” who had brothers with incredibly successful careers, but he himself, lacked any care for his own future prospects.
 Such as young man had not been trialled in Adelaide, in regards to possibly receiving the death penalty for murder.  Politician’s became involved, and spent 6 hours reading through all the depositions for and against the 15 year old boy.
 In court, when asked why he did it, Turner at first denied any knowledge of the crime, and pleaded not guilty, going against his earlier admissions.
 It soon came to light that Turner had bought the hammer with the preconceived notion of robbing the shop, and that the murder happened because the old man said to him “Hitler was a good fellow and that we had no chance of winning the law”.

 The Judge declared that the evidence of “insanity” was not proven, even though there was medical evidence to prove of previous bouts of schizophrenic activity. It was not enough proof that the murder was not premeditated, so the defence of “insanity” was removed from the court.
 The jury sat for around 25 minutes, and delivered a “guilty” verdict, but with a clause for mercy. The judge took this on board and when it came time for sentencing, the original sentence of hanging for murder was commuted to life imprisonment in Yatala Labor Prison.

Brian John Turner, aged just 15 years and 10 months, was taken away to Yatala and placed in the first offenders wing, where he will stay until he is an adult.

 In 2016, Turner would be aged about 90 years old – I am interested to hear from anyone who may have served time with him in the Yatala Labor Prison, and to find out what became of him…please contact me via eidolon@live.com.au if you have any information.

The Truro Murders (Part 7): James Miller

The Truro Murders (Part 7): James Miller

 James William Miller was born in 1940 into a family of 6 children. He was known as a friendless loner and ran away from home at a very early age, only to end up in the Magill Reform School at age 11.
With no education, Miller learnt to survive as best he could, and turned to petty crime when he couldn’t find work as an itinerant labourer.

Over the years Miller was convicted of car theft, larceny, and breaking and entering. He had over 30 convictions to his name. In his lengthy career as a criminal, he was never once charged with for violence or sex crime.

Miller found himself inside Adelaide Gaol for a three-month custodial sentence after he had broken into a gun shop. It was here in the Adelaide Gaol he met Christopher Worrell, who was awaiting trial on a rape charge, Worrell was also on a suspended sentence for armed robbery

Miller, a homosexual, fell in love with Worrell and became totally infatuated with the young good looking man. The two men shared a cell at Adelaide Gaol, but that was soon to change.
Worrell was found guilty and sentenced to a 4-year term at Yatala Labour Prison. Miller was also sentenced to serve time at Yatala, where he served three months.
Within months, the two friends would see each other again in Yatala, with Miller getting arrested for trying to sell stolen sunglasses in hotels around Adelaide. He had stolen 400 pairs and was caught. Miller was sentenced to 18 months in Yatala.


Miller was released, and then nine months later Worrell was granted early parole. The two men met on the outside, rekindled their friendship and planned to get a unit together in the city.
What was a friendship quickly began to be a sexual relationship, with Miller performing oral sex on Worrell, whilst Worrell read bondage magazines. Over time the sexual relationship dwindled, due to Worrell’s preference for young women, and the two men became like brothers.
Worrell and Miller became inseparable, even working together with the Unley Council as labourers.

Miller was submissive, but he had a calming effect on Worrell. The pair often cruised the city in Miller's blue and white Valiant, looking for girls. Worrell would tie them up and have sex with them in the back of the car, while Miller would go for a walk. This kink for violent bondage sex of Worrell’s would soon turn to raping and killing the young women.
At the time of the first murder, Miller was 38 years old.

Between the time of Worrell’s death, and the exposing of the crimes, Miller had become very depressed over the loss of his best friend. He found himself living as a vagrant on the streets, sometimes sleeping in abandoned cars, and every so often sleeping at the Central Mission Day Centre, St Vincent De Paul, or helping out at the Salvation Army.


Miller would be apprehended due to a tip-off from Worrell’s former girlfriend Angela. All through his trial he claimed he didn’t murder anyone, all he did was drive the car and was just the “chauffeur and mug”, therefore, he should not be charged with the act of murder.
The Judge of the case didn’t see things the same way as Miller and told the jury it must find him guilty.
Miller was interred for life in 1980 for the murders of six of the seven women, he was acquitted of the murder of Veronica Knight.
Not long after the trial, one of the jurors hired a lawyer to petition the Attorney-General for a retrial of Miller’s case, due to the instruction of Judge Matheson for the jury to find Miller guilty. The Attorney-General, Chris Sumner flatly refused to grant Miller a retrial.
In 1999, Miller applied to the law courts to have a non-parole period set. In 2000, Chief Justice John Doyle granted Miller’s request, and his non-parole period was backdated for a period of 35 years – meaning Miller could apply for parole in 2014.


James Miller spent 28 years in prison. His body succumb to the ravages of cancer, and on October 22, 2008, at the age of 68, he died.

Next Week: The Truro Murders (Part 8): How they captured a murderer

Researched and written by Allen Tiller © 2015

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