1987 | Western Australia / Northern Territory, Australia | Serial Murder | Solved
TLDR
In the spring of 1987, a German tourist named Josef Schwab killed five people at two remote locations in Australia’s outback — first at Victoria River, then at the Pentecost River crossing. He was shot dead by police after a chase. No motive was ever established.
The Case
Josef Schwab, 31, had arrived in Australia from Germany in early 1987. He was touring the country’s remote north with his girlfriend. Whatever was happening in his mind during those weeks, he left no record of it.
In April 1987, the bodies of two young British backpackers, Marcus Bullen and Lance Bullen, were found near the Victoria River crossing in the Northern Territory. They had been shot.
On May 2, 1987, three more people were killed at the Pentecost River crossing in Western Australia’s Kimberley region. Phillip Walkemeyer, 27; Julie Warren, 19; and Terry Bolt, 28 — all tourists — were shot dead. Their campervan was found nearby.
Witnesses who had encountered Schwab on the road gave descriptions that matched across both sites. Police began tracking him across the remote northwest.
On June 19, 1987, Western Australian police located Schwab near Kununurra. When they moved to arrest him, he opened fire. Police shot and killed him. He died without explaining why he had done it.
Investigators examined his background, his movements, and his correspondence. No single convincing motive emerged. He had no known connection to any of his victims. Five people were dead. The man who killed them took his reasons to the ground.
Where to Find More
- Documentaries: The case has been covered in an Australian true crime documentary series. Western Australian newspaper archives contain coverage from 1987.
- Books: No book-length account dedicated to the case has been published. It features in several collections of Australian outback crime.
- Podcasts: Casefile True Crime covered the Kimberley Killer in Case 70. Available on all major platforms.
