On the 28th of last month, Police in the remote town of Tennant Creek, Northern Territory found the body of an unidentified body in marshland towards the edge of town.
The victim was a male, aged between 18 and 25 and had suffered from a stab wound in the back. The victim was not carrying any form of identification, but the police found two playing cards, the Ace and King of spades in his shorts pocket. Crime scene investigators sent samples to an Entomologist to help determine the time of death.
After conducting a search of the surrounding area, a knife with an instinctive insignia covered in blood was discovered. This was sent for testing as it was suspected that this was likely to be the murder weapon.
While waiting for laboratory results, a preliminary investigation was carried out and it was determined that the knife had originated from the kitchen of a local hotel, 'The Highfield'. The owner of the Highfield was interviewed and confirmed that the knife was from the hotel but was unable to say when it had gone missing. The cook informed the police that he had not seen the knife for several weeks. While Police were searching through the refuse bins at the back of the Highfield, severeal blood-stained playing cards similar to those found on the body were found.
Investigators experienced difficulty in identifying the victim and called in an Odontologist to compare dental records of possible victims with the teeth of the corpse. The following individuals were put forward as likely identities of the corpse:
Kurt Grossmann, a German backpacker, aged 22; last seen as he checked out of the Highfield on 23rd at 9.00am, destination; Alice Springs.
James Hanlin, an English backpacker, aged 21; checked out of the Highfield on the 23rd at 9.45am, destination; unknown.
John Rickmann, local unemployed laborer, aged 19; reported missing by his Mother on the 25th. She had not seen him since he went out on the evening of the 21st at around 8 or 9 pm. Initially, she had not been concerned as she thought her son must be staying with friends.
The medical examiner confirmed that the body was no more than a week old but was unable to be more specific.As the murder weapon provided the main starting point for the investigation, the police interviewed the hotel owner and his employees who would have access to the missing knife:
Crime scene investigators have called upon the following specialists to help with the investigation:
