The deceased siblings were discovered in a field from Gatton. Michael and Ellen were lying back-to-back, within of each other. Norah lay in the same east–west orientation, on a neatly spread rug, to the east. Both women had their hands tied behind their backs with handkerchiefs. Forming a triangle, the sulky faced south, from Michael and from Norah. M'Neill's horse had been shot in the head and still lay between the shafts. The victims' legs were arranged with the feet pointing west. This
signature behaviour has never been repeated in Australian criminal history and, like the murders themselves, remains a mystery. Before contacting police, M'Neill went to the Brian Boru Hotel (later the Imperial Hotel) in Gatton and informed the patrons of the murder; this resulted in a rush of up to forty people to the
murder scene, possibly destroying evidence in the process. M'Neill then contacted Acting-Sergeant William Arrell, who was in charge of Gatton police station and who later arranged for police from Brisbane to attend to the scene. This led to further delays, with the investigating officers not arriving until forty-eight hours after the discovery of the bodies. The bodies were moved to the Brian Boru Hotel. At 4pm Dr. Von Lossberg, the Government Medical Officer at
Ipswich, arrived and began an hour-long
autopsy. Michael had been shot and
struck with a blunt instrument on the right side of the head. Ellen had her skull fractured by two blows to the left side of her head. The wounds and position of the bodies when found indicated that Michael and Ellen were sitting upright and back-to-back when struck. Norah had also been struck on the left side of her head, pulverising her skull to the extent that her brain was protruding. In addition, Norah had a
harness strap tied around her neck, tight enough to have caused death. Both girls had been
raped, and
semen was found on their clothes.
Michael's purse M'Neill later testified that, although Michael's hands were not tied when he first saw the body, it appeared that his hands had been tied behind his back at some point, with one holding an open purse. However, all other witnesses stated that Michael's hands were not tied, but that a
breeching strap lay nearby, and that an empty purse was lying a short distance from the body. When Michael's body was removed from the murder scene at about 1:30pm, he was now found to have the breeching strap between his untied hands, with the empty purse held in one. Known to have had fifteen
shillings (2010:
$100) in the purse the night before, it was speculated that someone may have untied Michael to access the purse: "Either Gilbert, one of the party, or M'Neill took the purse."
Exhumation and contradictions From interviews with people who had seen the bodies, the
Queensland Police Service (QPS) determined that Michael may have been shot in the head, but this was not found by Von Lossberg despite claims that he had been asked to look for a bullet. When all three bodies were ordered
exhumed, it was found that the original autopsies were no more than superficial examinations. Although
decomposition was advanced, it was now found that Michael had indeed been shot in the right side of his head and then subsequently struck on the same spot with a blunt instrument, so that the later wound partially obscured the bullet hole. The bullet was recovered from the skull. Mr. Wiggins, J.P. testified that he had ordered the burials of the Murphy siblings without formal permission because he believed the autopsies had been completed and assumed that Von Lossberg had not carried any orders with him; instead, he assumed an order would be forwarded from Ipswich. Sub-Inspector Percy Galbraith of the QPS testified that Von Lossberg had told him that he had completed the autopsies and that he had told him he had found what looked like a bullet hole with no exit wound but could not find a bullet in the skull. Von Lossberg testified that he had told Galbraith that he had not performed an autopsy at all because he was suffering from
blood poisoning and advised that the bodies not be buried. Clerk George Baines testified that he was present at this conversation and that Von Lossberg had not mentioned not completing the autopsies, his blood poisoning or the request for Galbraith not to bury the bodies. Von Lossberg replied that he had never seen Baines before in his life and that even if he had been present "what passed was said in a whisper." ==Failure of the police investigation==