Threatening emails from a man who went on to fatally shoot three people in Queensland were not handed over by NSW Police due to procedural requirements, a coroner has heard.
Coroner Terry Ryan, who is investigating the fatal shooting of six people at Wieambilla in rural Queensland, on Tuesday heard evidence from NSW Police on their search for missing man Nathaniel Train, 46, who would later feature in the killings.
Mr Ryan heard NSW Police obtained emails from Gareth Train, 47, telling his brother Nathaniel officers wanted to “see you dead” and vowing to “greet them as they deserve” if they turned up to his remote bush property west of Brisbane.
Detective Senior Constable Richard Gozman, from the NSW Police missing persons registry, testified that he had not personally seen the emails but they would have been handed over to Queensland Police if the case was formally transferred interstate.
“We transfer everything,” Det Gozman said.
Det Gozman said he changed the risk assessment for Nathaniel Train to “high risk to himself” but not to police or members of the public.
“It was on the basis of his (cardiac) health condition. The other thing that stood out to me is the length of time he had not been seen or spoken with,” Det Gozman said.
The emails were forwarded to NSW Police early on the morning of December 12, 2022 and were not reviewed by an officer or uploaded to their database until the late morning.
Later that afternoon, Nathaniel and Gareth Train would shoot dead two junior Queensland police constables as their walked up the driveway of their Wieambilla property.
The supervising officer on Nathaniel Train’s missing persons case, Detective Senior Constable Jordan Hammerton, testified on Tuesday he did not read the older brother Gareth’s latest emails until he saw news about the police shootings in Queensland.
“I was busy over the weekend. I was the only detective on shift that Sunday,” Det Hammerton said.
Mr Ryan heard Det Hammerton before the shootings had instructed two other officers to request Queensland Police attend Gareth Train’s Wieambilla property to see if he would assist in finding his brother.
“Phone tower data showed he was last in that area close to his brother’s house … We had exhausted what we could through investigations in NSW,” Det Hammerton said.
Mr Ryan heard the officers on the case were told by higher ranks they did not have the “solid evidence” required to transfer Nathaniel Train’s missing person’s case to Queensland.
“The example I was given was there needed to be a (cash withdrawal) on the missing person’s account with CCTV from the bank showing that person,” Det Hammerton said.
Four junior Queensland Police officers attended the Wieambilla property on December 12, 2022 in order to locate Nathaniel Train.
The officers also had a warrant to arrest him for illegally crossing the NSW border during COVID-19 lockdowns and for firearms offences.
Nathaniel Train joined with Gareth and his sibling’s wife Stacey, 45, to also kill their neighbour Alan Dare, 58, soon after fatally shooting Constables Matthew Arnold, 26, and Rachel McCrow, 29, in an ambush with high-powered rifles.
All three Trains were shot dead hours later by specialist officers after they refused to surrender and opened fire on a police armoured vehicle.
Det Hammerton said the basic file on Nathaniel Train’s missing persons report was provided to Queensland Police, which noted his brother Gareth was “paranoid and had a dislike of police”.
“A (close associate) believes that when he has communicated with Gareth Train he has got into (Nathaniel’s) head to make him more paranoid,” the NSW Police file stated.
Det Hammerton said he did not specifically “flag” to Queensland Police any potential risks to officers from the Trains.
“I just provided the information … it is in the paragraph for them to see,” he said.
Source Agencies
