#graeme thorne

The First Kidnapping for Ransom in Australia

“If you don’t get the money, I’ll feed the boy to the sharks.”

On 1st June, 1960, the lives of Bazil and Freda Thorne were changed drastically following a £100,000 win on the Opera House Lottery - today worth approximately $3 million. However, Australian lottery winners at the time could not opt for privacy, meaning their details were publicised on the front pages of national newspapers. Because of this, the Thorne family’s excitement was quickly shattered, and their lives changed again for the worst.

Just one month later, on 7th July, their 8-year-old son Graeme Thorne set off for school on his usual route. As expected, he was to walk to the end of the street, where family friend Phyllis Smith would pick him up and drive him the rest of the journey to the school gates. However, on that day, somebody else was parked in Phyllis’ spot — a 34-year-old man named Stephen Leslie Bradley. He convinced Graeme that Phyllis was unwell that day, and therefore he would be taking him to school instead. The little boy obligingly got into the car.

Graeme’s parents were soon made aware that he hadn’t turned up at school, and frantically they alerted the authorities. Just over an hour after their son was reported missing, an unknown male rang the Thorne household and demanded £25,000 from their lottery winnings in exchange for his safe return. Now officially a kidnap for ransom, the police initiated a search for Graeme on the largest scale Australia had ever seen. 

You can read the full story here: https://crimesandcuriosities.medium.com/the-first-kidnapping-for-ransom-in-australia-5d82bb689bfb