[2] Here they found Mitchell's corpse dumped in the scrub where she had been raped and her throat cut, along with hoof marks and part of a riding crop, indicating the perpetrator had escaped by horse.

It was discovered that Austin had an established criminal history in Victoria, starting from as early as 11 years old when he had been caught thieving and sent to the Neglected Children's Department.

In late 1909, Austin had been convicted as Ernest Johnson for an assault with intent to rape, receiving a sentence of three years imprisonment, which was served in Melbourne Gaol and Pentridge Prison.

The crime had been frighteningly similar to the murder of Mitchell, as the victim, a 12-year-old girl, had been dragged into a shed by an axe-wielding Austin who fled when she had screamed too loudly.

Police determined that he had killed her before fleeing to the school's water tank where he had washed her blood from his hands and body (but also left more telltale footprints).

[5][6] Austin became the last convict to be executed at Boggo Road Gaol and the last in Queensland, when in 1922 it became the first state in Australia and the first government in the British Empire to abolish the death penalty.