Coniston massacre
Brooks was killed on or about 7 August 1928, and his body was partly buried in a rabbit hole. No eyewitnesses to the actual murder were ever identified, and there are conflicting accounts of the discovery of the body and subsequent events.
Coniston massacre
During the trial Murray was billeted with the Northern Territory police. Although Murray officially admitted to only 17 deaths, Constable Victor Hall said he was shocked with Murray's "freely expressed opinions of what was good enough for a blackfellow", and claimed he bragged to fellow officers that he had killed "closer to 70 than 17".