Coniston massacre
On 15 August, dingo trapper Bruce Chapman arrived at Coniston and Murray sent Chapman, Paddy and Alex Wilson and three aboriginal trackers to the soak to find out what happened. The three buried Brooks on the bank of the soak. In the afternoon two Warlpiri, Padygar and Woolingar arrived at Coniston to trade dingo scalps. Believing them to be involved with the murder Paddy arrested them but Woolingar slipped his chains and attempted to escape. Murray fired at Woolingar and he fell with a bullet wound to the head. Stafford then kicked him in the chest breaking a rib. Woolingaar was then chained to a tree for the next 18 hours. The next morning the posse, with Padygar and Woolingar following on foot in chains, set out for the Lander River where they found a camp of 23 Warlpiri at Ngundaru. With the posse encircling the camp, Murray rode in and was surrounded by Aboriginal people yelling, Brisco started shooting with Saxby and Murray joining in. Three men and a woman, Bullfrog's wife Marungali, were killed on the encounter, with another woman dying from her wounds an hour later. A subsequent search of the camp turned up articles belonging to Brooks. Stafford was furious with Murray over the shooting and the next morning returned to Coniston alone.
Coniston massacre
According to evidence in a later inquiry, on 4 August, Charlton Young and a companion who were exploring the area for a mining company, stopped by and warned Brooks that the Aboriginal people had been getting "cheeky" lately by visiting the mining camps heavily armed, demanding food and tobacco. About the same time several Aboriginal children were being taken away to Alice Springs. According to one version, Brooks had been approached several times to trade but had so far refused, until 6 August. The Aboriginal tradition, related to Peter and Jay Read by Alec Jupurrula and Jack Japaljarri, holds that a Warlpiri, Japanunga Bullfrog and his wife were approached by Brooks who asked Japanunga if he could take his wife, Marungardi, to do Brooks' washing in exchange for food and tobacco. Marugardi performed her chores but, either returned to Japanunga's camp without the promised supplies or did not return, so at dawn the next day, Japanunga killed Brooks. A third account is more detailed, stating that Japanunga became enraged when he found his wife in bed with Brooks and attacked him, severing an artery in his throat with his boomerang. This account claims that Bullfrog, his uncle Padirrka, and Marungardi then beat Brooks to death, and that Aboriginal elders, in fear for the foreseeable consequences, then banished Bullfrog and Padirrka and ordered Brooks' two boys to return to the homestead and say that he had died of natural causes.