Welcome back to Bad Things in History, where this week we bring you a topic
suggested by a viewer. Thanks, viewer! We all know some people who are just unpleasant
to be around. They behave aggressively, say inappropriate things, and generally make everyone
around them uncomfortable. Maybe they meow at you while you re trying to record a history video.
What happens when a person like this is accused of committing murder?
In a perfect world you would need overwhelming evidence to punish someone for such a crime.
But sometimes people let their feelings become more important than facts.
Today we re going to tell you the story of Colin Campbell Ross, a petty criminal who found himself
falsely accused of murder. The Rabbit Plague
Australia is a difficult environment. There are temperature extremes, poisonous plants,
and venomous animals. Much of the continent is a barren desert.
Despite these hazards Europeans were eager to bring their way of life to this barren land.
Settlers arrived throughout the 19th century hoping to build lives for themselves.
They also wanted to build wealth. But the residents of rural Australia soon found
that nature had other plans.
Starting in the 1890s drought began spreading through formerly productive areas. This affected
the ability to grow crops. For plants that did grow, pests quickly consumed them.
When settlers arrived from Europe, they tried to ensure that food would always be available.
One of the strategies for accomplishing this involved letting European animals
invade the Australian continent. Among the most prolific of these were European rabbits.
Rabbits reproduce very quickly. A few years after being introduced they spread all over Australia.
For settlers that were experiencing crop failures the animals were a source of food. But the rabbits
were so destructive that their tasty nature couldn t offset the economic losses.
The European rodents found that Australia was the perfect environment to support them.
They didn t have any natural predators and, at least at first, there was plenty of food
for them. Their numbers grew to immense and unreasonable proportions.
By the late 1800s the situation evolved into a rabbit plague. Settlers who were trying to grow
food would one day see a horde of furry animals emerge from the countryside.
The creatures would then descend upon any edible plants they could find.
No matter how many rabbits settlers killed it was never enough.
Crops were destroyed and the rural farmers could do nothing about it.
The swarms of hungry rodents would set troubling events in motion.
Criminal Mind Colin Campbell Ross was born near Melbourne,
Australia on October 11th, 1892. His father Thomas had problems providing for the family.
The ongoing rabbit plague meant that farming was not possible.
Hoping to earn a living and support his family,
Thomas left in 1900. He traveled to Western Australia hoping to find work.
Thomas died during his search for prosperity. Colin had to grow up fast. His family was poor and
there was no time for education. At the age of eleven he began working in a nearby mine.
Over the next several years he worked as a general laborer doing whatever jobs he could find.
In 1920 Colin s mother became manager of a hotel. She allowed Colin to be
her partner. But he would soon demonstrate that self-control was not his strongest attribute.
He began a relationship with a woman named Lily May Brown.
Colin was infatuated with her. On March 5th, 1920, he asked her to marry him. Lily said no.
Colin did not accept rejection gracefully. Instead, he pulled a revolver and threatened
her for declining the offer of marriage. When Lily tried to leave, he followed her onto the train,
still brandishing the weapon. Colin continued waving the gun in a threatening manner.
He only agreed to go away if Lily would meet with him later that day to discuss her decision.
Lily told Colin she would meet him. When he left, she went straight to the police. Later
that day Lily arrived to meet Colin. When Colin approached her, the police arrested him.
He was able to avoid jail but had to pay a fine for carrying the firearm.
In 1921 Colin and his family purchased a shop and named it The Australian Wine Saloon . They hired
Ivy Matthews to help as a barmaid. Other tenants in the building would
soon regret the arrival of the Ross family. Colin didn t care who came in the door, he would
serve them. So, the new business became a favorite location for alcoholics and petty criminals.
Women who walked within sight of the saloon would receive lewd comments. And drunk patrons
vomited and urinated everywhere. On October 13th, 1921, Colin decided
to supplement his income. A young English traveler named Frank Walsh entered the saloon and
spent all his money. When there was nothing left to spend, Colin approached him with an
opportunity. Colin suggested that he could provide victims for Frank. Frank could then
rob them and split the money with Colin. Frank decided to try it. When a worthy customer
went to the outhouse Frank attempted to rob him. In the process he shot the man.
The robbery victim survived but Frank and Colin were both arrested.
While Colin was in prison, Ivy Matthews took control of the saloon. She also began taking
the profits. Eventually Colin was acquitted of the robbery charges, though Frank went to jail.
Colin returned to his saloon and fired Ivy Matthews. It was a decision that
would one day haunt him. The local authorities would not
forget Colin Campbell. He would enjoy their hospitality again very soon.
The Murder Alma was born on March 4th,
1909, in western Australia. Her life began at a remote mining settlement.
Her mother died when she was five years old. Her father died when she was twelve. Alma
spent most of her life with her grandmother. They didn t live far from Colin s saloon.
Alma s grandmother was strict. She didn t let the girl participate in any social activities.
Alma s uncle would later say of her: "Though of a bright disposition,
she was somewhat reserved, and did not make friends readily like some girls. She
lacked the vivacious manner that encourages chance acquaintance".
She was socially awkward but a bright and well-behaved young girl.
On December 30th, 1921, Alma s grandmother needed her to run an errand. She was supposed to go
to the butcher s shop, pick up some meat, then take it to another family member.
The chore should have taken about fifteen minutes. But Alma never came home that day. Her grandmother
knew something was wrong. She went to the police, who searched for Alma all through the night.
The next morning the child s lifeless body was found. Alma had been strangled to death
and then left on the side of the road. It wasn t far from Colin s saloon.
Crime And Punishment The police questioned everyone who saw Alma
in the hours before her death. Colin wanted to be helpful and explained that he had seen her outside
his saloon the previous afternoon. Other witnesses that saw her said a man was following her.
The authorities didn t have luck finding the culprit. In the meantime, the press became
fascinated with the story. Public outrage grew, and there was pressure on the government to find
somebody to punish for the murder. The police already knew about Colin
from the armed robbery trial. So, they started questioning him more forcefully.
He was able to provide witnesses that proved he was in the saloon working when Alma was murdered.
Witnesses who saw the man that followed Alma even told the police that it wasn t Colin.
Lack of evidence didn t change their minds. On January 12th, 1922,
Colin Campbell Ross was arrested for murder. Newspapers continued to cover the story.
Meanwhile Colin told everyone that he had nothing to worry about. He was innocent,
so it was only a matter of time until everyone saw the truth.
The murder trial began on February 20th, 1922.
Witnesses were provided as proof that Colin was guilty. A man with a previous conviction
for lying under oath told the court that Colin was the one who killed Alma.
A prostitute who worked near the saloon also claimed he was the murderer. A fortune teller
was brought in to also testify against him. Finally, Ivy Matthews was brought before the
court. She also claimed that Colin was a murderer.
Next the prosecution used forensic evidence. Strands of hair were taken from Alma before
she was buried. A detective took strands of hair from a pillow at Colin s house. Then a chemist
was brought in and allowed to testify that the strands of hair belonged to the same person.
Colin s lawyer, Thomas Brennan, challenged the questionable witnesses.
He also pointed out that the forensic expert wasn t really an expert. The judge didn t care.
The jury deliberated and found Colin guilty of Alma s murder. He was sentenced to death.
The Gruesome End Colin Campbell Ross was
scheduled to be hanged on April 24th, 1922.
As he was brought onto the scaffold, he was allowed to make his final statement:
I am now face to face with my Maker, and I swear by Almighty God that I am an innocent man. I never
saw the child. I never committed the crime, and I don't know who did. I never confessed to anyone.
I ask God to forgive those who have sworn my life away, and I pray God to have mercy
on my poor darling mother, and my family. Death would not arrive quickly. Those in charge of
the execution decided to use a different kind of rope than they usually used for hangings. So, when
the trapdoor was released and the noose tightened around Colin s neck, it didn t kill him instantly.
His spinal cord was fractured, and his windpipe was torn. For several agonizing minutes Colin
slowly strangled and gasped for air. Thomas Brennan was never able to forgive
himself for failing to save Colin. He tried for years to prove the man s innocence, but
the Australian government wasn t interested. Alma s family also didn t believe that Colin was
the murderer. They advocated for his innocence as well, though nobody was listening.
In 1993 a schoolteacher became interested in the case. He found that the samples of hair
used as forensic evidence were still available. In 1998 the hair samples were tested for DNA.
The results proved that the hair samples came from two different people.
Science had finally proven that the Australian government
executed an innocent man. On May 7th, 2008, Colin Campbell
Ross was granted a pardon. ------------------------
Colin was born into extreme poverty. He was a criminal. But did he deserve to die?
And how much did poverty contribute to his poor behavior?
More importantly, can we blame the rabbits? What a shameful chapter in Australian history.
Were authorities willfully ignorant, or did they make an honest mistake?
Share your opinion in the comments below. If you would like for others to suffer as you have
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