Petition pushes for Coronial Inquest over outback murder
Palmerville Station Murder
The outback murder of Bruce Schuler, who disappeared in 2012 while gold prospecting on Palmerville Station, Far North Queensland, has been thrust back into the spotlight with a push for an inquest into the case and conviction of Diane Wilson-Struber central to a new podcast which claims to reveal dozens of discrepancies in the case.
While his body has never been found and there has not been a murder weapon located, Diane Wilson-Struber and Stephen Struber were convicted on murder charges and have spent more than a decade behind bars.
Backed by the findings of an independent investigation by retired detective Graeme Crowley, who presents details of more than 140 discrepancies in the case which landed Wilson-Struber a life sentence for the presumed murder, her family is fighting for an inquest to review all the evidence.
It includes the alarming admission by Queensland Police that they miscalculated details related to tyre tracks matching the Struber vehicle to those of interest in the police investigation.
Crowley’s work investigating the matter raises major concerns with the case, including conflicting witness accounts, critical evidence the jury did not hear and a lack of forensic evidence implicating the Strubers.
Dianne’s family have successfully applied for a Queensland parliamentary petition to open a coronial inquest into the disappearance of Bruce Schuler, and subsequent conviction of the Palmerville leaseholders. The petition has garnered more than 3430 signatures from Queenslanders who have reviewed the case and believe serious questions remain unanswered.
The family is seeking further signatures to demonstrate that there is strong public interest in this case; and to hold our justice system accountable in the search for truth.
This case is the focus of a podcast and new book by former Queensland detective Crowley, who challenges the integrity of the investigation and the resulting verdict.
Mr Schuler disappeared while gold detecting with three other men on remote Palmerville Station in Far North Queensland in July 2012. Despite no body, no eyewitnesses to a shooting, no forensic evidence linking the accused to the crime, and no admissions, the couple were convicted of his murder in 2015 and sentenced to life in prison.
Crowley’s investigation - outlined in his podcast Where is Bruce Schuler? and newly released book Fool’s Gold? The Bruce Schuler Murder - identifies more than 140 discrepancies in the investigation, trial, and accounts of key prosecution witnesses; inconsistencies Crowley says raise serious doubts about the reliability of the case and fairness of the trial.
Crowley has said: "I am sufficiently disturbed by so many aspects of this case including but not limited to the hasty and inadequate police investigation, the amount of evidence the jury did not hear, the ever-changing story line of the three main witnesses I believe this case should return to the Court of Appeal urgently to address those very questions."
In 2018, the Northern Coroner declined to hold an inquest, instead issuing non-inquest findings that Mr Schuler was “likely” killed with a shotgun, a firearm never linked to the Strubers nor one of the missing firearms proposed as a murder weapon by the prosecution.
During a Queensland Court of Appeal hearing in 2016, one of the three judges dissented, recommending acquittal and retrial. Stephen Struber then sought leave to appeal to the High Court of Australia; however, his application was rejected.
A spokesperson for the petition said, "If a conviction like this - based on no body, no murder weapon, and deeply contested evidence - can happen, it raises urgent questions about safeguards in our justice system.
This isn’t just about one couple. It’s about public confidence in the fairness of our justice system."
Dianne Wilson-Struber grew up on Palmerville Station with her parents and seven siblings. She was a fair and dedicated cattle grazier, capable of a full day of hard work on the land. After marrying, she and her husband bought the Palmerville lease from her mother and built a happy life together in a remote but beautiful part of Far North Queensland.
Dianne was quiet, reserved, and not traditionally feminine – traits that were deeply misunderstood and unfairly used against her when she was accused of murder.
For decades before Bruce Schuler’s disappearance, tensions had been building, with many people trespassing on their land to fossick illegally, or for other unauthorised purposes. Rural areas across FNQ have long been troubled by large-scale cannabis cultivation and other criminal activity.
The two men who placed Dianne and Stephen near the scene were known trespassers with prior drug convictions. They were on Palmerville Station that day and were the last to see Bruce Schuler before his disappearance. Their statements were inconsistent and changed over time. During the investigation, they withheld evidence and lied to police about prior trespassing and other key details.
A Coronial Inquest is essential to formally test the evidence, revisit unanswered questions in the investigation, and consider material the original jury never heard. It could play a critical role in supporting Dianne Wilson-Struber and Stephen Struber’s appeal, scheduled for hearing this November at the Queensland Court of Appeal.
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