Family seek answer to murder mystery

The pain which drove Ingrid Bishop from Broome after the murder of her son, Josh Warneke, almost 12 months ago was still very real as she returned to the Kimberley with the hope of finding her son’s killer last week.

One year after the murder which shocked the town, Ms Bishop has called on the Broome community to come forward with any information about Mr Warneke’s murder.

“How is a family supposed to move forward when the murderer still moves within the community, interacting like nothing has happened when the life of one so precious has been so brutally taken,” she said.

“Josh is a son, brother, nephew, grandson, best friend, work colleague, boyfriend and mate and losing him has brought us to our knees.”

Ms Bishop said the family took no pleasure in going public with their pleas for assistance, but they could not move on with their lives until those responsible were caught.

Just before 3am on February 26, 2010, a taxi driver found Mr Warneke lying dead, with head injuries, on the Old Broome Road.

After meticulously retracing his footsteps, police have narrowed down the time of his death to a three-minute window of opportunity.

Mr Warneke, 21, had been captured on CCTV half an hour earlier before his body was found, after being refused service at the McDonald’s drive-through down the road.

He then set off for home on foot, stripping off his shirt as he walked in the smothering wet season heat.

Earlier in the night, Mr Warneke had been drinking with friends at the Oasis Bar and Bungalow nightclub, leaving with three people about 2am.

Last week, major crime detectives returned to Broome and set up a caravan outside the nightspots to jog people’s memories. Flyers appealing for information were also dropped into more than 4000 post boxes in town.

Ms Bishop said the Broome community needed to question itself after a spate of violent crimes including Mr Warneke’s murder.

“We have people in our community comfortable to hide and protect a murderer,” she said.

“Our reputation for being a pristine, tourist attraction, quiet and peaceful will begin to rot … if we don’t make a stand for our families and our safety.”

Major Crime Squad detective Cameron Western last week reinforced that the investigation was not going to go away, saying his commitment to solving the case had not wavered.

“Our investigations indicate that there are people in the Broome community who are aware of what happened that night … but are staying very tight-lipped,” he said.

“We are going to need public help to solve this investigation.”

Anyone with information about Mr Warneke’s death should phone Broome police on 9194 0200 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.