A former prison officer charged with three 1978 Queensland outback murders has been denied bail in the Brisbane Supreme Court.

June 3, 2019

Three friends set out on an outback motorcycle adventure more than 40 years ago, but their murdered bodies were soon found in Queensland scrub.

The man accused of the trio’s murder, Bruce John Preston, 63, unsuccessfully sought bail in the Brisbane Supreme Court on Monday.

He will remain in custody until he fights allegations he murdered Karen Edwards, 23, Timothy Thomson, 31, and Gordon Twaddle, 21, near Mt Isa in October 1978.

Preston argued he was innocent, of good character, not a flight risk and it was an historical, circumstantial case.

However, crown prosecutor Danny Boyle said Preston was not only a flight risk but could potentially take his own life to avoid a prison sentence.

Mr Boyle said a covert 2019 recording of Preston on the phone to his wife after the police investigation recommenced had raised concerns about his safety if released.

“I’ve never been this scared,” Preston said on the recording, Mr Boyle told the court.

“I am not going to prison. I’d rather walk out into the street and blow my head off before I go to jail.”

Preston, who was a senior prison officer at NSW’s Goulburn Supermax prison before he retired, was later recorded telling his son, Wade, that he may soon be the owner of a 4WD, boat and motorbike.

“Dad, don’t talk like that please,” his son said on the recording, the court heard.

But Preston’s lawyer Russell Pearce said the Crown was “nitpicking’ from the recordings.

The lawyer read out an affidavit from Preston that said the Crown would also have heard him declare his innocence on any covert recording.

“(If) my conversations were the subject of covert recordings, such recordings will also confirm I have persistently and consistently asserted my innocence,” the affidavit said.

Ms Edwards, Mr Thomson and Mr Twaddle planned to ride from Alice Springs to Melbourne via Cairns.

They were last seen on October 5 at the Moondarra Caravan Park in Mt Isa.

Their bodies were found 19 days later in bushland near Spear Creek, 12 km north of the outback mining town.

All three died from gunshot wounds.

The court heard a man fitting Preston’s description and riding a motorcycle similar to his was spotted with the travellers in both Alice Springs and Mt Isa.

He was also found in possession of Mr Edwards’ distinctive BMW 750 motorcycle, which had a sidecar.

Judge Elizabeth Wilson refused Preston’s bail application.