GUILTY Australia - George Gerbic, 66, found dismembered, Gympie, QLD, 19 Sept 2013

[catswhiskers]

Dismemberment confirmed by police :/

Detective Acting Superintendent Darrin Shadlow said further forensic testing had been conducted on the man’s body.

“Following these tests, I can now confirm the head was removed from the body,” he said.

“In addition, the man also had several other parts of his body severed.”

Police divers searched creeks surrounding Cedar Pocket Road yesterday as part of Operation Lima Sea.

http://mypolice.qld.gov.au/gympie/2013/09/23/update-3-operation-lima-sea-cedar-pocket-2/

 

[Strangeworld]

http://www.news.com.au/national-new...ound-near-gympie/story-fnii5v6w-1226725779882

Police divers search for clues after charred torso found near Gympie

The torso was also missing its arms below the elbows. The lower part of the man's body, beneath his rib cage, was also missing, police said.

Detective acting Superintendent Darrin Shadlow says identifying the man will come down to painstaking police work and forensic tests.

"We're basically searching through every missing person report of a Caucasian male in Queensland, and interstate as well," Det Shadlow said.


He said the crime was the most gruesome he'd encountered in his policing career.

 

[catswhiskers]

POLICE say there is nothing to suggest a sure link between outlaw motorcycle clubs and the discovery of a burnt torso at Cedar Pocket.

Regional police crime chief, Detective Acting Superintendent Darrin Shadlow, said police were considering several possibilities to explain why and how the gruesome murder took place.

He said while one of those possibilities could be related to OMCs, it certainly wasn't the police's only consideration.

"There is nothing to say it is OMC-related," Det Supt Shadlow said yesterday.

In explaining the wide scope of police investigations, Det A/Supt Shadlow said another possibility could surround domestic violence.

"We look at every single available option," he said.

http://www.gympietimes.com.au/news/no-police-link-to-bike-gangs-and-burnt-torso/2032448/

I'm a bit out of the loop as far as the local grapevine goes, but as you could imagine there are all sorts of rumours floating around - most OMC related it seems.

 

[catswhiskers]

GYMPIE police last night set up roadblocks and checked all vehicles travelling on Cedar Pocket Rd, near the scene of last week's mutilation murder.

Detective Inspector Bruce McNab said police pulled up every vehicle using the road between 5pm and 7pm.

The stop and interview procedure was carried out exactly one week after the discovery by a passing motorist of a headless and dismembered body dumped beside the road.
Det Insp McNab said he could not comment on rumours that a woman had been seen at the scene shortly after the estimated time the corpse was dumped, nor on another report of police searching drains under Gympie and finding unidentified items.

http://www.gympietimes.com.au/news/motorists-questioned-about-headless-burnt-body/2033264/

 

[Strangeworld]

I'm really surprised they don't have an identity of the victim yet. Is it someone that has not been reported missing? I guess comparing DNA to missing persons would also take time, but still. It's been a while.

I'm still keeping an eye on any updates on this man below. But again, I think wouldn't they have checked his DNA already to rule him out, given he disappeared around the same time this murder happened.

IMO, this crime does seem to be of the organised variety.

http://mypolice.qld.gov.au/blog/2013/09/20/missing-person-gowrie-junction-toowoomba/

This man has been missing from Toowoomba since yesterday morning. I wonder if it is related.

33-year-old David Wilkinson who has been missing since yesterday morning. Mr Wilkinson was last seen around 6:30 yesterday on Gowrie-Lillyvale Road in Gowrie Junction.

 

[catswhiskers]

I'm really surprised they don't have an identity of the victim yet. Is it someone that has not been reported missing? I guess comparing DNA to missing persons would also take time, but still. It's been a while.

I'm still keeping an eye on any updates on this man below. But again, I think wouldn't they have checked his DNA already to rule him out, given he disappeared around the same time this murder happened.

IMO, this crime does seem to be of the organised variety.

BBM - I think so too - drugs, gangs or something similiar. I'm thinking that the victim might not have been a local either - if someone from the general area was missing I would have thought a connection would have been made pretty quickly. Mind you, I guess police could be keeping that information to themselves anyway - hopefully they know a lot more than has been reported so far.
There seems to be so many people who go missing and leave their families wondering. I subscribe to a missing persons organisation on facebook, and there are multiple posts daily about people of all ages who seem "lost" to their families, from all over Australia. It will be interesting to see if your suspicions are correct - mind you Toowoomba is not exactly close to the Gympie area. It's about a three hour drive from here.

 

[Humdinger]

This is just so gruesome! I wonder where his other body parts are?

It makes me think that they've dumped a less easy to identify part so that the message is loud and clear to those 'in the know' that he's dead, but disposed of the parts that would identify him so that they'd be less likely to get caught? It feels like drugs or OMC to me too...

 

[Strangeworld]

This is just so gruesome! I wonder where his other body parts are?

It makes me think that they've dumped a less easy to identify part so that the message is loud and clear to those 'in the know' that he's dead, but disposed of the parts that would identify him so that they'd be less likely to get caught? It feels like drugs or OMC to me too...

Totally agree, Humdinger. Fingerprints, tattoos, dental? Just awful.

I really hope the investigation doesn't stall. This man, whoever he is, does deserve to be identified. And most people have at least someone that cares for them, and I hope they get answers too.

 

[Strangeworld]

BBM - I think so too - drugs, gangs or something similiar. I'm thinking that the victim might not have been a local either - if someone from the general area was missing I would have thought a connection would have been made pretty quickly. Mind you, I guess police could be keeping that information to themselves anyway - hopefully they know a lot more than has been reported so far.
There seems to be so many people who go missing and leave their families wondering. I subscribe to a missing persons organisation on facebook, and there are multiple posts daily about people of all ages who seem "lost" to their families, from all over Australia. It will be interesting to see if your suspicions are correct - mind you Toowoomba is not exactly close to the Gympie area. It's about a three hour drive from here.

You're probably right, catswhiskers (love your username!). There has to be a reason why he doesn't have an identity yet. Unbelievable how many people are missing. Heartbreaking for those who are left behind. I've always believed a missing loved one is worse than the death of a loved one. At least the healing process can start when their fate is known.

 

[Strangeworld]

http://mypolice.qld.gov.au/blog/2013/09/20/missing-person-gowrie-junction-toowoomba/

This man has been missing from Toowoomba since yesterday morning. I wonder if it is related.

33-year-old David Wilkinson who has been missing since yesterday morning. Mr Wilkinson was last seen around 6:30 yesterday on Gowrie-Lillyvale Road in Gowrie Junction.

Can discount this missing person from the case. Police have advised tonight that his body has been found in non-suspicious circumstances. So sad for his family

http://mypolice.qld.gov.au/blog/2013/09/29/update-missing-person-gowrie-junction-toowoomba/


The body of a man, who was reported missing from Gowrie Junction on September 19, was located in non-suspicious circumstances on Friday.

The Queensland Police Service would like to thank the public and media for their assistance.

 

[SouthAussie]

At almost a 6-hour drive away (according to Google), I guess Cedar Pocket is too far away from Rockhampton for the body to be missing person Robert Martinez?

 

[FigTree]

This is just horrible

I cant even find an estimate age of this guy - or am I just not seeing it?

Why dismember this person of forearms and hands, head and below the rib cage if they burnt the body as well.
Did they need to dismember him to fit him into a smaller transport space? Maybe it wasn't a car he was transported to the location in.
Maybe he had some other skin condition which was recognizable they couldn't wipe out completely - maybe a birthmark or something.

I hope they identify this person - and I hope they catch who did this.

Horrible!!

.

 

[Humdinger]

http://m.couriermail.com.au/news/qu...rched-torso-case/story-fnihsrf2-1226732794604

A bit more info here, aged in 20's or up.

 

[fruity]

Yikes. How gruesome.

Off topic, but still SEQ, did they ever find the body of the lady who went missing from Warwick? From memory they charged her partner with murder without finding her body.

 

[Strangeworld]

Yikes. How gruesome.

Off topic, but still SEQ, did they ever find the body of the lady who went missing from Warwick? From memory they charged her partner with murder without finding her body.

This one fruity? Her name was Gail Lynch. I don't believe they've found her body. Really strange how they found her partner (accused of murdering her) living in a toilet block.

http://www.warwickdailynews.com.au/news/heartache-as-gail-lynch-is-still-missing/1930157/

IT HAS been 12 months of heartache, grief and pain for family and friends of Gail Lynch.

It was on this day, one year ago, that the beloved Warwick grandmother, aunt, sister and friend went missing, assumed murdered.

Fifty-two weeks after her disappearance, there are still no answers.
Police began to make inquiries, which led to the questioning of Ms Lynch's partner, Ian Hannaford.

His Ford Falcon, believed to have been seen in Warwick on the evening of Ms Lynch's disappearance, was seized and his Toowoomba home scoured from top to bottom.

Then Hannaford went missing, later to be found hiding out in a toilet block at Picnic Point, Toowoomba.

From there the then 55-year-old was taken into police custody and charged with the murder of Ms Lynch.

 

[fruity]

Yes, that's her. Thanks Strangeworld. Her poor family

 

[catswhiskers]

A link to the QPS update page with another pic of the towel. Hopefully the right person will see and recognise it - someone would probably recognise a beach towel that they had washed and hung out in the past:

Police investigating the discovery of a man’s body at Cedar Pocket have released an image of a towel that was found with the remains.

Police are appealing for anyone who recognises the towel to contact Crime Stoppers.

The body was found last month. The head was removed from the body, along with several other body parts.

Police have been unable to identify the remains and are appealing for public assistance to help establish the identity.

Any person who has concerns for a friend or family member who is a male aged 20-years or older should contact Crime Stoppers.

http://mypolice.qld.gov.au/blog/2013/10/04/update-5-operation-lima-sea-cedar-pocket-3/

 

[marlywings]

October 25, 2013

POLICE are searching for a car seen driving on Cedar Pocket Road as they desperately appeal for help to identify a headless corpse found near Gympie last month.

"We believe a late model compact car, possibly a hatchback in a gold or orange colour range, was parked in the area around the time where the torso of the man was located. We are urging the person connected with this vehicle to come forward to police," he said.

"It is thought this person and car are connected in some way to the discovery of the body."

He said the man had not been identified yet

http://www.news.com.au/national/que...ound-near-gympie/story-fnii5v6w-1226746800625

 

[Humdinger]

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/...-fire-by-a-woman/story-fnihsrf2-1226772188534

The suspect is a woman and there's a lot of new info in this report!

 

[catswhiskers]

Wow ... thanks for that link Humdinger. You're right - what a lot of info the police have released about all aspects of the crime in that one article. Surely now someone will put 2 and 2 together and realise that they may know the victim - I wonder if they send notifications to all practising doctors in these cases?


“The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge.”
Stephen Hawking