February 26, 2010. Broome, Australia. After spending the night out drinking with friends, 21-year old Josh Warneke starts to walk home, but he is soon found dead by the side of the road with a fatal head injury. Two-and-a-half years later, a young Aboriginal man named Gene Gibson is charged with Josh’s murder after confessing that he bludgeoned him to death with a metal pole, but since his confession is thrown out before trial, Gene winds up pleading guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter and is sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison. However, since the police used a number of questionable tactics, the Western Australia Court of Appeal quashes Gene’s conviction in 2017 and he is released from prison, but there are no conclusive answers about who was responsible for Josh’s death. On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we travel down under to Australia to explore one of their most controversial cases in recent memory. Special thanks to listener Kristy Ward for narrating the opening of this episode.

Additional Reading:

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/latest-news/man-charged-over-josh-warneke-murder-in-wa/news-story/dc8a3f18b1a52a5bee11377b7cdaad82

https://ausit.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/CCC-Report-on-Operation-AvieMore.pdf

https://www.watoday.com.au/national/western-australia/josh-warneke-murder-charge-dropped-after-police-bungle-20140709-zt195.html

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/apr/12/gene-gibson-indigenous-man-jailed-over-josh-warnekes-death-has-conviction-overturned

https://www.perthnow.com.au/wa/josh-warneke-murder-wrong-man-claims-in-botched-broome-probe-ng-768a62bb2b7fae75f05716b616861c0f

https://www.perthnow.com.au/wa/john-warneke-case-gene-gibson-awarded-15m-over-wrongful-josh-warneke-conviction-ng-b88810298z

https://www.smh.com.au/national/western-australia/review-uncovers-crucial-error-in-josh-warneke-case-20200220-p542vt.html

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-09-29/josh-warneke-inquest-broome-tradie-death-explainer-wrap/104374868

https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/they-never-met-but-their-lives-are-now-intertwined-aboriginal-man-cleared-of-killing/rgzxutodr

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-09-30/warneke-inquest-end-aboriginal-interpreters-want-more-engagement/104409326

https://www.9news.com.au/national/josh-warneke-inquest-hearings-begin-in-broome-almost-15-years-after-wa-tradies-death/c8aa9ee0-ea02-4827-9567-d0f94ef744b7

https://thewest.com.au/news/regional/josh-warneke-inquest-broome-ambulance-officer-says-injuries-scene-not-consistent-with-hit-and-run-c-16080660

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-09-19/highly-unlikely-josh-warneke-hit-by-car-coronial-inquest-told/104367098

https://www.smh.com.au/national/coroner-s-initial-findings-at-josh-warneke-inquest-20240927-p5ke5m.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEQx80Typfs

“The Trail Went Cold” will be appearing at AdvocacyCon, which is taking place at the Albuquerque Convention Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico on September 11-13, 2026. To get a 10 % discount on tickets, please use our specialized promo code, “TRAILCOLD10”, by visiting https://www.advocacycon.com/.

“The Trail Went Cold” is on Patreon. Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content.

The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.

All music is composed by Vince Nitro.