5 murders, 4 decades in jail & Crabbe’s next bid for freedom

Douglas John Edward Crabbe (born 1947) killed 5 people when he drove a 25 tonne Mack truck into a crowded pub near Uluru. More than four decades later, another potential parole decision rests with Western Australia.

The latest publicly documented timetable places Crabbe’s next parole eligibility in late 2026, following the rejection of his previous bid in July 2025.

Crabbe’s case has already passed through successive WA attorneys general, a prison resocialisation program and repeated recommendations about whether he should be released.

For those who survived his attack, each reconsideration brings the consequences of that night back into focus.

The attack that killed 5 people

In August 1983, after being ejected from the Inland Motel’s bar near Uluru for intoxication, Crabbe, then aged 36, walked behind the bar and confronted bar staff before being involved in a fight and being ejected from the premises at 12:30am.

He then walked approximately 500 metres to his parked Mack truck, and drove it to the nearby Uluru Motel, where he unhitched one of two attached trailers. According to witness Martin Fisher:

"Crabbe then maneuvered the 25 ton semi and trailer, at speed, around a blind bend, through a car park, around a minibus, turned and drove it through the Besser brick wall into the crowded bar, crushing the people there. Leaving the engine running, he then got out of the truck, smiled down at one of his victims, stepped over some bodies and ran. This was at 1.10am. It had been 40 minutes between being thrown out and driving the truck into the bar. He was captured the next morning walking out of the bush 22 kilometres away."

It was estimated that fewer than 50 people were in the bar at the time of the crash. Witnesses likened the impact of the truck hitting the motel to that of a bomb exploding. The truck had penetrated the building to the length of one trailer and remained in place after impact, as it was the only thing holding up the building's roof. After the crash the dining room adjacent to the bar became an emergency clinic for the injured. 4 people were killed instantly and a 5th person died in a hospital after surgeons worked for five and a half hours attempting to save her life.

Crabbe's capture occurred at a construction site after a search by police and Aboriginal trackers. Crabbe offered no reason for his actions. At trial he pleaded memory loss from his removal of the second trailer. The judge sentenced him to the mandatory term of life imprisonment on each count of murder. Crabbe later appealed to the Federal Court of Australia, which resulted in a retrial. Crabbe pleaded not guilty at his second trial which concluded on 7 October 1985. The second jury convicted him on all 5 counts of murder, who was again sentenced to 5 consecutive terms of life imprisonment.

The 5 people who died were:

• •David Seng (24)
• •Adrian Durnin (21)
• •Helen Fuller (22)
• •Patricia Slinn (45)
• •Leslie McKay-Ramsay (35)

16 others suffered serious injuries.

How his future became a WA decision

In early 2005, Crabbe was moved to a prison in Perth, Western Australia after strong pleas from his family, including his sister, Flo. A parliamentary answer in May 2024 confirmed that then attorney general, Jim McGinty, approved the transfer.

The same answer confirmed that former attorney general, Michael Mischin, twice declined recommendations to parole Crabbe. Crabbe first became eligible for parole in 2013.

The program that brought release closer

In February 2023, then attorney general, John Quigley, approved Crabbe’s participation in a resocialisation program following a board recommendation. Quigley said the program would operate in a minimum security prison setting and give Crabbe an opportunity to demonstrate whether he could reintegrate into society. He acknowledged the devastating impact of the murders and said victims’ views had weighed heavily in his decision. He also stressed that completing such a program did not guarantee parole.

By May 2024, a parliamentary question referred to Crabbe completing the program and receiving another recommendation for release. The government’s response said community safety was the board’s paramount consideration and that victims’ submissions had to be incorporated into reports provided to the attorney general.

The last confirmed refusal

Crabbe’s latest publicly documented parole refusal came in July 2025. Tony Buti, the current attorney general, told ABC he had decided against release after considering the seriousness of the murders, the injuries caused and the views of surviving victims and others affected.

The board told the ABC that Crabbe would again be eligible in late 2026. That remains the latest verified public timetable identified in this review.

A survivor’s opposition has not faded

Survivor Bernadette Schiller publicly renewed her opposition to Crabbe’s release in an account published by SBS on 16 September 2026. She described the lasting consequences for survivors and the families of those killed, arguing that the passage of time could not undo their losses.

“Mass murder is permanent,” she wrote.

Schiller said her opposition concerned community protection, the gravity of the killings and the people who could no longer speak for themselves.

What remains unknown

The unresolved issue is whether the anticipated late 2026 consideration has been scheduled, completed or changed.

Public access to that information is limited. The Prisoners Review Board says prisoner specific information (including hearing dates and decisions) requires specific approval from its chairperson before disclosure. It also states that it is exempt from WA’s Freedom of Information Act.