October 5, 2025 • 24 mins
On what would have been Kane Moore’s 21st birthday, his family gathers at his memorial in Alice River, the place where his life ended under unexplained circumstances. This episode revisits that night, the investigation that followed, and the unanswered questions that continue to haunt a small North Queensland community. Through raw family testimony and detailed police timelines, we explore the mystery surrounding Kane’s death and why, three years on, someone out there still holds the truth.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Approche Production.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Caine Moore would have turned twenty one on September twenty two,
of twenty twenty five. It's the same day we released
this podcast. It would have been like any other twenty
first three young bloke from Townsville, some beer and mates,
playing music, and maybe an embarrassing speech or two from
mum and dad with some photos shown up on a screen.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (00:37):
We just had his birthday last Sunday, So we went
down to the park and I'm talking about I can't
kill that beyond there. It's nice having Carol Mighte Cake
down there, pleas favorite.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
It was nice. Yeah, for Sarah Jane Moore, Caine's mum,
this birthday is not a celebration, just like the other
three that have gone before. There's just pain and sorrow
and wanting to know what happened to their Cane.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
When he passed.
Speaker 4 (01:13):
I had to go straight into his room and just
laying on his bed and just smell his clothes and stuff.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
I just couldn't leave it, Just.
Speaker 4 (01:24):
Like I just kept thinking that I was going to
wake up from this bad dream soon.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
But yeah, each day I was wrong. Yeah, I'm not
going to wake up from this.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
It's real In a lot of these cases, it's a
mystery about what happens to the person, how did it happen.
That's even before you get to the why and the who.
But in Kine's case, it's pretty clear he was run
over at low speed or lying on the ground in
a park. He wasn't on the road. He was off
(01:58):
the beaten track where cars shouldn't be driving, although they
did in this particular park often. While we were there
looking at the scene back in September of last year,
three kids on four wheel motorbikes screamed through the park
and overjumps.
Speaker 5 (02:16):
Yeah, if you're walking, you're facing this way, right, and
so you fall, want to sleep or whatever. If he
was coming back from somewhere, his head would be facing yeah.
Speaker 6 (02:31):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (02:31):
And that's what makes me think it was there on
the way out, because otherwise I think it would have
been more damage coming from the head this way across
the body.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
So you think someone's driven this, Yeah, I.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
Think he's been hit on the way out.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
It's not hard to imagine how this happened. What's hard
for the family is to try to explain this tragic
accident and why someone didn't come forward, because surely somebody
knows something. Kane's Arti, Katie, was the first to actually
see him dead in the park after Cane's sister McKay
(03:05):
called because she was freaking out when she went to
the park the next morning and saw Cain lying there.
She beat the horn and Kane didn't move. Katie remembers
what happened in the morning after everyone left the park
and went back to Caine's house. Katie, Kane's Auntie, became
(03:29):
the official contact for police. In those early days in
a small suburb like Alice River, people start to talk,
rumors start to swell, and Caine's family shared those rumors
with police.
Speaker 3 (03:44):
They won't giving us much, hey, like literally, we won't
given us much at all.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
Oh, well, it was because we had.
Speaker 3 (03:50):
So many questions and they were very hesitant in how
they were answering things.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
But I remember it would have.
Speaker 3 (03:56):
Been maybe two two and a half weeks after we'd
lost Cain, and I remember going into the police station
one day and giving it.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
Him the theory that we all had.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
And I remember the police officer saying to me at
that point that he never said to me, yes, we
agree with you, Katie, but he.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
Said something in a way that made me.
Speaker 3 (04:17):
Feel like they were investigating it and we don't know
whether Cain has been there when he drove in, or
whether it's only there when he drove out, and then
it was put on the back of a truck and
brought out and checked again. But I'd have been interviewed
once and there was literally not one meeting or update
(04:39):
after that. And there was so many things that we
sent through to the police in the first maybe week
and a half, you know, so many little theories that
we sent through, and he would go and investigate it,
but never ever come back to us and said, oh,
like that was no good or that lead didn't pan.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
Out or anything. It was just it was literally like.
Speaker 3 (05:02):
We didn't need to know, and the investigation was ongoing,
and they they've never reported back to us or had
another meeting with us after that point.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
Was very vague.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
In these types of circumstances, you can absolutely empathize with
the family, but equally you can understand from the police
that they don't want to give too much away, especially
while they investigate. That's their job. And although the family
said the detectives on the scene acted with empathy, it
still hurts not knowing or understanding what the police process
(05:36):
in an investigation like this from our off the record conversations.
This accident actually shocked police in the area as well.
On the morning of Caine's death, they posted on the
QPS Facebook page. The comments on that post echoed the
town's sentiment.
Speaker 7 (05:56):
Police are investigating the sudden death of a man at
Alice River this morning, April twenty second. Jodi sad.
Speaker 2 (06:02):
All right, rip young man Robin.
Speaker 7 (06:06):
Please, if struggling, speak, even if your voice shakes.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
Ainger. Very sad.
Speaker 8 (06:15):
Condolences to family, friends and emergency services.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
I talked about the rumors that were swirling, and Katie
and the family ended up having an email chain going
with the police whenever they thought they had new information.
Speaker 3 (06:29):
Both emails and phone, mainly email, because when I emailed,
I would see see in you know, my brother in law,
my sister, my mom, everyone got seezed into email. So
it was a big trail always happening, so we could
all sort of keep an eye out, and we were
all very very upset and angry with you know, they
had I'm pretty sure I've got an email somewhere where
he says that he can't call him back in for
(06:50):
a second, you can't call any of the kids back
in for a second interview unless he's got some solid
lead to do that.
Speaker 1 (06:56):
And I could never understand.
Speaker 3 (06:59):
Why that was, because we got a lot of like
little messages from people saying so one today was mouth
and off. I know exactly what happened to Kane. So
I've got all information I put into an email to
the place. Then he would, you know, take a lot
two weeks to get back to us to let us
know the outcome of that. But even then the outcome
was like, oh, that Lee was no good.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
So I would I don't know.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
I guess that we were given a family liaison officer,
and I don't know what they call them that, because
they were definitely not a family liaison officer. The only
time they ever liais with us is where they hadn't
came here to this house for a big meeting with
the whole family.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
And literally that was it. That was it, Katie.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
Did they ever confiscate any of Caine's belongings or your belongings.
Speaker 3 (07:41):
No, we went in there and did our statements, and
they took our phone and downloaded everything off our phone.
I guess to make sure that when I said, I
was at the park at this time.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
I was.
Speaker 3 (07:50):
I'm pretty confident that's what that was for. But my
phone was given back to me straight away and there
was no issues.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
So and from your understanding, was there ever a toxicology
report or an autopsier report that you've seen?
Speaker 3 (08:03):
Yeah, I believe so, But I don't know the families
received a copy of that back yet. As far as
I know that they were asking for one, I don't
know if that's been sent back to us yet.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
Do you know if they had like time stamps on
the CCTV so they could see what time people were leaving.
Speaker 1 (08:19):
Yeah, that's all been done with.
Speaker 3 (08:20):
They printed all the photos off and brought that back
to the house a couple of days after to show
Caitlin to get her to identify the cars of the photos.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
My mum was present with her at that stage.
Speaker 3 (08:30):
I fear like that was the day that I was
in doing my statement, and Mum even said that the
photos of a little cars that went through were so blurry.
There was a lot of traffic that went up and
down that road that night, which I think hited a
big the investigation. That way of trying to identify all
the cars and you know, there was even a stolen
car out here that night apparently that tried to break
(08:51):
into the shop for a little bit there, or a
suspect as well too when they were trying to track
all that down. But I'm pretty sure that all got did,
it got cleared.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
So did they tell you any of the vehicles that
were there, you know, had they left at a particular time.
Speaker 3 (09:05):
Know, was just literally all the photos and Caitlin had
to go through and say, oh, that's such and such
a car, that's such and such as car. Some of
them she couldn't even identify because they were going so
fast down the road.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
And he said to us before that they did conduct
some forensic examination in the vehicles. Do you know if
they actually swabbed the vehicles or was it just checking
tires nothing.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
All we know is the vehicles got given back.
Speaker 3 (09:29):
And we found that information at ourselves, not from the police.
So with their vehicles were all given back to these people.
I find it really strange that my husband's vehicle didn't
get taken, consider it was found so close to where
Cain was. But they they allowed him to reverse the
car out and obviously.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
He hasn't done it, but I'm just saying, like it's just.
Speaker 3 (09:50):
Is it just because they you know, because it wasn't
investigated properly.
Speaker 1 (09:53):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (09:55):
There was nothing about damage on the vehicles.
Speaker 3 (09:57):
The only time they ever told us about a vehicle
going to the park was when they obviously didn't because
the kids were going down there every day and they
were literally sitting there. And as soon as they opened
up the crime scene, the kids literally went down there
and started to make a memorial. So it was like
they would sit down there for hours and hours and
hours and then you know, someone come and someone go.
(10:18):
And that happened for gosh, I'm going to say like
a solid week after he left.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
You know.
Speaker 3 (10:25):
So there was if you went to the park, there
was always somebody there paying their respects or just just
being there.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
That memorial is still there to this day. In the
days after it happened, flowers were laid, some of the
messages break your heart, fly high, Cane, love you forever
and always Emma. There's a plaque that says Cain Forever eighteen,
(10:54):
A couple of empty bourbon cans, a bottle, and some
empty vapes, a sort of tribute to the Cane that
everyone loved, and then there's loads of photos of Cane,
including one with the eski on the front cover of
this podcast and a teddy Bear in a bright orange jumpsuit.
(11:15):
And right in the middle of that memorial are flowers
and a message from Kine's.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
Mum to my son Kane.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
I'll love you forever.
Speaker 4 (11:27):
You will always be with me, Love Mum.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
We release this podcast on Cain's twenty first birthday, and
at about five pm that night, I wanted to call
around the family and check everyone was okay with the
release and how they're all doing. I called Kine's auntie
Katie first.
Speaker 6 (11:52):
Hello, We're actually just down at the park.
Speaker 3 (11:54):
It's his birthday today, so we've come down to pull
a few weeds and say happy birthday.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
And yeah, who's there with you?
Speaker 3 (12:03):
Caitlin's here, my husband's here, and Kat's partner Calvin's here.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
How does it.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
Feel when you're back at that part, Katie? Like, you know,
it's been three years and we've released the podcast today
on the same day that we're speaking again. How are
you feeling?
Speaker 6 (12:20):
Still very surreal? I think.
Speaker 3 (12:24):
You know today's been an okay day? Is his birthday?
Birthdays are always great and fun, you know, the day
where I try and be as happy as we can
even though we can't be with him. I think it's
more the day that he passed. I think that's the
day that we really struggle with the most. Well, that's
the day that I struggle with the most. Yeah, we're
driving down the road actually to come here just now,
(12:46):
and I said my husband, I said, it doesn't matter
how many times you drive down here, you know.
Speaker 6 (12:50):
It's still so surreal.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
The memorial is still there.
Speaker 6 (12:56):
Yeah it is. Yeah, it's all up.
Speaker 3 (12:58):
The original signs still up, and I've thought by now
I would have had to replace it because I got
that sign first actually, and we were going to use
it as a funeral, but when it arrived it was
so big we had to go back in and reorder
a smaller sign for the funeral. But we end up
deciding to put this one down at the park. So yeah,
(13:18):
it's in pretty good shape, I think. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:29):
We reached out to Queensland Police before airing this podcast
and posed a number of questions that we thought were
in the public interests and would be vital to understand
if there was any more that the family could do
for clarity. I'm going to read the questions out that
we sent. Each question references the current as findings from
the initial police investigations, So that's the first voice you'll hear.
(13:52):
It's read by an AI generated voice. We've changed some
of the wording to de identify some people.
Speaker 7 (13:59):
A driver reportedly seen driving around the park in a
small car during the likely period later participated in a
police walkthrough.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
Was any forensic testing conducted on the underside wheels or
tires of this vehicle? If so, what testing was performed
and what were the results. Were call charge records CCRs
or other mobile phone data examined to identify who was
driving this vehicle that evening and in the days following
Kane's death.
Speaker 7 (14:30):
A four wheel drive driver voluntarily contacted police present at
the gathering for approximately four minutes, reported seeing a person
he believed was sleeping on the ground in the area
later identified was this.
Speaker 2 (14:43):
Driver asked why they were in the park for less
than five minutes that evening. Did the police conduct forensic
testing of the vehicle's underside wheels or tires. If so,
what testing was performed and what did it find? Were
CCRs or other mobile phone records examined to identify who
(15:03):
was driving this vehicle that evening and in the days
following Kane's death? Were statements taken from the passenger in
the vehicle? Were CCRs, cell site records and ping data
checked for both the driver and the passenger for the
relevant time and subsequent days? Over what time frames did
(15:24):
the driver come forward after Kane's death, i e. The
interval between the incident and the voluntary contact with police?
Did police investigate whether the vehicle's wheels ties were changed
between the time of Kane's death and when the driver
came forward. Were the movements of non family associates of
the driver reviewed in the days surrounding Kane's death. Were
(15:48):
any bank or purchase records checked to determine whether new
or second hand tires were brought in and around that period?
Was the driver and all passengers ever considered a person
of interest? Now we fully understand that police can't answer
some of these questions. The reason for that is it's
no longer an active investigation. The coroner made a finding
(16:13):
of the cause of death and police did an initial
investigation into how and what that might have been. I
guess the family want to know, should it be an
ongoing investigation. Everyone says Caine was accidentally run over in
that park. That's not in dispute. Police have checked the
(16:33):
known cars in the park that night and no answers.
No one's come forward, and right now the time of publishing,
there are no further leads to help get some answers.
But the truth is that Cain is still dead and
someone ran over him, and that someone hasn't yet been identified.
(16:59):
On the fourth of September twenty twenty five, we received
this statement from Police Acting Chief Superintendent Chris Lawson. These
are his words, but not his voice.
Speaker 8 (17:10):
Following a thorough investigation, this matter was reported to the coroner.
The coroner's findings were finalized in November twenty twenty four.
The Queensland Police Service will not have any further involvement
except at the request of the coroner or if further
information comes to light.
Speaker 2 (17:27):
Katie has been worried about the release of this podcast
and it's kept her up at night. But it's not
why you think, Oh.
Speaker 3 (17:35):
Well, I suppose like my family has got our own
little belief on what we happened that night, And you know,
I guess in the back of my head, you know,
it's kind of like, well, what if you're wrong. You know,
what if we're completely wrong, and you know, we certainly
don't want to put any family through, you know, any
(17:56):
devastation that doesn't need to be, So we don't really
want to, as they say, point the finger at somebody.
Speaker 6 (18:02):
Because we just don't have that evidence.
Speaker 3 (18:04):
So, you know, we just got to quietly sit here
with our own little theory and there's not really much
more we can do at this stage.
Speaker 2 (18:12):
I guess what you are hoping is that someone hears
this podcast and if if something accidentally did happen, and
whoever that might have been, whether a stolen car or
someone that hasn't been questioned yet, or something that you
just don't know about, maybe just maybe this podcast will
help someone. Yeah, I think I know something. I think
(18:35):
I should come forward.
Speaker 3 (18:37):
I mean, my whole family believes that the night this happened,
that they knew they'd done it.
Speaker 6 (18:44):
I think on the night because.
Speaker 3 (18:46):
It does really explain the tracks that were left straight
after where Caine was found, and I think that they
left in a hurry, and I think they go to
bed every night knowing this information, and I just don't
think they've got the strength to do anything.
Speaker 6 (18:58):
I think they're scared and I would be too.
Speaker 2 (19:01):
And the bit we don't know is who that somebody is.
Speaker 6 (19:05):
Well, that's correct, No we don't. We don't.
Speaker 3 (19:07):
We don't have the evidence that we need to know
exactly who it is. But it was definitely somebody that
was at the park that night. You know, when you
think about it, it was whether it was a stolen
car or whether it was one of the kids at
the party, it was you know, it was somebody that
came to the park that night.
Speaker 2 (19:25):
Back at the park where Kane died. His auntie Katie's
there with her family making sure Kane's memorial is still
being looked after.
Speaker 6 (19:35):
Look, I've been.
Speaker 3 (19:36):
Talking a fair bit to him today as you do.
You know, I made a Facebook post this.
Speaker 6 (19:41):
Morning and you know, mentioned all the.
Speaker 3 (19:43):
Things that all the things that we miss about in
you know, just the you know, you're still in a mullet.
Do you still have a goofy laugh? You know, who
are you pissing off up there?
Speaker 6 (19:55):
Nute? You know whose car are your tinering at six
am in the morning and waking all the neighbors up?
Just all the questions that you want to ask and
you can't. So it's just it's a whole.
Speaker 3 (20:05):
Like the wonder what's he likes a man?
Speaker 6 (20:08):
Did he end up turning into?
Speaker 3 (20:11):
There's suposed to be real at eighteen, there's still got
a lot of growing up to do.
Speaker 4 (20:19):
It could be still solved, So that that was our
hope that we held on too. But then hearing that
the case had been passed down to Brisbane, I was
concerned about that because I thought that it should be
here in Townsville where Kane grew up, not down in
Brisbane where it's hard.
Speaker 1 (20:36):
For all of us to try and go to it.
Speaker 4 (20:39):
But just hearing that they think that there's no need
for an inquest was the end of it for me.
That was pretty much them saying that it's going nowhere.
They had no evidence to charge anyone, so that's all
they told us.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
It's all they told us.
Speaker 2 (21:00):
There are obviously complicated things in a police investigation. Family
wants to know every minute detail, anything that can help
them with closure, but there's also simple things that most
of us take for granted. When a loved one passes.
Speaker 4 (21:15):
Away, we wanted to know at least a date to
put on his funeral brochures, because he was found on
the twenty second by his sister, But we're pretty sure
that he passed on the twenty first the night before,
just after he wandered off around like the nine point
thirty ten o'clock. That's when they believe that he that
(21:36):
he was run over. But they still couldn't sort of
really give us an actual was it twenty first or
twenty second for the funeral, So yeah, we ended up
just putting the twenty second when he was found. It's
not when he died, though. I wanted to put the
right thing down from my son's brochure for the funeral,
(21:59):
not just a guessing game. I'm just glad I gave
him my hug and a kiss three time like I
always did. I'm just thankful I've got that big, beautiful
hug frough.
Speaker 2 (22:11):
I love you, mum.
Speaker 4 (22:12):
I'll still hear it in my head all the time.
And I've got videos that I watch all the time,
and I feel.
Speaker 1 (22:18):
Like he's alive when I watch them. So it's really good.
Speaker 4 (22:21):
Yeah, I'm lucky to have them, really lucky. Some mothers
don't have any videos of the kids that have passed,
and I do. I'm so thankful for that. Yeah, And
I really love watching I love playing them for everyone.
I love talking about him. I'll never stopped talking about him.
(22:42):
Our whole family, we always talk about him, and we
talk about him like he's listening.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
He's here. Just helps me get through.
Speaker 2 (22:54):
Next time on more to the story.
Speaker 1 (22:58):
I guess I just.
Speaker 4 (22:59):
Really was very, very excited about doing this podcast to
get Caine's story out there, to get people talking about
it more and more importantly, for him to be not forgotten.
He will never be forgotten. Someone out there knows something.
Somebody knows something. They need to come forward to.
Speaker 1 (23:22):
Do the right thing.
Speaker 3 (23:24):
You know, I know that you're probably struggling with what
you've done, because I know that I would be struggling
if I had done something like that. Just do the
right thing and just come forward. Let us all have closure.
Have you turned to tell your side of the story?
Speaker 6 (23:39):
Story stories, story stories.
Speaker 1 (23:43):
If he was here, I think that I do probably
tell him a little bit more that I love him.
I just would have liked a little bit more time
with him. I really think that he would have turned
out to be a really amazing young man and he
didn't deserve to die like this.
Approche Production.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Caine Moore would have turned twenty one on September twenty two,
of twenty twenty five. It's the same day we released
this podcast. It would have been like any other twenty
first three young bloke from Townsville, some beer and mates,
playing music, and maybe an embarrassing speech or two from
mum and dad with some photos shown up on a screen.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (00:37):
We just had his birthday last Sunday, So we went
down to the park and I'm talking about I can't
kill that beyond there. It's nice having Carol Mighte Cake
down there, pleas favorite.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
It was nice. Yeah, for Sarah Jane Moore, Caine's mum,
this birthday is not a celebration, just like the other
three that have gone before. There's just pain and sorrow
and wanting to know what happened to their Cane.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
When he passed.
Speaker 4 (01:13):
I had to go straight into his room and just
laying on his bed and just smell his clothes and stuff.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
I just couldn't leave it, Just.
Speaker 4 (01:24):
Like I just kept thinking that I was going to
wake up from this bad dream soon.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
But yeah, each day I was wrong. Yeah, I'm not
going to wake up from this.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
It's real In a lot of these cases, it's a
mystery about what happens to the person, how did it happen.
That's even before you get to the why and the who.
But in Kine's case, it's pretty clear he was run
over at low speed or lying on the ground in
a park. He wasn't on the road. He was off
(01:58):
the beaten track where cars shouldn't be driving, although they
did in this particular park often. While we were there
looking at the scene back in September of last year,
three kids on four wheel motorbikes screamed through the park
and overjumps.
Speaker 5 (02:16):
Yeah, if you're walking, you're facing this way, right, and
so you fall, want to sleep or whatever. If he
was coming back from somewhere, his head would be facing yeah.
Speaker 6 (02:31):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (02:31):
And that's what makes me think it was there on
the way out, because otherwise I think it would have
been more damage coming from the head this way across
the body.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
So you think someone's driven this, Yeah, I.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
Think he's been hit on the way out.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
It's not hard to imagine how this happened. What's hard
for the family is to try to explain this tragic
accident and why someone didn't come forward, because surely somebody
knows something. Kane's Arti, Katie, was the first to actually
see him dead in the park after Cane's sister McKay
(03:05):
called because she was freaking out when she went to
the park the next morning and saw Cain lying there.
She beat the horn and Kane didn't move. Katie remembers
what happened in the morning after everyone left the park
and went back to Caine's house. Katie, Kane's Auntie, became
(03:29):
the official contact for police. In those early days in
a small suburb like Alice River, people start to talk,
rumors start to swell, and Caine's family shared those rumors
with police.
Speaker 3 (03:44):
They won't giving us much, hey, like literally, we won't
given us much at all.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
Oh, well, it was because we had.
Speaker 3 (03:50):
So many questions and they were very hesitant in how
they were answering things.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
But I remember it would have.
Speaker 3 (03:56):
Been maybe two two and a half weeks after we'd
lost Cain, and I remember going into the police station
one day and giving it.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
Him the theory that we all had.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
And I remember the police officer saying to me at
that point that he never said to me, yes, we
agree with you, Katie, but he.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
Said something in a way that made me.
Speaker 3 (04:17):
Feel like they were investigating it and we don't know
whether Cain has been there when he drove in, or
whether it's only there when he drove out, and then
it was put on the back of a truck and
brought out and checked again. But I'd have been interviewed
once and there was literally not one meeting or update
(04:39):
after that. And there was so many things that we
sent through to the police in the first maybe week
and a half, you know, so many little theories that
we sent through, and he would go and investigate it,
but never ever come back to us and said, oh,
like that was no good or that lead didn't pan.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
Out or anything. It was just it was literally like.
Speaker 3 (05:02):
We didn't need to know, and the investigation was ongoing,
and they they've never reported back to us or had
another meeting with us after that point.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
Was very vague.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
In these types of circumstances, you can absolutely empathize with
the family, but equally you can understand from the police
that they don't want to give too much away, especially
while they investigate. That's their job. And although the family
said the detectives on the scene acted with empathy, it
still hurts not knowing or understanding what the police process
(05:36):
in an investigation like this from our off the record conversations.
This accident actually shocked police in the area as well.
On the morning of Caine's death, they posted on the
QPS Facebook page. The comments on that post echoed the
town's sentiment.
Speaker 7 (05:56):
Police are investigating the sudden death of a man at
Alice River this morning, April twenty second. Jodi sad.
Speaker 2 (06:02):
All right, rip young man Robin.
Speaker 7 (06:06):
Please, if struggling, speak, even if your voice shakes.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
Ainger. Very sad.
Speaker 8 (06:15):
Condolences to family, friends and emergency services.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
I talked about the rumors that were swirling, and Katie
and the family ended up having an email chain going
with the police whenever they thought they had new information.
Speaker 3 (06:29):
Both emails and phone, mainly email, because when I emailed,
I would see see in you know, my brother in law,
my sister, my mom, everyone got seezed into email. So
it was a big trail always happening, so we could
all sort of keep an eye out, and we were
all very very upset and angry with you know, they
had I'm pretty sure I've got an email somewhere where
he says that he can't call him back in for
(06:50):
a second, you can't call any of the kids back
in for a second interview unless he's got some solid
lead to do that.
Speaker 1 (06:56):
And I could never understand.
Speaker 3 (06:59):
Why that was, because we got a lot of like
little messages from people saying so one today was mouth
and off. I know exactly what happened to Kane. So
I've got all information I put into an email to
the place. Then he would, you know, take a lot
two weeks to get back to us to let us
know the outcome of that. But even then the outcome
was like, oh, that Lee was no good.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
So I would I don't know.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
I guess that we were given a family liaison officer,
and I don't know what they call them that, because
they were definitely not a family liaison officer. The only
time they ever liais with us is where they hadn't
came here to this house for a big meeting with
the whole family.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
And literally that was it. That was it, Katie.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
Did they ever confiscate any of Caine's belongings or your belongings.
Speaker 3 (07:41):
No, we went in there and did our statements, and
they took our phone and downloaded everything off our phone.
I guess to make sure that when I said, I
was at the park at this time.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
I was.
Speaker 3 (07:50):
I'm pretty confident that's what that was for. But my
phone was given back to me straight away and there
was no issues.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
So and from your understanding, was there ever a toxicology
report or an autopsier report that you've seen?
Speaker 3 (08:03):
Yeah, I believe so, But I don't know the families
received a copy of that back yet. As far as
I know that they were asking for one, I don't
know if that's been sent back to us yet.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
Do you know if they had like time stamps on
the CCTV so they could see what time people were leaving.
Speaker 1 (08:19):
Yeah, that's all been done with.
Speaker 3 (08:20):
They printed all the photos off and brought that back
to the house a couple of days after to show
Caitlin to get her to identify the cars of the photos.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
My mum was present with her at that stage.
Speaker 3 (08:30):
I fear like that was the day that I was
in doing my statement, and Mum even said that the
photos of a little cars that went through were so blurry.
There was a lot of traffic that went up and
down that road that night, which I think hited a
big the investigation. That way of trying to identify all
the cars and you know, there was even a stolen
car out here that night apparently that tried to break
(08:51):
into the shop for a little bit there, or a
suspect as well too when they were trying to track
all that down. But I'm pretty sure that all got did,
it got cleared.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
So did they tell you any of the vehicles that
were there, you know, had they left at a particular time.
Speaker 3 (09:05):
Know, was just literally all the photos and Caitlin had
to go through and say, oh, that's such and such
a car, that's such and such as car. Some of
them she couldn't even identify because they were going so
fast down the road.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
And he said to us before that they did conduct
some forensic examination in the vehicles. Do you know if
they actually swabbed the vehicles or was it just checking
tires nothing.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
All we know is the vehicles got given back.
Speaker 3 (09:29):
And we found that information at ourselves, not from the police.
So with their vehicles were all given back to these people.
I find it really strange that my husband's vehicle didn't
get taken, consider it was found so close to where
Cain was. But they they allowed him to reverse the
car out and obviously.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
He hasn't done it, but I'm just saying, like it's just.
Speaker 3 (09:50):
Is it just because they you know, because it wasn't
investigated properly.
Speaker 1 (09:53):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (09:55):
There was nothing about damage on the vehicles.
Speaker 3 (09:57):
The only time they ever told us about a vehicle
going to the park was when they obviously didn't because
the kids were going down there every day and they
were literally sitting there. And as soon as they opened
up the crime scene, the kids literally went down there
and started to make a memorial. So it was like
they would sit down there for hours and hours and
hours and then you know, someone come and someone go.
(10:18):
And that happened for gosh, I'm going to say like
a solid week after he left.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
You know.
Speaker 3 (10:25):
So there was if you went to the park, there
was always somebody there paying their respects or just just
being there.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
That memorial is still there to this day. In the
days after it happened, flowers were laid, some of the
messages break your heart, fly high, Cane, love you forever
and always Emma. There's a plaque that says Cain Forever eighteen,
(10:54):
A couple of empty bourbon cans, a bottle, and some
empty vapes, a sort of tribute to the Cane that
everyone loved, and then there's loads of photos of Cane,
including one with the eski on the front cover of
this podcast and a teddy Bear in a bright orange jumpsuit.
(11:15):
And right in the middle of that memorial are flowers
and a message from Kine's.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
Mum to my son Kane.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
I'll love you forever.
Speaker 4 (11:27):
You will always be with me, Love Mum.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
We release this podcast on Cain's twenty first birthday, and
at about five pm that night, I wanted to call
around the family and check everyone was okay with the
release and how they're all doing. I called Kine's auntie
Katie first.
Speaker 6 (11:52):
Hello, We're actually just down at the park.
Speaker 3 (11:54):
It's his birthday today, so we've come down to pull
a few weeds and say happy birthday.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
And yeah, who's there with you?
Speaker 3 (12:03):
Caitlin's here, my husband's here, and Kat's partner Calvin's here.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
How does it.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
Feel when you're back at that part, Katie? Like, you know,
it's been three years and we've released the podcast today
on the same day that we're speaking again. How are
you feeling?
Speaker 6 (12:20):
Still very surreal? I think.
Speaker 3 (12:24):
You know today's been an okay day? Is his birthday?
Birthdays are always great and fun, you know, the day
where I try and be as happy as we can
even though we can't be with him. I think it's
more the day that he passed. I think that's the
day that we really struggle with the most. Well, that's
the day that I struggle with the most. Yeah, we're
driving down the road actually to come here just now,
(12:46):
and I said my husband, I said, it doesn't matter
how many times you drive down here, you know.
Speaker 6 (12:50):
It's still so surreal.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
The memorial is still there.
Speaker 6 (12:56):
Yeah it is. Yeah, it's all up.
Speaker 3 (12:58):
The original signs still up, and I've thought by now
I would have had to replace it because I got
that sign first actually, and we were going to use
it as a funeral, but when it arrived it was
so big we had to go back in and reorder
a smaller sign for the funeral. But we end up
deciding to put this one down at the park. So yeah,
(13:18):
it's in pretty good shape, I think. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:29):
We reached out to Queensland Police before airing this podcast
and posed a number of questions that we thought were
in the public interests and would be vital to understand
if there was any more that the family could do
for clarity. I'm going to read the questions out that
we sent. Each question references the current as findings from
the initial police investigations, So that's the first voice you'll hear.
(13:52):
It's read by an AI generated voice. We've changed some
of the wording to de identify some people.
Speaker 7 (13:59):
A driver reportedly seen driving around the park in a
small car during the likely period later participated in a
police walkthrough.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
Was any forensic testing conducted on the underside wheels or
tires of this vehicle? If so, what testing was performed
and what were the results. Were call charge records CCRs
or other mobile phone data examined to identify who was
driving this vehicle that evening and in the days following
Kane's death.
Speaker 7 (14:30):
A four wheel drive driver voluntarily contacted police present at
the gathering for approximately four minutes, reported seeing a person
he believed was sleeping on the ground in the area
later identified was this.
Speaker 2 (14:43):
Driver asked why they were in the park for less
than five minutes that evening. Did the police conduct forensic
testing of the vehicle's underside wheels or tires. If so,
what testing was performed and what did it find? Were
CCRs or other mobile phone records examined to identify who
(15:03):
was driving this vehicle that evening and in the days
following Kane's death? Were statements taken from the passenger in
the vehicle? Were CCRs, cell site records and ping data
checked for both the driver and the passenger for the
relevant time and subsequent days? Over what time frames did
(15:24):
the driver come forward after Kane's death, i e. The
interval between the incident and the voluntary contact with police?
Did police investigate whether the vehicle's wheels ties were changed
between the time of Kane's death and when the driver
came forward. Were the movements of non family associates of
the driver reviewed in the days surrounding Kane's death. Were
(15:48):
any bank or purchase records checked to determine whether new
or second hand tires were brought in and around that period?
Was the driver and all passengers ever considered a person
of interest? Now we fully understand that police can't answer
some of these questions. The reason for that is it's
no longer an active investigation. The coroner made a finding
(16:13):
of the cause of death and police did an initial
investigation into how and what that might have been. I
guess the family want to know, should it be an
ongoing investigation. Everyone says Caine was accidentally run over in
that park. That's not in dispute. Police have checked the
(16:33):
known cars in the park that night and no answers.
No one's come forward, and right now the time of publishing,
there are no further leads to help get some answers.
But the truth is that Cain is still dead and
someone ran over him, and that someone hasn't yet been identified.
(16:59):
On the fourth of September twenty twenty five, we received
this statement from Police Acting Chief Superintendent Chris Lawson. These
are his words, but not his voice.
Speaker 8 (17:10):
Following a thorough investigation, this matter was reported to the coroner.
The coroner's findings were finalized in November twenty twenty four.
The Queensland Police Service will not have any further involvement
except at the request of the coroner or if further
information comes to light.
Speaker 2 (17:27):
Katie has been worried about the release of this podcast
and it's kept her up at night. But it's not
why you think, Oh.
Speaker 3 (17:35):
Well, I suppose like my family has got our own
little belief on what we happened that night, And you know,
I guess in the back of my head, you know,
it's kind of like, well, what if you're wrong. You know,
what if we're completely wrong, and you know, we certainly
don't want to put any family through, you know, any
(17:56):
devastation that doesn't need to be, So we don't really
want to, as they say, point the finger at somebody.
Speaker 6 (18:02):
Because we just don't have that evidence.
Speaker 3 (18:04):
So, you know, we just got to quietly sit here
with our own little theory and there's not really much
more we can do at this stage.
Speaker 2 (18:12):
I guess what you are hoping is that someone hears
this podcast and if if something accidentally did happen, and
whoever that might have been, whether a stolen car or
someone that hasn't been questioned yet, or something that you
just don't know about, maybe just maybe this podcast will
help someone. Yeah, I think I know something. I think
(18:35):
I should come forward.
Speaker 3 (18:37):
I mean, my whole family believes that the night this happened,
that they knew they'd done it.
Speaker 6 (18:44):
I think on the night because.
Speaker 3 (18:46):
It does really explain the tracks that were left straight
after where Caine was found, and I think that they
left in a hurry, and I think they go to
bed every night knowing this information, and I just don't
think they've got the strength to do anything.
Speaker 6 (18:58):
I think they're scared and I would be too.
Speaker 2 (19:01):
And the bit we don't know is who that somebody is.
Speaker 6 (19:05):
Well, that's correct, No we don't. We don't.
Speaker 3 (19:07):
We don't have the evidence that we need to know
exactly who it is. But it was definitely somebody that
was at the park that night. You know, when you
think about it, it was whether it was a stolen
car or whether it was one of the kids at
the party, it was you know, it was somebody that
came to the park that night.
Speaker 2 (19:25):
Back at the park where Kane died. His auntie Katie's
there with her family making sure Kane's memorial is still
being looked after.
Speaker 6 (19:35):
Look, I've been.
Speaker 3 (19:36):
Talking a fair bit to him today as you do.
You know, I made a Facebook post this.
Speaker 6 (19:41):
Morning and you know, mentioned all the.
Speaker 3 (19:43):
Things that all the things that we miss about in
you know, just the you know, you're still in a mullet.
Do you still have a goofy laugh? You know, who
are you pissing off up there?
Speaker 6 (19:55):
Nute? You know whose car are your tinering at six
am in the morning and waking all the neighbors up?
Just all the questions that you want to ask and
you can't. So it's just it's a whole.
Speaker 3 (20:05):
Like the wonder what's he likes a man?
Speaker 6 (20:08):
Did he end up turning into?
Speaker 3 (20:11):
There's suposed to be real at eighteen, there's still got
a lot of growing up to do.
Speaker 4 (20:19):
It could be still solved, So that that was our
hope that we held on too. But then hearing that
the case had been passed down to Brisbane, I was
concerned about that because I thought that it should be
here in Townsville where Kane grew up, not down in
Brisbane where it's hard.
Speaker 1 (20:36):
For all of us to try and go to it.
Speaker 4 (20:39):
But just hearing that they think that there's no need
for an inquest was the end of it for me.
That was pretty much them saying that it's going nowhere.
They had no evidence to charge anyone, so that's all
they told us.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
It's all they told us.
Speaker 2 (21:00):
There are obviously complicated things in a police investigation. Family
wants to know every minute detail, anything that can help
them with closure, but there's also simple things that most
of us take for granted. When a loved one passes.
Speaker 4 (21:15):
Away, we wanted to know at least a date to
put on his funeral brochures, because he was found on
the twenty second by his sister, But we're pretty sure
that he passed on the twenty first the night before,
just after he wandered off around like the nine point
thirty ten o'clock. That's when they believe that he that
(21:36):
he was run over. But they still couldn't sort of
really give us an actual was it twenty first or
twenty second for the funeral, So yeah, we ended up
just putting the twenty second when he was found. It's
not when he died, though. I wanted to put the
right thing down from my son's brochure for the funeral,
(21:59):
not just a guessing game. I'm just glad I gave
him my hug and a kiss three time like I
always did. I'm just thankful I've got that big, beautiful
hug frough.
Speaker 2 (22:11):
I love you, mum.
Speaker 4 (22:12):
I'll still hear it in my head all the time.
And I've got videos that I watch all the time,
and I feel.
Speaker 1 (22:18):
Like he's alive when I watch them. So it's really good.
Speaker 4 (22:21):
Yeah, I'm lucky to have them, really lucky. Some mothers
don't have any videos of the kids that have passed,
and I do. I'm so thankful for that. Yeah, And
I really love watching I love playing them for everyone.
I love talking about him. I'll never stopped talking about him.
(22:42):
Our whole family, we always talk about him, and we
talk about him like he's listening.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
He's here. Just helps me get through.
Speaker 2 (22:54):
Next time on more to the story.
Speaker 1 (22:58):
I guess I just.
Speaker 4 (22:59):
Really was very, very excited about doing this podcast to
get Caine's story out there, to get people talking about
it more and more importantly, for him to be not forgotten.
He will never be forgotten. Someone out there knows something.
Somebody knows something. They need to come forward to.
Speaker 1 (23:22):
Do the right thing.
Speaker 3 (23:24):
You know, I know that you're probably struggling with what
you've done, because I know that I would be struggling
if I had done something like that. Just do the
right thing and just come forward. Let us all have closure.
Have you turned to tell your side of the story?
Speaker 6 (23:39):
Story stories, story stories.
Speaker 1 (23:43):
If he was here, I think that I do probably
tell him a little bit more that I love him.
I just would have liked a little bit more time
with him. I really think that he would have turned
out to be a really amazing young man and he
didn't deserve to die like this.
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