Retrospect: The Newcastle beach murders// Alex Rees and Ray Hill

On a warm summer's night in January 1970, two lovers were brutally killed as they parked at a beach in Newcastle, Australia. At the time police came up with two motives for the murders. Was this crime committed by a sexual deviant, prowling the beach that night for a likely victim? Or was it personal, and a crime born of jealousy and resentment? The case remains unsolved and in the years that followed, there were no similar crimes that pointed to a serial killer. The murders of Alex Rees and Raymond Hill are however reminiscent of an American murderer who had been wreaking havoc in California, in the 2 years prior to 1970. Could Australia have potentially had its own copycat Zodiac killer? 

Transcript

It has been described as the oldest actively investigated homicide case in the state of New South Wales. A double murder which occurred just days into the 1970 new year, causing shockwaves and fear in the local community. 50 years ago, double homicides like this might have happened in New South Wales’s capital Sydney, but not in the relatively laid-back beachside city of Newcastle. Although police investigating the case back in 1970 were hopeful of quickly apprehending the killer, without a clear motive, the murders of Alex Rees and Ray Hill, have to this day proved impossible to solve. 

Hello listeners and welcome to the crime valley podcast. My name is Amber and today’s case is one that I have been wanting to cover for a while. It took place in the beautiful city of Newcastle and is one of those crimes that is still remembered by the people who lived in the area at the time, even 52 years later. 

The year is 1970, the month is January and the location is Newcastle, in New South Wales, Australia. It was the year that the state of New South Wales would record its highest-ever road toll, with 1309 deaths. The implementation of the mandatory wearing of seatbelts in cars would be carried out across the state the following year. The legal alcohol driving range stood at .08 and legally, drivers could only be breathalysed if they committed a driving offense or were involved in a car accident.   

In the news, The Boeing 747 jumbo jet makes its first public appearance flying from Seattle to New york city. A vote by the house of lords means the abolishment of the death penalty in England, Wales, and Scotland, and in Australia, then Priminister John Gorton announces that Aussie troops will be withdrawn from Vietnam. At the top of the Aussie charts were Elvis Presley’s Suspicious minds, Blood sweat, and tears when I die, and the Beatles Something and Come together. And at the movies, Hello Dolly, and On her majesty’s secret service were top picks at the cinema. 

Newcastle is a city that sits along the east coast of Australia, in the state of New South Wales. Part of the picturesque Hunter Valley, which is famous for its vineyards, horse country, and mineral-rich environment.

The city of Newcastle lies approximately 160 kilometers north of Sydney and is known for its subtropical weather, beautiful beaches, and its history of industrial infrastructure. In January of 1970, that infrastructure was booming, supported by the bustling port of Newcastle, and the BHP steelworks which had been going strong in the region for 55 years. 

Friday the 2nd of January 1970 had brought with a warm and balmy summer's day, and the beautiful weather was set to continue into the night. 24-year-old Raymond Hill was a forklift driver who lived in the Newcastle suburb of North Lampton. For the past 3 months, he had been dating 19-year-old nursing student Irene Alexandra Rees, who went by the name Alex. Alex lived and worked at Royal Newcastle hospital, and was in her 3rd year of training. The two had met when Ray had attended the hospital for treatment for his stutter. Their courtship had been swift and there had even been talk of marriage. As day turned into night on that Friday, Ray picked Alex up from the hospital at around 6:30 pm in his White 1967 Valiant Sedan. The couple then drove to Alex’s parents' home in nearby Gateshead, where they stayed for about 90 minutes, filling in time before they left to see a film at the local skyline drive-in located in the suburb of Lampton. Daylight savings had started months before, and as the couple drove towards the cinema, the sun was probably just setting. Once they arrived at the drive-in, Alex and Ray saw the film “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. The movie is a 1963 adventure comedy starring Spencer Tracey and was a big hit when it was first released 7 years earlier. The theatrical cut of the film had a 161min running time, and assuming that the film started between 8:15 and 8:30, this would have had the couple at the drive-in until around 11 pm. At 11:20 pm they arrived at the Vienna coffee lounge, where they stayed for around half an hour, leaving by 11:50 pm.  By the time Ray and Alex parked near the surf club on Shortland esplanade, it was roughly midnight. The parking lot looked over Newcastle South Beach and was a popular spot for lovers to park, especially on a warm summer’s night. 

It is believed that on the night of the 2nd, more than 50 vehicles came and went from the parking area. At some time between 1:30 and 2 am, an hour and a half to two hours after Ray and Alex had arrived at the esplanade, a man parked close to the area woke up from a nap. He had been sleeping in his car, in an attempt to sober up before getting back on the road. As he turned on his car radio, he heard a sound that shattered the still night air. It was the sound of two gunshots fired in quick succession. There were then a few moments of silence before a third and final gunshot rang out. The man was concerned and perhaps curious enough to drive in the direction of the gunshots. He drove past the parking area at Newcastle south beach, and he noted Ray Hill’s white 1967 valiant, parked in a parking space, facing the beach.  He saw that the interior light was on in the car, although he was unable to see any occupants sitting inside the vehicle. As his eyes scanned the parking lot he noticed a late-model Ford, parked near the white Valient. He would later describe the Ford as either blue or gunmetal grey in colour. Seeing nobody about, and nothing amiss, the man kept driving. 

Later that morning, at around 5:20 am, the bodies of Ray Hill and Alex Rees were discovered in the front seat of Ray’s Valient. A couple from Sydney was heading home after a night out when they made the grim discovery. Police were called, and the investigation into the double homicide was begun. When detectives arrived at the scene they noted that the front driver’s side window was wound down. Alex sat in the front seat, and Ray knelt at her feet. The couple was described as being locked in an embrace, and their bodies were naked from the waist down, with a blanket still covering their lower halves. They had clearly been caught by their killer in a moment of intimacy. It was determined that Alex had been shot through the left eye, while Ray had been shot in the back of the head. At least two shots were fired at the couple, and the bullets used were deemed to be .22 caliber.  

The crime scene was searched thoroughly. This included combing the sand, with skin divers being used to search for weapons in the water. The local tip would also be searched. Nearby homes were canvased for witnesses. On Jan 4th a city council street sweeper located in the nearby suburb of Waratah was found to have collected two flattened shell casings. It would later be confirmed that the sweeper had been active in the area of Newcastle south beach on the morning of the murders. 

There seemed to be two police theories. Number one was that the murders were personal, a former lover or an obsessed acquaintance perhaps? The second theory was that the killer was a complete stranger who had patrolled Newcastle beach that night, looking for a likely victim. Police at the time thought that he might have been what they labeled a crazed pervert. Known sex offenders were high up on detectives' list of people to question.

Perhaps not at the forefront of investigators' minds, but still worth noting is the Zodiac killer. The Zodiac murders in California had occurred in the two years prior to 1970, the year that Ray and Alex were murdered. As far away as the United States was from the City of Newcastle, tales of the elusive and brutal serial killer had reached Australian shores. Just seven weeks prior to the murders of Alex Rees and Raymond Hill, a big write-up on the Zodiac killer and his crimes had been released by the Sydney morning herald. In 1970 the Sydney herald was one of the top newspapers in circulation, Australian-wide. Along with the Australian newspaper, the Sydney herald would have been the most widely read newspaper in the state of New South Wales. The Newcastle beach murders certainly seemed reminiscent of the Zodiac murders, specifically those committed at Lake Herman road in 1968 and Blue rock spring in 1969. All three cases featured a pair of young lovers, sitting in their cars, late at night in an area known for parking. All of the victims were attacked while inside their vehicle, seemingly ambushed by their killer, with no witnesses in the immediate area. However, unlike the Zodiac murders, Alex Rees and Raymond Hill had both sustained one gunshot wound to the head. Their murders seemed more execution style, rather than designed for prolonged fear and pain. While it is possible that an Australian copycat felt inspired to kill in the fashion of the Zodiac killer, it is probably unlikely. Whoever had killed the couple on that balmy Friday night, certainly didn’t go on to commit similar crimes, if any at all. 

After detectives launched their investigation, more witnesses came forward. Albeit some more reluctantly than others. Detectives knew that the car park had been a very busy spot on the night of the 2nd, with dozens of cars coming and going throughout several hours. It took a random photograph, taken on the night of the murders to bring forward individuals who had so far remained quiet. The photograph obtained by police clearly showed several number plates of some of the lovers parked at the beach. A number of them had been unwilling to come forward due to the fact that they had been with their lovers rather than their spouses that night. 

According to Justine Ford’s book Unsolved Australia, other witnesses included a trio of young men who had been driving around that evening. The men had seen Ray’s Valiant in the parking lot, with a Green VW parked next to it. As the men drove on to nearby Nobby’s beach, they saw an individual described as a heavyset man, with a thick black beard. He was in a cream VW. Shortly after this the trio again passed the Shortland esplanade and noticed that the heavyset man in the cream VW had left Nobby’s beach, and was now parked in the same area as Ray Hill’s Valiant. The man in the green VW was checked out and cleared, but the man in the cream VW was never found. 

In the process of investigating the double homicide, police had conducted a luminosity and rifle scope test at the crime scene. They concluded that at the time of the murders the area would have been extremely dark, due to the poorly lit carpark, and that the gun had been fired from a distance no greater than 12 meters. Detectives felt that the bullets may have been Winchester brand used in a Savage rifle. 

After the murders had been discovered detectives were very eager to interview Alex Ree’s ex-boyfriend, Jim. Alex started dating Jim when she was 18, and the two had been a fixture in one another’s lives since they had gone to school together over several years. It was clear to Alex and the people around her that Jim was not going to be the love of her life. Alex broke up with him in October of 1969 and within weeks was dating Ray. When Alex Ree’s stepfather Ari found out that his beloved daughter had been murdered, he allegedly took a knife from the family home and was in the process of getting in his car, when police stopped him. Ari had no doubt in his mind who the killer was. Ari was not a fan of Jim. 

When Ari was taken to the police station he saw Jim, already there, being questioned by detectives. Jim had finished a shift at the steelworks in the suburb of Waratah on the morning of Friday the 2nd of January. He caught up with a friend, before working on his car in the afternoon. After dinner, he played scrabble and cards with some family members. By 9 pm he had been awake for 27 hours, and family members corroborated the fact that he had then gone to sleep. During the interviewing process, police tested Jim’s hands for gunshot residue. The test was done at 12 pm on Saturday the 3rd, less than 12 hours after the murders. The Gunshot residue test returned a positive result. Jim however explained that chemicals he had used on his car, and during his shift at the steelworks may have been responsible for the positive findings. The test results stood though. J had fired a rifle with his right hand, in the last 24 hours. Detectives hands were tied, however, due to the fact that several people corroborated Jim’s alibi of being asleep at the time of the murders. 

In December 1970, almost 12 months after the double murder, a rifle was recovered from a local Newcastle pawn shop. After analsing the gun, scientific squad police determined that the bullets were similar to the bullets recovered from the crime scene. As a result, Detectives travelled to the town of Wagga Wagga, NSW, 6 and a half hour's drive southwest of Newcastle. They wanted to speak to the man who had pawned the gun, and who had left Newcastle shortly after the double murder. This lead turned out to be a dead end. 

In March 1971 a coronial inquest into the double homicide resulted in an open finding.  

The double murders of Alex Rees and Raymond Hill were one of the biggest investigations of its kind in the state of New South Wales. Many persons of interest are believed to have been investigated, throughout Australia. Hundreds of thousands of pages of evidence and other documentation were created and at one point there were 60 investigators working on the case. Despite this, there is little information available publicly, and apart from anniversary updates, there seems to be little media coverage of the crime, after 1971. A chapter dedicated to the murders in Justine Ford’s Unsolved Australia is the most comprehensive information available regarding the murders.  Lack of information or not, this case remains unsolved and both Alex and Ray’s families have not received answers or justice regarding the senseless murders of their loved ones. This crime is over 50 years old, and the perpetrator may have died at that time. As with most cases, somebody besides the killer may know or suspect something. Hopefully, with the passage of time that has passed, they will now be willing to do the right thing and talk to the police. 

If you have any information regarding the January 1970 murders of Alex Rees and Ray Hill, then you are urged to contact crime stoppers at www.crimestoppers.com.au or by calling 1800 333 000.

Join me next week when I will be presenting another Aussie cold case, out of Melbourne Victoria. It is a big one, and it is also one of the city of Melbourne’s most infamous unsolved double murders. If you have any case suggestions that you would like me to research and cover, then don’t hesitate to email me at crimevalleypodcast@yahoo.com or join Crimevalley’s Facebook discussion page and leave your suggestion there. Also, don’t forget to leave me a review if you enjoyed today’s episode. Thank you for joining me today. Let’s hope that justice will be served for Alex, Ray, and their families. They have certainly waited long enough. Stay safe, stay informed, and I will meet you next time in Crime Valley.