<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The father of the only person charged over a brutal outback triple murder died believing the "little bastard done it", a coroner has heard.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The shocking claim was made during the reopened inquest into the murders of Karen Edwards, 23, Tim Thomson, 31, and Gordon Twaddle, 21, in the Queensland outback in 1978. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The three friends were on a motorbike adventure, on their way home to Melbourne for the Christmas holidays.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/melbourne-cbd-arrest-man-with-firearm-arrested-after-alleged-car-jackings/21ee0e69-1b4c-49ae-bb75-4904293f2769" target="_blank"><strong><span>Man appears to point gun at police during dramatic arrest in Melbourne CBD</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The adventure ended in horrific violence, and the trio's decomposing bodies were discovered in bushland at Spear Creek, 12 kilometres north of Mount Isa, in October 1978.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>All three had been shot in the head.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>For almost five decades, the crime has remained unsolved, but a new probe by Queensland coroner David O'Connell hopes to finally solve the mystery.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/little-bastard-done-it-inquest-hears-fathers-claim/22ef4aa3-4ea9-4bbf-a400-d83b8dfa40fc" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Part of the reopened inquest has focused on the former accused Bruce John Preston.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He has been linked to the investigation from almost the beginning after being caught in possession of Thomson's missing red BMW motorbike a month after the murders.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Preston initially claimed he bought the bike secondhand, but later pleaded guilty to stealing the BMW and copped a $300 fine. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Cold case detectives charged Preston with three counts of murder in 2019, only to drop the case in 2023.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/israel-hamas-ceasefire-gaza-what-happens-next-after-hostages-prisoners-freed/c032a48f-343e-4b25-9857-4da0b86270d6" target="_blank"><strong><span>Joy, relief rule for now - but pitfalls could lie ahead for Gaza</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>His older brother, on Tuesday, told the court Preston was a member of the Black Uhlans outlaw bikie gang at the time of the murders.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I recall his nickname in those circles was Pedro, and reading that name on his jacket," Ian Preston said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>As questioning continued, Ian Preston was threatened with perjury before being granted indemnity against future prosecution over fears his brother was involved in the murders. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I was concerned that such a thing had happened initially, and in some way, shape or form, that my brother may have been implicated in it, by virtue of the fact that what went on in Mount Isa at the time," he said. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He said he had discussed the case with his family, but denied evidence that his father, who has since died, admitted that Bruce Preston was the killer. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The little bastard done it, but he's a tough little bastard - they can't break him," the inquest was told father Arthur Preston had claimed.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Ian Preston said that while his father was a hard man, and it was language he would have used, he denied first-hand knowledge of the admission.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/brittany-higgins-faces-bankruptcy-action-by-former-senator-linda-reynolds/b01b9214-1249-4ddd-90e8-86ac42e2e55b" target="_blank"><strong><span>Brittany Higgins faces bankruptcy action by former boss</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He conceded the entire family were hunters and very familiar with guns, describing his brother as a "crack" shot. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Despite being in ill health, the court has ordered Bruce Preston to appear in person to give evidence on Tuesday. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The last known sighting of the three friends was at the Moondarra Caravan Park in Mount Isa on October 5 in the company of a man driving a brown and white Toyota Land Cruiser. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Post-mortems revealed all three had been executed with a bullet to the head fired from a .22 calibre weapon.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The hearing has accepted the cause of death findings that Edwards, Thomson and Twaddle had been shot in October 1978.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The inquest set down for nine days will hear from up to 40 witnesses as it traces the trio's outback journey and explores events at the Lake Moondarra caravan park.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. 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