A Queensland coroner has decided not to hold an inquest into the 2012 death of Bruce Schuler, concluding it was unlikely to reveal new information about the gold prospector’s murder in far north Queensland.
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In 2016, Stephen Struber and Dianne Rose Wilson-Struber were both convicted for the murder of Mr Schuler on their remote Palmerville property, hours west of Cairns on the remote goldfields.
Mr Schuler’s body was never found and the pair have refused to tell police where his body is on their huge, remote property through which the Palmer River snakes.
His partner of 27 years, Fiona Splitt, led a successful campaign to introduce Queensland’s ‘no body, no parole’ retrospective legislation following her husband’s death.
In her findings released on August 8, Northern Coroner Nerida Wilson concluded it was unlikely an inquest would prompt any new information from the Strubers.
The coroner said there was enough evidence from the court case and police investigations to conclude Mr Schuler had been murdered, most likely by shotgun, and his body disposed of on the couple’s property.
The 48-year-old father of two and husband was on a gold prospecting trip with three friends west of Cairns when they drove onto Palmerville Station and hid their vehicles in a dry creek bed to avoid being detected.
Mr Schuler’s four friends - Daniel Bidner, Tremain Anderson, and Kevin Groth - all reported seeing the Strubers’ ute driving along a track close to Mr Schuler’s prospecting point at about 10am.
Mr Bidner told the court he saw Ms Wilson-Struber get out of the vehicle and take “a black stick, which he believed to be a long-range rifle” out of the ute.
A short time later, all three men heard a gunshot, followed by another gunshot 15 minutes later.
About 11am, the three men returned to the campsite where they found Mr Schuler’s dog at the vehicle, but no sign of their missing friend. At 4.30pm, they left a note on his vehicle and went home.
“Mr Anderson called Palmerville Station Homestead at 6:16pm and 6:19pm and left a voicemail advising that he had heard shots, and would call the police if he did not hear from Mr Schuler within the half hour,” the coroner’s summary of events said.
Mr Schuler was reported missing to police at 9pm that night, with a large-scale search launched the next day across the station.
The Strubers were arrested for Mr Schuler’s murder but released without charge while the station was declared a crime scene.
Blood and DNA identified as Mr Schuler's was found along with scraps of bailing twine and burnt out ground, a film canister and cow pats showing tyre marks the same as the Strubers' ute.
On October 30, 2012, the pair were arrested and charged with Mr Schuler’s murder.
In 2016, they were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment, and have still refused to provide information about the location of his body.
“It seems unlikely that an inquest will result in Mr Struber and Ms Wilson-Struber breaking their silence in relation to the circumstances of Mr Schuler’s death or the location of his body,” Coroner Wilson concluded.
“I offer my sincerest condolences to Ms Splitt and to the Schuler family for their loss.”
