A GROUP of violent men suspected of murdering two nurses in 1974 were well-known for grabbing girls off the street and stuffing them in the boots of cars, an inquest has heard.
Trevor Hilton has today told a Toowoomba coronial inquest the gang of men - which included some of his relatives and members of the associated Laurie family - were often seen in Toowoomba assaulting women but no one stopped them.
"Everybody in the town knew what was going on," Mr Hilton said.
"I don't know why it wasn't stopped. The nurses would have still been alive."
Sydney-based trainee nurses Wendy Evans, 18, and Lorraine Wilson, 20, disappeared while hitch-hiking in southern Queensland in October 1974.
Their bodies were found in bushland at Murphys Creek near Toowoomba two years later, badly beaten and bound.
Witnesses have this week told a fresh coronial inquest into the unsolved 1974 murders they saw two women struggling with a group of men on the roadside of the Toowoomba range road.
At least five persons of interest have been identified as being involved in the double-murder and its cover up. Most come from the Hilton and Laurie families. The three men who are still alive are scheduled to give evidence today.
Mr Hilton - who is not a person of interest - said he and other Toowoomba residents regularly saw the group of men scouting the streets of the city in cars, grabbing women, and stuffing them in car boots.
He said the men included Wayne "Boogie" Hilton (a nephew who was raised as Mr Hilton's brother), Allan "Ungie" Laurie, and Allan "Shorty" Laurie, who he said were all violent men. Hilton and Shorty Laurie are dead. Ungie will give evidence today.
Mr Hilton said he knew nothing of the double murder and none of the men made any admissions to him about being involved in the killings. He said he was not involved because he was in jail for drink driving offences in 1974.
The inquest continues.
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