The Gilham Family Murders

Aaron Habel (0:00)

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Justin Evans (1:29)

How are you doing tonight, Aaron?

Aaron Habel (1:31)

I'm doing good. How are you though?

Justin Evans (1:33)

I'm doing okay.

Aaron Habel (1:35)

Do you have a beverage nearby so you can talk for an hour with me?

Justin Evans (1:38)

I'm going to try.

Aaron Habel (1:40)

I have a big container of water.

Justin Evans (1:42)

I drink my sparkling water.

Aaron Habel (1:44)

It's been really hot here. Yesterday, I think it felt like 111 Yeah. We're recording this on September 1st, just for the people who are saying, wait a minute, it's not that hot now.

Justin Evans (1:55)

Today, we have a case highly contested with evidence that could point both towards and away from the accused. Most of those who can tell us what truly happened that night are now dead. There is one survivor who said the killer was his own brother who's now dead also. So which version of this story is true? Was he a brother who retaliated after discovering that his family had been massacred? Or was he a son who murdered his entire family and blamed his dead brother and the one person who can never defend himself?

Before we get into it, do we have any announcements?

Aaron Habel (2:33)

Yes, we've been getting a lot of emails lately with case suggestions and feedback, which is pretty awesome, so keep them coming. Also, if you write in to us, just know, put in there if you want us to mention you because sometimes we're going to want to talk about what you send in. Sometimes we want to say, hey, this is the person who sent this case in, etc. But sometimes we know you don't want that. So just be clear in your email whether you're OK if we mention you.

Justin Evans (3:01)

Some people love to shout out and some people want to stay anonymous, so we get it.

Aaron Habel (3:05)

You can even make up a name. You're like, hey, mention me. Just just call me Mike J or something. It could be a fake name if you want, just so you know, we're talking about you.

Justin Evans (3:14)

Exactly. All right. Well, with all that, what are we talking about tonight, Aaron?

Aaron Habel (3:19)

Well, tonight we're looking at a case from Australia that took place in the 1990s. It's about the Gillams. They were a well-liked middle-class family living in Wurunara, New South Wales. And one night in late August 1993, Stephen Gillam, his wife Helen, and their son Christopher were all stabbed to death. Now, we know for sure that Jeffrey stabbed Christopher, but who killed Stephen and Helen?

Justin Evans (3:44)

So, was it Christopher or Jeffrey? That's the question at the heart of this case. Let's get into the family. Stephen Gillam was 58 years old. He worked as a traffic controller for the Roads and Traffic Authority, a government agency responsible for building major roads. His wife Helen was a nurse. They had two sons, 23-year-old Jeffrey and 25-year-old Christopher.

Jeffrey is said to have been especially close to his father. The two often went sailing together.

Friends described Jeffrey as hardworking, loyal, and sociable. Christopher, by contrast, was some described as quiet, withdrawn, and aloof. He spent much of his time playing piano, trombone, and Dungeons and Dragons. So opposites in the brothers. I know you have a lot of brothers, Aaron. I'm sure that you feel kind of the opposite of some of them.

Aaron Habel (4:37)

Yeah, and that's how families go. I mean, everyone's got their own personality. It's been noted that Tony Gilham, Stephen's brother, the uncle of Christopher and Jeffrey, remembered these brothers differently. According to Tony, it was actually Jeffrey who was the quiet, withdrawn one, while Christopher was more outgoing and talkative. Now, Tony plays a big role in this case, and we'll talk about that later. But just know that while he remembers the brothers differently than others have described them, he didn't see his nephews very often. In fact, the last time he'd seen them before the murders was about six months before. And when he did see them, he said they seemed like a close, happy family and appeared to be getting along well.