Socialite orchestrated husband's murder in Hamilton mansion

The porch light at 2 Grays Road flickered back on August 20, 1953, the front door creaked open, and Albert Murphy and William Hamilton crept inside this Hamilton mansion. They had been waiting in a truck, watching for their cue. What happened next was described by a crime historian as a "vicious, cruel and cold-blooded scheme."

In the hallway, they met Sylvia Ferguson, and after a moment of unspoken understanding, she slipped into the bathroom. The men continued on, guided to the bedroom by the sound of breathing. Roy Ferguson, 39, slept there, just as promised. The hammer rose and fell.

They moved quickly. By the time they crossed the Story Bridge, the weapon was gone, sinking into the river below. Sylvia thought the deed was done, but Roy was still alive, though bloodied and battered. Around 1:30 AM, Thelma and Wally Gray, who lived with the Fergusons, were woken by Sylvia's screams, "Wally, Wally, help me! Roy's dying!"

When police arrived, Sylvia claimed a faceless intruder had attacked Roy and escaped unseen. Doctors tried to save the hotelier in the hospital, but his injuries were too severe. Roy's brother recalled his last words: "They told me to shut up," and "They called me a-."

Roy Ferguson, born in Newcastle in 1914, grew up in his mother's hotels and eventually built his own empire of pubs. He had a past, including some time in prison for assault, but was known to be "really kind" and a "good boss." In 1946, he met Sylvia Joyce Clare Mitchell, a barmaid and socialite, and they lived together, appearing married to outsiders, though they weren't legally wed.

Albert Murphy, a drinks server at one of Roy's pubs, was in love with Sylvia. When he learned she wasn't actually married, their affair began, eventually becoming reckless. Sylvia would hide Murphy under the bed when Roy returned home. She told Murphy that Roy was cruel and controlling and that she was afraid to leave him, saying he would kill her.

Despite this, Sylvia and Roy officially married in June 1953 and moved to Queensland, where Roy planned to open a brewery. But Sylvia and Murphy continued their affair. Eventually, their whispers of running away together turned into a plan to get rid of Roy and claim his wealth. Murphy believed Sylvia's story that Roy was violent and that this was the only way they could be together. They recruited truck driver William Ernest Hamilton, promising him 2,500 pounds to carry out the killing.