The Bookshop Murder: Part Two - Australian True Crime

The Murder of Maria James - Part 2 of 2

In 2013, a council electrician named Alan Hircoe opened a newspaper and saw a photograph of a priest. He recognised the face. Years earlier, he said, while working at the presbytery of St Mary's in Thornbury, he had seen that priest come in from the garden with blood on his face and hands.

The priest was Father Anthony Bongiorno, and he had tried to force his way into Maria James's bookshop on the afternoon she was murdered.

But he had an alibi, and police believed the DNA had cleared him.

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Sources:

Coroners Court of Victoria. Finding into Death with Inquest: Maria Theresa James (COR 1980 1820). Deputy State Coroner Caitlin English. Delivered 31 March 2022, amended 4 April 2022. Findings index: https://www.coronerscourt.vic.gov.au/inquests-findings/findings

Victoria Police. "Cold case: Maria James." https://www.police.vic.gov.au/cold-case-maria-james

Victoria Police. "Reward: Maria James." Published 14 June 2024. https://www.police.vic.gov.au/reward-maria-james