Robert Rowlingson

**Robert Rowlingson** (September 21, 1987 – July 15, 2007) was 19 years old when he was shot by his younger brother in 2007 in the small town of Pittsworth, Queensland, Australia.

## Events

### Life

Robert Rowlingson was born on September 21, 1987 to John and Wendell Rowlingson. He was one of three children and he lived in the town of Pittsworth (pop. 4,785 in 2006) in Queensland, Australia.

### Death

On July 15, 2007, Robert was 19 years old when he headed home from a rugby league game at Pittsworth to work on his car.

His younger brother Anthony Rowlingson[source needed], 16, walked up behind Robert and shot him with a .243 rifle. Rowlingson had taken the rifle from a gun safe inside the house. After Robert fell to the ground, he shot him again in the back of the head.

He then used a forklift to lift Robert's body into the boot of his own car. Rowlingson then drove the car to dump the body in Ryeford Waterway, 15 kilometres west of Clifton (a town near Pittsworth), with the help of his maths teacher Graeme McNeil[source needed].

### Arrest

Anthony Rowlingson, being in year 12, was arrested at school on July 17 and has been in custody since. In 2008, the Crown prosecutor for his trial said Rowlingson had been "frank and chilling" in his account of the murder and police believed at times he had found the interview process "amusing".

She also said he'd told police he had been planning the murder for some time but the opportunity had not previously presented itself. He maintained a "cold attitude" to the matter and exhibited no remorse, she said.

### R v. Rowlingson

In August 2008, Anthony Rowlingson, 17, pleaded guilty to murder, interfering with a corpse (in dumping the body), stealing and unlawfully using Robert's car to dump the body.

Mental health experts who had examined Rowlingson pointed to him having particular psychological issues. One doctor described the risk of him re-offending upon prison as "moderate".

The next month on September 15, Rowlingson, now 18, was sentenced to life imprisonment by Toowoomba's Supreme Court. At the time his name was suppressed by the court from being published. He had 28 days to appeal. His barrister, Robbie Davies, didn't argue with the Crown submission that the offence be declared a "particularly heinous" crime but did want his client's name suppressed. Crown prosecutor Sarah Farnden told the court most of the Pittsworth community already knew Rowlingson's identity, as did those associated with the Rowlingson family.

Rowlingson stood quietly in the dock showing little expression as Justice White brought down the sentence, describing Robert's murder as "cold-blooded", "premeditated" and "very cowardly".

Justice White declared the 426 days in pre-sentence custody that Rowlingson served as time already served under the life sentence which has a non-parole period of 15 years. Rowlingson's earliest possible release date is in 2022.

Robert's parents sat in the back of the court as the sentence was brought down, still mystified as to the motivation behind Robert's death.

### Aftermath

Robert's grandfather, also named Robert, died three weeks after his grandson at 96 years old on August 11, 2007. Robert is currently survived by his parents, brother and sister.

## News

*For news articles on Robert Rowlingson, see here.*

## External links

* Rowlingson family tree • Ancestry (paywall)

### Court cases

* 2008: R v. Rowlingson • Supreme Court of Queensland

## Sources

1. ↑ 2006 Census QuickStats: Pittsworth • Australian Bureau of Statistics
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 16 Sep 2008: Robert Rowlingson's killer jailed for life • The Chronicle
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Rowlingson family tree • Ancestry (paywall)