The following story contains content that some readers may find disturbing.
The couple at the centre of the Wieambilla shooting posted chilling footage after the attack claiming that they had killed “devils” and “demons” on their property.
Videos and comments posted online appear to show the perpetrators anticipating and then admitting to carrying out the killings.
New footage, uploaded to a now-deleted YouTube account, shows in real time the state of mind and actions of Stacey Train and Gareth Train as they prepared for and carried out the killing of three people on their remote property in Queensland’s Western Downs.
Police say that four police officers visited a property owned by the couple to do a welfare check on Gareth’s brother, Nathaniel Train, who had been reported missing. Two police officers and a neighbour were killed after an ambush. Police then fatally shot the trio after a six-hour stand-off.
The videos feature the likeness and voices of two people who refer to themselves as Daniel and Jane, the middle names of Gareth Daniel Train and Stacey Jane Train. Nathaniel Train does not appear in the videos.
A YouTube channel “Mrs Yugi Girawil” had only six subscribers, 13 videos and fewer than 100 views on the majority of their videos as of last night. The channel was created in May 2022 but all of the videos had been created since the beginning of November.
The videos show details about the Trains’ lives and the shooting, and were published prior to that information being reported in the media.
The most recent video shows Gareth and Stacey, huddled in darkness, telling the camera they had killed multiple people. The video was published at 7.39pm on Monday, several hours after four visiting police officers and a neighbour were reportedly fired on but prior to media reports with those details.
“They came to kill us and we killed them. If you don’t defend yourself against these devils and demons you’re a coward,” Gareth says.
“We’ll see you when we get home. We’ll see you at home, Don, love you,” Stacey says.
Videos and comments posted by the account earlier in the day foreshadow the attack. The account commented on its own video on Monday hinting at violence.
“After dealing with covert agents and tactics for sometime now, Daniel believes that should they choose to cross the rubicon with public state actors our Father is giving us a clear sign. Monsters and their heads are soon parted,” the account commented on a video posted earlier in the week.
A video posted at 1.41pm on Monday titled “Prepare for battle and be strangers on earth” combined apocalyptic graphics with a female voice reading from “2 Esdras”, an obscure book included in some versions of the Bible. The passage speaks about impending war, sinners being punished and Judgment Day.
“For of a city there shall be 10 left, and two of the field, which shall hide themselves in the thick groves, and in the clefts of the rocks,” the voice says.
Police sources told Guardian Australia that Gareth and Nathaniel were dressed in camouflage gear and ambushed the police officers.
The videos show a specific fixation with police, which peaked when NSW Police put out a missing persons report for Nathaniel on Thursday.
A video posted on Sunday uses a picture of Nathaniel accompanied by a male voice reading out the report. It then goes on to make a claim that Nathaniel was a whistleblower for “high-level corruption” in the NSW Department of Education and NSW Police. Two videos posted the week before also menacingly insult four named police officers and speak of previous welfare checks about the property.
“‘Welfare checks’ aka state sponsored murder has started up again. These fools are stepping into a world of hurt they know nothing of,” the account commented on its own video last Friday.
Many of the account’s other videos are about conspiracy topics including vaccines (like a video that combined a clip of anti-vaccine New Zealand parents trying to stop their child from receiving a life-saving blood transfusion with a threat to “defend children to their last breath or answer for your cowardice”), illegal human experimentation program MKUltra, and ASIO boss Mike Burgess’ warning about COVID-19-related radicalisation and extremism.
Gareth had an extensive online history of interactions with obscure Australian conspiracy websites. Stacey quit her job at a school the day before a COVID-19 vaccine mandate came into effect. It also appears Gareth published his videos to an account on Rumble, a YouTube alternative that’s populated with hate speech and conspiracy theories.
Another video from early on the day of the shooting features a handwritten letter from Stacey to an obscure international Christian YouTuber. The note lamented an estrangement from her two children.
“Recently my husband and I lost both our adult children when they chose the world, rejecting us and the narrow path to take their wide road,” it said.
Gareth and Stacey have reportedly raised two children together.
One of their final acts appears to have been sending a last message to another obscure Christian YouTuber who frequently commented on their videos.
“THEY’VE CROSSED THE RUBICON,” Mrs Yugi Girawil posted at 5.39pm on Monday.
A Queensland Police Service spokesperson declined to comment about whether they were aware of the account prior to the attack or whether they asked YouTube’s parent company Google to take down the account.
“While the matter is currently being investigated, and respecting the sensitivities of the families involved, it would be inappropriate for the QPS to provide further comment at this time,” the spokesperson said.
Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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