Ransom Demand
At 9:40am, 70 minutes after Graeme had left for school, a man telephoned the Thorne household. Sergeant Larry O'Shea of Bondi police had already arrived. Unfortunately he was unaware that the Thornes had recently won the lottery.
Pretending to be Bazil Thorne, O'Shea answered the telephone. The kidnapper demanded £25,000 before 5pm, or "the boy will be fed to the sharks." O'Shea expressed doubt as to his ability to get hold of such a large sum of money. The caller then said that he would call back at 5pm with more details, and hung up.
The kidnapper phoned again at 9:47pm but the telephone was answered by a different police officer. The kidnapper gave instructions that the money was to be put in two paper bags, but then hung up abruptly without giving further instructions.
Read more about this topic: Graeme Thorne Kidnapping
Famous quotes containing the words ransom and/or demand:
“—I am a lady young in beauty waiting
Until my truelove comes, and then we kiss.”
—John Crowe Ransom (1888–1974)
“The basis of political economy is non-interference. The only safe rule is found in the self-adjusting meter of demand and supply. Do not legislate. Meddle, and you snap the sinews with your sumptuary laws.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)