SHARK ARM MURDER MYSTERY

THE CASE OF A HUMAN LIMB SPAT UP BY A SHARK 86 YEARS AGO HAS FINALLY BEEN CRACKED

- John Burfitt

When a newly caught 4.4-metre tiger shark made its home at Sydney’s Coogee Aquarium in 1935, crowds flocked to see it. But visitors got more than they bargained for when the shark spat up a human arm!

As the screams filled the air, the limb was fished out of the water. Initially thought to be the result of a shark attack, a medical examination revealed the arm had been severed by a knife. On the arm was a prominent tattoo of two boxers, with a rope attached to the wrist. The intact fingers offered fingerprints for the police to track down who the arm belonged to.

The arm’s owner was identified as Jimmy Smith, a small-time criminal who had been dealing with big-time players. The case became known as the ‘Shark Arm Murder’, and the bizarre mystery has never been solved.

Yet over the past year, new findings appear to have cracked the 86-year mystery. The book Shark Arm by Phillip Roope and Kevin Meagher pulls together long-forgotten details from deep within the NSW Police archives and exposes the most likely culprits. The release of the book elicited new details from beyond the grave, further confirming who was behind the murder.