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Quiz about The Mystery of the Wanda Beach Murders

The Mystery of the Wanda Beach Murders Quiz

On January 12th, 1965, two fifteen-year-old girls, Marianne Schmidt and Christine Sharrock were found beaten and stabbed to death at Wanda Beach. How much do you know about this baffling, unsolved murder case.

A multiple-choice quiz by ElusiveDream. Estimated time: 3 mins.

Author
ElusiveDream

Time
3 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
343,407

Updated
Jul 23 22

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
6 / 10

Plays
353

Last 3 plays: Johnmcmanners (10/10), Guest 109 (5/10), Guest 99 (5/10).

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. Which Australian city is closest to Wanda Beach? Hint

Darwin

Brisbane

Sydney

Perth

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Question 2 of 10

2. Which European country did Marianne Schmidt originally come from? Hint

France

Poland

Denmark

Germany

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Question 3 of 10

3. Marianne's younger siblings were the last people to see the girls alive.

True

False

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Question 4 of 10

4. Who found the girls' bodies? Hint

Dennis Dostine

Geoff Jessop

Barry Ezzy

Peter Smith

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Question 5 of 10

5. Who told the police that the girls were missing? Hint

Peter Schmidt

Elizabeth Schmidt

Christine's grandmother

Christine's grandfather

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Question 6 of 10

6. Which of the following people is suspected of being the Wanda Beach killer? Hint

Derek Percy

John Glover

Ivan Milat

Sef Gonzales

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Question 7 of 10

7. In which month were Marianne's and Christine's funerals held? Hint

February

January

March

April

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Question 8 of 10

8. Police believe Marianne was the first to be killed.

True

False

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Question 9 of 10

9. How many police interviews were conducted in an attempt to solve the murders? Hint

1,000

2,000

7,000

5,000

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Question 10 of 10

10. At the beginning of January 1965, Marianne's mother, Elizabeth, had to go into hospital. Why? Hint

She had a broken leg

For an operation

She was expecting another baby

She had a heart attack

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Most Recent Scores

Nov 23 2024 : Johnmcmanners: 10/10
Nov 05 2024 : Guest 109: 5/10
Oct 26 2024 : Guest 99: 5/10

Score Distribution

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Which Australian city is closest to Wanda Beach?

Answer: Sydney

Wanda Beach is located 20 kilometres south of Sydney.

2. Which European country did Marianne Schmidt originally come from?

Answer: Germany

Marianne and her family arrived in Australia from Germany in 1958. They moved into a nice house in Brush Road, Ryde, in Sydney's inner north-west, and, while their neighbours made little effort to get to know them, Marianne made close friends with Christine who lived next-door with her grandparents.

Marianne's father, Helmut, died soon after their arrival in Australia.

3. Marianne's younger siblings were the last people to see the girls alive.

Answer: False

On January 11th, 1965, Marianne and Christine took Marianne's younger siblings, Peter, Trixie, Wolfgang and Norbert, on a trip to Cronulla Beach. In the early afternoon, they decided to walk north to Wanda Beach. However, the younger children were getting tired, so the girls left them sitting behind a sand dune with their towels. The girls told them they would go back to the southern end of the beach to get their bags, but instead, they continued walking north, into the dunes.

The last official sighting of the girls alive was actually made by a local man, Dennis Dostine, who was walking with his young son. He took notice because one of the girls kept looking over her shoulder, very much in a way of trying to see if she was being followed.

4. Who found the girls' bodies?

Answer: Peter Smith

On the morning of January 12th, the day after the girls had been reported missing, Peter Smith and his two young nephews found what they thought was a department store mannequin buried in the Wanda Beach sand dunes. In reality, what they had found was Marianne Schmidt's body.

Christine's body wasn't discovered until the police arrived.

Autopsies revealed that Marianne had been stabbed a total of 14 times while Christine had not only been stabbed but also beaten with a large heavy object, possibly a rock.

5. Who told the police that the girls were missing?

Answer: Christine's grandmother

Christine's grandmother reported the girls missing when Marianne's younger siblings returned home from the beach alone.

6. Which of the following people is suspected of being the Wanda Beach killer?

Answer: Derek Percy

While all these people are known serial killers, Derek Percy has been a suspect in the Wanda Beach Murders for a long time. He's also suspected of murdering three-year-old Simon Brook and six-year-old Alan Redston. Some people also believe he may be responsible for the abductions and presumed murders of eight-year-old Linda Stilwell and the Beaumont children.

In 1969 he was charged with the horrific murder of twelve-year-old Yvonne Elizabeth Tuohy but was found not guilty by reason of insanity.

7. In which month were Marianne's and Christine's funerals held?

Answer: January

Marianne's and Christine's funerals were held on January 20th, 1965, a week after they were murdered.

The funerals were shown live on television.

8. Police believe Marianne was the first to be killed.

Answer: True

A 34m drag-mark leading to the girls' graves suggested that at least one of the girls, probably Christine, had tried to escape, only to be caught, murdered and dragged back to be buried.

9. How many police interviews were conducted in an attempt to solve the murders?

Answer: 7,000

Despite conducting 7000 interviews, no-one was ever officially charged with the girls' murders.

10. At the beginning of January 1965, Marianne's mother, Elizabeth, had to go into hospital. Why?

Answer: For an operation

It's unclear exactly what Elizabeth's operation was for.

Source: Author ElusiveDream

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
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