#30: The Shark Arm Murders
In 1935, amid the Great Depression, Bert Hobson, owner of Coogee Aquarium and Swimming Baths in Sydney, sought to boost business by displaying a 14-foot tiger shark caught by his son as an attraction. The shark, intended to intrigue customers and capitalize on the area’s recent shark attacks, became a sensation.
However, the situation took a macabre turn when the shark vomited a human arm, identified through fingerprints as belonging to 45-year-old Jimy Smith, missing since early 1935. This gruesome discovery led to an investigation uncovering a complex web of insurance fraud and forgery involving Smith and Sydney businessman Reginald William Lloyd Holmes.