Seven Bones

‘We have a dead second wife and a missing first wife…we’ve got a huge problem here.’ Detective Peter Seymour

Seven Bones is the story of one of the more bizarre murder investigations in Australia’s history. Two wives die in suspicious circumstances: co-incidence or, as husband Thomas Keir describes it, ‘bad luck’?

Three years after Thomas Keir alleged his first wife Jean deserted him and her young son for another man, his second wife Rosalina, Jean’s cousin, lay scorched and strangled on her bed. Arriving on the scene, Detective Peter Seymour realised he was either dealing with the world’s unluckiest husband, or a serial wife killer.

While Keir was remarkably found ‘not guilty’ of Rosalina’s murder, despite a clear-cut case, her death unlocked the mystery of Jean’s disappearance. A subsequent police investigation lead to the discovery of seven small fragments of Jean’s bones - fingers, knuckles and toes - buried deep under the same house in which Rosalina died.

Keir’s ‘grieving husband’ act was suddenly in question. The investigation revealed Thomas Kier was a man so jealous he hated even his own baby son touching his wife, Jean. A man so possessive he threatened he would cut her up and feed her to the dogs if she ever left him. A man who thought he could commit the perfect crime and publicly taunted the police through the media.

Written through the eyes of Detective Peter Seymour, Seven Bones follows his relentless pursuit of justice and his own family sacrifices, through the drama of the police investigation into Jean’s death, and the three trials, convictions, and appeals that would take fifteen years to reach their final conclusion.

About the Authors

Peter Seymour joined the New South Wales Police Force in 1980 as an eighteen-year-old, spending four years in uniform, twelve years as a detective and eight years as a police prosecutor. His career spanned 24 years before being discharged suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in 2004. At the time of his discharge he had attained the specialist qualifications of Designated Detective, Designated Police Prosecutor, Specialist Coronial Prosecutor and Trained Internal Affairs Investigator. His relentless pursuit of justice was revered throughout the NSW Police Force. Peter’s books, Seven Bones and Deadly Paths focus on the stress that murder investigations place on police and their families, as well as the families of the victims.

Jason K. Foster is an author, poet, journalist and secondary school history teacher. He holds a Masters Degree in History and a Diploma in Languages (Spanish). He has taught in Australia, the United Kingdom, Spain and Argentina. He has been published in American History magazines, Australian travel magazines and poetry anthologies in the United Kingdom. He has published a number of successful books in the true crime, history and children’s genres.