Bio

Leigh Anthony Bridgart was born in Melbourne, Victoria, in 1947 or 1948. He attended Brighton and Caulfield Grammar and Scotch College, where he received his education. After school, he began working in real estate. Later, he became a gun dealer and spent time with people involved in Melbourne's underworld.

From 1965 to 1968, Bridgart worked in the opal industry and traveled often between Melbourne and Coober Pedy, a mining town in South Australia. He also worked on a cattle station in Western Australia. Many people in the Kimberley region remembered him even decades later.

In 1969, Bridgart was involved in a serious accident. A business partner accidentally shot him in the head while they were handling a pistol. He survived, but the bullet damaged his sense of smell and taste.

In 1971, Bridgart faced 12 charges related to the abduction and sexual assault of four boys in Victoria. Before the trial, he skipped bail and fled to Western Australia. By November 1974, he had moved to Tasmania and changed his name to James Ryan O’Neill.

Murder Story

In February 1975, James Ryan O'Neill, who was then known as Leigh Anthony Bridgart, committed his first known murder, taking the life of nine-year-old Ricky John Smith in Tasmania. O'Neill encountered Smith while the boy had gone out to buy cigarettes. After murdering Ricky, O'Neill hid his body in a remote area of bushland. In the days following this event, O'Neill participated in the search for the missing boy, all the while planning his next crime.

During the next two weeks, multiple children were abducted in separate incidents but managed to escape. Eventually, O'Neill abducted nine-year-old Bruce Colin Wilson and murdered him as well. Wilson’s body was discovered near Risdon Vale a few months later, shortly after Ricky Smith’s disappearance was reported.

Once authorities began investigating the two murders, they included Sergeant Richard McCreadie in the case. O'Neill ultimately led police to the location of Ricky Smith’s body. He was arrested and charged with both murders, but due to legal practices at the time, he was only tried for the murder of Ricky Smith. In his trial, O'Neill pleaded insanity, claiming he had been threatened. However, both detectives denied his accusations. On July 2, 1976, after a jury deliberated for only 3.5 hours, O'Neill was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison.

His life sentence made him the longest-serving prisoner in Tasmania for a single offense. O'Neill became eligible for parole in 1986, but his request in 1991 was denied. His case gained more attention years later when speculation arose about his possible involvement in the disappearance of the Beaumont children in 1966. A documentary titled "The Fishermen" explored this angle but stirred significant legal contention, resulting in attempts to block its broadcast.

Authorities have long suspected that O'Neill may have murdered other children during his travels across Australia before his known convictions. Despite these suspicions, he remained steadfast in denying any involvement in the cases of missing children beyond those he was convicted for. He continued to serve his sentence, and the cases connected to him remain a subject of ongoing investigation and discussion.