Raymond John Bailey was born on December 3, 1932, in Gilgandra, New South Wales, Australia. He was the youngest in his family, with four brothers and a sister. When Raymond turned 14, he left school and started working as a carpenter. He married at a young age and later took on jobs as an itinerant worker, moving from place to place in search of work.

In September 1957, Bailey bought a black 1938 DeSoto car in Renmark. Around the same time, he acquired a rifle from a man in Wirrulla but did not pay for it as agreed. Shortly after, he was traveling north with his wife and young son in the car and a caravan. While on the Alice Springs road, Bailey mentioned to another traveler that he was looking for work.

By the time he reached Mount Isa, Queensland, Bailey had found work at the local hospital. However, his life took a turn when he was arrested in January 1958. He faced charges for false pretenses related to the vehicle and for possessing an unlicensed weapon. Just two days after his initial arrest, he was charged with the murder of a woman named Thyra Bowman. Soon after, he was extradited to Adelaide to stand trial for the murder.

In December 1957, a family and a friend were on a road trip in Australia. They were traveling from Alice Springs to Adelaide. The group consisted of Sally Bowman, her daughter Wendy, and their family friend Thomas Whelan. Unfortunately, they went missing after last being seen at Kulgera Homestead, near the South Australian border.

After a significant search effort, their vehicle was discovered at Sundown Station. Tragically, the bodies of the three were found nearby. All had been severely beaten and shot. During the investigation, it was suggested that Raymond John Bailey had confronted and robbed the Bowman party. Reports indicated that Whelan attempted to protect the others and was shot in the back. Following this, Bailey attacked the two women and concealed their bodies in the car.

Bailey’s arrest came in January 1958, following a series of events leading up to the discovery of the murders. Evidence from the crime scene, including cartridge cases, linked Bailey to the shootings. During his trial in Adelaide, his defense claimed that he had not killed the trio, but rather acted in self-defense against someone else.

After trial and conviction, Bailey was sentenced to death. He managed to secure a stay of execution for a week to proclaim his innocence. He claimed he had killed the actual murderer after finding him with Sally Bowman's shoes. However, searches for the body he claimed to have buried yielded no results.

Eventually, on June 24, 1958, Bailey was executed by hanging. In the years following his execution, suspicions arose about the integrity of the investigation and trial. There were claims that the evidence and testimonies against him may have been mishandled or falsified. In 2013, an attempt for a posthumous pardon was made, but it was denied.