PHOENIX, October 11, 2025 — An American man received a three-year prison sentence Thursday for his role in communicating with the family behind the deadly Wieambilla shootings in Queensland, Australia, highlighting the reach of online radicalization and the challenges of prosecuting those who enable extremist violence.
Conspiracy and Communication: A Sentence Handed Down
Donald Day, 58, pleaded guilty to possessing firearms as a convicted felon after a year-long investigation into his contact with Gareth, Nathaniel, and Stacey Train before their fatal ambush of police and a neighbor.
- Donald Day communicated with the Trains via YouTube under the pseudonym “Geronimo’s Bones” for nearly two years.
- The Trains fatally shot a neighbor and two police constables in Wieambilla, Queensland, in December 2022.
- Day’s prior charges related to threats against WHO figures and FBI agents were dropped as part of the plea deal.
- Families of the slain officers expressed grief and frustration with the sentence, deeming it insufficient.
Donald Day, of Arizona, was sentenced in U.S. federal court after reaching a plea agreement with prosecutors in October 2025. The agreement saw him admit to illegally possessing firearms despite a prior felony conviction. Charges of threatening figures at the World Health Organization and FBI agents, as well as possession of an illegal shotgun, were dismissed.
The families of Constables Matthew Arnold, 26, and Rachel McCrow, 29, who were killed in the December 2022 ambush at Wieambilla, expressed their anguish over the sentence. “Today has brought yet another wave of extreme emotions that has left us feeling numb,” they said in a statement Friday. “After time already served, he will likely spend just a few more months in jail – not much considering the life sentences we’ve been given.”
According to court documents, Day used the online alias “Geronimo’s Bones” to exchange comments and videos with the Trains between May 2021 and December 2022. U.S. District Judge John Tuchi heard testimony detailing this online interaction.
The Wieambilla Ambush and its Aftermath
Brothers Nathaniel, 46, and Gareth, 47, Train ambushed and killed Constables Arnold and McCrow at Wieambilla in December 2022, using high-powered rifles. Shortly after, Gareth Train’s wife, Stacey, 45, and the brothers fatally shot neighbor Alan Dare, 58.
The Trains referenced Day in their final video recording, made shortly before they were killed in a shootout with tactical officers. “They came to us, and we killed them,” Gareth and Stacey Train stated in the video. “We’ll see you when we go home. We’ll see you at home, Don. Love you.”
Day responded to the video with a belligerent message: “Those bastards will regret that they ever f***ed with us.”
Queensland Police Minister Dan Purdie described the Wieambilla shootings as “one of the darkest days in our state’s history,” expressing his condolences to the victims’ families and friends. “No sentence handed down today will ever atone for the senseless and horrific murders of constables Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow, and neighbour Alan Dare,” Purdie said. “They were calculated and cold-blooded acts of violence that shocked Queensland and the nation.”
Delusional Beliefs and the Role of Online Contact
A Queensland inquest in November 2025 determined that the Trains suffered from shared psychotic disorders and believed “war had reached their gates,” perceiving a battle against satanic entities disguised as law enforcement. Day’s lawyer, Jon Sands, argued in court that “it was the Trains’ shared psychotic disorders, not their communications with Mr Day, that explained their actions.” Sands had requested a sentence of two years and three months with 12 months of supervised release.
Prosecutors, led by Timothy Courchaine, had sought a more severe sentence of three years and 10 months with three years of supervised release. Day ultimately received a 36-month prison sentence, minus the two years and three months he had already served in custody since his December 2023 arrest by the FBI in Arizona.
Day will be subject to three years of supervised release after serving at least 90 percent of his sentence. He was also ordered to forfeit his firearms and ammunition, including military-style rifles, shotguns, and handguns.
