1 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:08,400 Speaker 1: You can listen to the Front on your smart sneaker 2 00:00:08,520 --> 00:00:12,639 Speaker 1: every morning to hear the latest episode. Just say play 3 00:00:12,680 --> 00:00:23,360 Speaker 1: the news from the Australian. From the Australian, here's what's 4 00:00:23,400 --> 00:00:27,760 Speaker 1: on the front. I'm Claire Harvey. It's Friday, June twenty one. 5 00:00:30,480 --> 00:00:33,440 Speaker 1: Renewables will have to make up the majority of Australia's 6 00:00:33,479 --> 00:00:39,160 Speaker 1: future electricity generation, even under Peter Dutton's nuclear plan. That's 7 00:00:39,159 --> 00:00:42,680 Speaker 1: according to energy experts who are chiming in as debate 8 00:00:42,840 --> 00:00:48,000 Speaker 1: rages about Australia's energy future amid fears we're already running 9 00:00:48,040 --> 00:00:54,520 Speaker 1: out of gas generation. There's a new fight ahead of 10 00:00:54,640 --> 00:00:57,959 Speaker 1: TV star Lisa Wilkinson, who's going to pay for her 11 00:00:58,040 --> 00:01:01,840 Speaker 1: new bid to contest the Federal Court's findings. The TV 12 00:01:02,000 --> 00:01:05,040 Speaker 1: presenter has already racked up legal fees of one point 13 00:01:05,040 --> 00:01:08,840 Speaker 1: eight million dollars defending herself from a defamation suit by 14 00:01:08,840 --> 00:01:12,440 Speaker 1: Bruce Lahman, whom the court found had, on the balance 15 00:01:12,440 --> 00:01:17,280 Speaker 1: of probabilities, raped fellow Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins. Lamman is 16 00:01:17,319 --> 00:01:21,480 Speaker 1: appealing those stories alive right now at The Australian dot 17 00:01:21,480 --> 00:01:28,280 Speaker 1: com dot a U a stunning new witness account in 18 00:01:28,319 --> 00:01:31,640 Speaker 1: the disappearance of thirty one year old mum Bronwyn Winfield 19 00:01:31,800 --> 00:01:35,759 Speaker 1: has emerged and it's turned the investigation on a gripping 20 00:01:35,920 --> 00:01:36,679 Speaker 1: new path. 21 00:01:37,360 --> 00:01:37,760 Speaker 2: Today. 22 00:01:37,959 --> 00:01:42,520 Speaker 1: What Bronwyn Winfield's neighbor saw late one night in May 23 00:01:42,800 --> 00:02:08,520 Speaker 1: nineteen ninety three, thirty one years ago, Judy Singh stood 24 00:02:08,639 --> 00:02:11,480 Speaker 1: in the living area of her two story home on 25 00:02:11,600 --> 00:02:16,720 Speaker 1: Granite Street in Lennox, head up well after dark. She 26 00:02:16,880 --> 00:02:20,119 Speaker 1: was a mum, a nurse, worried about how her new 27 00:02:20,160 --> 00:02:24,520 Speaker 1: pregnancy was progressing, and stressing about her job and money. 28 00:02:25,600 --> 00:02:28,959 Speaker 1: Down the road in the darkness, a car started up. 29 00:02:29,760 --> 00:02:32,280 Speaker 3: And this night I was sitting up and I saw 30 00:02:32,320 --> 00:02:34,320 Speaker 3: the car pull out at the end of the street 31 00:02:34,520 --> 00:02:37,840 Speaker 3: when the light was on in the car. There fairly 32 00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:42,480 Speaker 3: squeaky brakes on that car and he drove very slowly 33 00:02:42,880 --> 00:02:46,400 Speaker 3: along the street, but he had left the car light 34 00:02:46,560 --> 00:02:50,680 Speaker 3: on and I could see directly into the car that 35 00:02:51,400 --> 00:02:52,000 Speaker 3: you're listening. 36 00:02:52,800 --> 00:02:56,919 Speaker 1: Judy told this story to The Australian's National Chief correspondent 37 00:02:57,040 --> 00:03:01,240 Speaker 1: Headley Thomas for a new episode of the Alien's investigative 38 00:03:01,280 --> 00:03:03,279 Speaker 1: podcast series Bronwyn. 39 00:03:03,720 --> 00:03:05,480 Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm transfixed. 40 00:03:06,200 --> 00:03:10,960 Speaker 1: Yeah, that's Hedley interviewing Dudy. In recent days, listening to 41 00:03:11,080 --> 00:03:15,760 Speaker 1: her remarkable account of what she remembers from May nineteen 42 00:03:15,880 --> 00:03:20,440 Speaker 1: ninety three. Hedley is investigating the disappearance of thirty one 43 00:03:20,480 --> 00:03:24,880 Speaker 1: year old mother of two Bronwyn Winfield from Sandstone Crescent 44 00:03:25,200 --> 00:03:29,920 Speaker 1: on May sixteenth in nineteen ninety three. That night, Bronwyn 45 00:03:29,960 --> 00:03:35,040 Speaker 1: tucked her two little girls into bed and vanished. Police 46 00:03:35,080 --> 00:03:38,200 Speaker 1: investigations conducted over the past three decades have so far 47 00:03:38,360 --> 00:03:42,680 Speaker 1: failed to shed any light on Bronwyn's fate. Her husband, 48 00:03:42,800 --> 00:03:48,200 Speaker 1: John Winfield, has always maintained Bronwyn left the family home voluntarily. 49 00:03:49,400 --> 00:03:53,200 Speaker 1: The initial police investigation failed to consider the possibility she'd 50 00:03:53,240 --> 00:03:54,560 Speaker 1: met with foul play. 51 00:03:55,440 --> 00:03:58,840 Speaker 3: Yeah, and I could see directa into the car, and 52 00:03:59,160 --> 00:04:03,000 Speaker 3: I had a small lantern on the balcony rail and 53 00:04:03,040 --> 00:04:06,000 Speaker 3: he kind of looked up this night and I saw 54 00:04:06,080 --> 00:04:09,600 Speaker 3: this what looked to be like a mummy in the 55 00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:13,200 Speaker 3: back of the car, and I thought, what are it 56 00:04:13,200 --> 00:04:16,480 Speaker 3: be going late that night with? You know, something that 57 00:04:16,920 --> 00:04:19,800 Speaker 3: looked like I just called it a mummy. And I've 58 00:04:19,839 --> 00:04:24,480 Speaker 3: said this to my son so many times about this thing. 59 00:04:24,560 --> 00:04:28,120 Speaker 3: And I thought, well, if he'd pulled out and that 60 00:04:28,400 --> 00:04:31,200 Speaker 3: was a body in that car, it would be pressing 61 00:04:31,279 --> 00:04:36,200 Speaker 3: up against the surfboard and maybe what was causing the 62 00:04:36,279 --> 00:04:39,440 Speaker 3: light to be on in the car. And I thought, well, 63 00:04:39,520 --> 00:04:43,719 Speaker 3: even if he was taking out belongings, you wouldn't make 64 00:04:43,760 --> 00:04:46,479 Speaker 3: it look like a body, do you know what I mean? 65 00:04:47,279 --> 00:04:51,160 Speaker 2: So when you say a mummy, it was wrapped in something. 66 00:04:52,080 --> 00:04:57,760 Speaker 3: Yes, it was either very pale green or cream, not white, 67 00:04:58,040 --> 00:05:00,720 Speaker 3: but maybe like a bed sheet or some like that. 68 00:05:02,240 --> 00:05:06,120 Speaker 1: Judy is quite certain it was John Winfield driving the 69 00:05:06,200 --> 00:05:10,640 Speaker 1: family's white Ford Falcon that night. She says she could 70 00:05:10,680 --> 00:05:13,960 Speaker 1: see into the car because the interior light was on. 71 00:05:14,680 --> 00:05:18,240 Speaker 1: Something that's always troubled her. Why would the light be on? 72 00:05:18,880 --> 00:05:22,640 Speaker 1: What was that shape she'd seen in the backseat. John 73 00:05:22,680 --> 00:05:27,360 Speaker 1: Winfield denies any wrongdoing in this matter. He's never been charged. 74 00:05:31,240 --> 00:05:34,320 Speaker 1: This isn't the first time Judy Seingh has told her story. 75 00:05:35,600 --> 00:05:38,280 Speaker 1: She relayed what she'd seen to her friend and neighbor 76 00:05:38,480 --> 00:05:43,080 Speaker 1: Kerry McLain, shortly after Bromwin disappeared in nineteen ninety three. 77 00:05:43,120 --> 00:05:46,440 Speaker 1: Not long after, Judy reported it at Ballinor police station 78 00:05:46,920 --> 00:05:49,880 Speaker 1: on the New South Wales North Coast. A decade later, 79 00:05:50,080 --> 00:05:53,400 Speaker 1: she tried again, this time with the cops in Byron Bay. 80 00:05:54,360 --> 00:05:57,920 Speaker 1: Police heard her claims, but Judy says they didn't take 81 00:05:57,920 --> 00:06:02,440 Speaker 1: any interest. It wasn't until January twenty twenty three when 82 00:06:02,480 --> 00:06:05,960 Speaker 1: Headley got an email from Kerry McLain, Jude's old friend 83 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:09,400 Speaker 1: from Lennox head that the pieces began to fit together. 84 00:06:10,440 --> 00:06:13,120 Speaker 1: Kerry reached out to Headley because she knew of his 85 00:06:13,240 --> 00:06:17,320 Speaker 1: track record in investigating cold cases. She told him she 86 00:06:17,400 --> 00:06:21,919 Speaker 1: knew something about the disappearance of Bromwyn Winfield, including Judy's story. 87 00:06:22,560 --> 00:06:26,360 Speaker 1: Headley tried to track Judy down, but she's moved and remarried, 88 00:06:26,760 --> 00:06:30,480 Speaker 1: so her name has changed. Then, out of the blue, 89 00:06:30,520 --> 00:06:33,880 Speaker 1: just over a week ago, Judy contacted Headley by email, 90 00:06:34,320 --> 00:06:37,320 Speaker 1: saying she had heard about the podcast, although she hadn't 91 00:06:37,360 --> 00:06:39,919 Speaker 1: listened to it, and wanted to let him know what 92 00:06:40,160 --> 00:06:40,679 Speaker 1: she knew. 93 00:06:41,520 --> 00:06:44,080 Speaker 3: You wonder why the police wouldn't be interested in that. 94 00:06:44,560 --> 00:06:48,360 Speaker 3: Even now, I start getting quite churned up inside when 95 00:06:48,400 --> 00:06:51,719 Speaker 3: I'm thinking about it. It's just one of those things 96 00:06:51,720 --> 00:06:54,840 Speaker 3: that I've had to live with. My son Bo and 97 00:06:54,920 --> 00:06:57,520 Speaker 3: I talk about it a lot. I said to him 98 00:06:57,520 --> 00:07:00,960 Speaker 3: the other day, I said, you know, this is podcast 99 00:07:01,080 --> 00:07:05,559 Speaker 3: came on, you know the Australian newspaper, And I said 100 00:07:05,680 --> 00:07:08,560 Speaker 3: to my son, oh, there's this podcast about Bronwen. 101 00:07:08,640 --> 00:07:09,840 Speaker 2: I haven't actually seen it. 102 00:07:10,840 --> 00:07:13,520 Speaker 3: I said, oh, cry, what why should I do it? 103 00:07:13,560 --> 00:07:13,760 Speaker 1: You know? 104 00:07:13,880 --> 00:07:17,239 Speaker 3: And he said, oh it's crazy, Mom, You've. 105 00:07:17,080 --> 00:07:18,840 Speaker 2: Been thinking about that forever. 106 00:07:19,000 --> 00:07:22,760 Speaker 3: And I said, oh I ready and he said, oh great, 107 00:07:23,400 --> 00:07:27,880 Speaker 3: great good. I need get off your conscience. He said, Mum, 108 00:07:28,760 --> 00:07:32,640 Speaker 3: you've always you know, ANNGSD over this. Why ain't you're 109 00:07:32,720 --> 00:07:35,000 Speaker 3: in here? So that's what I. 110 00:07:34,880 --> 00:07:42,320 Speaker 1: Did coming up how this mystery sent our team on 111 00:07:42,560 --> 00:07:47,000 Speaker 1: the hunt for a vintage Ford Falcon. Subscribers to The 112 00:07:47,000 --> 00:07:51,360 Speaker 1: Australian here episodes of Bromwin first. This explosive new installment 113 00:07:51,480 --> 00:07:55,800 Speaker 1: is live right now at bromwanpodcast dot com. A subscription 114 00:07:55,920 --> 00:07:59,720 Speaker 1: also includes all the australians world class journalism and commentary, 115 00:08:00,120 --> 00:08:03,320 Speaker 1: as well as breaking news alerts, newsletters and special events. 116 00:08:03,720 --> 00:08:06,920 Speaker 1: Join us at the Australian dot com dot au and 117 00:08:06,960 --> 00:08:36,000 Speaker 1: we'll be back after this break. Judy Singh's account of 118 00:08:36,040 --> 00:08:38,920 Speaker 1: what she saw in the early hours of May sixteenth, 119 00:08:39,080 --> 00:08:44,440 Speaker 1: nineteen ninety three is chilling, But investigative journalism involves really 120 00:08:44,480 --> 00:08:48,199 Speaker 1: digging into any new piece of info, testing every story, 121 00:08:48,480 --> 00:08:51,679 Speaker 1: every bit of evidence. That's how our team wound up 122 00:08:51,720 --> 00:08:55,200 Speaker 1: searching for a white nineteen eighty seven Ford Falcon XF sedan. 123 00:08:55,840 --> 00:08:57,760 Speaker 1: It had to be automatic because of the way the 124 00:08:57,800 --> 00:09:01,400 Speaker 1: car's interior was configured. It had to be the exact 125 00:09:01,480 --> 00:09:04,800 Speaker 1: make and model of John Winfield's car, so we could 126 00:09:04,880 --> 00:09:08,920 Speaker 1: establish for ourselves whether what Judy says she saw was 127 00:09:09,000 --> 00:09:13,760 Speaker 1: really possible. We called old colleagues, texted friends, dived into 128 00:09:13,840 --> 00:09:18,160 Speaker 1: the car fanatics subculture on social media, rang every petrol 129 00:09:18,200 --> 00:09:21,840 Speaker 1: head we knew trying to find the exact make and model. 130 00:09:22,600 --> 00:09:26,480 Speaker 1: It was the Australian's National Crime correspondent David Murray who 131 00:09:26,520 --> 00:09:29,959 Speaker 1: came up with the goods. He located and excess sudan 132 00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:33,240 Speaker 1: in Ipswich in Queensland, only this one was blue. 133 00:09:34,559 --> 00:09:35,960 Speaker 2: There's plenty of roomen here. 134 00:09:37,240 --> 00:09:41,320 Speaker 1: That's our visual storytelling expert Sean Callanan, who also happens 135 00:09:41,360 --> 00:09:43,480 Speaker 1: to be a surfer and brought a bunch of his 136 00:09:43,520 --> 00:09:47,199 Speaker 1: boards along to Ipswich with Dave and Headley. Their aim 137 00:09:47,320 --> 00:09:50,320 Speaker 1: was to test out Judy's account of a board and 138 00:09:50,400 --> 00:09:53,880 Speaker 1: a body in the backseat of this car? Was that possible? 139 00:09:54,360 --> 00:09:57,760 Speaker 1: Would a human body and a surfboard both fit in 140 00:09:57,800 --> 00:10:02,040 Speaker 1: the back of this kind of sedan? Joining me'em in Ipswich, 141 00:10:02,240 --> 00:10:06,319 Speaker 1: was Bianca far Marcus, who's actually The Australian's hugely talented 142 00:10:06,440 --> 00:10:10,600 Speaker 1: video editor and has been voicing Bromwyn in this podcast. 143 00:10:11,080 --> 00:10:13,640 Speaker 1: When we moved to Lennox Head, I was even more lonely. 144 00:10:14,600 --> 00:10:18,559 Speaker 2: The house that was Bill became John's castle and my prison. 145 00:10:19,800 --> 00:10:24,560 Speaker 2: Bianca reads Bromwyn's letters and notes the ones Bromwin wrote 146 00:10:24,640 --> 00:10:28,640 Speaker 2: back in nineteen ninety three, and Bianca is the same 147 00:10:28,840 --> 00:10:32,960 Speaker 2: height as Bromwan one hundred and seventy three centimeters. She 148 00:10:33,080 --> 00:10:37,320 Speaker 2: has the same slender build as Bromwin. Bianca did not 149 00:10:37,480 --> 00:10:40,240 Speaker 2: bat an eyelid when she was told we would be 150 00:10:40,280 --> 00:10:43,640 Speaker 2: wrapping her up in a sheet, wrapping her to look 151 00:10:43,760 --> 00:10:47,600 Speaker 2: something like an Egyptian mummy, and then picking her up 152 00:10:47,840 --> 00:10:50,400 Speaker 2: and putting her in the back of an old Ford 153 00:10:50,480 --> 00:10:52,480 Speaker 2: falcon along with a surfboard. 154 00:10:53,320 --> 00:10:57,000 Speaker 3: So you could potentially fit in a board up to 155 00:10:58,280 --> 00:10:59,400 Speaker 3: close to seven foot. 156 00:11:00,080 --> 00:11:01,760 Speaker 2: Yeah, you could even go longer, be as you could 157 00:11:01,840 --> 00:11:03,880 Speaker 2: turn it over and put the nose on the dash 158 00:11:03,920 --> 00:11:08,199 Speaker 2: and the back of it on the back bench. The 159 00:11:08,240 --> 00:11:12,280 Speaker 2: next bit was the most challenging. Three middle aged white 160 00:11:12,400 --> 00:11:16,079 Speaker 2: males needed to literally wrap Bianchor up in a sheet 161 00:11:16,760 --> 00:11:19,320 Speaker 2: and then pick her up and place her in the 162 00:11:19,360 --> 00:11:23,199 Speaker 2: back of the car. We needed then to cover her head, 163 00:11:23,720 --> 00:11:25,840 Speaker 2: and we needed to see if she would fit with 164 00:11:25,960 --> 00:11:28,800 Speaker 2: the surfboard in the way Jude had described it. 165 00:11:30,440 --> 00:11:32,640 Speaker 1: To hear how the boys fit Bianca and the board 166 00:11:32,640 --> 00:11:34,640 Speaker 1: in the back seat. You can listen to the episode 167 00:11:34,840 --> 00:11:39,400 Speaker 1: and watch the startling video footage right now at brominpodcast 168 00:11:39,520 --> 00:11:44,120 Speaker 1: dot com. We also sent our visual storytelling expert Sean 169 00:11:44,200 --> 00:11:47,360 Speaker 1: Callanan to go with Heavily to Judy Singh's house in 170 00:11:47,480 --> 00:11:51,280 Speaker 1: order to capture in a visual sense what Judy remembers. 171 00:11:51,880 --> 00:11:54,880 Speaker 1: Sean is one of those digital experts who can do anything, 172 00:11:55,280 --> 00:11:57,520 Speaker 1: and when I described to him the challenge of bringing 173 00:11:57,600 --> 00:12:00,440 Speaker 1: Judy's memories to life, he came up with the idea 174 00:12:00,480 --> 00:12:04,680 Speaker 1: of collaborating with another of our digital design experts, Stephen Grice, 175 00:12:05,120 --> 00:12:08,880 Speaker 1: to first sketch what Judy described, then create a computer 176 00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:12,120 Speaker 1: image of the driver and what Judy described as a 177 00:12:12,200 --> 00:12:15,680 Speaker 1: mummy in the back of the car. We bought detailed 178 00:12:15,800 --> 00:12:19,360 Speaker 1: three dimensional images of the nineteen eighties forward XF the 179 00:12:19,480 --> 00:12:22,560 Speaker 1: very same model, and together Stephen and Sean place the 180 00:12:22,559 --> 00:12:26,000 Speaker 1: elements in the car, a driver, a surfboard, and a 181 00:12:26,040 --> 00:12:29,040 Speaker 1: body wrapped in a sheet slumped on the back seat. 182 00:12:30,080 --> 00:12:33,240 Speaker 1: The effect of the digital graphic they've created is chilling. 183 00:12:34,160 --> 00:12:37,400 Speaker 1: On bromwynpodcast dot com and the Australian dot com dot 184 00:12:37,400 --> 00:12:40,000 Speaker 1: au right now, you can see an animation of the 185 00:12:40,000 --> 00:12:43,280 Speaker 1: car driving along the street in the darkness, with its 186 00:12:43,400 --> 00:12:47,680 Speaker 1: interior light illuminating the body, the board and the driver. 187 00:12:48,720 --> 00:12:51,640 Speaker 1: The next question will be how New South Wales police 188 00:12:51,800 --> 00:12:55,720 Speaker 1: react to this development a fresh eyewitness account in this 189 00:12:55,920 --> 00:12:58,920 Speaker 1: thirty one year old mystery. To find out, go to 190 00:12:59,000 --> 00:13:02,880 Speaker 1: Bromwin podcast dot com right now and join our subscribers. 191 00:13:22,240 --> 00:13:25,560 Speaker 1: Episode seven of Bromwin is out for subscribers now and 192 00:13:25,720 --> 00:13:28,280 Speaker 1: you can see how we brought this stunning witness account 193 00:13:28,360 --> 00:13:32,559 Speaker 1: to life through three D renderings and recreations at our website. 194 00:13:33,200 --> 00:13:35,560 Speaker 1: Thanks for joining us on the front. Our team is 195 00:13:35,760 --> 00:13:40,240 Speaker 1: Kristin amiot Leat Sammaglu, Joshua Burton, Jasper League, Tiffany Dimack 196 00:13:40,400 --> 00:13:41,680 Speaker 1: and name Claire Harvey.