WEBVTT - Episode 22: Suburban Gothic 0:00:00.200 --> 0:00:04.640 Listeners are advised that this podcast series Bromwin contains course 0:00:04.760 --> 0:00:08.800 language and adult themes. This podcast series is brought to 0:00:08.840 --> 0:00:42.479 you by me Headley Thomas and The Australian. Some parts 0:00:42.520 --> 0:00:46.400 of this infuriating case about the sudden disappearance of Bromwin 0:00:46.440 --> 0:00:50.680 Winfield one unremarkable night in May nineteen ninety. 0:00:50.320 --> 0:00:52.080 Three are stranger than fiction. 0:00:53.120 --> 0:00:57.600 My longtime friend Matthew Condon, a widely published author, journalist 0:00:57.640 --> 0:01:01.200 for The Australian and podcaster, was dagged when I first 0:01:01.240 --> 0:01:04.319 shared with him a lengthy email written by someone in 0:01:04.440 --> 0:01:08.679 Lenox Head will call the person who wrote to me, Alex. 0:01:09.680 --> 0:01:11.680 Matt read it and got back to me quickly. 0:01:12.240 --> 0:01:17.120 He said, WHOA, this is entering suburban Gothic territory. 0:01:17.720 --> 0:01:21.960 Matt knows more about popular culture, books, movies, TV series 0:01:22.000 --> 0:01:25.360 and music than most of his colleagues. I thought I 0:01:25.480 --> 0:01:27.880 knew what he meant, but to be sure, I went 0:01:27.920 --> 0:01:32.120 to Wikipedia for a crash guide to suburban Gothic. The 0:01:32.200 --> 0:01:37.640 online encyclopedia says that suburban Gothic is dealing with concerns 0:01:37.680 --> 0:01:46.880 about hidden Gothic worlds behind the suburban facade. The TV 0:01:47.040 --> 0:01:51.200 series Twin Peaks, as well as acclaimed productions from Buffy 0:01:51.240 --> 0:01:55.440 the Vampire Slayer to Desperate Housewives to American Horror Story 0:01:55.520 --> 0:02:00.720 and Stepford Wives are cited as compelling examples. In the 0:02:00.720 --> 0:02:05.640 first two seasons of Bromwin, A suburban facade in Sandstone Crescent, 0:02:05.720 --> 0:02:09.720 Lennox Head has been laid bare. But now we are 0:02:09.760 --> 0:02:13.799 traveling a few kilometers east, closer to Boulder Beach and 0:02:13.919 --> 0:02:17.680 Skinner's Head and the fortress like home built by John 0:02:17.720 --> 0:02:20.799 Winfield more than twenty years ago with funds from the 0:02:20.919 --> 0:02:23.960 nineteen ninety nine sale of the house in which a 0:02:24.040 --> 0:02:27.720 young mother, Bromwyn Joy Winfield was last seen on the 0:02:27.840 --> 0:02:32.800 night of May sixteenth, nineteen ninety three. Bromwin never returned 0:02:32.840 --> 0:02:36.120 to see her children or to seek a single dollar 0:02:36.160 --> 0:02:39.760 from the sale proceeds of that house, even though she 0:02:40.000 --> 0:02:42.919 was entitled to as much as half the equity. 0:02:43.360 --> 0:02:48.600 John took it all. Now we are hovering over another address. 0:02:48.800 --> 0:02:52.600 A third property. It is a stone's throw from John's 0:02:52.680 --> 0:02:56.800 newer home. The house we are outside belonged to a 0:02:56.800 --> 0:03:01.359 woman called Beverly Brooker. She lived alone. It has an 0:03:01.360 --> 0:03:06.560 ocean lookout. But here's the unusual thing. Beverly's old house 0:03:06.680 --> 0:03:11.160 now belongs to John Winfield. This is the story of Beverly, 0:03:11.800 --> 0:03:15.640 the story of Bev's life and her assets worth several 0:03:15.720 --> 0:03:20.160 million dollars, the story of Bev's death, and how almost 0:03:20.360 --> 0:03:24.720 all those assets quietly fell into John's hands. Shortly before 0:03:24.760 --> 0:03:30.280 this podcast investigation started, Alex began the first of several 0:03:30.400 --> 0:03:33.320 lengthy pieces of correspondence to me like this. 0:03:34.200 --> 0:03:37.840 Please find attached some info I'd like to share regarding 0:03:37.880 --> 0:03:42.279 your investigation and podcast into the disappearance of Bronwyn Winfield. 0:03:43.120 --> 0:03:46.240 I only became aware of this case and John's identity 0:03:46.320 --> 0:03:49.240 in recent years, and was somewhat taken aback. 0:03:50.320 --> 0:03:52.960 The words that you are hearing were written by someone 0:03:53.000 --> 0:03:55.680 who had just a little to do with Bev Brooker. 0:03:56.000 --> 0:03:59.200 While Bev lived in what was for some years her 0:03:59.280 --> 0:04:02.000 ocean face home in Skemmer's Head. 0:04:02.480 --> 0:04:06.520 She seemed quite a lonely person, almost afraid of people. 0:04:06.840 --> 0:04:09.720 My initial thoughts were that she had some kind of 0:04:09.840 --> 0:04:14.280 social phobia or anxiety disorder, or had experienced some kind 0:04:14.320 --> 0:04:18.320 of trauma throughout her life. As a result, I felt 0:04:18.360 --> 0:04:20.920 a bit sorry for her, but I was curious to 0:04:20.960 --> 0:04:22.440 know more about her. 0:04:23.360 --> 0:04:26.479 I'm protecting the identity of the person who has been 0:04:26.560 --> 0:04:30.880 talking and writing to me about Bev. A female actor's 0:04:31.000 --> 0:04:32.560 voice is helping achieve this. 0:04:33.400 --> 0:04:36.680 I do currently feel compelled to write to you as 0:04:36.720 --> 0:04:39.480 I think the case needs to be solved, and perhaps 0:04:39.680 --> 0:04:43.280 some of this following information may be of assistance. 0:04:44.400 --> 0:04:48.040 Because of the sensitivity, I'm not going to confirm or 0:04:48.080 --> 0:04:52.479 deny whether the individual is male or female. This source 0:04:52.560 --> 0:04:55.120 is going to be known from here on as Alex, 0:04:55.760 --> 0:05:01.120 and that's deliberate too. It's a gender neutral name. Alex 0:05:01.200 --> 0:05:04.119 wanted to write and talk about the woman who once 0:05:04.279 --> 0:05:06.640 lived near John, Bevbrooker. 0:05:07.680 --> 0:05:14.120 She was quite reserved, quietly spoken, somewhat expressionless, and her 0:05:14.160 --> 0:05:17.880 speech was slow and deliberate, like she had to put 0:05:17.960 --> 0:05:20.920 thought into each word or sentence before she said it. 0:05:21.200 --> 0:05:24.480 She only ever shared a bit of small talk, never 0:05:24.600 --> 0:05:29.400 really expanding on conversations. However, she was always pleasant. John 0:05:29.440 --> 0:05:33.200 Winfield lives a few hundred meters away. His house is 0:05:33.279 --> 0:05:36.599 quite distinct. There are always tools of his trade or 0:05:36.720 --> 0:05:40.400 piles of gravel or bricks lying around, and he's often 0:05:40.440 --> 0:05:44.560 out the front tinkering with things. John was spending a 0:05:44.600 --> 0:05:48.000 fair bit of time doing work both inside and out 0:05:48.040 --> 0:05:51.600 on Beverly's house. It's a double story red brick house 0:05:51.800 --> 0:05:54.720 set back from the street, so there's no real backyard. 0:05:55.160 --> 0:05:58.719 Most of the gardens are at the front. Beverly was 0:05:58.760 --> 0:06:01.719 the only owner occupy higher of the house, a single 0:06:01.760 --> 0:06:02.920 lady living. 0:06:02.680 --> 0:06:03.159 On her own. 0:06:04.040 --> 0:06:09.400 She was extremely reclusive and somewhat eccentric. I never noticed 0:06:09.400 --> 0:06:13.960 her having visitors other than John Winfield or mowing contractors. 0:06:14.640 --> 0:06:17.960 The house from day to day was extremely well kept, 0:06:18.400 --> 0:06:23.080 but looked unused or somewhat devoid of human occupation. The 0:06:23.120 --> 0:06:25.760 blinds and curtains were always closed, and you would never 0:06:25.839 --> 0:06:29.080 know whether anyone was moving about inside the house, or 0:06:29.120 --> 0:06:31.680 whether the TV was on, or see the lights being 0:06:31.680 --> 0:06:33.760 switched on or off, or if anyone was at home 0:06:33.800 --> 0:06:38.240 at all. She very rarely attended any neighborhood gatherings or parties. 0:06:38.680 --> 0:06:41.680 I never saw her go off to community based activities 0:06:41.800 --> 0:06:45.000 like exercise classes, or even take a walk or a 0:06:45.040 --> 0:06:48.200 swim at the beach, which was only minutes away. Her 0:06:48.240 --> 0:06:53.400 cars had personalized plates with BEEV and numbers. After of 0:06:53.520 --> 0:06:56.600 more recent years, she had a bright red Honda Jazz 0:06:56.880 --> 0:07:00.120 and a bright red sporty looking Hatchback. Her bright and 0:07:00.160 --> 0:07:03.800 distinct vehicles were very much in contrast to her introverted 0:07:03.880 --> 0:07:08.240 character and personality. Another distinctive feature about Bev is that 0:07:08.480 --> 0:07:12.360 she wore the same style outfit every day nineties era 0:07:13.080 --> 0:07:17.200 long dark tights, long knee high or ankle height dress, boots, 0:07:17.280 --> 0:07:20.040 a tight t shirt or knitted jumper pulled over her 0:07:20.040 --> 0:07:23.480 tights with a wide belt pulled tight around her waist. 0:07:24.240 --> 0:07:27.280 From a distance, you might have thought she was much younger. 0:07:27.760 --> 0:07:31.760 She had a mass of long, frizzy blonde, fair hair, 0:07:32.160 --> 0:07:36.800 fair skin, and blue eyes quite distinct. Regardless of whether 0:07:36.840 --> 0:07:39.160 she was going to work or tending to the gardens. 0:07:39.200 --> 0:07:42.360 In the yard, winter or summer, Bev always had the 0:07:42.400 --> 0:07:45.920 same style outfit on. I never saw her wearing a 0:07:45.960 --> 0:07:49.840 summer dress or beach attire, or sandals or thongs or 0:07:49.920 --> 0:07:51.120 work wear in the garden. 0:07:52.280 --> 0:07:56.200 Alex said that Bev's garden was a bit special. It's 0:07:56.240 --> 0:08:00.559 immaculate straight lines of hedging, the lack of weeds, array 0:08:00.640 --> 0:08:03.800 of shrubs and flowers, and the neat and tidy layout. 0:08:04.600 --> 0:08:08.560 In the afternoons and on weekends, Bev spent many hours 0:08:08.600 --> 0:08:13.160 caring for the garden, still wearing that same outfit. She 0:08:13.280 --> 0:08:16.880 did reveal that she had cancer and that the prognosis 0:08:17.000 --> 0:08:20.800 was not great. Around this same time, Bev was doing 0:08:20.880 --> 0:08:25.080 extensive renovations to the insides of her home, and John's 0:08:25.200 --> 0:08:29.920 increasing presence at the premises became apparent. I'm not sure 0:08:29.960 --> 0:08:33.160 for exactly how long Bev and John had been friends, 0:08:33.600 --> 0:08:36.400 but he seemed to come and go regularly in more 0:08:36.440 --> 0:08:39.760 recent years and be able to let himself into the house. 0:08:40.480 --> 0:08:43.480 It seemed to me that John was Bev's only friend, 0:08:43.679 --> 0:08:46.600 and they were obviously very close at the time she 0:08:46.679 --> 0:08:48.240 was unwell. 0:08:48.280 --> 0:08:50.319 Alex observed something else. 0:08:51.040 --> 0:08:54.280 When I looked at the Bromwin Winfield case online. One 0:08:54.280 --> 0:08:57.720 thing that immediately struck me like a lightning bolt was 0:08:57.760 --> 0:09:01.480 the uncanny similarity of appearance between the photo of Bromwyn 0:09:01.679 --> 0:09:04.800 to the likeness of Beverly, albeit that Bev was some 0:09:04.960 --> 0:09:08.600 thirty five to forty years older. To this day, it 0:09:08.640 --> 0:09:12.000 has had me wondering whether there was any connection between 0:09:12.040 --> 0:09:15.560 Beverly and Bromwyn. Some people have said that John and 0:09:15.600 --> 0:09:19.120 Bev were involved in a clandestine relationship for quite some time, 0:09:19.320 --> 0:09:22.880 and John was visiting Bev secretly over many many years. 0:09:23.600 --> 0:09:27.360 Regardless of all the rumormonger ing and hearsay, I feel 0:09:27.360 --> 0:09:30.400 in my bones that something is just not sitting quite 0:09:30.480 --> 0:09:34.200 right with regard to John Winfield's interest and involvement in 0:09:34.200 --> 0:09:35.280 Beverly's life. 0:09:36.080 --> 0:09:39.559 Alex posed a series of questions, some of which we 0:09:39.640 --> 0:09:43.160 believe can be answered in this and upcoming episodes. 0:09:44.080 --> 0:09:48.440 One Why would such a reclusive, socially withdrawn single woman 0:09:48.840 --> 0:09:52.120 end up involved with the only man in town who 0:09:52.200 --> 0:09:53.960 is a known murder suspect? 0:09:54.520 --> 0:09:54.800 Two? 0:09:55.280 --> 0:09:59.400 Was BEV involved with John around the time of Bromwin's disappearance? 0:10:00.720 --> 0:10:05.640 Did Beverly and Bromwyn know each other? Four? Was BEV reclusive, 0:10:05.920 --> 0:10:10.400 private and withdrawn because she simply knew what happened to Bromwin. 0:10:10.800 --> 0:10:14.760 Five Is John Winfield an innocent man but a marked 0:10:14.920 --> 0:10:18.920 man living with innuendo and rumor for most of his life, 0:10:19.160 --> 0:10:22.880 hence keeping subsequent relationships very private. 0:10:24.000 --> 0:10:28.040 Alex concluded that first letter to me with these words, 0:10:28.520 --> 0:10:29.040 it would. 0:10:28.920 --> 0:10:32.280 Bug me indefinitely if I did not share these thoughts 0:10:32.280 --> 0:10:35.400 with someone who has a genuine intent to find the 0:10:35.520 --> 0:10:52.840 truth behind this whole sad story. 0:11:01.720 --> 0:11:05.240 After some back and forth by phone and email, Matthew 0:11:05.280 --> 0:11:08.760 Condon drove the short distance from his home in northern New. 0:11:08.640 --> 0:11:10.200 South Wales to meet Alex. 0:11:10.960 --> 0:11:13.800 We decided that a face to face meeting would be best, 0:11:13.920 --> 0:11:16.360 and at that time I was tied up in production 0:11:16.480 --> 0:11:20.800 for Bromwin episodes. Matt and Alex spoke somewhere quiet, Neil 0:11:20.840 --> 0:11:26.320 Lennox head. The conversation was recorded with Alex's consent. You'll 0:11:26.360 --> 0:11:29.040 hear Matt's side of it, his real voice, but a 0:11:29.160 --> 0:11:32.040 voice actor has done Alex's side. 0:11:32.280 --> 0:11:34.080 So we're looking at Beverly Brooker. 0:11:35.440 --> 0:11:37.280 When I look at the photo of Bromwin, I thought, 0:11:37.320 --> 0:11:42.360 oh my god, almost a replica of Bromwyn. She was 0:11:42.400 --> 0:11:45.439 a nice looking lady for her age. She had a 0:11:45.520 --> 0:11:48.960 very good figure and she showed it off. But you 0:11:49.080 --> 0:11:52.520 only ever saw her just tending the garden, and there 0:11:52.559 --> 0:11:55.000 were some days where she'd just ignore you. 0:11:55.720 --> 0:11:58.600 No sign of visitors apart from John Winfield. 0:11:59.320 --> 0:12:01.959 The cancer Cancil Carr was coming around to pick her up, 0:12:02.640 --> 0:12:05.640 obviously to take her in for treatment, and that was 0:12:05.720 --> 0:12:09.240 quite unusual because no one used to go apart from John. 0:12:10.640 --> 0:12:15.960 Bev Brooker had miso thelioma, a form of asbestosis. It 0:12:16.080 --> 0:12:19.000 was possibly a legacy of her job for the New 0:12:19.040 --> 0:12:23.480 South Wales government, working five decades in offices which, like 0:12:23.600 --> 0:12:29.320 many back in those days, were built from materials comprising asbestos, miso. 0:12:29.440 --> 0:12:31.679 Thelioma is a terminal illness. 0:12:32.720 --> 0:12:34.560 There were changes happening to the house. 0:12:34.920 --> 0:12:39.560 Yeah. Yeah, we couldn't understand why is she doing all this? 0:12:40.320 --> 0:12:42.200 He's clearly unwell. 0:12:42.160 --> 0:12:45.640 Very unwell, and he's coming and going and they're doing 0:12:45.720 --> 0:12:47.160 kitchens and bathrooms. 0:12:48.360 --> 0:12:52.560 Beverly Brooker died in September twenty twenty two. She was 0:12:52.640 --> 0:12:53.320 seventy one. 0:12:54.360 --> 0:12:57.120 I never found out anything whether she had a funeral. 0:12:58.160 --> 0:13:02.800 Do you remember Windfield or did you notice anyone coming 0:13:02.800 --> 0:13:04.520 and going from the house after her death? 0:13:05.160 --> 0:13:07.760 Oh, he still comes and goes all the time. 0:13:09.360 --> 0:13:12.520 Is it as simple as he is maintaining the property. 0:13:13.000 --> 0:13:17.440 No, he's still improving it. The house has been sitting 0:13:17.480 --> 0:13:19.480 there for two years empty. 0:13:20.120 --> 0:13:23.360 Could he be maintaining the house? She left it to 0:13:23.400 --> 0:13:25.840 a brother or she left it to a relative and 0:13:25.880 --> 0:13:27.559 he's just a mister handyman. 0:13:28.800 --> 0:13:32.280 Alex reckoned that was plausible, but had to acknowledge it 0:13:32.400 --> 0:13:36.800 was one of the unknowns. Others have also been speculating 0:13:36.880 --> 0:13:39.480 during brief catch ups in the shops and down at 0:13:39.480 --> 0:13:42.840 the beach. The story of Bev and John has run 0:13:42.880 --> 0:13:47.480 around like wildfire, dozens of interactions between people and the 0:13:47.559 --> 0:13:52.600 exchanges of information in a relatively small community. Matt was 0:13:52.640 --> 0:13:56.600 still curious about the relationship between Beverly and John. 0:13:57.480 --> 0:14:00.560 We don't know whether there were an item speak. 0:14:01.400 --> 0:14:06.320 I guess intimacy is in different forms. If he was 0:14:06.360 --> 0:14:08.520 the one who carried her out when she was blind 0:14:09.000 --> 0:14:11.240 and then she had a stroke and couldn't. 0:14:10.920 --> 0:14:14.120 Walk the last journey out of that house, correct, Yes, 0:14:14.360 --> 0:14:17.719 and took it to Saint Vincent's. Whichever way you want 0:14:17.760 --> 0:14:20.840 to define intimacy, it's about as intimate an act as 0:14:20.840 --> 0:14:24.000 you can get, isn't it to carry someone to their death? 0:14:24.400 --> 0:14:26.840 Yeah, and you're just the builder. 0:14:26.520 --> 0:14:30.120 And you're just the builder and the handyman. That also 0:14:30.200 --> 0:14:34.400 suggests she had no immediate family. This is an interesting question. 0:14:34.440 --> 0:14:36.080 Did Beverly and bronwin know each other? 0:14:36.880 --> 0:14:38.240 Yeah, well, I don't know. 0:14:38.640 --> 0:14:41.840 And would she have known anything about the missing Bronwin. 0:14:41.960 --> 0:14:45.880 Well, that's the thing I reckon she did. I reckon 0:14:46.360 --> 0:14:49.400 He's told her that I'm John Winfield and people don't 0:14:49.520 --> 0:14:53.000 like me because of this, and it's not true and 0:14:53.760 --> 0:14:56.320 I didn't do it sort of thing. And he's treated 0:14:56.360 --> 0:14:58.040 her well and done work for her. 0:14:58.920 --> 0:15:03.680 I mean, the odds too obsessively reclusive human beings hooking 0:15:03.760 --> 0:15:07.560 up in the same street. They're pretty long odds right? 0:15:07.640 --> 0:15:12.400 Did he in fact make her more reclusive? Speculated to 0:15:12.440 --> 0:15:18.359 Headley on the Weekend about this house. Throughout his three marriages, 0:15:19.360 --> 0:15:23.040 the big issue was the property settlement and if he 0:15:23.120 --> 0:15:26.000 was adamant to Bronwin, there was no way she was 0:15:26.040 --> 0:15:28.840 getting the house. And here's a second property within walking 0:15:28.880 --> 0:15:29.760 distance of his own. 0:15:30.600 --> 0:15:33.000 He's a nice lady. I'll help her out. 0:15:34.200 --> 0:15:38.440 Reading and hearing in the podcast about Bromwin's disappearance troubled 0:15:38.480 --> 0:15:39.400 Alex greatly. 0:15:40.080 --> 0:15:41.680 The more Alex learned about it. 0:15:41.600 --> 0:15:46.080 From the podcast, the more curious Alex became about Bromin's fate. 0:15:46.880 --> 0:15:50.600 Look at the Dowson case. They were standing over the police. 0:15:50.760 --> 0:15:52.040 Of course he didn't do it. 0:15:52.160 --> 0:15:54.840 He's a footballer, Yeah, big stars. 0:15:56.120 --> 0:15:59.760 John's presence at Beverly's house in Skinner's Head before she 0:15:59.800 --> 0:16:03.400 began came ill was obvious. It was a talking point 0:16:03.440 --> 0:16:07.120 among residents, they're visitors and some of the tradees who 0:16:07.200 --> 0:16:11.800 worked at the house. The talk didn't lessen after Beverly died. 0:16:12.280 --> 0:16:15.920 It grew and it escalated again when the Bromin. 0:16:15.560 --> 0:16:19.960 Podcast series started. Unlike some of the gossip. 0:16:19.840 --> 0:16:23.440 And the occasionally unkind things which were said by some 0:16:23.520 --> 0:16:27.239 about the two somewhat eccentric people in their early seventies. 0:16:27.680 --> 0:16:29.360 John's physical work. 0:16:29.080 --> 0:16:32.400 On the property Beverly owned was real and tangible. 0:16:33.040 --> 0:16:37.240 I don't know whether she paid him. She's alone as 0:16:37.280 --> 0:16:40.760 time goes on, figures it out in his head. I 0:16:40.800 --> 0:16:44.240 think I might be onto something here. She has no friends. 0:16:45.320 --> 0:16:48.120 When I wrote all this, I thought, they're not going 0:16:48.160 --> 0:16:50.880 to believe what I'm saying. They're going to think it's 0:16:50.920 --> 0:16:55.080 all hogwash. It's like a soapie, but it's. 0:16:54.960 --> 0:16:58.320 Real, bloody hell. What's going on there. 0:16:58.840 --> 0:17:01.680 That's what makes me think he now owns it, or 0:17:01.800 --> 0:17:04.480 is in line to own it. It'll be interesting to 0:17:04.480 --> 0:17:05.639 see what that will said. 0:17:06.520 --> 0:17:09.800 I can't help but think of this fastidious man, knowing 0:17:09.840 --> 0:17:11.520 in the back of his head that a few doors 0:17:11.600 --> 0:17:17.080 up this project, there's immaculate project he's keeping, and maybe 0:17:17.119 --> 0:17:19.280 to wake up and have a serf and think today 0:17:19.320 --> 0:17:23.520 I'll go and make sure that everything's perfect. And still 0:17:23.520 --> 0:17:24.080 it's empty. 0:17:24.440 --> 0:17:27.880 It's empty. If he was really desperate for money, you'd 0:17:27.880 --> 0:17:28.800 probably rent it. 0:17:29.560 --> 0:17:30.239 Why keep it? 0:17:31.400 --> 0:17:32.199 Why not sell it? 0:17:32.760 --> 0:17:34.960 He doesn't want anyone in there messing it up. 0:17:35.800 --> 0:17:39.120 But it's like this bizarre Museum artifact. 0:17:39.680 --> 0:17:43.280 Matt Leaves to print out of Alex's first letter, the 0:17:43.280 --> 0:17:46.320 one in which Alex questioned what John's motives were. 0:17:47.359 --> 0:17:48.040 Was he the. 0:17:48.080 --> 0:17:52.960 Ultimate good samaritan looking after another introvert because he cared 0:17:53.040 --> 0:17:56.359 deeply for Bev, so much that he was there for 0:17:56.400 --> 0:18:00.439 her during her darkest months, weeks and days as the 0:18:00.600 --> 0:18:05.320 end neared, a selfless volunteer, a shoulder to cry on, 0:18:05.960 --> 0:18:10.159 a pillar of support. Or was John always playing a 0:18:10.200 --> 0:18:13.640 long game with a watchful eye on the spoils the 0:18:13.640 --> 0:18:18.840 beachside house, the savings in Bev's bank accounts, new cars, 0:18:18.880 --> 0:18:23.879 and other items of monetary value. Are those two contrasting 0:18:23.920 --> 0:18:26.040 agendas mutually exclusive. 0:18:26.880 --> 0:18:30.720 It's simply not normal that a suburb continues to function 0:18:30.880 --> 0:18:33.200 day in, day out, twenty four to seven people come, 0:18:33.480 --> 0:18:37.960 keep people of kids, families, dogs, all of this, and 0:18:38.040 --> 0:18:41.760 sitting there, Christine is an empty. 0:18:41.560 --> 0:18:46.160 House managed by a murder suspect. She did have some 0:18:46.240 --> 0:18:49.240 relatives or brothers. I think. 0:18:50.560 --> 0:18:54.439 I'm going to ask him all about his sister. What 0:18:54.600 --> 0:18:55.280 was going on there? 0:18:55.320 --> 0:18:58.000 Okay, sounds good? 0:19:04.400 --> 0:19:08.159 Hello, Hello, Jeff, it is hello Redley. 0:19:08.840 --> 0:19:12.000 I've joined my colleague and friend, Madison Walsh to the 0:19:12.040 --> 0:19:14.840 call Hello, Hello, Madison. 0:19:15.400 --> 0:19:18.960 Maddie's in Sydney. She knows a little bit about this, 0:19:19.000 --> 0:19:20.600 and I just thought it'd be great if she's on 0:19:20.640 --> 0:19:21.200 the call too. 0:19:22.480 --> 0:19:25.680 Maddie and I knew a little about it, becurse. Apart 0:19:25.760 --> 0:19:28.800 from the letter sent by Alex, there have also been 0:19:28.880 --> 0:19:32.959 emails and messages tipping me off about Bev, her estate, 0:19:33.520 --> 0:19:37.920 and John. These nuggets of information from listeners who are 0:19:38.040 --> 0:19:41.200 residents of Lennox Head and the nearby town of Balina 0:19:41.320 --> 0:19:44.520 are a testament to the power of podcasting and the 0:19:44.640 --> 0:19:46.280 listeners who want to help. 0:19:47.119 --> 0:19:49.879 Jeff, Can you tell me a bit about your sister? 0:19:51.160 --> 0:19:51.879 Right? Okay? 0:19:52.040 --> 0:19:56.959 So my sister dev Beverly Brooker had two brothers, Jeff 0:19:57.160 --> 0:19:59.720 and Paul Outerbridge. 0:19:59.280 --> 0:20:03.080 From sixty not far from retirement. 0:20:04.000 --> 0:20:05.359 Paul is almost there. 0:20:06.400 --> 0:20:08.840 When I first got in touch with Jeff, he had 0:20:08.920 --> 0:20:12.679 heard about the Bromwin podcast, but he was having trouble listening. 0:20:13.160 --> 0:20:16.560 I don't even know how to text. Technology has left 0:20:16.600 --> 0:20:18.639 me behind, mate. 0:20:18.720 --> 0:20:22.639 But Jeff had already formed strong views about John Winfield. 0:20:23.600 --> 0:20:27.440 Jeff had two sisters, Bev Van Margaret, and both are deceased. 0:20:27.960 --> 0:20:32.280 Jeff's partner has died. Jeff's brother, Paul, lives in Ballina 0:20:32.400 --> 0:20:34.200 with his wife Sarah. 0:20:34.440 --> 0:20:37.520 He's the youngest of the four of us and he's 0:20:37.720 --> 0:20:38.840 just turned sixty. 0:20:40.119 --> 0:20:43.359 Along with Jeff, they have fond memories of Bev, but 0:20:43.560 --> 0:20:47.520 not of John. I sat in my car in Brisbane 0:20:47.600 --> 0:20:50.720 one evening and Maddie at her family home as Jeff 0:20:50.760 --> 0:20:54.480 talked about Bev and the unusual turn of events before 0:20:54.960 --> 0:20:57.080 and immediately after Bev died. 0:20:58.200 --> 0:21:02.560 She worked her who working life at the one job 0:21:02.680 --> 0:21:05.679 from the time she left school, which was the Roads 0:21:05.760 --> 0:21:09.239 and Maritime Authority, and Bed worked in the office at 0:21:09.280 --> 0:21:12.840 the depot in Ballina in the secretary or section, and 0:21:12.920 --> 0:21:16.600 she was deadly involved with all her work colleagues. She 0:21:16.720 --> 0:21:18.679 had a lot of good close friends go to her 0:21:18.720 --> 0:21:21.800 work and she worked away up the ladder and she 0:21:22.000 --> 0:21:25.960 was doing quite well. She had been married, and I 0:21:26.080 --> 0:21:29.199 remained very good friends with her ex husband, and he 0:21:29.280 --> 0:21:32.639 was a nice guy and they didn't have any children together. 0:21:33.400 --> 0:21:36.480 But obviously things didn't work out and they went their 0:21:36.520 --> 0:21:40.560 separate ways, which was fine. When she separated from her 0:21:40.640 --> 0:21:43.439 husband and her home was sold, she moved down to 0:21:43.480 --> 0:21:47.000 Ballina to be closer to work, and eventually ended up 0:21:47.040 --> 0:21:50.800 buying her house over at Skinner's Head and kept in 0:21:50.880 --> 0:21:55.239 contact with myself and my brother and my mother, and 0:21:55.280 --> 0:21:57.760 we were all very close. She had a beautiful garden 0:21:57.800 --> 0:22:00.479 at her house. She loved working in the garden. 0:22:01.320 --> 0:22:02.800 Where did you and Bev grow up? 0:22:03.760 --> 0:22:07.760 Well, we all grew up in Balner, born and raised 0:22:07.760 --> 0:22:11.560 in Barner. Had a shop in Barner, a general store. 0:22:11.960 --> 0:22:15.440 He also worked at the local council. Yeah, we spent 0:22:15.640 --> 0:22:17.520 most of our time here in Barner. 0:22:18.400 --> 0:22:20.679 Did you know John Winfield? 0:22:21.640 --> 0:22:25.560 Never knew him, never knew anything about him, didn't know 0:22:25.640 --> 0:22:29.159 anything about the story. His name was never brought up 0:22:29.200 --> 0:22:34.639 in conversation at any of our gatherings, our family gatherings. Nothing. 0:22:34.840 --> 0:22:36.960 It was just a bolt out of the blue. 0:22:37.560 --> 0:22:39.680 And what was that bolt out of the blue? 0:22:39.960 --> 0:22:42.720 Can you put your finger on the first time you 0:22:42.840 --> 0:22:45.879 heard of John Winfield in connection with your sister Bev? 0:22:47.160 --> 0:22:49.040 Okay, So that would have been the day that I 0:22:49.119 --> 0:22:52.000 went to the solicitors to sign some paperwork for Bev 0:22:52.359 --> 0:22:56.560 in regards to injury and guardian and power of attorney, 0:22:57.119 --> 0:22:58.640 those sort of PaperWorks. 0:22:59.240 --> 0:23:03.600 It was early May twenty twenty two. 0:23:02.800 --> 0:23:07.159 And the solicitor brought up his name and said to me, 0:23:07.720 --> 0:23:11.240 this is John, this is his name and he is 0:23:11.280 --> 0:23:14.280 Bev's partner, which was a shock, total shock. 0:23:14.800 --> 0:23:16.399 And why was that a total shop? 0:23:17.400 --> 0:23:21.879 Because they've never mentioned anything about anybody in her life. 0:23:22.440 --> 0:23:24.919 He was never at any of our functions. 0:23:25.680 --> 0:23:29.040 Would Bev usually have shared information like that. 0:23:29.920 --> 0:23:33.439 Might not have shared it with myself and my brother, 0:23:33.760 --> 0:23:36.359 but I'm sure she would have brought up the conversation 0:23:36.560 --> 0:23:41.720 with my partner at some stage, and or my brother's partner. 0:23:42.359 --> 0:23:45.320 He would have mentioned something to them, or even my mother. 0:23:46.000 --> 0:23:47.920 None of those knew anything about him. 0:23:48.840 --> 0:23:52.159 The Ballona solicitor who told Jeff about the status of 0:23:52.240 --> 0:23:56.840 John Winfield in Bev's life was acting for Bev. I 0:23:57.000 --> 0:24:01.040 asked Jeff Outerbridge whether, apart from being an enduring guardian, 0:24:01.359 --> 0:24:04.520 he had any active legal role as Bev's brother in 0:24:04.600 --> 0:24:06.959 helping manage Bev's affairs at that time. 0:24:07.760 --> 0:24:10.400 No. I think she knew things were starting to get 0:24:10.440 --> 0:24:13.320 a bit desperate and she needed to have some people 0:24:13.480 --> 0:24:17.000 that could take care of her affairs. I had the 0:24:17.080 --> 0:24:21.400 doctor's report on you, and it says that she had 0:24:22.040 --> 0:24:26.720 metastatic me so barly omer. It started out as a 0:24:27.160 --> 0:24:31.520 lung cancer and then it spread to her brain. I 0:24:31.600 --> 0:24:34.240 knew she was ill because when she was at my 0:24:34.400 --> 0:24:37.919 partner's funeral, I could tell she was very very ill. 0:24:38.480 --> 0:24:41.959 She organized with the solicitor to get all that paperwork 0:24:42.400 --> 0:24:46.080 up to date and sign off on so if anything happens, 0:24:46.280 --> 0:24:48.840 people could make decisions for her. But of course the 0:24:48.920 --> 0:24:51.520 main person that was going to be making any decisions 0:24:51.640 --> 0:24:53.800 was going to be John Enduring. 0:24:53.880 --> 0:24:59.560 Guardianship is only any good up until the point of the. 0:24:59.600 --> 0:25:03.840 Person passes away. Since the person passes away, that is 0:25:03.880 --> 0:25:06.800 all then null and void. I can't touch anything to 0:25:06.840 --> 0:25:09.800