1 00:00:06,552 --> 00:00:10,072 Speaker 1: True Crime Conversations acknowledges the traditional owners of land and 2 00:00:10,152 --> 00:00:13,271 Speaker 1: waters that this podcast was recorded on. Oh hi there, 3 00:00:13,272 --> 00:00:17,271 Speaker 1: True Crime Conversations listeners, whether your brand new here or 4 00:00:17,312 --> 00:00:20,352 Speaker 1: have been with us from the very beginning, welcome. I'm 5 00:00:20,392 --> 00:00:22,872 Speaker 1: your host, Claire Murphy, and like so many of you, 6 00:00:23,152 --> 00:00:26,832 Speaker 1: I have always had a very deep interest in true crime. 7 00:00:26,912 --> 00:00:28,552 Speaker 1: I don't know about you, but I read it, I 8 00:00:28,632 --> 00:00:32,032 Speaker 1: watch it, I listen to it. And True Crime Conversations 9 00:00:32,272 --> 00:00:35,072 Speaker 1: is about giving victims a voice and speaking with people 10 00:00:35,072 --> 00:00:38,791 Speaker 1: who really know the cases, journalists, authors and experts who 11 00:00:38,952 --> 00:00:42,672 Speaker 1: spent time researching what really happened. We are not here 12 00:00:42,672 --> 00:00:46,112 Speaker 1: to sensationalize. Our goal is to create a space for respectful, 13 00:00:46,272 --> 00:00:49,992 Speaker 1: important conversations that go deeper than the headlines. Many of 14 00:00:49,992 --> 00:00:52,351 Speaker 1: the stories that we cover do focus on women, and 15 00:00:52,391 --> 00:00:55,792 Speaker 1: that's because sadly, women make up the majority of victims 16 00:00:55,832 --> 00:00:58,871 Speaker 1: in violent crimes. In fact, one in four women in 17 00:00:58,872 --> 00:01:02,072 Speaker 1: Australia has experienced violence by an intimate partner since the 18 00:01:02,112 --> 00:01:05,352 Speaker 1: age of fifteen. But we do cover a wide range 19 00:01:05,352 --> 00:01:08,992 Speaker 1: of cases from this appearances and scams to shocking assaults 20 00:01:08,992 --> 00:01:11,952 Speaker 1: and murders. Cases from here in Australia and all over 21 00:01:11,992 --> 00:01:14,791 Speaker 1: the world. I mean, even though we're an Aussie made podcast, 22 00:01:15,152 --> 00:01:18,831 Speaker 1: you will hear voices from just about everywhere, survivors, experts 23 00:01:18,831 --> 00:01:21,872 Speaker 1: and storytellers who bring these cases to life. And if 24 00:01:21,872 --> 00:01:24,232 Speaker 1: there's every case that you'd like us to cover, or 25 00:01:24,271 --> 00:01:26,472 Speaker 1: a survivor you think we should really speak to, we 26 00:01:26,512 --> 00:01:28,711 Speaker 1: would love to hear from you. You can send us 27 00:01:28,712 --> 00:01:30,791 Speaker 1: an email or a voice note, and there are links 28 00:01:30,872 --> 00:01:33,752 Speaker 1: for both of those in the show notes. Now, over 29 00:01:33,752 --> 00:01:35,952 Speaker 1: the next few weeks, we're going to be doing true 30 00:01:35,952 --> 00:01:39,592 Speaker 1: crime conversations a little bit differently. We are re releasing 31 00:01:39,592 --> 00:01:42,472 Speaker 1: a few episodes from the very early days of this podcast, 32 00:01:42,512 --> 00:01:45,152 Speaker 1: and we're talking way back in twenty nineteen when the 33 00:01:45,191 --> 00:01:48,992 Speaker 1: excellent Jesse Stevens was hosting. Now, usually we don't go 34 00:01:49,072 --> 00:01:51,752 Speaker 1: back and redo episodes because a lot of the cases 35 00:01:51,792 --> 00:01:54,232 Speaker 1: we cover are what we call evergreen, so that means 36 00:01:54,232 --> 00:01:56,672 Speaker 1: you can scroll back and listen to them at any time. 37 00:01:56,752 --> 00:02:00,272 Speaker 1: But these early episodes came out so long ago that 38 00:02:00,272 --> 00:02:02,592 Speaker 1: we're thinking some of you might have missed them, so 39 00:02:02,752 --> 00:02:04,392 Speaker 1: we're bringing a few of them back and we hope 40 00:02:04,432 --> 00:02:06,392 Speaker 1: you'll find something new or hear a story that you 41 00:02:06,472 --> 00:02:10,112 Speaker 1: hadn't come across before. Today we're revisiting the story of 42 00:02:10,152 --> 00:02:15,432 Speaker 1: Belgian backpacker Devien Arkins. This is a truly chilling case. 43 00:02:15,712 --> 00:02:19,032 Speaker 1: In twenty seventeen, Devine was lured to a remote South 44 00:02:19,032 --> 00:02:23,152 Speaker 1: Australian property by a man named Jean Charles Bristow. He 45 00:02:23,312 --> 00:02:27,552 Speaker 1: kidnapped her, assaulted her and held her captive, but she 46 00:02:27,792 --> 00:02:30,872 Speaker 1: managed to escape and it's a story of both trauma 47 00:02:31,352 --> 00:02:35,312 Speaker 1: and incredible strength. There haven't been any major public updates 48 00:02:35,352 --> 00:02:38,112 Speaker 1: on this case since twenty nineteen, but it remains one 49 00:02:38,152 --> 00:02:42,952 Speaker 1: of Australia's most disturbing and memorable. Award winning journalist Richard Gilliot, 50 00:02:42,952 --> 00:02:45,992 Speaker 1: who covered the case, joins Jesse Stevens in this episode 51 00:02:46,032 --> 00:02:48,912 Speaker 1: to walk us through what happened. After you've listened, we 52 00:02:48,952 --> 00:02:51,272 Speaker 1: would love to know your thoughts, especially if this is 53 00:02:51,312 --> 00:02:54,232 Speaker 1: a case that you haven't heard of before and don't forget. 54 00:02:54,352 --> 00:02:57,432 Speaker 1: We're also on TikTok at True Crime Conversations, where you 55 00:02:57,432 --> 00:03:00,312 Speaker 1: can find quick explainers and clips from our interviews. You 56 00:03:00,352 --> 00:03:01,992 Speaker 1: can dm us there too if you want to get 57 00:03:02,032 --> 00:03:02,432 Speaker 1: in touch. 58 00:03:04,632 --> 00:03:08,472 Speaker 2: A quick warning this episode contains discussions of sexual assault 59 00:03:08,872 --> 00:03:13,032 Speaker 2: and the recounting of traumatic events. Listener discretion is advised. 60 00:03:16,832 --> 00:03:20,512 Speaker 2: Sweat was trickling down Lucy Arnaud's back as she stepped 61 00:03:20,512 --> 00:03:23,632 Speaker 2: off the bus in murray Bridge, an hour or so 62 00:03:23,712 --> 00:03:30,232 Speaker 2: from Adelaide in South Australia. It was February nine, the 63 00:03:30,312 --> 00:03:34,672 Speaker 2: thick of the Australian summer. Back in Belgium, her friends 64 00:03:34,672 --> 00:03:38,632 Speaker 2: would be freezing, but here she was about to embark 65 00:03:38,752 --> 00:03:44,472 Speaker 2: on a lone backpacking trip around Australia. Petite and quiet, 66 00:03:44,832 --> 00:03:48,392 Speaker 2: Lucy was excited about her big adventure in a country 67 00:03:48,432 --> 00:03:51,472 Speaker 2: that she thought was safe and full of people who 68 00:03:51,512 --> 00:03:56,392 Speaker 2: were friendly and nice. As she stood at the bus stop, 69 00:03:56,512 --> 00:04:01,272 Speaker 2: she spotted the man she was waiting for, Max, but 70 00:04:02,032 --> 00:04:05,112 Speaker 2: as she would later find out, his name wasn't actually 71 00:04:05,152 --> 00:04:11,512 Speaker 2: Max at all. I'm Jesse Stevens and this is True 72 00:04:11,512 --> 00:04:15,672 Speaker 2: Crime Conversations a Muma mea podcast exploring the world's most 73 00:04:15,792 --> 00:04:19,112 Speaker 2: notorious crimes by speaking to the people who know the 74 00:04:19,152 --> 00:04:23,111 Speaker 2: most about them. In this episode, I'm joined by Walkley 75 00:04:23,112 --> 00:04:26,752 Speaker 2: Award winning journalist, author and staff writer for The Australian 76 00:04:27,392 --> 00:04:31,512 Speaker 2: Richard Gilliot. In March of this year, Gillat wrote a 77 00:04:31,552 --> 00:04:36,232 Speaker 2: story for the Weekend Australian magazine titled I've Been Kidnapped 78 00:04:36,592 --> 00:04:39,352 Speaker 2: No joke. It was about a twenty four year old 79 00:04:39,392 --> 00:04:43,472 Speaker 2: woman who until this week had her name kept private 80 00:04:43,472 --> 00:04:47,512 Speaker 2: for legal reasons. She's recently come out into the public 81 00:04:47,552 --> 00:04:51,752 Speaker 2: eye and revealed that her real name is Devien Arkins. 82 00:04:52,752 --> 00:04:56,032 Speaker 2: But for this story, we're going to call her Lucy Rnaud, 83 00:04:56,472 --> 00:04:59,152 Speaker 2: the name given to her by Richard in his reporting. 84 00:05:03,992 --> 00:05:07,392 Speaker 2: It was February ninth, twenty seventeen, when a woman who 85 00:05:07,392 --> 00:05:10,592 Speaker 2: will call Lucy meets a man who we're going to 86 00:05:10,592 --> 00:05:14,992 Speaker 2: call Max at a place called murray Bridge in South Australia. 87 00:05:15,032 --> 00:05:17,712 Speaker 2: Why is she there? What's brought her to that point? 88 00:05:17,912 --> 00:05:21,112 Speaker 3: Well, she's a backpacker and she's on an adventure that 89 00:05:21,312 --> 00:05:25,592 Speaker 3: many Europeans go on in Australia. She was quite an 90 00:05:25,632 --> 00:05:29,312 Speaker 3: experienced traveler in some ways. She'd been to a number 91 00:05:29,352 --> 00:05:32,472 Speaker 3: of other countries. She'd been to China, and she'd worked 92 00:05:32,512 --> 00:05:37,632 Speaker 3: in wildlife parks in South Africa. She'd also trekked a 93 00:05:37,632 --> 00:05:41,352 Speaker 3: bit in South America. 94 00:05:40,072 --> 00:05:44,152 Speaker 4: And she was studying in Europe. I think she wanted 95 00:05:44,152 --> 00:05:44,752 Speaker 4: to be a vet. 96 00:05:44,832 --> 00:05:48,432 Speaker 3: This was her next adventure and it was one of 97 00:05:48,472 --> 00:05:52,312 Speaker 3: those classic adventure travel backpacker trips where she arrived in 98 00:05:52,352 --> 00:05:56,752 Speaker 3: Sydney she'd been to Tasmania to see the wilderness down there, 99 00:05:56,832 --> 00:06:00,912 Speaker 3: She'd hiked in the Blue Mountains and her plan was, 100 00:06:01,512 --> 00:06:03,512 Speaker 3: like a lot of backpackers, she wanted to try and 101 00:06:03,552 --> 00:06:07,552 Speaker 3: extend her trip. And the way you do that you 102 00:06:07,592 --> 00:06:10,431 Speaker 3: get an extra year if you work eighty eight days 103 00:06:10,832 --> 00:06:14,551 Speaker 3: in the rural area of Australia and you then become 104 00:06:14,592 --> 00:06:17,912 Speaker 3: eligible for an extra year on your visa. So she 105 00:06:18,112 --> 00:06:22,632 Speaker 3: had traveled, i think on a package tour from Victoria 106 00:06:22,792 --> 00:06:27,592 Speaker 3: across to Adelaide and she was staying in a backpacker place, 107 00:06:27,912 --> 00:06:30,752 Speaker 3: and she had been to Kangaroo Island and she was 108 00:06:30,792 --> 00:06:34,272 Speaker 3: now planning the rest of her trip, which involved going 109 00:06:34,352 --> 00:06:35,592 Speaker 3: up to the Northern Territory. 110 00:06:35,592 --> 00:06:38,112 Speaker 4: But she wanted to get some farm work under her. 111 00:06:37,992 --> 00:06:41,632 Speaker 3: Belt before she did that, because she had to clock 112 00:06:41,712 --> 00:06:46,032 Speaker 3: up these days. And so she was in a backpacker 113 00:06:46,072 --> 00:06:48,952 Speaker 3: place in Adelaide and she started looking on gumtree for 114 00:06:49,032 --> 00:06:49,712 Speaker 3: farm work. 115 00:06:50,112 --> 00:06:53,312 Speaker 5: Nearly a quarter of a million backpackers come to Australia 116 00:06:53,392 --> 00:06:57,512 Speaker 5: every year. They follow a well worn backpacker tourist path 117 00:06:57,952 --> 00:07:02,112 Speaker 5: and they work in bars, on building sites and on farms. 118 00:07:02,472 --> 00:07:04,912 Speaker 5: To get a two year visa, backpackers must spend at 119 00:07:04,992 --> 00:07:09,592 Speaker 5: least three months working somewhere rural. Many farmers rely on 120 00:07:09,752 --> 00:07:11,032 Speaker 5: working holidaymakers. 121 00:07:11,632 --> 00:07:13,752 Speaker 1: Backpackers dominate our workforce. Now. 122 00:07:13,912 --> 00:07:16,112 Speaker 4: It's obviously hard work. We're outside all. 123 00:07:16,032 --> 00:07:20,392 Speaker 1: The time, we work in varying weather conditions, you're bent over. 124 00:07:20,672 --> 00:07:22,552 Speaker 4: It's just the type of work that ossies don't want 125 00:07:22,552 --> 00:07:23,152 Speaker 4: to do anymore. 126 00:07:23,632 --> 00:07:25,432 Speaker 2: What sort of farm work is it? What kind of 127 00:07:25,512 --> 00:07:27,992 Speaker 2: things do backpackers go and do on farms? 128 00:07:28,432 --> 00:07:32,592 Speaker 3: Well, there's fruit picking, it's manual labor, it's helping out 129 00:07:32,672 --> 00:07:35,512 Speaker 3: with mustering. But I think a lot of it is 130 00:07:35,672 --> 00:07:39,512 Speaker 3: very simple farm labor work, digging, fencing. 131 00:07:39,592 --> 00:07:41,312 Speaker 4: Whatever help is available. 132 00:07:41,672 --> 00:07:44,552 Speaker 3: Gum trees the sort of locus of all that and 133 00:07:44,752 --> 00:07:47,552 Speaker 3: where a lot of backpackers go to find work and 134 00:07:47,592 --> 00:07:52,592 Speaker 3: where a lot of farmers advertise. It's a thriving business 135 00:07:52,632 --> 00:07:54,672 Speaker 3: in a sense. And you know, a lot of farmers 136 00:07:54,712 --> 00:07:57,352 Speaker 3: will tell you that with how backpackers, they could barely 137 00:07:57,432 --> 00:08:02,112 Speaker 3: operate their properties because a lot of Australians don't want 138 00:08:02,152 --> 00:08:05,152 Speaker 3: to do that work. Whereas for a lot of tourists 139 00:08:05,232 --> 00:08:08,152 Speaker 3: it's kind of part of the adventure is working in 140 00:08:08,192 --> 00:08:10,672 Speaker 3: the bush in Australia, and. 141 00:08:10,792 --> 00:08:13,472 Speaker 2: The accommodation and everything is included that's the idea too, 142 00:08:13,512 --> 00:08:16,232 Speaker 2: that you stay there, correct And so what do we 143 00:08:16,312 --> 00:08:19,072 Speaker 2: know about this man Max who's met her to pick 144 00:08:19,072 --> 00:08:20,632 Speaker 2: her up, Well. 145 00:08:20,432 --> 00:08:24,272 Speaker 3: We know plenty about him now. At that time Lucy 146 00:08:24,352 --> 00:08:27,632 Speaker 3: knew nothing. So she goes on to gum Tree and 147 00:08:27,712 --> 00:08:32,112 Speaker 3: he contacts her and says, yes, I work for this 148 00:08:32,151 --> 00:08:35,352 Speaker 3: company called Genesis, and we have these farms a few 149 00:08:35,352 --> 00:08:39,271 Speaker 3: hours outside of Adelaide, and we hire a lot of backpackers. 150 00:08:39,312 --> 00:08:42,952 Speaker 3: We've had French backpackers. And he spends this whole story 151 00:08:42,992 --> 00:08:47,352 Speaker 3: to her about how he prefers female backpackers because they're 152 00:08:47,392 --> 00:08:51,032 Speaker 3: much more gentle with the animals, and she will be 153 00:08:51,072 --> 00:08:54,712 Speaker 3: sort of helping milk cows and look after calves. 154 00:08:54,752 --> 00:08:54,952 Speaker 4: You know. 155 00:08:54,992 --> 00:08:58,872 Speaker 3: He makes it very enticing for her, and she's got 156 00:08:58,872 --> 00:09:00,312 Speaker 3: an interest in animal welfare. 157 00:09:00,432 --> 00:09:00,872 Speaker 4: Anyway. 158 00:09:01,792 --> 00:09:04,192 Speaker 3: I think that for a lot of people like her, 159 00:09:04,312 --> 00:09:08,472 Speaker 3: Australia is seen as this very safe destination where there 160 00:09:08,472 --> 00:09:12,752 Speaker 3: haven't been major terrorist attacks, crime is quite low compared 161 00:09:12,752 --> 00:09:15,512 Speaker 3: to a lot of overseas destinations, and there's a feeling 162 00:09:15,552 --> 00:09:18,872 Speaker 3: that you're very safe here. In fact, she did say 163 00:09:18,992 --> 00:09:22,312 Speaker 3: later on that her image of Australia was of an 164 00:09:22,312 --> 00:09:26,391 Speaker 3: incredibly friendly, safe place and so like a lot of 165 00:09:26,712 --> 00:09:27,992 Speaker 3: young women who are traveling here. 166 00:09:28,032 --> 00:09:29,672 Speaker 4: I think there's a kind of false sense. 167 00:09:29,472 --> 00:09:33,592 Speaker 3: Of security there, which led to her putting herself in 168 00:09:34,152 --> 00:09:37,152 Speaker 3: quite a dicey situation because she actually didn't know who 169 00:09:37,232 --> 00:09:40,712 Speaker 3: Max was and she just took on faith value what 170 00:09:40,752 --> 00:09:43,632 Speaker 3: he was saying. And so he said, look, you know, 171 00:09:43,752 --> 00:09:46,152 Speaker 3: get on the bus, and I gave her the details 172 00:09:46,152 --> 00:09:47,712 Speaker 3: and I'll meet you in murray. 173 00:09:47,392 --> 00:09:51,192 Speaker 4: Bridge and I'll take you to the farm. And that's 174 00:09:51,232 --> 00:09:51,792 Speaker 4: what she did. 175 00:09:52,432 --> 00:09:56,752 Speaker 6: I did ask questions to get more information. He spoke 176 00:09:56,792 --> 00:10:04,152 Speaker 6: about another French girl who was recently going to another farm. 177 00:10:04,592 --> 00:10:09,832 Speaker 6: So that makes me feel a bit more reassure, like, okay, 178 00:10:10,992 --> 00:10:13,792 Speaker 6: other people doing this job. 179 00:10:16,712 --> 00:10:19,592 Speaker 2: And can I ask you about that sense of safety 180 00:10:19,752 --> 00:10:22,832 Speaker 2: because in Australian criminal history, like if you look at 181 00:10:22,872 --> 00:10:26,872 Speaker 2: Ivan Malatt, I mean, that's one of our most infamous crimes. 182 00:10:27,632 --> 00:10:30,792 Speaker 2: Why is it that that hasn't sort of rattled that 183 00:10:30,992 --> 00:10:34,272 Speaker 2: tourist economy in terms of Australia still feeling like a 184 00:10:34,312 --> 00:10:35,192 Speaker 2: safe destination. 185 00:10:35,872 --> 00:10:38,312 Speaker 3: I was really puzzled by this too, because I'd seen 186 00:10:38,392 --> 00:10:42,592 Speaker 3: one survey where a lot of overseas travelers weren't even 187 00:10:42,592 --> 00:10:48,432 Speaker 3: aware of the Bilanglo murders or the Bradley Murdoch kidnapping 188 00:10:48,632 --> 00:10:52,912 Speaker 3: in Central Australia, and so I got to say that 189 00:10:52,952 --> 00:10:56,432 Speaker 3: really surprised me because I had thought those crimes got 190 00:10:56,472 --> 00:11:00,032 Speaker 3: saturation coverage. I think they got saturation coverage in England, 191 00:11:00,512 --> 00:11:03,592 Speaker 3: but I think in Europe there's still this image. And 192 00:11:03,632 --> 00:11:08,151 Speaker 3: in fact, when I interviewed Backpacker Company new people, they 193 00:11:08,232 --> 00:11:12,391 Speaker 3: said that safety is one of the least important issues 194 00:11:12,432 --> 00:11:15,432 Speaker 3: that people raise with them before they're coming out here, 195 00:11:16,072 --> 00:11:19,312 Speaker 3: apart from the possibility of being attacked by a wild animal. 196 00:11:20,192 --> 00:11:23,232 Speaker 3: I mean, one of them joked that Steve Irwin being 197 00:11:23,792 --> 00:11:27,912 Speaker 3: killed in the ocean has given Australia a much greater 198 00:11:28,032 --> 00:11:32,631 Speaker 3: image for danger than any serial killer or sex crimes 199 00:11:32,672 --> 00:11:33,432 Speaker 3: guy out there. 200 00:11:33,552 --> 00:11:33,992 Speaker 4: Wow. 201 00:11:34,632 --> 00:11:38,112 Speaker 2: So she then gets in a car with this man 202 00:11:38,152 --> 00:11:40,512 Speaker 2: who she obviously believes is taking her to do some 203 00:11:40,552 --> 00:11:43,792 Speaker 2: farm work, and they're in the car for two hours 204 00:11:43,872 --> 00:11:45,312 Speaker 2: or so. Where does he take her? 205 00:11:45,832 --> 00:11:50,352 Speaker 3: So Max is this guy in his fifties, and he's 206 00:11:50,392 --> 00:11:53,112 Speaker 3: got a bushy sort of go tee and curly hair, 207 00:11:53,632 --> 00:11:57,672 Speaker 3: and we know that his real name is Jeane Bristow 208 00:11:58,232 --> 00:12:02,352 Speaker 3: and he operates a hobby farm in Meningi. 209 00:12:01,912 --> 00:12:04,352 Speaker 4: Which is a sort of a touristy. 210 00:12:03,912 --> 00:12:07,112 Speaker 3: Town on a lake, about an hour and a half 211 00:12:07,152 --> 00:12:10,872 Speaker 3: out of Adelaide. But he spins this whole story that 212 00:12:10,912 --> 00:12:12,952 Speaker 3: his name's Max, and he takes her on this. 213 00:12:13,032 --> 00:12:15,992 Speaker 4: Very security strive to his farm. 214 00:12:16,472 --> 00:12:21,511 Speaker 3: So he heads southeast from murray Bridge, but he goes 215 00:12:21,592 --> 00:12:24,552 Speaker 3: down into the lake district and as you head into 216 00:12:24,592 --> 00:12:28,512 Speaker 3: this area, it gets kind of more swampy and there's 217 00:12:28,672 --> 00:12:31,832 Speaker 3: estuaries and it starts to look a lot more sort 218 00:12:31,872 --> 00:12:36,792 Speaker 3: of barren the landscape, and you have to cross a 219 00:12:36,872 --> 00:12:41,112 Speaker 3: couple of rivers on ferries, and so it takes two 220 00:12:41,152 --> 00:12:43,672 Speaker 3: to and a half hours to get to Minningi that way, 221 00:12:44,112 --> 00:12:47,391 Speaker 3: and along the way you pass some pretty dry and 222 00:12:47,672 --> 00:12:52,152 Speaker 3: empty landscape, and so Lucy would have had a sense 223 00:12:52,232 --> 00:12:54,992 Speaker 3: that she was I think heading out to quite a 224 00:12:55,032 --> 00:13:00,032 Speaker 3: remote spot, and that was obviously Bristow's intention to make 225 00:13:00,072 --> 00:13:03,391 Speaker 3: her feel that she was a long way from Adelaide. 226 00:13:03,952 --> 00:13:07,792 Speaker 3: Along the way, he's chatting to her about the work 227 00:13:07,792 --> 00:13:10,072 Speaker 3: they'll be doing, and he's sort of talking it up 228 00:13:10,472 --> 00:13:13,832 Speaker 3: that she'll be interacting with the animals and that this 229 00:13:14,152 --> 00:13:17,912 Speaker 3: company Genesis that he supposedly works for. And so it 230 00:13:18,032 --> 00:13:21,151 Speaker 3: takes them about two and a half hours to reach 231 00:13:21,312 --> 00:13:26,232 Speaker 3: his place, and he also drives into his property through 232 00:13:26,272 --> 00:13:29,672 Speaker 3: a back road, so she never sees the town of Meningi. 233 00:13:30,352 --> 00:13:34,072 Speaker 3: And I'm sure that to her it seemed like she 234 00:13:34,312 --> 00:13:38,552 Speaker 3: had been taken to quite a remote spot, and she 235 00:13:38,632 --> 00:13:41,272 Speaker 3: would have had no idea that she was really only 236 00:13:41,352 --> 00:13:46,512 Speaker 3: a little over ninety minutes from Adelaide and just really 237 00:13:46,672 --> 00:13:48,712 Speaker 3: like a five minute walk from the town of Minindi, 238 00:13:48,872 --> 00:13:49,672 Speaker 3: just down the street. 239 00:13:51,432 --> 00:13:54,352 Speaker 6: We told me I could take a bus to murray Bridge, 240 00:13:54,352 --> 00:13:57,792 Speaker 6: so I looked it up and it seemed fine to me. 241 00:13:57,912 --> 00:14:02,232 Speaker 6: It was not that far and it was easy to 242 00:14:02,312 --> 00:14:05,072 Speaker 6: go there. They told me that he would pick me 243 00:14:05,192 --> 00:14:08,512 Speaker 6: up at a bus station, so I just had to 244 00:14:08,512 --> 00:14:12,832 Speaker 6: look for the bus, get there and there will be it. 245 00:14:14,072 --> 00:14:17,632 Speaker 2: So he takes her to a almost like a farmhouse. 246 00:14:17,712 --> 00:14:22,472 Speaker 2: Can you describe the facility that she's sort of walked into. 247 00:14:23,072 --> 00:14:26,472 Speaker 3: Well, it's a pig shed, and it's essentially an abandoned 248 00:14:26,512 --> 00:14:30,032 Speaker 3: pig shed. Because Bristow was not really a farmer. I mean, 249 00:14:30,152 --> 00:14:33,752 Speaker 3: he had been a farmer and worked on dairy farms, 250 00:14:34,552 --> 00:14:37,712 Speaker 3: but he was really a laborer who'd been in and 251 00:14:37,752 --> 00:14:41,352 Speaker 3: out of employment in Mininghi and was had a terrible 252 00:14:41,392 --> 00:14:44,712 Speaker 3: reputation as an employee. He'd been sacked from a number 253 00:14:44,712 --> 00:14:48,072 Speaker 3: of jobs, and when I spoke to people in the town, 254 00:14:48,152 --> 00:14:51,192 Speaker 3: they described him as just an argumentative, sort of trouble 255 00:14:51,192 --> 00:14:54,192 Speaker 3: maker sort of a guy. And he worked at the 256 00:14:54,192 --> 00:14:58,072 Speaker 3: council dump and had taken them to court for unfair dismissal. 257 00:14:58,152 --> 00:15:00,832 Speaker 3: So his farm was really just a hobby farm with 258 00:15:00,872 --> 00:15:03,432 Speaker 3: a few head of cattle on it, and his house 259 00:15:04,152 --> 00:15:07,072 Speaker 3: and this pig shed. He didn't have any p So 260 00:15:07,312 --> 00:15:12,592 Speaker 3: this thing was cinderblock building, corrugated iron ruth sort of 261 00:15:12,632 --> 00:15:17,752 Speaker 3: open to the elements, straw on the floor, stalls for animals, 262 00:15:18,432 --> 00:15:22,352 Speaker 3: and a fridge that wasn't plugged in, a huge hive 263 00:15:22,432 --> 00:15:27,352 Speaker 3: of bees in one corner, and this filthy sofa which 264 00:15:27,432 --> 00:15:30,832 Speaker 3: was all cut up and clearly worse for wear and tear, 265 00:15:31,312 --> 00:15:34,632 Speaker 3: which was actually positioned over a grate where you were 266 00:15:34,832 --> 00:15:40,352 Speaker 3: designed to sweep animal droppings into. And so Lucynau walks 267 00:15:40,392 --> 00:15:44,832 Speaker 3: into this place with Max as she thinks he's called, 268 00:15:45,632 --> 00:15:50,232 Speaker 3: and looks around and realizes that this is where he's 269 00:15:50,352 --> 00:15:54,032 Speaker 3: proposing that she's going to stay. And at this point 270 00:15:54,672 --> 00:16:00,632 Speaker 3: she's obviously completely confused, and he's still talking and talking 271 00:16:00,672 --> 00:16:04,712 Speaker 3: to her, and then he says that he needs to 272 00:16:04,752 --> 00:16:08,272 Speaker 3: make sure she's not a druggie, and he needs to 273 00:16:08,392 --> 00:16:11,872 Speaker 3: check her feet for needle marks, and so he needs 274 00:16:11,872 --> 00:16:15,192 Speaker 3: her to lie face down on the sofa, which she does. 275 00:16:16,512 --> 00:16:18,992 Speaker 3: And it's at that point that the whole thing turns 276 00:16:19,272 --> 00:16:19,952 Speaker 3: very nasty. 277 00:16:20,512 --> 00:16:22,832 Speaker 2: And you can understand why she would, because she's a 278 00:16:22,872 --> 00:16:25,712 Speaker 2: woman completely alone in what she thinks is a very 279 00:16:25,752 --> 00:16:28,592 Speaker 2: isolated country town with a man that she doesn't know. 280 00:16:29,112 --> 00:16:31,112 Speaker 2: You sort of don't have an option to stand there 281 00:16:31,152 --> 00:16:32,952 Speaker 2: and say no, why would I do that? 282 00:16:33,592 --> 00:16:36,072 Speaker 3: Well, I think she must have realized at that point 283 00:16:36,112 --> 00:16:39,672 Speaker 3: that she'd made a very big error because she actually 284 00:16:39,672 --> 00:16:42,952 Speaker 3: didn't know where she was. He had told her they 285 00:16:42,992 --> 00:16:45,472 Speaker 3: were near a town which was actually about an hour away, 286 00:16:46,152 --> 00:16:48,592 Speaker 3: and she didn't know who he was. She didn't know 287 00:16:48,632 --> 00:16:53,032 Speaker 3: where she was, and he's quite a big guy. And Lucy, 288 00:16:53,072 --> 00:16:55,952 Speaker 3: I know, is quite a small girl and even a 289 00:16:55,952 --> 00:16:56,432 Speaker 3: young woman. 290 00:16:56,512 --> 00:16:59,352 Speaker 4: She was twenty four, and even though she had traveled 291 00:16:59,392 --> 00:16:59,832 Speaker 4: a lot. 292 00:17:00,392 --> 00:17:02,992 Speaker 3: I saw her in court when she presented her victim 293 00:17:02,992 --> 00:17:07,552 Speaker 3: impact statement, and she did have an air of sort 294 00:17:07,552 --> 00:17:11,111 Speaker 3: of innocence about her, and I could imagine that she 295 00:17:11,151 --> 00:17:14,191 Speaker 3: would have been sort of panicking at this point and 296 00:17:14,272 --> 00:17:17,552 Speaker 3: wondering what to do, and so she complied with his 297 00:17:18,192 --> 00:17:22,512 Speaker 3: instructions to lie down, and at that point he suddenly 298 00:17:23,032 --> 00:17:27,951 Speaker 3: grabs her arms and ties them behind her and jabs 299 00:17:27,952 --> 00:17:30,432 Speaker 3: her in the shoulder with something and she looks back 300 00:17:30,472 --> 00:17:34,552 Speaker 3: and it appears to be a gun. She then realizes 301 00:17:34,712 --> 00:17:38,272 Speaker 3: that this guy has ill intentions. 302 00:17:39,151 --> 00:17:41,751 Speaker 2: And what did he then proceed to do to her 303 00:17:41,831 --> 00:17:43,591 Speaker 2: over the course of this sort of afternoon. 304 00:17:44,552 --> 00:17:46,632 Speaker 4: Well, he he. 305 00:17:48,552 --> 00:17:52,152 Speaker 3: Took her clothes off apart from I think her bra 306 00:17:52,831 --> 00:17:59,192 Speaker 3: and he sexually assaulted her a number of times over 307 00:17:59,232 --> 00:18:02,752 Speaker 3: the next twenty four hours, and he kept her tied 308 00:18:02,831 --> 00:18:07,351 Speaker 3: up for most of that time. I didn't mention this 309 00:18:07,431 --> 00:18:11,791 Speaker 3: in my story, but Bristow was actually impotent, So it 310 00:18:11,831 --> 00:18:15,432 Speaker 3: was just this weird aspect of the case where he, 311 00:18:16,472 --> 00:18:20,751 Speaker 3: you know, he was incapable of committing full rape, but 312 00:18:20,871 --> 00:18:23,871 Speaker 3: he sexually assaulted her and sort of groped her, and 313 00:18:25,831 --> 00:18:28,432 Speaker 3: he seemed to at one point he even kissed her. 314 00:18:30,512 --> 00:18:33,471 Speaker 3: There was something kind of pathetic, even though what he 315 00:18:33,552 --> 00:18:39,591 Speaker 3: did was incredibly malevolent, at the same time, there was 316 00:18:39,631 --> 00:18:42,472 Speaker 3: something quite kind of pathetic about his behavior as well. 317 00:18:42,552 --> 00:18:45,071 Speaker 3: To me, I don't know if a woman would agree 318 00:18:45,071 --> 00:18:51,191 Speaker 3: with that. But so for the first I don't know, 319 00:18:51,351 --> 00:18:57,391 Speaker 3: several hours, he sexually assaulted her, and then he told 320 00:18:57,472 --> 00:19:01,512 Speaker 3: her this whole story in order to frighten her into compliance, 321 00:19:02,111 --> 00:19:05,231 Speaker 3: which was that he was working for this organization that 322 00:19:05,351 --> 00:19:11,792 Speaker 3: essentially kidnapped young women, and that there were other women 323 00:19:11,871 --> 00:19:14,952 Speaker 3: who were being held on other farms, and that if 324 00:19:14,952 --> 00:19:19,831 Speaker 3: she tried to escape, he would shoot her because the 325 00:19:19,871 --> 00:19:24,071 Speaker 3: operation could not be exposed, and that the people he 326 00:19:24,111 --> 00:19:27,272 Speaker 3: worked for were paying off the local police, and so 327 00:19:27,311 --> 00:19:30,231 Speaker 3: there was no point trying to escape because if the 328 00:19:30,272 --> 00:19:32,631 Speaker 3: police picked her up, they would simply bring her back 329 00:19:32,671 --> 00:19:34,711 Speaker 3: here and she would end up on one of the 330 00:19:34,752 --> 00:19:38,151 Speaker 3: other farms, where the people who were running them were 331 00:19:38,431 --> 00:19:41,752 Speaker 3: far more cruel than he was, and she would be 332 00:19:41,831 --> 00:19:45,912 Speaker 3: drugged and even more appalling things would happen to her, 333 00:19:46,311 --> 00:19:49,032 Speaker 3: whereas he was one of the nice guys. 334 00:19:49,391 --> 00:19:52,272 Speaker 2: Didn't he say something too about snakes or something about 335 00:19:52,272 --> 00:19:53,351 Speaker 2: the wildlife around it? 336 00:19:53,591 --> 00:19:58,711 Speaker 3: Yeah, he also it intimated that it was incredibly dangerous 337 00:19:58,712 --> 00:20:02,351 Speaker 3: in the surrounding areas, And I think he was trying 338 00:20:02,351 --> 00:20:04,871 Speaker 3: to give her the impression that they were virtually in 339 00:20:04,911 --> 00:20:09,512 Speaker 3: the desert and that she would be lucky to sort 340 00:20:09,552 --> 00:20:15,032 Speaker 3: of get far without being bitten or somehow attacked by something, 341 00:20:15,712 --> 00:20:19,951 Speaker 3: and of course she had no reason to disbelieve that, 342 00:20:20,032 --> 00:20:24,272 Speaker 3: because all she had seen was acres and in fact 343 00:20:24,311 --> 00:20:27,472 Speaker 3: miles and miles of empty paddocks on the drive there, 344 00:20:28,192 --> 00:20:32,311 Speaker 3: and you couldn't see the farmhouse from where she was, 345 00:20:32,391 --> 00:20:35,671 Speaker 3: so she wasn't even aware, for instance, that Bristow's wife 346 00:20:35,671 --> 00:20:38,672 Speaker 3: and son and daughter in law were living just two 347 00:20:38,752 --> 00:20:42,351 Speaker 3: hundred meters up the hill in the farmhouse, and nor 348 00:20:42,431 --> 00:20:45,552 Speaker 3: were Bristow's family aware that he had carried out this 349 00:20:45,631 --> 00:20:50,831 Speaker 3: bizarre kidnapping which he somehow seemed to think that he 350 00:20:50,871 --> 00:20:52,151 Speaker 3: could get away with. 351 00:20:52,512 --> 00:20:55,071 Speaker 2: So they didn't hear anything, because she wouldn't have even 352 00:20:55,071 --> 00:20:56,911 Speaker 2: thought that if she yelled that people would hear, right, 353 00:20:56,952 --> 00:20:59,752 Speaker 2: because she's imagining that she's completely isolated. 354 00:20:59,272 --> 00:21:04,192 Speaker 3: That's right, And so she, I think, decided for self 355 00:21:04,232 --> 00:21:09,071 Speaker 3: preservation to just comply with him, and he would leave 356 00:21:09,151 --> 00:21:13,752 Speaker 3: her in the shed for hours and then come back 357 00:21:13,831 --> 00:21:19,111 Speaker 3: with food or water, but then sexually assauld her again, 358 00:21:20,431 --> 00:21:25,511 Speaker 3: and eventually he rigged up this chain arrangement, so she 359 00:21:25,792 --> 00:21:30,431 Speaker 3: was chained with one foot and one arm to the 360 00:21:30,512 --> 00:21:35,591 Speaker 3: wall using a kind of g bolt, and from memory, 361 00:21:35,631 --> 00:21:39,431 Speaker 3: she had one arm and one leg free. As it 362 00:21:39,472 --> 00:21:44,831 Speaker 3: grew dark, he left her there, and at some point 363 00:21:44,911 --> 00:21:48,272 Speaker 3: I think he suggested to her that she might be 364 00:21:48,351 --> 00:21:53,351 Speaker 3: let free the next day, and then he went back 365 00:21:53,712 --> 00:21:57,311 Speaker 3: to his wife and son in the house and presumably 366 00:21:57,431 --> 00:21:59,351 Speaker 3: had dinner and watch TV with them. 367 00:21:59,631 --> 00:22:01,232 Speaker 4: Bizarrely enough, in. 368 00:22:01,192 --> 00:22:05,272 Speaker 6: The beginning is very commanding. When I walk in here, 369 00:22:05,831 --> 00:22:10,871 Speaker 6: we'll be always undressed. You don't put on anything anymore 370 00:22:11,351 --> 00:22:16,111 Speaker 6: that I'll have to be kind. Don't run away or 371 00:22:16,151 --> 00:22:19,071 Speaker 6: he would find me and shoot me with the gun. 372 00:22:19,752 --> 00:22:22,111 Speaker 6: I was just stuck there, and I thought it would 373 00:22:22,151 --> 00:22:25,272 Speaker 6: take a while for someone to notice I was gone 374 00:22:25,591 --> 00:22:30,792 Speaker 6: or even to find me. So I was like, I'm 375 00:22:30,792 --> 00:22:34,712 Speaker 6: not getting out of here. I thought, this is this 376 00:22:34,792 --> 00:22:36,871 Speaker 6: is it. This is where I'm gonna die. 377 00:22:39,351 --> 00:22:41,431 Speaker 2: And so while he's inside and he's sort of left 378 00:22:41,431 --> 00:22:44,631 Speaker 2: her for a few hours, and at this point I 379 00:22:44,671 --> 00:22:48,071 Speaker 2: think he's taken her phone and stuff. Doesn't she have 380 00:22:48,232 --> 00:22:50,071 Speaker 2: access to a backpack? 381 00:22:50,431 --> 00:22:55,231 Speaker 3: Yeah, he had taken her phone and her main bag, 382 00:22:55,911 --> 00:22:59,671 Speaker 3: but he had left her backpack in the shed with 383 00:22:59,712 --> 00:23:04,111 Speaker 3: her and failed to look at its contents. This was 384 00:23:04,151 --> 00:23:08,391 Speaker 3: the thing that struck me about this whole bizarre case 385 00:23:08,552 --> 00:23:13,871 Speaker 3: was Bristow's complete and competence. You just couldn't fathom how 386 00:23:13,911 --> 00:23:15,591 Speaker 3: he thought he was going to get away with this, 387 00:23:15,792 --> 00:23:20,792 Speaker 3: and you couldn't fathom his complete lack of thinking through. 388 00:23:21,512 --> 00:23:25,551 Speaker 3: He certainly was no criminal mastermind. So he leaves her 389 00:23:25,591 --> 00:23:30,192 Speaker 3: there in the shed with this backpack. Darkness is falling, 390 00:23:30,512 --> 00:23:33,472 Speaker 3: and she has a laptop in there, and she's got 391 00:23:33,792 --> 00:23:39,111 Speaker 3: a dongle, an Internet dongle, and so she reaches across 392 00:23:39,151 --> 00:23:41,752 Speaker 3: to this fridge because he had opened it and she'd 393 00:23:41,792 --> 00:23:44,231 Speaker 3: seen that there were some implements in there, and she 394 00:23:44,351 --> 00:23:47,231 Speaker 3: managed to get something out of the fridge which she 395 00:23:47,351 --> 00:23:50,191 Speaker 3: managed to loosen this g bolt with over a period 396 00:23:50,192 --> 00:23:54,071 Speaker 3: of some time, and so she was able to free 397 00:23:54,111 --> 00:23:57,191 Speaker 3: herself after I think about half an hour of working 398 00:23:57,232 --> 00:24:01,151 Speaker 3: away at this g bolt on the chains, and she 399 00:24:01,311 --> 00:24:06,351 Speaker 3: scurried over to her backpack and pulled out her laptop. 400 00:24:05,911 --> 00:24:07,231 Speaker 4: And USB dongle. 401 00:24:07,792 --> 00:24:10,952 Speaker 3: And by this stage it's dark, and she of course 402 00:24:10,992 --> 00:24:14,232 Speaker 3: has no idea when he's going to come back, and 403 00:24:14,552 --> 00:24:19,552 Speaker 3: she gets an Internet connection on the dongle and she 404 00:24:19,911 --> 00:24:24,871 Speaker 3: contacts a number of people. First of all, she sends 405 00:24:24,871 --> 00:24:28,792 Speaker 3: a message to Belgium, where her family live, and then 406 00:24:28,871 --> 00:24:33,831 Speaker 3: she manages to I think that was a Facebook message 407 00:24:34,111 --> 00:24:37,032 Speaker 3: to a member of her family, and then she managed 408 00:24:37,032 --> 00:24:41,272 Speaker 3: to contact a friend in Queensland on an audio connection 409 00:24:41,591 --> 00:24:46,272 Speaker 3: and had a conversation with her and basically told her 410 00:24:46,272 --> 00:24:48,232 Speaker 3: that she mean kidnapped and she was in the shed 411 00:24:48,272 --> 00:24:51,311 Speaker 3: somewhere outside Adelaide and she had no idea where she was. 412 00:24:52,192 --> 00:24:56,751 Speaker 3: And the friend contacted the police while she was on 413 00:24:56,792 --> 00:24:59,992 Speaker 3: the phone, and so she knew the police had been 414 00:25:00,192 --> 00:25:03,512 Speaker 3: alerted at that point. But then that connection dropped out, 415 00:25:04,391 --> 00:25:08,071 Speaker 3: and while she was still had the Internet connection, she 416 00:25:08,272 --> 00:25:14,111 Speaker 3: sent these frantic messages to She thought it was the police, 417 00:25:14,192 --> 00:25:17,591 Speaker 3: but it was actually the Police Association, the Police Union. 418 00:25:17,712 --> 00:25:22,111 Speaker 3: She found the Police Association website and she managed to 419 00:25:22,512 --> 00:25:27,512 Speaker 3: type out this frantic message which I could read, being 420 00:25:27,631 --> 00:25:31,272 Speaker 3: kidnapped murray Bridge to Lamarue. I think a cow farm 421 00:25:31,671 --> 00:25:35,831 Speaker 3: crossed two ferries, got chains loose, afraid to run away, 422 00:25:36,311 --> 00:25:39,231 Speaker 3: he might chase and shoot me. Please help look for me, 423 00:25:39,431 --> 00:25:43,311 Speaker 3: please please, I'm so afraid. Please, I'm on a farm somewhere. 424 00:25:43,512 --> 00:25:47,911 Speaker 3: He drives a red pickup. So she loses the internet 425 00:25:47,911 --> 00:25:52,311 Speaker 3: connection short out to sending that, and she's fearful in fact, 426 00:25:52,351 --> 00:25:55,712 Speaker 3: that the light from the laptop screen will alert him, 427 00:25:56,431 --> 00:25:59,032 Speaker 3: or that he'll come back, And so she shuts the 428 00:25:59,111 --> 00:26:04,111 Speaker 3: laptop down and puts it back and then rechains. 429 00:26:03,552 --> 00:26:09,272 Speaker 4: Herself up to the war and just waits. 430 00:26:09,472 --> 00:26:13,752 Speaker 3: And she's naked on this sofa with just I think 431 00:26:13,792 --> 00:26:16,992 Speaker 3: he gave her a coat to throw over herself. And 432 00:26:17,071 --> 00:26:20,752 Speaker 3: so she spends this sleepless night in this peak shed 433 00:26:20,792 --> 00:26:24,272 Speaker 3: with these bees buzzing in the corner, waiting to see 434 00:26:24,272 --> 00:26:26,951 Speaker 3: what's going to happen the next morning and whether the 435 00:26:26,992 --> 00:26:28,232 Speaker 3: police are going to respond. 436 00:26:28,671 --> 00:26:31,071 Speaker 2: What are the police thinking at this point, because that 437 00:26:31,071 --> 00:26:34,151 Speaker 2: would be very bizarre getting a message like that in 438 00:26:34,232 --> 00:26:37,151 Speaker 2: terms of even understanding whether it was real or not. 439 00:26:37,391 --> 00:26:39,272 Speaker 2: Do the police take this seriously straight away? 440 00:26:40,111 --> 00:26:42,112 Speaker 3: My sense of it is that the police did take 441 00:26:42,151 --> 00:26:46,552 Speaker 3: this very seriously straight away, because they immediately held a 442 00:26:46,552 --> 00:26:50,112 Speaker 3: press conference and released photos of her early the next morning. 443 00:26:51,151 --> 00:26:53,432 Speaker 3: Her photo was on the front page of the Adelaide 444 00:26:53,431 --> 00:26:58,391 Speaker 3: Advertiser in fact as a missing person, and they sent 445 00:26:58,712 --> 00:27:03,351 Speaker 3: a large number of cars from various different squads down 446 00:27:03,472 --> 00:27:10,711 Speaker 3: to the Meningi area. And because they had such specific information, 447 00:27:10,871 --> 00:27:12,712 Speaker 3: you know that they were looking for a red pickup 448 00:27:12,952 --> 00:27:15,991 Speaker 3: and it was around the Lamaroue sort of area. They 449 00:27:16,032 --> 00:27:19,871 Speaker 3: seem to have narrowed it down to Meningi quite quickly, 450 00:27:20,591 --> 00:27:25,752 Speaker 3: so by I think mid next morning, there were police 451 00:27:26,111 --> 00:27:32,071 Speaker 3: planes circling over Meningi and there were certainly a lot 452 00:27:32,111 --> 00:27:35,511 Speaker 3: of police presence in murray Bridge, for instance, and so 453 00:27:35,631 --> 00:27:37,712 Speaker 3: it did seem like the police responded very. 454 00:27:37,671 --> 00:27:43,431 Speaker 7: Quickly, good evening major crime police so leading the search 455 00:27:43,472 --> 00:27:46,552 Speaker 7: for a Belgian tourist they fear has been abducted while 456 00:27:46,552 --> 00:27:49,391 Speaker 7: on the holiday in South Australia. There are tonight grave 457 00:27:49,472 --> 00:27:50,591 Speaker 7: fears for her safety. 458 00:27:51,111 --> 00:27:54,111 Speaker 8: We believe she was potentially picked up by a person 459 00:27:54,431 --> 00:27:58,831 Speaker 8: in a red pickup top vehicle. We have grave concerns 460 00:27:58,871 --> 00:28:01,671 Speaker 8: that she's been held against her will. 461 00:28:01,871 --> 00:28:04,672 Speaker 2: Did Bristow have any idea that this was happening. 462 00:28:04,992 --> 00:28:07,152 Speaker 3: He came in the next morning and he gave her 463 00:28:07,192 --> 00:28:10,631 Speaker 3: some breakfast and. 464 00:28:09,552 --> 00:28:10,991 Speaker 4: Sexually assaulted her again. 465 00:28:11,071 --> 00:28:15,831 Speaker 3: You know, this weird sort of combination of giving her 466 00:28:15,871 --> 00:28:20,351 Speaker 3: food and expressing this idea that he was going to 467 00:28:20,552 --> 00:28:23,032 Speaker 3: set her free and he was one of the good guys, 468 00:28:23,071 --> 00:28:26,232 Speaker 3: while at the same time, you know, sexually assaulting her. 469 00:28:27,232 --> 00:28:31,031 Speaker 3: And then he went into Meningi and he picked up 470 00:28:31,071 --> 00:28:34,552 Speaker 3: the fact that there were a lot of cops. 471 00:28:34,032 --> 00:28:35,992 Speaker 4: In the area, and. 472 00:28:37,512 --> 00:28:41,872 Speaker 3: I think in fact that her photo would have been 473 00:28:44,592 --> 00:28:48,672 Speaker 3: in the Adelaide Advertiser perhaps that morning. I just can't 474 00:28:48,712 --> 00:28:53,272 Speaker 3: remember that entirely myself, but he certainly by ten o'clock 475 00:28:53,472 --> 00:28:59,152 Speaker 3: knew that something was up, and he himself was pulled 476 00:28:59,192 --> 00:29:04,272 Speaker 3: over driving his red pickup by two cops outside Meningi, 477 00:29:05,032 --> 00:29:11,272 Speaker 3: and they photographed him and took down some details, but 478 00:29:11,352 --> 00:29:15,872 Speaker 3: didn't really press him all that much. And because the 479 00:29:15,952 --> 00:29:19,072 Speaker 3: police plane had spotted his pickup and reported it in 480 00:29:19,752 --> 00:29:21,991 Speaker 3: and so he got back to the farm and he 481 00:29:22,192 --> 00:29:25,552 Speaker 3: was of course in a total panic at this point 482 00:29:26,392 --> 00:29:31,072 Speaker 3: because he realized that somehow word had got out, and 483 00:29:31,112 --> 00:29:32,272 Speaker 3: so he said. 484 00:29:32,032 --> 00:29:34,392 Speaker 4: To her that they had to leave immediately. 485 00:29:35,272 --> 00:29:38,711 Speaker 3: He got her to throw on some clothes, and she 486 00:29:38,792 --> 00:29:41,872 Speaker 3: grabbed her backpack and he told her to run across 487 00:29:41,911 --> 00:29:46,512 Speaker 3: the farm to this cluster of trees a few hundred 488 00:29:46,592 --> 00:29:49,752 Speaker 3: meters away, and he came around in his wife's car 489 00:29:49,832 --> 00:29:51,912 Speaker 3: because he didn't want to be driving the red pickup 490 00:29:52,592 --> 00:29:53,392 Speaker 3: to collect her. 491 00:29:54,392 --> 00:29:56,592 Speaker 2: Was he a suspect at this point? So the police 492 00:29:56,592 --> 00:29:59,072 Speaker 2: have taken a photo of him and seen the car, 493 00:29:59,632 --> 00:30:01,792 Speaker 2: Are they thinking of investigating any further? 494 00:30:03,232 --> 00:30:05,992 Speaker 3: I'm sure he was a suspect at this point because 495 00:30:06,552 --> 00:30:09,552 Speaker 3: he'd already been pulled over and photographed. Look, I don't 496 00:30:09,592 --> 00:30:11,951 Speaker 3: know how many people had red pickups in that area, 497 00:30:12,232 --> 00:30:14,872 Speaker 3: but my sense of it was that they had narrowed 498 00:30:14,872 --> 00:30:18,911 Speaker 3: it down to Meningi and had him in their sights. 499 00:30:19,632 --> 00:30:23,592 Speaker 3: He seems to have had this bizarre idea that he 500 00:30:23,671 --> 00:30:27,751 Speaker 3: could drive her back to murray Bridge, and that she 501 00:30:27,832 --> 00:30:32,352 Speaker 3: would be so freaked out that she would just book 502 00:30:32,352 --> 00:30:36,992 Speaker 3: a flight back to Belgium and go straight to Adelaide 503 00:30:37,032 --> 00:30:39,472 Speaker 3: and get on the plane and leave, and he would 504 00:30:39,472 --> 00:30:41,592 Speaker 3: somehow be able to kind of wash his hands of 505 00:30:41,712 --> 00:30:45,191 Speaker 3: the whole thing. But in fact he left behind a 506 00:30:45,392 --> 00:30:48,992 Speaker 3: trail of evidence that was a mile wide, which later 507 00:30:49,112 --> 00:30:51,711 Speaker 3: came out in court. But that is in fact what 508 00:30:51,792 --> 00:30:55,431 Speaker 3: he did. He drove her to murray Bridge. He actually 509 00:30:55,512 --> 00:30:59,632 Speaker 3: went into the motel reception area with her. She of course, 510 00:30:59,911 --> 00:31:04,072 Speaker 3: is looking terrible at this point. She's had a sleepless night, 511 00:31:04,312 --> 00:31:08,552 Speaker 3: she's been sexually assaulted, she hasn't showered for a couple 512 00:31:08,592 --> 00:31:14,272 Speaker 3: of days, and she's fearful and traumatized by her experience. 513 00:31:14,431 --> 00:31:18,432 Speaker 3: And the woman at the motel immediately registered this, and 514 00:31:18,992 --> 00:31:22,031 Speaker 3: Bristow tried to sort of make out that he was 515 00:31:22,232 --> 00:31:24,552 Speaker 3: I don't know, some friend of hers or some farmer 516 00:31:24,592 --> 00:31:28,472 Speaker 3: who was just dropping her off and tried to organize 517 00:31:28,472 --> 00:31:31,312 Speaker 3: for her to book a ticket back to Belgium while 518 00:31:31,352 --> 00:31:36,272 Speaker 3: she was at the motel, and then he basically skid addled. 519 00:31:37,671 --> 00:31:41,352 Speaker 3: This is where the impact of this on her became 520 00:31:41,431 --> 00:31:45,072 Speaker 3: really evident, because you would think that at this point 521 00:31:45,112 --> 00:31:48,072 Speaker 3: he's left, she's in this motel, she would just pick 522 00:31:48,152 --> 00:31:50,632 Speaker 3: up the phone or say to the woman in the reception, 523 00:31:50,712 --> 00:31:53,951 Speaker 3: can you please call the police, But in fact, she 524 00:31:54,072 --> 00:31:58,272 Speaker 3: goes to her room, she has a shower, she walks 525 00:31:58,272 --> 00:32:03,912 Speaker 3: to McDonald's and gets herself some food, and she's walking 526 00:32:04,632 --> 00:32:10,832 Speaker 3: back from McDonald's off Judy cop spots her and checks 527 00:32:11,312 --> 00:32:14,711 Speaker 3: her appearance against the bulletin that's going around and realizes 528 00:32:14,792 --> 00:32:19,592 Speaker 3: that it's her, the missing girl from Belgium, and so 529 00:32:19,792 --> 00:32:23,352 Speaker 3: he gets out of his car and approaches her, and 530 00:32:23,632 --> 00:32:28,992 Speaker 3: she starts to hurry away from him. And so it's 531 00:32:29,112 --> 00:32:32,832 Speaker 3: clear that this story that Bristow had told her about 532 00:32:33,112 --> 00:32:35,671 Speaker 3: the cops being corrupt and being in on this whole 533 00:32:35,752 --> 00:32:40,672 Speaker 3: kidnapping scam was real to her, very very real to her, 534 00:32:40,712 --> 00:32:43,951 Speaker 3: and she was absolutely petrified of the police, and in 535 00:32:43,992 --> 00:32:47,352 Speaker 3: fact she really wouldn't let this guy approach her, even 536 00:32:47,392 --> 00:32:49,592 Speaker 3: when he pulled out his badge and she said to him, 537 00:32:49,632 --> 00:32:52,512 Speaker 3: how do I know you know that's a genuine police ID. 538 00:32:53,512 --> 00:32:57,952 Speaker 3: Eventually a police female police officer was brought to talk 539 00:32:57,992 --> 00:33:01,832 Speaker 3: to her and she described Lucy I know, as being 540 00:33:02,272 --> 00:33:06,552 Speaker 3: just shaking with fear even talking to the police. They 541 00:33:06,552 --> 00:33:11,712 Speaker 3: eventually convinced her that their intentions were good, and they 542 00:33:11,911 --> 00:33:14,352 Speaker 3: showed her a photo of Bristow and she id'd him, 543 00:33:14,992 --> 00:33:17,872 Speaker 3: so that's when they definitively knew it was him. 544 00:33:19,632 --> 00:33:22,432 Speaker 9: Good Evening nine News has filmed the moment police arrested 545 00:33:22,431 --> 00:33:25,152 Speaker 9: a fifty two year old man who's accused of abducting 546 00:33:25,152 --> 00:33:27,992 Speaker 9: a tourist at murray Bridge. Police alleged the man from 547 00:33:28,032 --> 00:33:31,072 Speaker 9: Meningi rape the young woman while holding a hostage for 548 00:33:31,112 --> 00:33:32,352 Speaker 9: more than twenty four hours. 549 00:33:32,472 --> 00:33:34,191 Speaker 8: What I'd like to say is thank all the members 550 00:33:34,192 --> 00:33:36,511 Speaker 8: of the public who provided an information, because some of 551 00:33:36,512 --> 00:33:40,072 Speaker 8: the information was crucial. She is still with police and 552 00:33:40,072 --> 00:33:44,752 Speaker 8: she is well, unharmed, and obviously her family are very 553 00:33:44,752 --> 00:33:46,552 Speaker 8: grateful for everything that's occurred in the fact that she 554 00:33:46,671 --> 00:33:47,072 Speaker 8: is safe. 555 00:33:48,752 --> 00:33:51,552 Speaker 2: And when you say there was a mile of evidence, 556 00:33:51,752 --> 00:33:53,912 Speaker 2: what sort of evidence had he left behind. 557 00:33:55,112 --> 00:33:59,672 Speaker 3: Well, when the police got his computer from home, they 558 00:33:59,752 --> 00:34:03,592 Speaker 3: discovered that he had been for two months trawling through 559 00:34:03,712 --> 00:34:09,151 Speaker 3: Gumtree spinning all sorts of lies to various different backpackers, 560 00:34:09,272 --> 00:34:11,591 Speaker 3: trying to lure them to his farm. And he'd had 561 00:34:11,632 --> 00:34:15,751 Speaker 3: conversations with a number of young women in that time 562 00:34:15,832 --> 00:34:19,911 Speaker 3: where he'd spun all the same lies about being from 563 00:34:19,951 --> 00:34:24,431 Speaker 3: this company and that they ran this chain of farms, 564 00:34:24,471 --> 00:34:28,272 Speaker 3: and that they preferred female workers, and he was even 565 00:34:28,312 --> 00:34:31,312 Speaker 3: asking them how old they were, did they have a 566 00:34:31,352 --> 00:34:35,352 Speaker 3: boyfriend with them? Very leading questions, which in fact made 567 00:34:35,392 --> 00:34:38,432 Speaker 3: many of them suspicious, And in fact, it had taken 568 00:34:38,551 --> 00:34:43,192 Speaker 3: him more than two months to actually get his first 569 00:34:43,272 --> 00:34:49,471 Speaker 3: victim because of his suspicious sort of behavior online. On 570 00:34:49,511 --> 00:34:55,312 Speaker 3: top of that, he had purchased online a replica pistol 571 00:34:56,192 --> 00:35:00,072 Speaker 3: and a set of novelty handcuffs. 572 00:35:00,272 --> 00:35:02,592 Speaker 2: So when you say a replica pistol, not a real. 573 00:35:02,431 --> 00:35:06,631 Speaker 3: One, no, right, essentially a kind of a talk but 574 00:35:06,672 --> 00:35:08,032 Speaker 3: a realistic looking toy. 575 00:35:08,792 --> 00:35:11,511 Speaker 4: And the day before he picked Lucy. 576 00:35:11,911 --> 00:35:15,431 Speaker 3: Arnaut up in murray Bridge, he had gone to the 577 00:35:15,471 --> 00:35:17,951 Speaker 3: hardware store in Meninghi and bought a whole lot of 578 00:35:18,112 --> 00:35:21,591 Speaker 3: cable ties and so all of the things that she 579 00:35:22,152 --> 00:35:25,832 Speaker 3: described to the police, the pistol that was jabbed into 580 00:35:25,832 --> 00:35:27,792 Speaker 3: her back, and the cable ties that we used to 581 00:35:27,832 --> 00:35:32,232 Speaker 3: tie her up he didn't actually use. The handcuffs were 582 00:35:32,312 --> 00:35:34,951 Speaker 3: found on the farm. The pistol was found discarded in 583 00:35:36,232 --> 00:35:39,071 Speaker 3: a paddock, the cable ties were there, and he had 584 00:35:39,152 --> 00:35:42,752 Speaker 3: thrown her phone into the bottom of a water tank, 585 00:35:43,672 --> 00:35:46,711 Speaker 3: and the phone was discovered some weeks later when his 586 00:35:46,752 --> 00:35:49,911 Speaker 3: own son was repairing the tank and drained it and 587 00:35:49,951 --> 00:35:51,992 Speaker 3: found her phone at the bottom of the water tank. 588 00:35:52,712 --> 00:35:55,832 Speaker 3: And of course the police had Lucy Arnau's direct testimony 589 00:35:55,911 --> 00:35:58,431 Speaker 3: of who he was and how the circumstances of how 590 00:35:58,431 --> 00:36:01,792 Speaker 3: she ended up there, and she had injuries consistent with 591 00:36:01,951 --> 00:36:06,591 Speaker 3: being tied up and consistent with being sexually assaulted, and 592 00:36:06,632 --> 00:36:11,271 Speaker 3: so there was, you know, a massive evidence implicating him. 593 00:36:11,632 --> 00:36:16,872 Speaker 3: Plus which he had completely lied to his family about 594 00:36:16,872 --> 00:36:20,551 Speaker 3: his whereabouts over that forty eight hour period. So he 595 00:36:20,672 --> 00:36:23,752 Speaker 3: told them he'd gone to murray Bridge for a job interview, which. 596 00:36:23,551 --> 00:36:24,031 Speaker 4: Was a lie. 597 00:36:24,872 --> 00:36:28,191 Speaker 3: He didn't tell anyone in the family that he had 598 00:36:28,352 --> 00:36:33,071 Speaker 3: a willing worker backpacker down in the shed. He didn't 599 00:36:33,112 --> 00:36:36,232 Speaker 3: even concoct a story about why she might be there. 600 00:36:36,272 --> 00:36:39,511 Speaker 3: He just of course, hid that from his son and 601 00:36:39,632 --> 00:36:42,551 Speaker 3: his wife, and when the police arrested him the next day, 602 00:36:42,672 --> 00:36:44,752 Speaker 3: he had shaved all his hair off and his beard 603 00:36:44,752 --> 00:36:49,791 Speaker 3: off to alter his appearance, and had thrown a whole 604 00:36:49,792 --> 00:36:53,312 Speaker 3: lot of objects over the sofa and tried to discuss, 605 00:36:53,352 --> 00:36:56,072 Speaker 3: you know, tried to hide the existence of the sofa 606 00:36:56,152 --> 00:36:59,911 Speaker 3: in the pig shed. So there was a massive incriminating 607 00:36:59,951 --> 00:37:04,792 Speaker 3: evidence and direct testimony from her that pinned the crime 608 00:37:04,872 --> 00:37:09,672 Speaker 3: on him, And to my mind, it was just inexplicable 609 00:37:09,752 --> 00:37:14,312 Speaker 3: that he chose to plead not guilty and try to 610 00:37:16,072 --> 00:37:19,191 Speaker 3: throw this line out in court that she was this 611 00:37:19,832 --> 00:37:23,352 Speaker 3: sort of fantasist who didn't like farm work and found 612 00:37:23,392 --> 00:37:27,272 Speaker 3: it too grinding, and had concocted this whole story in 613 00:37:27,392 --> 00:37:30,792 Speaker 3: order to cover the fact that she didn't have the 614 00:37:30,991 --> 00:37:32,312 Speaker 3: umph to be a farm. 615 00:37:32,031 --> 00:37:34,511 Speaker 2: Worker, even though none of his family knew there was 616 00:37:34,511 --> 00:37:36,992 Speaker 2: a woman just like meet us away in a picture. 617 00:37:37,431 --> 00:37:40,551 Speaker 3: Well, when it got to so he was arrested immediately, 618 00:37:40,592 --> 00:37:44,071 Speaker 3: of course, and it got to court, and over the 619 00:37:44,112 --> 00:37:46,951 Speaker 3: course of the investigation the police found all this evidence 620 00:37:46,991 --> 00:37:51,272 Speaker 3: that I've just mentioned. Then he agrees to testify in 621 00:37:51,312 --> 00:37:56,112 Speaker 3: the trial, and you know, I didn't observe him giving 622 00:37:56,112 --> 00:37:59,832 Speaker 3: evidence in court. But the transcript just he argued with 623 00:37:59,951 --> 00:38:03,392 Speaker 3: the prosecutor. He seemed to think that he could sort 624 00:38:03,392 --> 00:38:06,111 Speaker 3: of argue his way out of this case. And so 625 00:38:06,352 --> 00:38:10,392 Speaker 3: his whole demeanor in the court was quite sort of 626 00:38:10,431 --> 00:38:14,272 Speaker 3: strange and just completely out of touch with the reality 627 00:38:14,272 --> 00:38:17,712 Speaker 3: of the situation he was in, because there was just 628 00:38:17,752 --> 00:38:20,272 Speaker 3: such an overwhelming amount of evidence and his story was 629 00:38:20,312 --> 00:38:24,392 Speaker 3: so implausible, and his own family had agreed to give 630 00:38:24,392 --> 00:38:27,672 Speaker 3: evidence against him because his son. Once his son found 631 00:38:27,752 --> 00:38:31,191 Speaker 3: the phone in the water tank and learned that his 632 00:38:31,232 --> 00:38:33,832 Speaker 3: father had lied to him about a number of things, 633 00:38:34,431 --> 00:38:37,511 Speaker 3: clearly was so disgusted that he agreed to testify as 634 00:38:37,511 --> 00:38:41,392 Speaker 3: a prosecution witness against his own father. His wife was 635 00:38:41,951 --> 00:38:45,551 Speaker 3: going to be called, but in the end wasn't for 636 00:38:45,672 --> 00:38:48,712 Speaker 3: reasons that I don't think I'm allowed to talk about 637 00:38:48,752 --> 00:38:51,671 Speaker 3: because they were sort of subject of a suppression order. 638 00:38:52,232 --> 00:38:55,792 Speaker 3: But certainly there's no doubt that his family knew that 639 00:38:55,832 --> 00:38:58,111 Speaker 3: he lied to them about it, and that his son 640 00:38:58,792 --> 00:39:02,031 Speaker 3: felt he was guilty, and so the son's testimony was 641 00:39:02,511 --> 00:39:03,631 Speaker 3: pretty damning, I think. 642 00:39:04,392 --> 00:39:08,511 Speaker 2: So they have all of that evidence in court, what 643 00:39:08,752 --> 00:39:12,392 Speaker 2: is the conviction? What do they decide to do with Bristow. 644 00:39:13,392 --> 00:39:17,791 Speaker 3: Well, he's charged with rape and kidnapping and he's put 645 00:39:17,832 --> 00:39:20,792 Speaker 3: on trial in the district Court in South Australia. 646 00:39:21,551 --> 00:39:23,112 Speaker 4: Because he's pleaded not guilty. 647 00:39:23,951 --> 00:39:29,551 Speaker 3: Lucy Arnau is forced to testify and his lawyer, you know, 648 00:39:29,632 --> 00:39:34,752 Speaker 3: grills her and pursues this story that he Bristow is telling, 649 00:39:35,352 --> 00:39:37,911 Speaker 3: which is that she's a fantasist and you know, she's 650 00:39:38,072 --> 00:39:39,191 Speaker 3: made all this stuff up. 651 00:39:39,672 --> 00:39:39,872 Speaker 4: You know. 652 00:39:39,911 --> 00:39:42,712 Speaker 3: The trauma of everything she'd been through is then compounded 653 00:39:42,832 --> 00:39:46,792 Speaker 3: by having to be presented in court as a liar 654 00:39:47,031 --> 00:39:51,672 Speaker 3: who's invented this whole story. She gave testimony over a 655 00:39:51,752 --> 00:39:54,511 Speaker 3: number of hours. She's a very quiet, sort of demure 656 00:39:54,632 --> 00:39:59,672 Speaker 3: sort of person, and she had a sort of basic English, 657 00:39:59,752 --> 00:40:02,352 Speaker 3: you know, so her expressions of what had happened to 658 00:40:02,431 --> 00:40:05,272 Speaker 3: her were quite kind of simple and straightforward. 659 00:40:06,312 --> 00:40:07,312 Speaker 4: The testimony is. 660 00:40:07,272 --> 00:40:12,192 Speaker 3: Extremely convincing because it's so plainly expressed and her story 661 00:40:12,511 --> 00:40:15,511 Speaker 3: just so plainly coheres with all of the rest of 662 00:40:15,511 --> 00:40:19,352 Speaker 3: the evidence in the case. Bristow then spends hours and 663 00:40:19,471 --> 00:40:25,471 Speaker 3: hours in the dock, arguing with the prosecutor and engaging 664 00:40:25,511 --> 00:40:30,471 Speaker 3: in these rambling monologues about his prowess as a welder 665 00:40:30,511 --> 00:40:35,991 Speaker 3: and various other aspects of farming, and just seems completely 666 00:40:36,232 --> 00:40:40,392 Speaker 3: lacking in any self awareness, seemingly unaware of the fact 667 00:40:40,392 --> 00:40:44,832 Speaker 3: that by pleading not guilty, by subjecting Lucy Arnaut to 668 00:40:44,872 --> 00:40:47,911 Speaker 3: this ordeal, he runs the risk of having a much 669 00:40:47,951 --> 00:40:53,151 Speaker 3: heavier sentence than he would normally because his sexual assaults 670 00:40:53,272 --> 00:40:58,071 Speaker 3: were to use the legal jargon at the lower end 671 00:40:58,072 --> 00:41:03,192 Speaker 3: of the scale, and he didn't use extreme violence, for instance, 672 00:41:03,911 --> 00:41:06,112 Speaker 3: and so I think there was a possibility that he 673 00:41:06,511 --> 00:41:10,431 Speaker 3: not have got that heavier sentence, But because he did 674 00:41:10,431 --> 00:41:12,552 Speaker 3: this chose to plead not guilty, he. 675 00:41:12,471 --> 00:41:15,111 Speaker 4: Ended up getting a heavier sentence than you know, he 676 00:41:15,152 --> 00:41:16,032 Speaker 4: got eighteen years. 677 00:41:16,551 --> 00:41:20,712 Speaker 10: Wow nine News can reveal for the first time the 678 00:41:20,752 --> 00:41:23,471 Speaker 10: identity of the man accused of holding a backpack of 679 00:41:23,551 --> 00:41:27,911 Speaker 10: hostage near murray Bridge and repeatedly raping her. Jean Bristow 680 00:41:28,031 --> 00:41:31,431 Speaker 10: today pleaded not guilty to three counts of rape and 681 00:41:31,511 --> 00:41:36,392 Speaker 10: one count of detaining the woman against her will. 682 00:41:36,592 --> 00:41:40,192 Speaker 2: What was her victim impact statement when she sort of 683 00:41:40,192 --> 00:41:43,031 Speaker 2: delivered that to the court. What was the contents of it? 684 00:41:43,031 --> 00:41:47,112 Speaker 3: It was very simple, simply expressed she came to court, 685 00:41:47,632 --> 00:41:53,152 Speaker 3: but she didn't actually deliver the statement herself and she 686 00:41:53,272 --> 00:41:56,232 Speaker 3: got the prosecutor to read it, but there were a 687 00:41:56,312 --> 00:42:00,551 Speaker 3: number of things in it that she said. She said 688 00:42:00,551 --> 00:42:04,591 Speaker 3: she felt foolish for the situation that she'd put herself in, 689 00:42:04,672 --> 00:42:09,272 Speaker 3: her naivety at putting herself in this situation, and she 690 00:42:09,352 --> 00:42:11,872 Speaker 3: described the terror that she felt when she was being 691 00:42:11,911 --> 00:42:14,511 Speaker 3: held in this shared by this guy, that she would 692 00:42:14,551 --> 00:42:17,431 Speaker 3: never see her parents again. I think there was a 693 00:42:17,511 --> 00:42:21,911 Speaker 3: very real fear for her that the only option form 694 00:42:21,911 --> 00:42:25,071 Speaker 3: would be to kill her once he'd done whatever he 695 00:42:25,112 --> 00:42:27,832 Speaker 3: wanted to do with her. And in fact, it's difficult 696 00:42:27,832 --> 00:42:32,392 Speaker 3: to understand what Bristow's exit plan for this crime was. 697 00:42:32,672 --> 00:42:36,672 Speaker 3: And that was one thing that really struck me about it, 698 00:42:36,712 --> 00:42:39,991 Speaker 3: is he just didn't seem to have thought through anything 699 00:42:40,232 --> 00:42:44,632 Speaker 3: of what he was doing. And so was he planning 700 00:42:44,672 --> 00:42:47,752 Speaker 3: to just, I don't know, drive her back to murray 701 00:42:47,792 --> 00:42:50,151 Speaker 3: Bridge and or drive her to Adelaide and put her 702 00:42:50,152 --> 00:42:53,072 Speaker 3: on a plane back to Belgium. I mean, he had 703 00:42:53,312 --> 00:42:57,152 Speaker 3: apparently no history of violent crime, he didn't have a 704 00:42:57,192 --> 00:43:01,671 Speaker 3: mental illness. It's not like he had bipolar disorder and 705 00:43:01,752 --> 00:43:04,551 Speaker 3: so was in the throes of a mania attack when 706 00:43:04,551 --> 00:43:09,272 Speaker 3: he did this, and so you wonder, really what was 707 00:43:09,312 --> 00:43:11,591 Speaker 3: he planning to do. And I'm sure that question must 708 00:43:11,632 --> 00:43:15,672 Speaker 3: have been haunting her the entire time she was in 709 00:43:15,832 --> 00:43:19,231 Speaker 3: that pig shed. You know, how is this going to end? 710 00:43:20,112 --> 00:43:22,511 Speaker 2: And what would have happened if she hadn't disrupted that 711 00:43:22,632 --> 00:43:26,472 Speaker 2: plan by having, you know, access to the internet. 712 00:43:26,632 --> 00:43:29,591 Speaker 3: Yeah, And so she spoke about the impact of that 713 00:43:29,832 --> 00:43:33,752 Speaker 3: on her and how it had really profoundly affected her 714 00:43:33,951 --> 00:43:38,112 Speaker 3: now because she had been this adventurous person who traveled 715 00:43:38,511 --> 00:43:40,632 Speaker 3: and she was now it had taken her nearly a 716 00:43:40,752 --> 00:43:43,792 Speaker 3: year to be able to sort of just drive on 717 00:43:43,832 --> 00:43:49,592 Speaker 3: her own in her hometown. She was did not feel 718 00:43:49,632 --> 00:43:52,431 Speaker 3: safe walking around the streets on her own at all, 719 00:43:53,192 --> 00:43:56,312 Speaker 3: and that it had this profound impact on her, which 720 00:43:56,991 --> 00:44:00,312 Speaker 3: she had been taking sleeping pills to sleep. She had 721 00:44:00,392 --> 00:44:05,951 Speaker 3: been undergoing counseling fairly constantly to get over it. There 722 00:44:05,991 --> 00:44:07,511 Speaker 3: was one I think she said at the end where 723 00:44:07,511 --> 00:44:10,152 Speaker 3: she said, sometimes I think it's a curse to be 724 00:44:10,192 --> 00:44:13,272 Speaker 3: born a woman. I think we're not safe at all. 725 00:44:13,352 --> 00:44:17,471 Speaker 3: And this was kind of an expression of how profoundly 726 00:44:17,672 --> 00:44:18,792 Speaker 3: shaken she had. 727 00:44:18,632 --> 00:44:20,511 Speaker 4: Been by this whole experience. 728 00:44:21,511 --> 00:44:24,272 Speaker 3: So the prosecutor read this out in court while she 729 00:44:24,632 --> 00:44:27,952 Speaker 3: sat behind him, and she was flanked by a couple 730 00:44:27,951 --> 00:44:32,712 Speaker 3: of support people. That court hearing actually only took perhaps 731 00:44:32,792 --> 00:44:36,551 Speaker 3: about fifteen minutes. She walked in, she sat down in 732 00:44:36,592 --> 00:44:39,712 Speaker 3: the front bench of the courtroom. The prosecutor got up 733 00:44:39,752 --> 00:44:43,832 Speaker 3: and read her statement, and then the hearing ended and 734 00:44:43,872 --> 00:44:48,591 Speaker 3: she left. And it was then a couple of months 735 00:44:48,712 --> 00:44:52,471 Speaker 3: later that the sentence was actually brought down by the 736 00:44:52,592 --> 00:44:56,152 Speaker 3: judge in fact quite recently, and Bristou was sentenced to 737 00:44:56,192 --> 00:44:58,832 Speaker 3: eighteen years in prison with a minimum of twelve and 738 00:44:58,872 --> 00:44:59,232 Speaker 3: a half. 739 00:44:59,872 --> 00:45:02,111 Speaker 2: Was that sentence of surprise or do you think that 740 00:45:02,192 --> 00:45:05,192 Speaker 2: because he didn't plead guilty that was sort of expected. 741 00:45:06,312 --> 00:45:10,872 Speaker 3: I thought that he might get something like that. I 742 00:45:10,911 --> 00:45:14,312 Speaker 3: never know how people react to sentences. I think eighteen 743 00:45:14,392 --> 00:45:16,872 Speaker 3: years is a pretty long stretch for a guy who's, 744 00:45:17,152 --> 00:45:21,112 Speaker 3: you know, fifty four or fifty five. In many ways, 745 00:45:21,112 --> 00:45:27,592 Speaker 3: it's a really shocking crime to kidnap an innocent young woman, 746 00:45:27,911 --> 00:45:31,392 Speaker 3: tire up in a filthy shared, take off her clothes, 747 00:45:31,431 --> 00:45:35,111 Speaker 3: sexually assault her with no plan apparently of how to 748 00:45:35,352 --> 00:45:38,232 Speaker 3: how you're going to kind of extricate yourself from this, 749 00:45:38,752 --> 00:45:41,471 Speaker 3: at the same time threatening her with all sorts of violence. 750 00:45:42,672 --> 00:45:45,911 Speaker 3: But there was one thing about the case that I 751 00:45:45,911 --> 00:45:47,832 Speaker 3: didn't really put this in the story because I didn't 752 00:45:47,872 --> 00:45:53,792 Speaker 3: want it to be misinterpreted. But when police searched Bristow's computer, 753 00:45:55,551 --> 00:45:58,711 Speaker 3: they found that one of his Google searchers was fed 754 00:45:58,792 --> 00:46:03,911 Speaker 3: up with life, and you know, he was sexually impotent. 755 00:46:04,551 --> 00:46:08,192 Speaker 3: And I got these of him as rather a pathetic 756 00:46:08,471 --> 00:46:13,832 Speaker 3: kind of individual, even though what he did was so malevolent. 757 00:46:14,632 --> 00:46:18,471 Speaker 3: There was an aspect of the crime that was out 758 00:46:18,511 --> 00:46:22,911 Speaker 3: of him that I thought was sort of pathetic. And 759 00:46:21,911 --> 00:46:26,031 Speaker 3: he seemingly had no history of this, unlike a lot 760 00:46:26,031 --> 00:46:31,551 Speaker 3: of the other people men who've been convicted recently of 761 00:46:31,752 --> 00:46:35,592 Speaker 3: crimes against backpackers, who do have a history of sexually 762 00:46:35,632 --> 00:46:42,312 Speaker 3: offending and you do seem to have misogynistic impulses. Bristow 763 00:46:42,352 --> 00:46:45,272 Speaker 3: didn't seem to be like that, and I found that 764 00:46:45,312 --> 00:46:47,431 Speaker 3: a curious part of the story. And when I went 765 00:46:47,832 --> 00:46:51,352 Speaker 3: to Meninghi and interviewed people who knew him, they all 766 00:46:51,511 --> 00:46:53,991 Speaker 3: sort of told the same story, which was that he 767 00:46:54,152 --> 00:46:56,792 Speaker 3: was this sort of slightly hapless character who worked as 768 00:46:56,792 --> 00:47:00,792 Speaker 3: a laborer. He worked, bounced from job to job, was 769 00:47:01,031 --> 00:47:04,591 Speaker 3: sort of argumentative but sort of a bit hapless, and 770 00:47:04,672 --> 00:47:09,511 Speaker 3: they were just that he would attempt to carry off 771 00:47:09,632 --> 00:47:11,152 Speaker 3: such a ghastly. 772 00:47:10,712 --> 00:47:14,951 Speaker 2: Crime because this wasn't an isolated incident in that it 773 00:47:15,632 --> 00:47:19,152 Speaker 2: had happened before the Gum Tree ad and having someone 774 00:47:19,392 --> 00:47:23,631 Speaker 2: come to property for farm work, had that inspired what 775 00:47:23,792 --> 00:47:24,512 Speaker 2: he had done? 776 00:47:25,112 --> 00:47:28,992 Speaker 3: I think there's evidence of that. So a year before 777 00:47:30,112 --> 00:47:34,312 Speaker 3: he committed this crime, a man called Roman Heinz, who 778 00:47:34,431 --> 00:47:38,031 Speaker 3: was also based in Adelaide and was in fact a 779 00:47:38,152 --> 00:47:40,792 Speaker 3: very predatory, misogynistic man. 780 00:47:42,392 --> 00:47:43,031 Speaker 4: Had. 781 00:47:45,112 --> 00:47:48,192 Speaker 3: He had been involved in a series of sexual assaults 782 00:47:48,192 --> 00:47:51,632 Speaker 3: of backpackers who he met up with through Gumtree ads. 783 00:47:52,192 --> 00:47:55,551 Speaker 3: In fact, over the period of I think it was 784 00:47:55,672 --> 00:48:00,552 Speaker 3: two thousand and fourteen to twenty sixteen, Hines had arranged 785 00:48:00,551 --> 00:48:02,192 Speaker 3: to meet a number. 786 00:48:01,951 --> 00:48:04,152 Speaker 4: Of backpackers, two of them in Adelaide. 787 00:48:04,152 --> 00:48:07,112 Speaker 3: He had sexually assaulted, and he'd attacked his own partner, 788 00:48:07,632 --> 00:48:13,432 Speaker 3: And he'd in fact taken a Japanese backpacker to Salt Creek, 789 00:48:13,471 --> 00:48:16,352 Speaker 3: which is a fishing beach about two hours outside of 790 00:48:16,392 --> 00:48:20,511 Speaker 3: Adelaide and it's not far from Meninghi and the only 791 00:48:20,592 --> 00:48:23,991 Speaker 3: reason that she didn't get attacked by him, apparently is 792 00:48:24,031 --> 00:48:27,071 Speaker 3: that she had posted a photo up on Facebook saying 793 00:48:27,072 --> 00:48:27,832 Speaker 3: where she was. 794 00:48:28,712 --> 00:48:30,671 Speaker 4: But shortly after that, some. 795 00:48:30,712 --> 00:48:34,872 Speaker 3: Months after that incident, he picked up these two young backpackers, 796 00:48:34,872 --> 00:48:38,511 Speaker 3: a Brazilian woman and a German woman, on a pretext 797 00:48:38,511 --> 00:48:43,471 Speaker 3: of taking them to Victoria, and he took them to 798 00:48:43,511 --> 00:48:47,111 Speaker 3: Salt Creek, the beach where he previously visited, and he 799 00:48:47,152 --> 00:48:51,712 Speaker 3: perpetrated an absolutely atrocious attack in which he tied up 800 00:48:51,752 --> 00:48:55,951 Speaker 3: the Brazilian woman and sexually assaulted her, and then when 801 00:48:56,031 --> 00:49:00,272 Speaker 3: the German woman tried to intervene, he attacked her with 802 00:49:00,312 --> 00:49:02,991 Speaker 3: a hammer and beat her with a hammer and then 803 00:49:03,152 --> 00:49:06,032 Speaker 3: chased her around the beach in his four wheel drive. 804 00:49:07,072 --> 00:49:11,711 Speaker 3: Just this nightmarish scenario of her trying to evade this 805 00:49:11,792 --> 00:49:15,752 Speaker 3: guy while the Brazilian girl was running in the opposite 806 00:49:15,792 --> 00:49:19,512 Speaker 3: direction to escape him. And those two girls miraculously managed 807 00:49:19,551 --> 00:49:24,112 Speaker 3: to survive that attack, and so Heines had been arrested 808 00:49:25,551 --> 00:49:31,752 Speaker 3: a year before the Bristow incident happened, and the modus 809 00:49:31,752 --> 00:49:35,792 Speaker 3: operandi of Hines had been revealed in the Adelaide Advertiser 810 00:49:35,872 --> 00:49:39,511 Speaker 3: that he'd placed these gumtree ads, And when police went 811 00:49:39,551 --> 00:49:44,552 Speaker 3: to Bristow's computer, they found that he had done searches 812 00:49:44,592 --> 00:49:49,352 Speaker 3: and looked up information about the Salt Creek incident. He 813 00:49:49,431 --> 00:49:54,272 Speaker 3: followed the modus operandi he'd sort of researched the crime 814 00:49:54,991 --> 00:49:57,991 Speaker 3: on the Internet, and he lived in Meningi, which was 815 00:49:58,352 --> 00:50:01,152 Speaker 3: I think half an hour up the coast from Salt Creek, 816 00:50:02,072 --> 00:50:05,872 Speaker 3: so that crime was in fact investigated by the Meningi police. 817 00:50:06,431 --> 00:50:08,432 Speaker 3: Have been the talk of the town at the time. 818 00:50:09,112 --> 00:50:12,592 Speaker 3: I don't think there's any doubt that Bristow got some ideas. 819 00:50:13,991 --> 00:50:19,911 Speaker 6: Yeah, I thought he would kill me. I would die there. 820 00:50:21,312 --> 00:50:24,511 Speaker 6: I feel kind of a bit ashamed in the beginning, 821 00:50:24,551 --> 00:50:28,551 Speaker 6: because you let someone trick you, let someone fool you. 822 00:50:30,431 --> 00:50:33,591 Speaker 2: Do you think that this has changed Australia's reputation. Have 823 00:50:33,672 --> 00:50:36,352 Speaker 2: these stories been reported internationally? 824 00:50:37,511 --> 00:50:41,632 Speaker 3: My sense of it is not. And I contacted a 825 00:50:41,712 --> 00:50:46,231 Speaker 3: number of travel companies who do backpack of packages and 826 00:50:47,192 --> 00:50:51,471 Speaker 3: they all expressed quite a dismissive attitude about this. Heinz 827 00:50:51,872 --> 00:50:55,431 Speaker 3: and Bristow are just too of a whole range of incidents. 828 00:50:55,471 --> 00:50:58,712 Speaker 3: I mean you mentioned, of course, my lad is the 829 00:50:58,832 --> 00:51:02,192 Speaker 3: kind of legendary. I mean he killed five foreign backpackers 830 00:51:02,192 --> 00:51:06,031 Speaker 3: and two Australian travelers over a three year period. There 831 00:51:06,072 --> 00:51:08,832 Speaker 3: was a more recent case. In fact, it was happening 832 00:51:09,232 --> 00:51:13,431 Speaker 3: around the same time as Bristow was kidnapping Lucy Arnaut. 833 00:51:13,632 --> 00:51:20,272 Speaker 3: This is addicted young guy in Queensland befriended a backpacker 834 00:51:20,352 --> 00:51:25,991 Speaker 3: from Liverpool and ended up kidnapping her and terrorizing her 835 00:51:26,112 --> 00:51:29,671 Speaker 3: so much that she ended up on this wild sort 836 00:51:29,712 --> 00:51:33,591 Speaker 3: of car journey with him through northern Queensland in which 837 00:51:33,632 --> 00:51:37,431 Speaker 3: he was beating her and sexually assaulting her in a 838 00:51:37,471 --> 00:51:42,111 Speaker 3: sort of meth frenzy. And he was eventually caught. Now 839 00:51:42,511 --> 00:51:45,792 Speaker 3: he was recently jailed for ten years. He pleaded guilty 840 00:51:45,872 --> 00:51:49,711 Speaker 3: to those crimes. There's been a whole series of them, 841 00:51:49,911 --> 00:51:53,872 Speaker 3: and the Salt Creek crimes were on sixty minutes. The 842 00:51:53,911 --> 00:51:57,111 Speaker 3: one I just mentioned was aired on Sunday night. I 843 00:51:57,192 --> 00:52:01,911 Speaker 3: wrote my feature about the Bristow case, and so these 844 00:52:01,951 --> 00:52:05,631 Speaker 3: things have had a lot of attention here. But when 845 00:52:05,632 --> 00:52:10,112 Speaker 3: I spoke to backpacker companies, they expressed sort of puzzlement 846 00:52:10,152 --> 00:52:11,991 Speaker 3: that anyone would talk about. 847 00:52:11,832 --> 00:52:15,312 Speaker 4: Safety issues or be afraid of that, or be conscious 848 00:52:15,352 --> 00:52:15,551 Speaker 4: of that. 849 00:52:15,832 --> 00:52:19,272 Speaker 3: And as I say, one of the main backpacker companies, 850 00:52:19,352 --> 00:52:22,271 Speaker 3: the head of that company joke that, you know, people 851 00:52:22,312 --> 00:52:25,272 Speaker 3: were more afraid of our wild animals than the possibility 852 00:52:25,312 --> 00:52:27,992 Speaker 3: of being attacked or. 853 00:52:28,112 --> 00:52:29,152 Speaker 4: Molested by someone. 854 00:52:29,232 --> 00:52:32,471 Speaker 3: And look, you know, hundreds of thousands of people come 855 00:52:32,511 --> 00:52:35,031 Speaker 3: to Australia every year, and so it's true that these 856 00:52:35,112 --> 00:52:40,112 Speaker 3: cases are anomalous in some way. But when we published 857 00:52:40,112 --> 00:52:42,792 Speaker 3: our story, we got a number of letters from people 858 00:52:42,792 --> 00:52:47,151 Speaker 3: who described, if not similar, but certainly threatening situations that 859 00:52:47,192 --> 00:52:52,232 Speaker 3: they'd been in. You know, one person had been forced 860 00:52:52,272 --> 00:52:54,912 Speaker 3: to milk cows dressed in a bikini, you know, because 861 00:52:54,951 --> 00:52:57,911 Speaker 3: of this perverse sort of attraction that the farmer had 862 00:52:57,951 --> 00:53:00,232 Speaker 3: for her. And there've been a number of cases of 863 00:53:00,312 --> 00:53:06,312 Speaker 3: farmers being convicted for more minor kind of sexual assault, 864 00:53:06,511 --> 00:53:08,752 Speaker 3: if you want to put it that way. But it 865 00:53:08,792 --> 00:53:12,431 Speaker 3: does seem like you're in a vulnerable situation. If you're 866 00:53:12,471 --> 00:53:15,712 Speaker 3: a traveler, you don't know the country, you're in an 867 00:53:15,792 --> 00:53:19,951 Speaker 3: isolated rural area, you are in quite a kind of 868 00:53:20,072 --> 00:53:24,551 Speaker 3: vulnerable situation. You're far from home, and it does seem 869 00:53:24,551 --> 00:53:30,072 Speaker 3: that there are people out there who are certainly prepared 870 00:53:30,072 --> 00:53:30,991 Speaker 3: to take advantage of that. 871 00:53:32,752 --> 00:53:34,872 Speaker 2: Thank you so much for speaking to us today. I 872 00:53:34,951 --> 00:53:37,832 Speaker 2: really appreciate it, and I think your story is really 873 00:53:37,872 --> 00:53:40,991 Speaker 2: important for sort of shedding a light on that. And potentially, 874 00:53:41,951 --> 00:53:44,911 Speaker 2: I mean, it might need regulation. If this is a 875 00:53:44,951 --> 00:53:47,352 Speaker 2: requirement that they have to go and do eighty eight days, 876 00:53:47,551 --> 00:53:50,591 Speaker 2: then there's got to be some sort of regulating that 877 00:53:50,632 --> 00:53:52,231 Speaker 2: you don't just go and find someone on gum tree 878 00:53:52,352 --> 00:53:53,431 Speaker 2: like that can't be safe. 879 00:53:53,632 --> 00:53:54,431 Speaker 4: Well, one would. 880 00:53:54,312 --> 00:53:56,872 Speaker 3: Think that there must be some way of at least 881 00:53:56,911 --> 00:54:02,712 Speaker 3: compiling some information about which farms have been the subject 882 00:54:02,752 --> 00:54:08,071 Speaker 3: of complaints, or some sort of central body that would 883 00:54:08,112 --> 00:54:10,392 Speaker 3: take complaints, because I think one of the things with 884 00:54:10,471 --> 00:54:14,792 Speaker 3: backpackers is they perhaps don't know how to lodge complaints 885 00:54:15,112 --> 00:54:19,312 Speaker 3: or what to do, and you know, maybe they've suffered 886 00:54:19,352 --> 00:54:24,991 Speaker 3: some sort of harassment or molestation which they're just they 887 00:54:25,031 --> 00:54:27,352 Speaker 3: just think, well, I'll just get away from it and 888 00:54:27,551 --> 00:54:29,872 Speaker 3: carry on with my holiday. And you know, when you're 889 00:54:29,872 --> 00:54:31,752 Speaker 3: on holiday, do you want to spend a whole lot 890 00:54:31,752 --> 00:54:34,431 Speaker 3: of time, you know, talking to the police, getting the 891 00:54:34,471 --> 00:54:37,312 Speaker 3: police to take a statement and going through that whole 892 00:54:37,352 --> 00:54:41,792 Speaker 3: process if you feel like you haven't suffered a major trauma, 893 00:54:41,832 --> 00:54:44,631 Speaker 3: Well perhaps not. But I think it probably would be 894 00:54:44,672 --> 00:54:47,672 Speaker 3: good if there was some sort of central place that 895 00:54:47,752 --> 00:54:52,992 Speaker 3: you could at least report incidents too, because it seems 896 00:54:53,031 --> 00:54:55,031 Speaker 3: that there are quite a number of people who are 897 00:54:55,031 --> 00:54:58,152 Speaker 3: taking advantage of the of these young people. 898 00:54:58,551 --> 00:55:02,112 Speaker 2: That's so true, so true. Thank you again for making 899 00:55:02,152 --> 00:55:02,912 Speaker 2: time for us today. 900 00:55:03,272 --> 00:55:03,991 Speaker 4: Thanks very much. 901 00:55:06,951 --> 00:55:09,712 Speaker 2: You can read Richard Gilliat's feature about the story of 902 00:55:09,792 --> 00:55:13,832 Speaker 2: Lucy r nord or Devine Arkins online at the Australian 903 00:55:13,872 --> 00:55:18,712 Speaker 2: website via the link in our show notes. True Crime 904 00:55:18,752 --> 00:55:22,152 Speaker 2: Conversations is a mum and maya podcast hosted by me 905 00:55:22,511 --> 00:55:26,672 Speaker 2: Jesse Stevens. Our. Senior producer and editor is Elise Cooper. 906 00:55:28,272 --> 00:55:30,751 Speaker 2: If you liked this episode, you can join the True 907 00:55:30,752 --> 00:55:35,631 Speaker 2: Crime Conversations Facebook group. Just search true Crime Conversations or 908 00:55:35,632 --> 00:55:41,032 Speaker 2: click the link in the notes of this episode. True 909 00:55:41,031 --> 00:55:44,471 Speaker 2: Crime Conversations will be back next week, looking at crimes 910 00:55:44,511 --> 00:55:55,152 Speaker 2: through the eyes of those that know the most about them.