WEBVTT - 06: The Man Who Wasn't There 0:00:00.720 --> 0:00:06.480 This podcast contains information and details relating to suicide. We 0:00:06.680 --> 0:00:11.840 urge anyone struggling with their emotions to contact Lifeline on 0:00:12.039 --> 0:00:19.040 thirteen eleven fourteen thirteen eleven fourteen or visit them at 0:00:19.440 --> 0:00:29.440 lifeline dot org dot au. A twenty four year old 0:00:29.720 --> 0:00:35.960 devoted mother of two fleeing a violent relationship as a 0:00:38.520 --> 0:00:45.280 bags packed car running her daughters strapped into the backseat. 0:00:45.600 --> 0:00:49.120 Mom told me that she needed to go back inside 0:00:49.159 --> 0:00:49.920 to grab something. 0:00:50.320 --> 0:00:53.519 Panic. I Amy is dead, Sir Aim his dead? Eight 0:00:53.720 --> 0:00:56.680 confusion than about five minutes, say sit n to suicide 0:00:56.720 --> 0:01:02.040 one hundred percent. This is emersing. What do you think 0:01:02.360 --> 0:01:05.520 is really the honest truth about Amy? 0:01:06.440 --> 0:01:14.160 The Truth About Amy? 0:01:15.720 --> 0:01:17.000 Episode six. 0:01:20.440 --> 0:01:22.160 I'm Liam Bartlett. 0:01:22.880 --> 0:01:28.600 And I'm Alison Sandy. It's another sunny day in Perth 0:01:28.800 --> 0:01:31.640 and we're off to track down David Simmons and his mates. 0:01:32.880 --> 0:01:35.800 We're taking two cars this time, Liam and the crew 0:01:36.000 --> 0:01:39.280 in one, and I'm in the other with security guard Mark. 0:01:40.400 --> 0:01:43.520 These guys have a history of violence and none of 0:01:43.600 --> 0:01:47.880 us are looking for a fight. They all still live 0:01:48.040 --> 0:01:52.000 in the same area a bit, so I have about 0:01:52.000 --> 0:01:55.720 an hour with Mark to shoot the breeze. We discuss 0:01:55.880 --> 0:01:59.760 alcohol and drug fueled violence, and mark indicates while the 0:01:59.840 --> 0:02:02.800 race is about the same, it's the stimulants such as 0:02:02.920 --> 0:02:06.040 methamphetamine which seemed to make the difference as to how 0:02:06.160 --> 0:02:08.000 violent an incident can become. 0:02:09.120 --> 0:02:16.840 Definitely yeah, and people are powered up and they almost 0:02:16.960 --> 0:02:19.679 lose the point of reason. It's very hard to talk 0:02:19.720 --> 0:02:23.160 to someone when they're in that state because a level 0:02:23.160 --> 0:02:24.760 of rationality is gone. 0:02:24.720 --> 0:02:27.239 In some space. Have you been out this way before? 0:02:28.240 --> 0:02:32.960 Not necessarily, munder John, But I have my sister living 0:02:33.040 --> 0:02:36.920 in Byford as well, so really we'll see if we 0:02:37.000 --> 0:02:38.839 bump into her at the shops maybe. 0:02:39.560 --> 0:02:42.160 So what was the brief mark that you got with 0:02:42.200 --> 0:02:42.680 this one? 0:02:44.440 --> 0:02:46.240 It seems like it's a little bit up in the air. 0:02:46.440 --> 0:02:49.520 But Liam did say there were a couple of guys 0:02:49.560 --> 0:02:52.240 that he was trying to get hold of and have 0:02:52.280 --> 0:02:56.400 a word with and see what they were thinking in 0:02:56.440 --> 0:02:58.840 regards to I think there was something along the lines 0:02:58.880 --> 0:03:02.399 of one of their friends might have been involved in 0:03:01.639 --> 0:03:05.680 a case quite some time ago, maybe ten years or so, 0:03:06.680 --> 0:03:11.519 and it seemed pretty serious, and they're probably going to 0:03:11.560 --> 0:03:14.760 stick up for each other. It's probably pretty emotional. They're 0:03:14.760 --> 0:03:17.640 probably going to be a little bit defensive or wary. 0:03:17.880 --> 0:03:19.880 You probably come across guys that are in and out 0:03:19.880 --> 0:03:24.680 of court right for various physical altercations or things like that, 0:03:24.680 --> 0:03:27.760 So you kind of would know the type of person 0:03:28.240 --> 0:03:30.320 or people that we're dealing with on that basis. 0:03:31.919 --> 0:03:32.400 Yes, and no. 0:03:32.600 --> 0:03:34.320 I think there's a lot of people that fit that 0:03:34.400 --> 0:03:39.560 category for a multitude of reasons. Homelessness or drug use. 0:03:39.600 --> 0:03:42.840 There's a lot of mental illness, and some people are 0:03:42.840 --> 0:03:45.720 also just prone to violence and they have bought impulse 0:03:45.720 --> 0:03:48.600 control and if they have a bad day, they'll let 0:03:48.600 --> 0:03:51.760 someone else feel the brunt of that. So there's a 0:03:51.800 --> 0:03:53.320 lot of people that I'll deal with that have those 0:03:53.360 --> 0:03:56.440 types of issues, but the actual cause or reason might 0:03:56.480 --> 0:03:58.200 seem to vary quite significantly. 0:03:59.040 --> 0:03:59.360 Yeah. 0:03:59.400 --> 0:04:01.760 Absolutely, Well a lot of them. It's tied up, right, 0:04:01.800 --> 0:04:04.520 because drug use can lead to mental health, or mental 0:04:04.520 --> 0:04:08.800 health leads to drug use. I mean it's all yeah connected, right, It's. 0:04:08.680 --> 0:04:12.960 Probably hard to separate one from the other. Yeah, it's 0:04:12.960 --> 0:04:16.320 probably all feeding the same issue. 0:04:16.680 --> 0:04:19.520 Yeah, what's your analysis of those sorts of people when 0:04:19.560 --> 0:04:22.119 it comes to just the physical violence aspect. 0:04:23.160 --> 0:04:26.359 I think most of the time it is my job 0:04:26.839 --> 0:04:30.359 I do train a few aspects of this. We do 0:04:30.480 --> 0:04:33.560 have our training for the company as well, So there's 0:04:33.560 --> 0:04:35.960 a few things that will give me an advantage in 0:04:36.000 --> 0:04:40.279 those types of scenarios. But having said that, you don't 0:04:40.320 --> 0:04:43.240 know who you're dealing with. I don't know what these 0:04:43.240 --> 0:04:46.599 guys are capable of. I don't know if they're going 0:04:46.680 --> 0:04:50.680 to be armed, and you still need to have a 0:04:50.760 --> 0:04:56.760 level of respect for the situation. Things can go wrong 0:04:57.279 --> 0:04:59.520 and you need to be aware of that going in. 0:05:00.080 --> 0:05:03.560 If you are all gung ho and think I'm the 0:05:03.600 --> 0:05:08.719 man or I'm untouchable or something like that, then maybe 0:05:08.760 --> 0:05:11.240 that's not the best thing. There's always other factors as 0:05:11.279 --> 0:05:13.359 well that play into it. If you're trying to manage 0:05:13.360 --> 0:05:17.480 a situation and really de escalated or something like that, 0:05:18.240 --> 0:05:22.360 or you might make the wrong move, or you know, 0:05:22.480 --> 0:05:26.280 you might not have enough situational awareness. It all opens 0:05:26.279 --> 0:05:29.920 it up to change, and yeah, you need to stay 0:05:29.920 --> 0:05:31.800 switched on regardless of who it is. 0:05:32.040 --> 0:05:35.120 Do you come across many domestic violence situations? 0:05:38.640 --> 0:05:43.280 Oh, very very sensitive subject, isn't it? In terms of 0:05:43.320 --> 0:05:46.520 my relation to domestic violence with work in terms of 0:05:46.600 --> 0:05:52.159 crowd control or those types of aspects of venues, fairly minimal. 0:05:52.480 --> 0:05:58.200 But that's my workplaces outside of that there's some very 0:05:58.320 --> 0:06:03.080 concerning what would go on behind closed doors type scenarios, 0:06:03.200 --> 0:06:05.040 and a lot of it's probably not reported. 0:06:05.200 --> 0:06:07.680 It's always been a thing, right, but now it's out 0:06:07.720 --> 0:06:10.400 in the open, like we've always known about it at all. 0:06:10.400 --> 0:06:11.240 But I think that's good. 0:06:11.480 --> 0:06:12.520 Yeah, it is good. 0:06:12.920 --> 0:06:15.360 We need people to understand how serious of an issue 0:06:15.360 --> 0:06:18.640 it is. It's it's very hard to broad brushstroke an 0:06:18.680 --> 0:06:22.760 issue as complex as that, but geez, we need to 0:06:22.760 --> 0:06:27.080 come up with some solutions and fast. I think it's 0:06:27.120 --> 0:06:31.200 scary how common this type of behavior is. And I 0:06:31.200 --> 0:06:34.120 think what's more scary is any number that we hear 0:06:34.200 --> 0:06:39.800 that's reported, that's reported, Imagine what we don't hear about. 0:06:40.160 --> 0:06:43.320 Imagine all the cases where someone's too scared, they don't 0:06:43.320 --> 0:06:46.119 want to say anything, they've been intimidated to the point 0:06:46.160 --> 0:06:48.320 that they don't want to say anything about it, and 0:06:48.320 --> 0:06:50.920 they're just suffering away and they're not in a position 0:06:50.960 --> 0:06:53.280 where they feel like they can do anything about it 0:06:53.360 --> 0:06:56.440 or they can speak about it. I think that that's 0:06:56.480 --> 0:06:59.400 probably some really scary stats. If there was a way 0:06:59.440 --> 0:07:03.400 to actually unreported and combined the two, I think that 0:07:03.440 --> 0:07:06.320 would be a big wake up to a lot of people. 0:07:06.760 --> 0:07:09.720 Well, only ten percent are reported. That's the official staff, 0:07:09.840 --> 0:07:10.920 only ten percent of report. 0:07:11.040 --> 0:07:11.400 There we go. 0:07:11.880 --> 0:07:14.239 I didn't know that, but I can really believe that. Yeah, 0:07:14.280 --> 0:07:18.840 and that's scary. If only ten percent, that's scary. Out 0:07:18.880 --> 0:07:21.000 of ten people that are in that situation, only one 0:07:21.080 --> 0:07:26.080 of them feels like they can actually say something. There's 0:07:26.160 --> 0:07:31.000 nine that won't. That that's really scary. 0:07:35.920 --> 0:07:39.120 While Allison and Market chatting, I'm going over my notes 0:07:39.480 --> 0:07:46.480 about Joshua James Brydon. He's the youngest of the group, 0:07:46.920 --> 0:07:50.800 born in nineteen ninety one, a year after Amy. And 0:07:50.880 --> 0:07:56.560 Gareth Brydon was there the day Amy died, but says 0:07:56.760 --> 0:08:02.000 he left shortly before the shooting and then return shortly after. 0:08:04.480 --> 0:08:09.480 Despite this and having seen David Simmons and spoken to 0:08:09.520 --> 0:08:16.080 Gareth Price several times after Amy's death, he says neither 0:08:16.200 --> 0:08:20.200 of them told him, and he didn't find out about 0:08:20.240 --> 0:08:25.920 Amy's death until the following afternoon when talking to someone else. 0:08:28.720 --> 0:08:31.000 This is what he said in a statement to police 0:08:31.480 --> 0:08:34.240 on the twenty eighth of June twenty fourteen. 0:08:36.280 --> 0:08:38.120 I am twenty three years old and reside in an 0:08:38.120 --> 0:08:41.640 address in Byford. On Friday, the twenty seventh of June, 0:08:41.720 --> 0:08:43.880 I was asked to attend the Munda John Police station 0:08:44.280 --> 0:08:47.400 to provide a statement to the WA Police. I have 0:08:47.440 --> 0:08:49.440 been advised that I do not have to accompany police, 0:08:49.559 --> 0:08:51.160 that I am not under arrest, and that if I 0:08:51.160 --> 0:08:52.840 do a company police, that I am free to leave 0:08:52.880 --> 0:08:56.400 at any time unless I am placed under arrest. I 0:08:56.440 --> 0:08:59.960 am friends with Simmo and Amy. Simmo is a David 0:09:00.120 --> 0:09:02.000 Simmons who I have known through the family since I 0:09:02.040 --> 0:09:06.280 was about fifteen years old. Hami is his partner. They 0:09:06.320 --> 0:09:08.800 aren't married. I have known her for about two years 0:09:08.840 --> 0:09:12.199 and met her through Simo. Simmo was someone that I've 0:09:12.240 --> 0:09:14.240 only just started hanging out with the last two years, 0:09:14.240 --> 0:09:16.839 but I've known him since I was about fifteen. I 0:09:16.920 --> 0:09:19.160 consider him to be a good mate. I go to 0:09:19.200 --> 0:09:21.560 his house and he comes to mind, not very often, 0:09:21.600 --> 0:09:24.720 but I also see him at Gareth. When I see him, 0:09:24.800 --> 0:09:26.960 we go out bush, you know, camping, pig hutt and 0:09:27.000 --> 0:09:30.120 wood chopping, barbecues and hanging out at the house. I 0:09:30.200 --> 0:09:33.600 usually go with a group of people who go On Wednesday, 0:09:33.840 --> 0:09:37.000 twenty fifth of June twenty fourteen, the girls went out together. 0:09:37.679 --> 0:09:41.000 Amy sometimes goes out shooting, but only with Simo. We've 0:09:41.040 --> 0:09:43.040 only been out with Simo and her once and she 0:09:43.080 --> 0:09:45.200 only ever uses a twenty two because she has a 0:09:45.200 --> 0:09:47.800 bad neck from a car accident. She'd never used the 0:09:47.800 --> 0:09:49.560 shotguns she refuses to use it. 0:09:50.040 --> 0:09:55.400 So stopping here because think about it, Amy refuses to 0:09:55.520 --> 0:09:59.240 use the shotgun because of her neck injury. Now remember 0:09:59.240 --> 0:10:02.960 this statement was taken just two days after Amy's death. 0:10:03.640 --> 0:10:06.120 It's understandable given the four to ten would be much 0:10:06.160 --> 0:10:11.000 heavier and the recoil much stronger, but again something that 0:10:11.080 --> 0:10:12.920 was brushed over during the inquest. 0:10:13.320 --> 0:10:16.280 My girls, I mean Amy and Rachel Price. Rachel is 0:10:16.600 --> 0:10:19.800 Gareth's wife. They went to the movies I think it 0:10:19.880 --> 0:10:22.160 was at Armadale and he saw twenty two Jump Street. 0:10:22.679 --> 0:10:25.080 I was at Simo's house in Southwest Highway a certain 0:10:25.120 --> 0:10:28.760 time when the girls left. Garetha was also there. We 0:10:28.760 --> 0:10:30.840 were watching movies until the kids went to bed at 0:10:30.880 --> 0:10:34.040 eight thirty because we stuffed at the TV. The movie 0:10:34.120 --> 0:10:35.920 had finished and we didn't know how to use the TV, 0:10:36.040 --> 0:10:38.800 so I couldn't get it back to Foxdell. That's what 0:10:38.920 --> 0:10:41.960 I left. I had agreed to go back to Simo's 0:10:41.960 --> 0:10:44.120 house in the morning to chop some wood. Simmo and 0:10:44.120 --> 0:10:46.600 his dad have a logging business, and Simo still sells 0:10:46.600 --> 0:10:49.040 some wood from his house. I didn't go back to 0:10:49.040 --> 0:10:51.400 the house first thing in the morning because I slept in. 0:10:52.400 --> 0:10:54.760 At about nine thirty am, I got a Facebook message 0:10:54.760 --> 0:10:58.920 from Amy asking well we made what time me coming up? 0:10:59.280 --> 0:11:01.560 Simoto's never phone on him, so I got to communicate 0:11:01.559 --> 0:11:03.680 through Facebook. I said I was coming up. I was 0:11:03.720 --> 0:11:06.400 in the car and on the way. Got there about 0:11:06.800 --> 0:11:09.000 ten am. When I got to the house, I could 0:11:09.200 --> 0:11:12.680 see Simo's car suber rumby, Amy's car, which was a 0:11:12.800 --> 0:11:15.280 v Wire Commodol, and Rachel's car, which was a white 0:11:15.320 --> 0:11:18.199 Toyota camera. Gareth and Rachel had stayed over the night, 0:11:18.240 --> 0:11:20.880 but Garris Carr was already gone because he had gone 0:11:20.880 --> 0:11:23.719 to work. I walked up to the house, knocked on 0:11:23.800 --> 0:11:26.680 the door, and walked in. Simo and Amy were both 0:11:26.679 --> 0:11:29.439 in good moods, you know, happy as Larry. Simo asked 0:11:29.440 --> 0:11:32.240 if I was ready to go. Simo walked out to 0:11:32.280 --> 0:11:34.640 his car. Amy walked out just behind him with a 0:11:34.640 --> 0:11:36.600 box of rubbish frost, putting the bins down the end 0:11:36.600 --> 0:11:40.600 of the driveway. We then left. I drove my car 0:11:40.679 --> 0:11:43.439 and Simo drove his car behind me. Amy and Rachel 0:11:43.440 --> 0:11:45.520 stayed back at the house. We dropped the rubbish in 0:11:45.559 --> 0:11:48.360 the bins and then drove to the cow Text roadhouse 0:11:48.360 --> 0:11:52.000 in Serpentine. Simo put some diesel in my car, bought 0:11:52.000 --> 0:11:54.320 fuel for the chainsaw, and put fuel in his car. 0:11:55.040 --> 0:11:58.960 Brighton says Simmons was in a good mood. While they 0:11:59.000 --> 0:12:03.240 found some logs and cut wood. They didn't get back 0:12:03.280 --> 0:12:07.840 to simmons place Simo's place, as Brydon puts it, until 0:12:07.880 --> 0:12:09.280 about twelve thirty. 0:12:09.600 --> 0:12:11.480 The girls had gone out. I don't know where they went. 0:12:11.760 --> 0:12:13.600 Simmo got changed because it had been raining whilst we 0:12:13.600 --> 0:12:16.199 were chopping wood, and I remember he had a b 0:12:16.240 --> 0:12:20.040 loo sing one on and blue jeans. He got changed 0:12:20.080 --> 0:12:21.840 into a pair of shorts, a black jumper and a 0:12:21.840 --> 0:12:25.079 T shirt. I don't really remember his clothing. We stayed 0:12:25.120 --> 0:12:27.920 and had some chips and left in Simo's car to 0:12:27.920 --> 0:12:29.760 go to the bottle at Serpentine. Get a cart and 0:12:29.760 --> 0:12:31.680 a piss, and you know by piss, I'm in beer. 0:12:32.480 --> 0:12:35.080 Simo went desided to pay for it. It was about 0:12:35.120 --> 0:12:37.920 fifteen minutes down the road. We put the piss in 0:12:37.920 --> 0:12:39.520 the back of the ute and drove to Gareth's house 0:12:39.559 --> 0:12:42.120 in Jaredale looked over his phone. Gareth had left his 0:12:42.160 --> 0:12:44.200 phone on the bin that night. We couldn't find him 0:12:44.240 --> 0:12:44.600 up there. 0:12:44.800 --> 0:12:50.840 After that, he and Simmons went out Bush again. At 0:12:50.880 --> 0:12:55.120 about two fifteen, he received a Facebook message from Amy. 0:12:55.360 --> 0:12:57.280 She asked me to get simm to goober a call. 0:12:58.120 --> 0:12:59.880 Simo tried to call on my phone but it kept 0:13:00.000 --> 0:13:02.040 open in and out of some reception, so it never 0:13:02.360 --> 0:13:02.800 rotecked it. 0:13:02.960 --> 0:13:07.360 Before going back to Simmos, they picked up Gareth. It 0:13:07.520 --> 0:13:12.600 was about three thirty. Rachel had left and Amy had 0:13:12.600 --> 0:13:15.080 gone to pick up her eldest daughter from school. 0:13:15.280 --> 0:13:17.240 I gave sim On my phone to call Amy because 0:13:17.240 --> 0:13:21.160 he couldn't get her earlier. Lost he called, I went outside. 0:13:21.880 --> 0:13:25.280 I couldn't hear the call. About fifteen twenty minutes later, 0:13:25.440 --> 0:13:28.640 Amy arrived at the house with two kids. The kids 0:13:28.679 --> 0:13:31.199 were excited, you know, as usual. I don't know why. 0:13:31.240 --> 0:13:34.680 They went to the bedroom. After about ten minutes I 0:13:34.720 --> 0:13:38.880 heard Amy start yelling. I couldn't hear Simmo. She came 0:13:38.960 --> 0:13:40.840 running out and said, did David try to call me? 0:13:40.960 --> 0:13:43.520 And I said, yeah, here's my call logue and I 0:13:43.559 --> 0:13:46.360 showed her my phone. She said, don't worry about it 0:13:46.800 --> 0:13:49.679 and turned back and went back into the bedroom. She 0:13:49.679 --> 0:13:52.000 got a bit angry, started throwing stuff, and by angry 0:13:52.000 --> 0:13:54.120 Ammy and she was out of order. It was out 0:13:54.120 --> 0:13:56.280 of normal for me. Kath was down the hallway and 0:13:56.320 --> 0:13:58.520 they were arguing, and you know, by arguing, I mean 0:13:58.600 --> 0:14:02.840 Simmo was listening to Amy and he was saying a 0:14:02.840 --> 0:14:05.480 few things to try and calm Amy down. I heard 0:14:05.800 --> 0:14:08.640 Simmo say, have I ever hurt you? Have I ever 0:14:08.720 --> 0:14:10.840 hit you? I've never hurt you, and I never will, 0:14:11.440 --> 0:14:13.959 you know. Amy said, now, you've never hurt me, and 0:14:14.120 --> 0:14:16.480 you've never hit me. Kareth grabbed a mirror from the 0:14:16.480 --> 0:14:18.440 hallway next to the bedroom and walked back to the 0:14:18.480 --> 0:14:21.360 dining table and put the mirror down near me. I 0:14:21.400 --> 0:14:22.600 think he was just trying to do it to stop 0:14:22.600 --> 0:14:25.840 it from getting broken. Simo came out and started talking 0:14:25.840 --> 0:14:28.440 to us. We're still at the dining room table. Amy 0:14:28.480 --> 0:14:31.440 came out and said I've had enough. I'm leaving. Simo said, 0:14:31.560 --> 0:14:33.520 if you want to leave, leave, I'm not arguing with you. 0:14:34.280 --> 0:14:36.720 Amy said, I'm taking all the money and I'm going 0:14:36.760 --> 0:14:39.600 to get a new house. Simo said, you can take 0:14:39.600 --> 0:14:41.640 the money, take both of the accounts. All I wanted 0:14:41.640 --> 0:14:44.600 the roof over the kids heads. Simo was upset but 0:14:44.880 --> 0:14:47.200 holding it together for the kids. You know, five said, 0:14:47.200 --> 0:14:48.480 I mean he was a bit angry, but he was 0:14:48.480 --> 0:14:51.600 holding in his temper. Andy then walked out the front door. 0:14:51.640 --> 0:14:53.040 You know, I thought she was going to a car. 0:14:54.160 --> 0:14:56.400 Simo stayed and was trying to talk to us, So 0:14:56.560 --> 0:14:58.680 the girls went outside, playing in the shed out the back. 0:14:58.680 --> 0:14:59.400 Whilst all this was. 0:14:59.400 --> 0:15:06.280 Happening, he says, Amy's oldest daughter started crying, so they 0:15:06.360 --> 0:15:07.160 ran outside. 0:15:07.840 --> 0:15:10.520 Simmo said, I hope she doesn't hurt the kids. 0:15:10.520 --> 0:15:14.120 In anger, they noticed the lizard tank is smashed, and 0:15:14.200 --> 0:15:16.880 Gareth and Brydon proceed to clean up. 0:15:18.480 --> 0:15:20.160 Gareth and I stayed with the girls in the shed 0:15:20.200 --> 0:15:22.920 and looked after them, making sure they didn't run off 0:15:22.960 --> 0:15:25.960 or do anything stupid. Simo came and told the girls 0:15:26.000 --> 0:15:28.120 O had to go to the NaNs. At that point, 0:15:28.400 --> 0:15:30.160 Simo was upset, but was, you know, putting on a 0:15:30.200 --> 0:15:32.920 brave face with the kids. I would say that he 0:15:32.960 --> 0:15:34.840 was frustrated. I don't think he was angry, and I 0:15:34.880 --> 0:15:37.040 don't think he was sad, but I'd say it was 0:15:37.040 --> 0:15:40.120 pretty calm though. Put the kids in Amy's car. 0:15:41.960 --> 0:15:46.840 Brydon says, He left at four forty seven pm. He 0:15:46.960 --> 0:15:50.560 knows this because he just got a text message from 0:15:50.640 --> 0:15:55.440 his old school friend Kay. He says he didn't respond 0:15:55.440 --> 0:15:58.880 to this message, though, and went straight home and fed 0:15:58.920 --> 0:16:03.520 his dogs. At about five point thirty pm, he drives 0:16:04.040 --> 0:16:06.120 back to Simo's place. 0:16:08.840 --> 0:16:11.040 When I got there, Gareth is sitting on the fence. 0:16:11.240 --> 0:16:13.600 I stopped to talk with him. He said, you don't 0:16:13.600 --> 0:16:15.800 want to go up there, just leave and come back later. 0:16:16.480 --> 0:16:18.640 He wouldn't tell me what happened. I thought Simmo had 0:16:18.680 --> 0:16:22.240 started arguing back with Amy. Gareth is a bit strange, 0:16:22.320 --> 0:16:24.960 like you know someone was wrong. I knew there was 0:16:24.960 --> 0:16:26.640 something wrong, but I didn't do anything about it. 0:16:26.800 --> 0:16:31.240 So Brydon leaves again and apparently goes straight to his 0:16:31.360 --> 0:16:36.480 mate Kaid's place, whose text he didn't respond to. Earlier. 0:16:36.760 --> 0:16:38.360 As I was driving to Caids, I got a message 0:16:38.360 --> 0:16:42.360 from It was about five point fifty pm. The message 0:16:42.360 --> 0:16:45.160 said come to mind. I didn't respond to that message. 0:16:45.200 --> 0:16:47.520 I didn't receive any other calls that night or messages, 0:16:47.560 --> 0:16:49.840 and I didn't make or send any. 0:16:50.880 --> 0:16:55.480 He and Caid apparently then go pig shooting until after midnight. 0:16:56.360 --> 0:17:00.160 After that, he went home to bed Brighton says he 0:17:00.200 --> 0:17:03.440 slept in the next morning to about eight am, and 0:17:03.520 --> 0:17:06.320 after doing a few chores around the house, headed to 0:17:06.359 --> 0:17:09.880 the bakery and then to get new tires for his car. 0:17:11.040 --> 0:17:15.720 It's late morning when Gareth calls him. 0:17:16.520 --> 0:17:18.399 Gareth said to me, we need to talk. 0:17:18.560 --> 0:17:22.040 The call is from Brydon's sister's phone, and they hang 0:17:22.119 --> 0:17:25.720 up quickly so he can get back home where Gareth 0:17:26.280 --> 0:17:28.600 and Simo are waiting. 0:17:28.800 --> 0:17:32.280 Simma looked a mess. I mean, he wasn't talking. He 0:17:32.359 --> 0:17:34.560 looked like he was going to cry. He wasn't happy. 0:17:35.040 --> 0:17:37.080 Kara said, we're about to go up bush. Do you 0:17:37.080 --> 0:17:40.240 want to come? I said, nah, I got to get 0:17:40.240 --> 0:17:42.920 these tires put on. I didn't talk to them much 0:17:42.920 --> 0:17:45.120 because my sister was there. I figured if they wanted 0:17:45.160 --> 0:17:46.600 to talk, they would have said it with her. 0:17:46.560 --> 0:17:52.240 There, so if we still believe Joshua's story. Simmons and 0:17:52.320 --> 0:17:58.920 Gareth then leave, having not discussed Amy's death. Brydon says 0:17:59.280 --> 0:18:03.639 it wasn't until he drove to another mate's place and 0:18:03.760 --> 0:18:08.880 talked to Rachel's brother Ray that he learned about what happened. 0:18:09.040 --> 0:18:12.639 He said that Amy had shot herself and I said, yeah, 0:18:12.760 --> 0:18:14.960 I knew it. In myself kind of had a feel, 0:18:14.960 --> 0:18:17.040 and I felt it because of the way that Simo 0:18:17.200 --> 0:18:19.240 was when he was at my house. It was like 0:18:19.320 --> 0:18:22.920 his heart had been torturous. Chest Simon and Gareth rocked up. 0:18:23.160 --> 0:18:24.840 We were all at the back, and Gareth started talking 0:18:24.840 --> 0:18:27.719 to us. Both looked a little better, like they had 0:18:27.720 --> 0:18:30.480 refreshed themselves. Sim and I went out in the front. 0:18:30.840 --> 0:18:32.440 He asked me if I had heard what had happened 0:18:32.440 --> 0:18:34.960 to Amy said it was okay, and that he was 0:18:34.960 --> 0:18:38.280 better than he was. There was not much you could 0:18:38.280 --> 0:18:40.120 do about it now, I mean, it was too late. 0:18:40.960 --> 0:18:42.400 We talked for a little bit and then walked out 0:18:42.400 --> 0:18:45.000 the back. I tried talking to him some more, but 0:18:45.840 --> 0:18:48.679 Simo wouldn't talk back. Gareth and Simo left to go 0:18:48.720 --> 0:18:51.119 back to Gareth's house. I left as well. When I 0:18:51.160 --> 0:18:54.359 got to Gareth's house, Simo started to let everything out emotionally. 0:18:54.960 --> 0:18:57.200 He started crying and hating on himself or what Gareth 0:18:57.240 --> 0:18:59.680 had to see. Gareth was saying, that's what made the 0:18:59.720 --> 0:19:01.880 four here for you, no matter what. 0:19:05.200 --> 0:19:10.879 How prophetic those words would prove. Brydon doesn't say much more, 0:19:11.480 --> 0:19:15.199 but lists the guns owned by Simmons, which included the 0:19:15.280 --> 0:19:19.159 twelve gage shotgun, a three zero eight bolt action rifle, 0:19:19.720 --> 0:19:25.080 a Browning twenty two lever action fifteen shot rifle, and 0:19:25.480 --> 0:19:28.920 the four to ten shotgun. And there was also Amy's 0:19:28.960 --> 0:19:33.720 pink twenty two rifle. He then says, Simmons and Amy's 0:19:33.760 --> 0:19:40.159 relationship was very cheery and happy, a normal relationship, no 0:19:40.359 --> 0:19:44.919 different to any other of his mate's relationships. 0:19:48.520 --> 0:19:51.480 At the time of his statement to police in twenty fourteen, 0:19:51.920 --> 0:19:55.280 Brydon also mentioned that his dad's twin sister was in 0:19:55.320 --> 0:20:05.280 a relationship with Simmons. Uncle. This is Brydon at the inquest. 0:20:05.760 --> 0:20:08.400 Could you tell the court your full name, please, Joshua 0:20:08.520 --> 0:20:11.280 James Brydon. And my understanding is that you gave a 0:20:11.320 --> 0:20:14.520 statement to the WA Police in relation to the investigation 0:20:14.600 --> 0:20:17.399 into Amy's death. Do you remember that. Yes, It's dated 0:20:17.440 --> 0:20:20.880 twenty eight June twenty fourteen, so two days after Amy died. 0:20:21.080 --> 0:20:22.640 Do you recall giving that statement? 0:20:22.840 --> 0:20:23.359 Yes, I do. 0:20:23.600 --> 0:20:25.720 Is there anything that you would like to add or 0:20:25.840 --> 0:20:27.840 change to that statement in evidence today? 0:20:28.040 --> 0:20:28.159 No? 0:20:28.560 --> 0:20:33.040 And do you call David Simmons Dave David Simo what Simo? 0:20:33.480 --> 0:20:36.760 Brydon outlines the history of his friendship with Simmo and 0:20:36.800 --> 0:20:40.240 what they did together. And then he's asked about Amy. 0:20:40.520 --> 0:20:41.560 Did Amy go hunting? 0:20:41.760 --> 0:20:42.199 Not with me? 0:20:42.320 --> 0:20:42.399 No? 0:20:42.600 --> 0:20:44.200 Did you ever see Amy use a gun? 0:20:44.440 --> 0:20:44.560 No? 0:20:44.920 --> 0:20:47.480 Do you remember there being any issues of jealousy between 0:20:47.640 --> 0:20:50.000 you speaking to Amy from David's perspective? 0:20:50.240 --> 0:20:50.320 No? 0:20:50.800 --> 0:20:53.359 Would it surprise you to hear that there were messages 0:20:53.400 --> 0:20:56.200 sent between Amy and David where David expressed a bit 0:20:56.240 --> 0:20:59.080 of displeasure about the suggestion that Amy might go out 0:20:59.080 --> 0:21:00.960 shooting with you a min before she died. 0:21:01.200 --> 0:21:02.439 Yes, it would surprise me. 0:21:02.560 --> 0:21:05.479 Yes, that's news to you. Yes, Okay. Do you remember 0:21:05.520 --> 0:21:08.120 offering to take Amy out shooting or talking to her 0:21:08.200 --> 0:21:10.200 about that about a month before she died? 0:21:10.520 --> 0:21:13.080 Not really, I don't, but yes, all right, I'm. 0:21:12.920 --> 0:21:14.760 Going to ask you to cast your mind back six 0:21:14.800 --> 0:21:17.280 and a half years. Do you have an independent memory 0:21:17.320 --> 0:21:19.000 of the days before Amy died? 0:21:19.400 --> 0:21:22.280 No? I don't remember too much. But I mean I 0:21:22.320 --> 0:21:24.400 know the day that she died, me and Simo went 0:21:24.400 --> 0:21:25.720 and chopped firewood during the day. 0:21:26.000 --> 0:21:28.439 So the chopping of firewood, was that your job or 0:21:28.480 --> 0:21:29.480 were you just helping out? 0:21:29.640 --> 0:21:30.520 I was just helping out. 0:21:30.680 --> 0:21:32.160 Was that something you did regularly? 0:21:32.440 --> 0:21:32.840 Yeah? 0:21:32.880 --> 0:21:35.159 When you would go out chopping wood, would you and 0:21:35.280 --> 0:21:37.439 David drink while doing that, Sorry, Simo. 0:21:37.640 --> 0:21:40.119 No, sometimes he might have stopped at the pub for 0:21:40.200 --> 0:21:41.280