October 18, 2024 • 5 mins
An update from the Bronwyn team: Listen to a taste of Episode 15, the latest in Bronwyn's second season.
The full episode is live now at bronwynpodcast.com, where you can also see subscriber-only content like photographs, maps, timelines.
If you have information which may help solve this cold case, you can contact our team confidentially by emailing bronwyn@theaustralian.com.au
If you need support, Lifeline can be reached on 13 11 14.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
And then that was when sometime I'm trying to think
that was probably it was after seven o'clock. It might
have been even after eight o'clock by that time. I
can't remember, honestly. All I know is it was dark.
You know. It was probably at least an hour or
(00:25):
maybe an hour and a half after the plane landed,
whatever time that was, And that was dark, because I
remember I got off the plane in the dark.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
This is what John Winfield told police about the night.
In May nineteen ninety three, he returned to Lennox Head
from Sydney the night his wife bromwin vanished from their
Sandstone Crescent home, where re enacting excerpts of his first
and only formal police interview with Detective Sergeant Glenn Taylor.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
Do you know did you make any phone calls?
Speaker 2 (01:03):
No?
Speaker 1 (01:03):
I didn't.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
The seventy six page typewritten transcript of the interview is
being examined by the Australian's National Chief correspondent Headley Thomas
in episodes fourteen and fifteen of the bromwn podcast series.
They're live now for subscribers at bromwn podcast dot com
and on the Australians app. Those phone calls have sparked
(01:25):
a new element of this investigation exactly what went down
in the Winfield home on the night Bromwyn was last seen.
I'm Claire Harvey, the Australian's editorial director. You've just heard
(01:48):
a small snippet of episode fifteen of Bromwyn, and there's
more to come in just a moment. We love you
to join our subscribers over at Bromwyn podcast dot com
to hear this thrilling new episode. First, our subscribers play
a vital role in helping us fund these complex investigations.
That means new episodes of Bromwin are locked for a
(02:10):
few weeks before they're available where you're listening now. As
you've just heard, John Winfield initially told police he didn't
make any calls from the home at Sandstone Crescent on
that night May sixteenth, nineteen ninety three, but when police
showed him the phone records from the house, he said
(02:32):
he did make two calls, one to his daughter Jody
at six point fifty three pm and his brother Peter
at seven o six pm.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
Oh I see, yeah, I rang that one. Yeah, to
tell Jody I was at home. Yeah that's right, Yeah, yeah,
I remember, Yeah, I rang Jody and said, Okay, I'm
back home now, you know, because I sort of come
up now, I remember that's Jody and my brother.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
The one at seven oh six.
Speaker 1 (03:06):
Yes, my brother, yep, I rang my brother too. Yes,
that's my brother's number. Yeah, I forgot about that.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
Yeah. That prompted another question for Headley. Was it possible
for John's recollection to be right or is it possible
those calls were actually made by bromwin Winfield, perhaps concerned
about her husband's imminent arrival. John Winfield told police he
(03:36):
landed at Ballina Airport that night after sunset, So could
John have got to the home in time for that
six fifty three pm phone call. He's Headley speaking in
episode fifteen.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
We have been trying to confirm the arrival time in
Ballina on May sixteen, nineteen ninety three of the flight
which John Winfield bordered in Sydney earlier that day. It
was a seventy to eighty minute flight. The airline Anset Australia,
which collapsed several years later, flew the route for several days.
(04:15):
I was tantalizingly close because of the discovery of an
ANSET timetable for the months of September nineteen ninety two
to March of nineteen ninety three, but I didn't have
the May nineteen ninety three timetable. We were close, no cigar.
Here's why it might be crucial. It struck me that
(04:37):
the timing appeared to make it very difficult, if not impossible,
for John to have made those.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
Calls to find out for sure. Headley needed that timetable.
And that's where one very diligent listener of Bromwin comes in,
lawyer Karina Berger.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
You've done work with coronial inquiries over a number of years,
haven't you. Yes, I have Hesley.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
To find out what Hedley and Karina have discovered, along
with some illuminating findings by our senior reporter Matt Condon.
Join our subscribers at Roman podcast dot com.
And then that was when sometime I'm trying to think
that was probably it was after seven o'clock. It might
have been even after eight o'clock by that time. I
can't remember, honestly. All I know is it was dark.
You know. It was probably at least an hour or
(00:25):
maybe an hour and a half after the plane landed,
whatever time that was, And that was dark, because I
remember I got off the plane in the dark.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
This is what John Winfield told police about the night.
In May nineteen ninety three, he returned to Lennox Head
from Sydney the night his wife bromwin vanished from their
Sandstone Crescent home, where re enacting excerpts of his first
and only formal police interview with Detective Sergeant Glenn Taylor.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
Do you know did you make any phone calls?
Speaker 2 (01:03):
No?
Speaker 1 (01:03):
I didn't.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
The seventy six page typewritten transcript of the interview is
being examined by the Australian's National Chief correspondent Headley Thomas
in episodes fourteen and fifteen of the bromwn podcast series.
They're live now for subscribers at bromwn podcast dot com
and on the Australians app. Those phone calls have sparked
(01:25):
a new element of this investigation exactly what went down
in the Winfield home on the night Bromwyn was last seen.
I'm Claire Harvey, the Australian's editorial director. You've just heard
(01:48):
a small snippet of episode fifteen of Bromwyn, and there's
more to come in just a moment. We love you
to join our subscribers over at Bromwyn podcast dot com
to hear this thrilling new episode. First, our subscribers play
a vital role in helping us fund these complex investigations.
That means new episodes of Bromwin are locked for a
(02:10):
few weeks before they're available where you're listening now. As
you've just heard, John Winfield initially told police he didn't
make any calls from the home at Sandstone Crescent on
that night May sixteenth, nineteen ninety three, but when police
showed him the phone records from the house, he said
(02:32):
he did make two calls, one to his daughter Jody
at six point fifty three pm and his brother Peter
at seven o six pm.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
Oh I see, yeah, I rang that one. Yeah, to
tell Jody I was at home. Yeah that's right, Yeah, yeah,
I remember, Yeah, I rang Jody and said, Okay, I'm
back home now, you know, because I sort of come
up now, I remember that's Jody and my brother.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
The one at seven oh six.
Speaker 1 (03:06):
Yes, my brother, yep, I rang my brother too. Yes,
that's my brother's number. Yeah, I forgot about that.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
Yeah. That prompted another question for Headley. Was it possible
for John's recollection to be right or is it possible
those calls were actually made by bromwin Winfield, perhaps concerned
about her husband's imminent arrival. John Winfield told police he
(03:36):
landed at Ballina Airport that night after sunset, So could
John have got to the home in time for that
six fifty three pm phone call. He's Headley speaking in
episode fifteen.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
We have been trying to confirm the arrival time in
Ballina on May sixteen, nineteen ninety three of the flight
which John Winfield bordered in Sydney earlier that day. It
was a seventy to eighty minute flight. The airline Anset Australia,
which collapsed several years later, flew the route for several days.
(04:15):
I was tantalizingly close because of the discovery of an
ANSET timetable for the months of September nineteen ninety two
to March of nineteen ninety three, but I didn't have
the May nineteen ninety three timetable. We were close, no cigar.
Here's why it might be crucial. It struck me that
(04:37):
the timing appeared to make it very difficult, if not impossible,
for John to have made those.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
Calls to find out for sure. Headley needed that timetable.
And that's where one very diligent listener of Bromwin comes in,
lawyer Karina Berger.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
You've done work with coronial inquiries over a number of years,
haven't you. Yes, I have Hesley.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
To find out what Hedley and Karina have discovered, along
with some illuminating findings by our senior reporter Matt Condon.
Join our subscribers at Roman podcast dot com.
Popular Podcasts
40s and Free Agents: NFL Draft Season
Daniel Jeremiah of Move the Sticks and Gregg Rosenthal of NFL Daily join forces to break down every team's needs this offseason.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Bobby Bones Show
Listen to 'The Bobby Bones Show' by downloading the daily full replay.