Source : Perth Now news
A Zumba instructor accused of murdering a missing American woman claims she simply walked out on their relationship – taking her secrets with her.
Brisbane man Mark Sheridan Waden was charged with Priscilla Brooten’s murder after the former beauty queen disappeared from the Bracken Ridge home she shared with him in July 2018.
Her body has never been found.
Mr Waden pleaded not guilty at the start of his trial before the Brisbane Supreme Court on Monday.
The court was told the pair began dating in late 2016.
At the start of the trial, the court was told Ms Brooten was living in Australia illegally at the time of her disappearance, with her visa status expiring in 2009.
On Tuesday, the jury was told Ms Brooten’s ex-partner and friend Steve Thompson went to the police in September 2018, concerned about her welfare after not seeing or hearing from her in several weeks.
While police determined at the time there was not sufficient evidence to lodge a missing persons report, then-constable Jamie Burley followed up with Mr Waden.
“He said Priscilla had left him three weeks ago for another person,” the now Acting Sergeant Burley said.
“He said he hadn’t heard or seen from her since she left.”
The officer testified he was relatively certain Mr Waden had specified three weeks, adding the Zumba instructor expressed he was not concerned for Ms Brooten’s welfare.
The court was told Mr Thompson again went to police in December.
Around this time, a general duties officer attended Mr Waden’s property for an informal search of the home he once shared with Ms Brooten.
In body-worn camera footage shown to the court, Mr Waden told the officer that Ms Brooten lived an “interesting life”, adding he was kept in the dark about her immigration status, previous relationships and even her name.
“Didn’t find out her real name until the last few months,” he told the officer.
“Just a whole lot of lies and secrets.”
In a statement to police given on December 12, 2018, and read to the jury, Mr Waden accused Ms Brooten of using both his and Mr Thompson’s surname despite never being married to either man.
He also claimed Ms Brooten relied on her relationships to fund her life.
“I accepted she could not get a job and I would financially support her,” Mr Waden said.
“I would cover her living expenses, she would spend about 500 a month of my money.
“My understanding was (Mr Thompson) was paying for quite a bit of her extra-curricular stuff, but I can’t be sure.”
“I felt he was being used and kept in the dark. I felt I was being used by Priscilla and her motive was to stay in the country.”
In his statement, Mr Waden, who referred to himself as “Marky-Mark”, said the relationship was good until pressures from his new real-estate role and Ms Brooten’s alleged miscommunication grew.
“She would be erratic and found it difficult to control emotion,” he wrote at the time.
“She would become uncontrollable, then she would calm down and become normal again.
“It wasn’t frequent at the beginning of the relationship, but by the end it would be four or five times a week.
“This was one of the reasons I wanted to end the relationship.”
Mr Waden described a fight the pair had days before her disappearance.
“I threatened to call immigration, I didn’t want her with me in her emotional state,” he wrote in his statement.
“She freaked out about it, she became emotional and crying, she threw things and smashed them, she became abusive and threatening towards me.”
Mr Waden wrote that Ms Brooten left the home two days later, taking almost all her belongings with her including her clothes, suitcases, Xbox device, makeup and laptop.
On day one of the trial, the jury was told they would hear evidence that Mr Waden allegedly gifted Ms Brooten’s belongings, which remained at the home, to his subsequent girlfriend.
In his statement, Mr Waden claimed he began dating this new woman about the same time Ms Brooten was last seen alive.
“It made me feel relieved and I was happy not to have her in my life,” he wrote of Ms Brooten’s quick exit from the home.
“I didn’t try to contact her … I assumed she had gone back to Thompson.
“She didn’t try to contact me.”
An officer from the Queensland Police missing persons unit told the court, despite in-depth investigations with banks, airlines, hospitals and government agencies, there was “no evidence of life” past Ms Brooten’s disappearance in July 2018.
The trial continues on Wednesday.
