source : the age
The same day a former US beauty queen disappeared and was allegedly murdered, her boyfriend messaged his new girlfriend, talking to her about sharing a “long kiss”.
Weeks later, he gave the missing woman’s clothes, make-up and phone to his new partner, the Supreme Court in Brisbane has heard.
Mark Sheridan Waden is on trial over the disappearance of Priscilla Brooten, who moved to Australia in 2005, and began dating Waden after meeting him through a Zumba class a decade later.
He pleaded not guilty to Brooten’s murder at the beginning of his trial on Monday.
In opening the case against Waden, Crown Prosecutor Andrew Walklate told the jury Brooten was allegedly murdered on the evening of July 5, 2018. Her body was never recovered.
The messages
Waden sent a message to his new girlfriend, Desiree Hatzipapas, at 6.59am that morning, Walklate told the court.
It read: “We could sneak a long kiss as no one is here to see it.”
“This is the morning of the day Ms Brooten disappeared, and it’s my case she was murdered,” Walklate said.
That morning, Brooten accessed Waden’s Facebook account, reading his past conversations with women, and saved copies of the messages in a folder on the computer.
She also accessed Facebook’s blocking settings later that day, the court heard.
About 6pm, Waden cancelled his Zumba class, and made a 29-minute call to Brooten. Walklate said this was the last recorded call between the pair.
That evening, Waden’s girlfriend Hatzipapas asked him if everything was OK. Waden replied that he had a class and could not respond.
The day after Brooten’s alleged murder, Waden is accused of asking for a trench to be dug on his property at Bracken Ridge, on Brisbane’s north side, and for work to be done on a retaining wall.
Waden told contractors council were “on his back”, Walklate said.
The prosecution case relied on the locations where Waden and Brooten’s phones had pinged off cell towers, and places where the missing woman’s Volkswagen Golf was tagged.
That car was given to Brooten by Steve Thompson – a man she had a complicated relationship with, Walklate said, and who provided for her financially.
The Crown alleges Waden sent a series of messages from Brooten’s phone to Thompson about where the car had been left.
“She was dead at that time,” Walklate said.
At the time of her disappearance, Brooten’s clothing, her make-up, and her phone were at Waden’s house.
Within a few weeks, Waden had invited Hatzipapas to his home for the first time, and given her Brooten’s clothing and makeup, Walklate said.
Waden is also accused of doing a factory reset of Brooten’s phone, and offering that phone to his new girlfriend, telling her it was a spare phone from his business.
Waden’s claims about Brooten
At his Zumba classes, Waden told others that the immigration department had come to his house looking for Brooten.
He said she was an illegal immigrant who had gone into hiding, adding that “no one will ever find her”.
Brooten was not reported missing until December 2018, after Thompson contacted police.
In December 2019, Waden allegedly told police he and Brooten split up in June 2018, and he began dating his new girlfriend a month later.
He told police he and Brooten were arguing and fighting, that Brooten had refused to go, and Waden threatened to contact immigration.
Within two days, she was gone, he claimed, saying: “I was happy she was out of my life.”
The US consulate in Sydney reported that it received a call from Thompson in December 2018. However, the prosecution alleges it was Waden who made the call, and not Thompson.
Walklate said the jury would hear evidence from several witnesses, including hospital staff who would testify that Waden told them he had attempted suicide because of a police investigation involving his former girlfriend.
He told police Brooten had moved out while he was at a Zumba class, and that all of her belongings were gone, the court heard.
The property
Police visited Waden’s home in May 2019. They did not speak to Waden, but the day after visiting, he hired a self-drive excavator.
He messaged Hatzipapas on May 4, explaining his entertaining area was flooded, and that he needed to go to Bunnings to purchase a drainage pipe.
On May 5, the excavator was delivered, and by 10am Waden bought tarpaulins and rope from Bunnings, Walklate said.
Waden told a neighbour that police had been talking to his friends. He said Brooten was in Australia illegally, and that he loved her but she “sponged off men”.
The Crown referred to a series of messages between Waden and Hatzipapas, where he said he was going to the dump with excess soil, and travelling to his parents place.
He dropped off 400 kilograms of soil at the Nudgee dump from his trailer covered in a blue tarp that afternoon. By 6pm, he was at his parents, with a wheelie bin on his trailer.
The following day, he washed the bin at a Deagon car wash at 7pm, which was captured on CCTV, Walklate said.
On May 7, he dumped another 460 kilograms at the Nudgee dump.
“It is not known when or where exactly that Mr Waden disposed of Ms Brooten’s body. However, he may have disposed of her remains at the Nudgee dump,” Walklate said.
‘No proof of death’
Waden’s defence barrister, James Godbolt, told the court that the prosecution case was based on conjecture and speculation.
“Much has been said about the excavation of Mr Waden’s yard. Think about this for the moment – there is not a single piece of evidence that the area excavated was used as a grave site,” he said.
He said there was a comprehensive examination done at the property but none of it implicated Waden.
“How was she killed? The prosecution can’t say,” Godbolt said.
He added that there was a complete absence of any forensic evidence linking Waden to Brooten’s death, and no proof of her death at all.
Godbolt said Brooten was unhappy, that she led an unusual life, and was in Australia illegally but had stayed under the radar for many years through her relationships with various people.
“Perhaps she managed to leave the country under another name,” Godbolt said. “She had many names. Perhaps she’s still in the country living under the radar.”
Godbolt said it was a massive leap to conclude that Waden was guilty of murder.
