Robert Whitwell was murdered by his granddaughter Brittney Dwyer: Grieving family members condemn killer as cruel and evil

THE brothers of murder victim Robert Whitwell embraced his “grieving” granddaughter — only to discover they had been comforting his killer.

• Teens exchange messages about ‘killing at rave parties’
• Brittney Dwyer pleads guilty to murder of grandfather Robert Whitwell
• Robert Whitwell’s granddaughter tells friend he ‘might have to die’
• Bernadette Burns ordered to stand trial over Robert Whitwell’s murder

THE brothers of murder victim Robert Whitwell embraced his crying granddaughter in the days after his death — only to discover they had been comforting his killer.

Brittney Jade Dwyer, 19, from the Gold Coast suburb of Ormeau, admitted murdering her “loving” grandfather in his unit at Craigmore, in Adelaide’s northern suburbs.

On Monday, she had to listen as her family outlined their devastation and despair in victim impact statements read out in the Supreme Court by prosecutor Jim Pearce.

In his statement, Mr Whitwell’s brother Geoffrey Whitwell said he was devastated by his brother’s murder and missed him dearly.

“Bob and I were very close,” he wrote.

“We always came together for Christmas and Bob’s birthday was special because it was on the same day as my wife’s (birthday).”

He wrote that he would speak with his older brother on the phone frequently.

“But I’ll never hear the phone ring with my brother on the other end,” he said in his statement.

Robert Whitwell with his granddaughter and killer Brittney Dwyer.

Mr Whitwell said Dwyer, her mother Tonya Dwyer and brother all flew to Adelaide from Queensland after the murder.

“We welcomed you into our home, embraced you and comforted you, all the while you wept with your fake tears and made comments like ‘my poor poppa’,” he said.

“I now know that I had been embracing and comforting my brother’s killer. You are a master of deception, I will give you that.

“I will never forgive you. You’re a cruel, deceitful person with no regard for human life — I believe you are dangerous and evil and deserve the highest penalty.”

Mr Whitwell’s other brother, Peter Whitwell, also spoke of inviting Dwyer into the family home and comforting her in the days after his death.

“We were just coming to terms with his death when we found out it was his own granddaughter who was responsible,” he said in his statement.

Brittney Dwyer has pleaded guilty to murder.

Robert Whitwell was found dead in his Craigmore unit on August 8, 2016.

Tonya Dwyer — whose daughter killed her father — also provided a statement to the court, saying she had been a happy wife, mother and daughter until everything changed on May 2 last year.

“(Now) I feel like I’m drowning in life,” she said.

Ms Dwyer did not address her daughter’s actions in her statement, but instead spoke of Dwyer’s friend, Shelby Lee Angie Holmes, who helped “scope” Mr Whitwell in his Craigmore home for several days before they would rob him of $30,000.

Holmes, also 19, has pleaded guilty to the home invasion.

In her statement, Ms Dwyer said she and her then-husband Garry invited Holmes into their family home and would even take her out for dinner on occasion.

She described Holmes’ involvement as “unbelievable” given she did nothing to stop the murder from taking place.

Brittney Dwyer's mother, Tonya Dwyer, whose father was Robert Whitwell, leaves the Supreme Court after her victim impact statement was read to the court. Picture: Greg Higgs

Geoffrey Whitwell — the brother of murder victim Robert Whitwell — leaves the Supreme Court after his victim impact statement was read to the court. Picture: Greg Higgs

Dwyer’s father, Garry Dwyer, described his former father-in-law as a “great man, who loved his family”.

He asked the court to impose an “appropriate” jail term on his daughter.

Dwyer pleaded guilty to the murder and in February admitted to a further charge of aggravated serious criminal trespass between April 30 last year and May 2. She will be sentenced at a later date.

After suppression orders were lifted in February at the request of The Advertiser, it was revealed Dwyer and Holmes discussed killing people at rave parties and “going on rampages”.

They exchanged the chilling electronic messages just months before Mr Whitwell, 81, was killed in his northern suburbs home last year.

The messages also revealed a plan to steal drugs and money.

They are among 19,000 texts sent between the pair over two years that prosecutors say details events leading up to Mr Whitwell’s killing.

During a bail hearing last year, prosecutor Amy Fisher revealed police concerns about the contents.

Shelby Lee Angie Holmes and Brittney Dwyer. Source: Facebook

“There are numerous messages between the two of them where they talk about slicing the throats of people, going on mass rampages and killing people at rave parties,” Ms Fisher told the Supreme Court in September last year.

“I appreciate that may well be just a flippant conversation between two friends but in the circumstances where an elderly man has, in fact, been murdered, police have no choice but to take these conversations very seriously.”

In another message, Dwyer warned her flatmate not to get attached to her grandfather because he “might have to die”.

Another stated that an unidentified friend had “come into a large amount of money”, Dwyer jokes “maybe they beat us to poppers (sic)”.

They also discussed stealing drugs from Holmes’ veterinary nurse mother, Jody.

Holmes deleted all of the messages but police retrieved them from Dwyer’s phone.

Another murder co-accused, Bernadette Burns, 21, has pleaded not guilty to the killing and has been ordered to stand trial in the Supreme Court at a later date.