Brittney Dwyer, Bernadette Burns extradited to Adelaide over death of Robert Whitwell
A TEENAGE girl arrested alongside her friend over the death of her Craigmore grandfather has made no application for bail in the Adelaide Magistrates Court.
A TEENAGE girl arrested alongside her friend over the death of her Craigmore grandfather has made no application for bail in the Adelaide Magistrates Court.
Lawyers for Brittney Jade Dwyer, 19, and her friend Bernadette Burns, 21, did not apply for bail during a brief appearance on Tuesday afternoon.
The young women were remanded in custody to appear in court again at a later date.
Dwyer and Burns, of Redbank Plains, about 30km southwest of Brisbane, were formally charged the murder of Dwyer’s grandfather Robert Whitwell, 81, upon their extradition to SA from Queensland on Monday night.
The women arrived in Adelaide on separate flights from Brisbane about 6pm Monday.
They were loaded into cars on the tarmac before being driven away to spend Monday night behind bars.
The two women were arrested in Queensland on Friday over the death of Mr Whitwell, whose body was found at his home on August 8.
Neighbours say Dwyer had asked them to collect her grandfather’s mail just days after his body was found.
They say Dwyer did not appear distressed when they spoke to her outside the Craigmore home of Mr Whitwell.
At the time of the women’s arrest, police said they were unable to disclose any motive or cause of death.
Following the discovery of Mr Whitwell’s body, police had said that there were several factors in the case that were considered unexplained.
Neighbours Paula and John Elworthy told the Sunday Mail Dwyer gave them the keys to her grandfather’s letterbox and asked them to collect his mail.
“She even said it was a shock to everyone what’s happened,” Mrs Elworthy said. “We didn’t even know Bob had a granddaughter (but) we knew he had a grandson.
“It’s just hard to get your head around.”
Mrs Elworthy described Mr Whitwell as a perfect neighbour and “lovely man and a real gentleman” who kept his home and garden meticulous.
She said he would take out their bins, while she and her husband would help him with his shopping.
“He was a very independent man who would keep his garden looking lovely,” she said.
“He had a great sense of humour, he always had a story to tell, a yarn.”
Mrs Elworthy said Mr Whitwell was very security conscious and had increased the height of his front fence after finding a strange man in his back yard about two months before his death.
He was also concerned about a strange car in the area but police said neither of those matters were connected to his death.
Mrs Elworthy also said it was “odd” Mr Whitwell’s Edward Ave home had been unlocked when his body was found.
“There are a few things which just don’t add up,” she said.
Mr Elworthy said he and his wife had never seen Dwyer, or Burns, before.
“We’re just in shock,” he said.
Mr Elworthy, and another neighbour who asked to be known only as Brian, found the body of Mr Whitwell in his home at 11.30am on August 8.
They had become concerned when an unread newspaper remained in his driveway and contacted police who, at the time, said there were several factors about his death that could not be fully explained.
Brian said he saw Dwyer outside Mr Whitwell’s house about four days after he was found dead. He said Dwyer did not seem distressed.
“She was on her phone, sitting in the gutter outside the home,” he said.
“I’m still scratching my head wondering what happened in there and why.”
Other neighbours said Mr Whitwell made daily visits to his wife, who suffers from dementia and lives in a nearby nursing home.
Detective Inspector Greg Hutchins, of the Major Crime Investigation Branch, described Mr Whitwell’s death as “shocking” but not brutal.
He said Mr Whitwell’s family were “devastated” upon learning of the arrests.
“It was one of those scenes that was very difficult to read so we needed all the expertise to examine (the circumstances of Mr Whitwell’s death),” Det-Insp Hutchins said.
He said police had planned to hold a meeting last Thursday but a tip-off led them to send six police officers, including Major Crime detectives, to Brisbane instead.
Those officers conducted numerous interviews and property searches on Friday.