Brenton John Casson: man in court after messaging cousin’s accused killer
Feeling let down by the system, the cousin of a Gold Coast woman brutally killed by her now jailed husband has been taken to court after sending voice notes to a man acquitted of her murder. FULL STORY
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The cousin of Gold Coast woman Kelly Wilkinson, who was brutally killed by her estranged husband, has been taken to court after he messaged the man who had been acquitted of her murder.
Brenton John Casson, 36, pleaded guilty in the Southport Magistrates Court on Friday, July 11 to unlawfully stalking, intimidating, harassing or abusing Bradley Bell.
Casson’s cousin Kelly Wilkinson was horrifically murdered by her husband Brian Earl Johnston at her Arundel home in April 2021.
In 2024, the Brisbane Supreme Court heard Mr Bell drove Johnston to the home and purchased the 20L jerry can of fuel later used to burn Ms Wilkinson to death.
Johnston is currently serving a life sentence for the murder; Mr Bell was found not guilty by a jury.
It is not suggested Mr Bell was responsible for Ms Wilkinson’s death.
Defence lawyer Rachel Carson from Howden Saggers Lawyers told the court while Mr Bell was acquitted, it caused considerable distress to Casson and his family.
She said a key theme in media coverage at the time was police failed to act while Kelly was alive and her death could and should have been prevented.
“That narrative ultimately resonated deeply within her family,” Ms Carson said. “They felt let down by the system.”
Ms Carson said the family were grieving the fact despite Ms Wilkinson reaching out for help, her cries for protection were not answered.
Bell moved to Mount Isa after his acquittal in September 2024 and worked at the same engineering company as Casson, unaware he was Ms Wilkinson’s cousin.
The court heard Casson, who worked in different sections of the company, contacted Mr Bell via Facebook Messenger arranging to catch up for a beer on November 23, 2024.
Mr Bell’s Facebook currently has the bio: “Never be a prisoner of your past. It was just a life lesson, not a life sentence.”
On November 25, Mr Bell stopped replying to Casson as he no longer intended to meet with him.
That day, Casson made an unanswered video call and sent six voice messages, which Bell opened on December 2.
When Mr Bell did open the voice messages, there were threats and words to the effect of “Running from your problems on the Coast, I know who you are, you’re a f**king dog.”
The court heard Bell also received a video from Casson which said: “Onsite brother. You know Kelly. You killed her. I’m her cousin.”
Mr Bell replied “I don’t understand what your problem is mate” and Casson sent five further voice messages with threats.
Casson attended the engineering company on December 2, 2024 and asked another employee about Mr Bell’s whereabouts
The employee told Casson Mr Bell lived onsite.
The court also heard Casson told the other employee to tell Mr Bell: “Brenton Casson is looking for him, he killed my cousin. He stabbed her 11 times and he moved to the wrong f**king town. I’m going to f**king find him.”
Casson’s home was subject to a police search warrant on December 3 and he was arrested after voluntarily attending a police station.
In court, prosecutor Rodney Keyte said it was a very difficult situation for all parties but the predominant purpose of the sentence was to deter vigilante behaviour.
Ms Carson told the court the offence occurred against the backdrop of a deeply personal and tragic event.
She said the overwhelming sense the justice system had failed Ms Wilkinson was reinforced when Mr Bell was acquitted.
She said the acquittal confirmed for Mr Casson and his family what they already feared; that the system wasn’t just broken, it had failed someone they had loved, in the worst possible way.
“Whilst not in a legal sense, [the offence against Mr Bell] was in a technical sense provoked,” Ms Carson said. “It was clearly driven by strong emotional upheaval and the perception that justice had not been achieved.”
Magistrate Jane Bentley said Casson made serious threats but it didn’t seem like he had any real intention to carry them out.
She noted his early plea, good work history, family support and Casson had moved away from Mount Isa immediately afterwards.
Casson was sentenced to a good behaviour bond for 12 months and given $1000 recognisance.
No conviction was recorded.
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