Police ignored church leader’s statement about Jeffrey Brooks

A CHURCH leader has revealed that a shooting victim told him weeks before his death of a terrifying encounter in which a “warning shot’’ was fired over his head but police weren’t interested in the information.

• Dead Wrong: Findings of explosive investigation revealed
• Cops ‘botched’ Jeffrey Brooks death probe

A CHURCH leader has revealed that farm shooting victim Jeffrey Brooks told him weeks before his death of a terrifying encounter in which a “warning shot’’ was fired over his head.

Allen Eggins, Jeffrey’s former church youth group mentor and rugby team mate, has come forward after The Courier-Mail’s true crime podcast, Dead Wrong.

The latest episode, Fatal Twist, is available now.

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Mr Eggins said he twice tried to give police what he believed was important information regarding the “accidental death’’, but investigators didn’t want to hear it.

He said Jeffrey had come to see him a few weeks before he died and had seemed very concerned and wanted to talk about problems at the farm.

Jeffrey Brooks’ friend and one-time church youth group mentor, Allen Eggins.

Mr Eggins said Jeffrey told him he had been approached to play a bigger part in the business, something that had angered his co-workers.

He said Jeffrey told him he had been down by the ponds when there was a shotgun blast from behind and pellets fell into the water around him.

“He took it as … a bit of a warning shot. And then he turned around and (someone) was behind him and said: ‘I saw a bird, I thought I saw a bird’. Or something like that.

“And Jeff said there was nothing there. He just took it as a clear indication that that’s your warning.”

Mr Eggins said he tried to pass this information to police after Jeffrey’s death, but they were not interested in taking his statement.

He then tried to get it to them via a rugby friend who was a serving Queensland Police officer.

“He actually wrote an email to a senior officer involved in the case and asked a few questions about it, told them that I wanted to talk to them, that there’s more to this story than accident or suicide,” Mr Eggins said.

“The reply from that senior officer was, because my friend was actually in the accident investigation forensic side of things at the time, ‘oh why don’t you stick with your camera and taking photos and we’ll do the real police work’.’’

The Beenleigh Crayfish Farm in the mid 1990s. Picture: Supplied

Jeffrey, 24, died from a shotgun blast at the Beenleigh Crayfish Farm in 1996. Police determined he had shot himself when he pulled an old shotgun out of a farm ute – by the barrel – to possibly shoot at birds stealing precious stock.

However, family, friends, the farm’s co-owners, private investigators and forensic and ballistic experts all believe it was no accident.

Statements provided to the coroner in 1998, as well as additional material gathered as part of the podcast investigation, point to Jeffrey being afraid for his life due to conflict with co-workers.

Allan Eggins (back row, fourth from left) and Jeffrey Brooks (back row. sixth from left. Picture:

Among those who highlighted his fear and concerns about the animosity were his brother David, best friend Paul Martin, and former boss John Pick.

Such was the level of tension, farm co-owner Greg Milham revealed that the first thing he did after hearing of Jeffrey’s death was to call 000 to tell police to “treat it as a homicide’’.

An operation run by former top cop turned private investigator Warren Smithers, identified large-scale unauthorised cash sales of crayfish at the property.

An independent investigation commissioned by WorkCover found the death was not an accident while US forensic pathology expert Dr Judy Melinek reviewed the case for The Courier-Mail and found the evidence on Jeffrey’s body did not support the police theory on how he died.

Jeffrey’s co-workers told police and the coroner they had nothing to do with the death, and deny any wrongdoing.

At the inquest, Coroner Trevor Anders delivered an open finding, saying he could not be sure, based on the evidence presented at the time, that it was homicide, or an accident.

Tune in to the latest Dead Wrong podcast, Fatal Twist, by clicking on the player above. You can also download it from iTunes or your preferred podcast platform or visit couriermail.com.au/deadwrong