Strike Force Bocks investigates suspicious death of Malcolm Bridge in Muscle Creek at Muswellbrook

Malcolm Bridge was planning on sleeping rough under a town overpass when he was found dead in a creek. Now, detectives are honing in on his last days as they reveal the father of five had been involved in a local dispute.

The Sydney St bridge over Muscle Creek at Muswellbrook. Picture: Google Maps.

Malcolm Bridge had not long returned to Muswellbrook when he decided to check himself out of a motel to sleep it rough for a few days under an overpass just a stone’s throw from the town centre.

And it is that timeline of up to three days before his body was found in the timid-running Muscle Creek, which runs under the Sydney St bridge he was keen to stay under, which has detectives asking fresh questions about the 58-year-old’s suspicious death.

Those questions include the injuries Mr Bridge suffered to his face and hands found during an autopsy – the same post-mortem examination which ruled out drowning as the cause of death.

They also involve probing further into a dispute which the father-of-five is believed to have been involved in, and understood to have also involved several other Muswellbrook locals, in the weeks leading up to his demise.

A passerby’s discovery of Mr Bridge dead in the water on March 30 last year hardly created a public stir outside of Muswellbrook.

Malcolm Bridge

But 18 months on, senior police and some members of Mr Bridge’s large family have made renewed and passionate pleas for more information about how and why the “larrikin” died.

Hunter Valley crime manager Det Ch Insp Rod Blackman announced on Thursday that Strike Force Bocks was continuing to delve into the circumstances surrounding the death, which continued to be treated as suspicious.

Hunter Valley crime manager Det Ch Insp Rod Blackman believes people know what happened to Malcolm Bridge. Pic: Dan Himbrechts

The detective revealed that Mr Bridge had checked out of a Maitland Rd motel on March 27 – three days before his body was discovered.

Other than speaking to some family the following day, his exact movements are not clear.

“We’ve got information that leads us to believe there are people out there that probably know a little bit more about this, that haven’t come forward yet,” Det Ch Insp Blackman told reporters on Thursday.

The senior investigator later added: “It is important that we appeal to members of the public and get a solid timeline because that will assist us with moving forward with other elements of the investigation.”

Det Ch Insp Blackman said investigators understood that time could allow people, who may have been initially reluctant to speak with police at the time of Mr Bridge’s death, to now contact detectives.

Malcolm Bridge's brother Mathew Bridge and sister Kathleen Howard have made heartfelt pleas for information on their brother’s death. Picture: NSW Police.

And he reiterated the interest in the dispute Mr Bridge may have been involved in during the lead-up to his death.

“I suppose, quite specifically, we’re after people that have known Malcolm, that haven’t come forward, people from the local community and the circles that he may have moved in,” he said.

“We do have some information that he may have been involved with a dispute with some local people at Muswellbrook, so we are absolutely keen to hear from anybody that has any knowledge around those relationships that he may have had in that local area.”

In an interview released on Thursday, Mr Bridge’s sister Kathleen Howard said her family needed answers.

Mr Bridge was one of 16 children, and the family remained angry that their questions over his death had not been answered.

“We all used to fight a lot, but he was an absolutely fantastic brother,” Ms Howard said.

“He was a man of his word, and would give you the shirt off his back if he had to. And he loved his fishing, loved having a joke around.

“He was just an amazing man.

“The family has been quite angry not knowing what actually happened to Malcolm and how he felt in his last moments … and there are people out there that know what happened to Malcolm and his last moments.

“For us as a family, we’re actually glad our mum and dad aren’t alive to see all this.

“It would just mean the world to us to know.”

Ms Howard later added: “Malcolm was a man that had his faults, just like the rest of us, but he deserved better than he got. So if you know anything, please come forward. That is all we’re asking.”

Brother Mathew Bridge also pleaded for information.

“I’m still very angry that you know, he was even under the bridge, and people saying that he’s homeless when he wasn’t,” he said.

“We would really appreciate it if we had some sort of answers how he ended up in the water, because he could swim, he’s an excellent swimmer.

“It just doesn’t make sense, where he was found.”

Investigations into Mr Bridge’s death continue and information can be forwarded to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.