Maureen Braddy and Allan Whyte families keen for answers as Victorian Coroner to release finding

A DOUBLE murder mystery involving a young couple who vanished from a country dance 46 years ago could finally be coming to a close.

Lynette Ireland, sister of Maureen Braddy who went missing from Bendigo in 1968. Lyn Ireland.

A DOUBLE murder mystery that has haunted two families for almost fifty years is set to finally come to a close, almost two years after an inquest into their deaths ended.

In what they’ve described as a Christmas miracle the family of Maureen Braddy were this morning told by the Victorian Coroner’s Court that coroner Iain West would finally hand down his finding into her disappearance next week.

Maureen, 16, and her 17-year-old boyfriend Allan Whyte haven’t been seen since they returned from a bush dance in Bendigo in November 1968.

They were treated as young runaways for decades before police announced they were treating their disappearance as a murder investigation.

For more than a decade police have suspected Stanley Braddy, Maureen’s father, of being involved in their deaths.

Lyn Ireland, Maureen’s youngest sister, brought the inquest to an abrupt halt shortly after it started in March 2012 when she testified that she had seen her dad and a friend carry a bloodied body through their front yard the night the teens went missing.

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Allan Whyte

Maureen Braddy

She said it was an image that had haunted her since then.

Ms Ireland believes one or both bodies may be buried down a well at the former Braddy home.

After they went missing Stanley Braddy concreted the well and built a dwelling on top of it.

Ms Ireland said she had been on a high since learning the finding into Maureen and Allan’s death would finally be handed down.

“It will be a nerve racking day. We’re really hoping the coroner outlines exactly what he wants done from here.

“We want that well investigated. They have been murdered.”

Ms Ireland and a string of her siblings, believe Maureen’s murder was sparked after she confided to a relative that she was pregnant.

Garry Donnelly, who owns the former Braddy home, told the Herald Sun he would be open to police inspecting the well if it was recommended by the coroner.

It comes just weeks after a police decision to shut the investigation into the couple’s disappearance.

Maureen Braddy

Stan Braddy

The Braddy’s have been highly critical of police handling of the case.

Police have admitted to bungling the initial investigation in 1968 leaving current investigators with little or no evidence to work with.

In a record of interview with police Mr Braddy, 87, said the teens were abducted and kept as slaves in a government conspiracy, and that he stayed in touch with Maureen until her recent death.

Police have refused to comment on the case, because it is still before the coroner.

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