How psychic led to ‘killer bikie’ in murder mystery surrounding Lynette Mullane’s murder

Lynette Mullane’s murder has taken a new twist, with a psychic leading to a new theory after the grandmother was found dead in her home with blood dripping from her mouth.

It’s a cold, winter’s night: August, 2017.

Around the time most people are throwing open front doors, relievedly kicking off their shoes, bustling about to make dinner.

But in the darkened living room of a red-brick house in Glenfield, western Sydney, a woman’s body is being discovered.

The woman is 62-year-old grandmother, Lynette Mullane.

Locals will tell you, everyone knows Lynette. They see her in the mornings walking her grandkids to school, or catch one of her smiles as they pass her gardening in the afternoons. Lynette was ‘community’, she even set up the Glenfield chapter of Neighbourhood Watch.

But no-one was there to watch out for her and now, she was dead, blood dripping from her mouth, her arm twisted strangely behind her back.

“It was twisted underneath her, like she could have been held down,” Mrs Mullane’s adult daughter, Juliana, 43, said.

Lynette Mullane whose murder has not been solved. Picture: Supplied

The middle-aged woman had been stripped of the rings and necklace she’d been wearing and her blind dog was barking from inside a cardboard box, where it had been placed beside her.

Although ruled death by natural causes, Mrs Mullane’s grieving family have been haunted by the suspicious circumstances they feel surround their mother’s sudden demise, and believe police have not given the case adequate investigation.

At the centre of their concerns was the rapid escalation of fear Mrs Mullane expressed in the months before her death, and a series of unexplained scenarios, including gunshots and violence.

These coincided with the lodging of a new boarder at her premises, who the family understand was known to police and had OMCG links. The boarder disappeared once Mrs Mullane’s body was discovered.

“My mother had a boarder stay with her three months prior to everything happening. And then lots of things didn’t add up which police were informed about in regards to money [being] taken out of the bank. There was money stolen out of my mother’s purse on the day,” Juliana said.

Lynette Mullane was well-known and loved in her community. Picture: Supplied

She had been stripped of the rings and necklace she was wearing. Picture: Supplied

Following Mrs Mullane’s death, the bank flagged with the family she had made two significant cash withdrawals of $1500 and $2000 on consecutive days in the month before her death.

Her family have no explanation for why she would have required such large sums of cash. They are also puzzled by the discovery of a number of large loans she took out in the months before her death.

“I think my mother was an easy target. I think my mother was a very overly kind, empathetic human being. I think she gave a bit of a rough nut a bit of a chance and was renting out a room to him on the weekends because he had a really sad sob story – and it potentially got her killed,” Juliana said.

“And I think that there was something more sinister here at play with his connection to organised crime and potentially narcotics.”

Juliana and Vanessa Mullane believe their mother was murdered by someone she showed kindness to. Picture: John Appleyard

When Juliana provided the boarder’s details to police following her mother’s death she was told not to approach him, that he had a significant history with police, and violence and mental health issues.

Mrs Mullane’s surviving family suspect her house may have been being used as a storage space for drugs or other criminal activity.

“I noticed there was fingerprints in the manhole, which my mother was too short to reach. She was about five foot, like a jockey and very skinny. And there’s no way Mum was going up there and there was black prints,” Juliana said.

Then, on the day of Mrs Mullane’s funeral, the family spotted a menacing looking man sitting on his bike, between the driveway of Mrs Mullane’s house and a neighbour’s.

“He was driving a motorcycle and we do not have any affiliation with motorcycles or anyone of that nature,” she said.

“Then I saw the blinds moving and there was someone in the house and we tried to call the police.”

Lynette Mullane’s daughters say the police dismissed their concerns. Picture: Supplied

According to Juliana, the police dismissed her concerns and did not attend the property.

“So then I eventually took over the house with my two children and lived in it and I terrorised myself until we could sell the house and move forward as a family. These people were coming around and there was rustling in the middle of the night and it’s like they had left something there?”

On one particularly unnerving occasion Juliana recalls being home alone, shortly after her mother’s death, when five very rough-looking tattooed men knocked on the door. One asked an innocuous question about a van on the street while the other attempted to access the back of the property. “It just didn’t feel right, I was terrified,” Juliana said.

The fear Mrs Mullane was living in during the lead-up to her death is evident in the text messages she sent her daughter.

Juliana and Vanessa Mullane, the daughters of Lynette Mullane, believe their mother may have been murdered. Picture: John Appleyard

In April, 2017, she texted about cars doing drive-bys in front of her house, a break-in, and hearing gun shots:

“I aiwas[sic] very upset about the break in and the red car outsixe [sic] my house coming back 2 times the other cars d c[sic] coming down the street nolights [sic] on”

“4 gun shots in harrow road no sleep all nite scared all nite a big srrong [sic] man like [BOARDER’S NAME REDACTED] being very concered [sic] 4 our both safty,” Mrs Mullane wrote.

In another message she refers to her car being targeted in a hit and run, and in March she informed her daughter, “I’ve got a black eye and acut [sic] on my eye”.

The Harrow Road Glenfield Neighbourhood shops. Picture: Supplied

When Juliana pressed her for how the injury occurred, Mrs Mullane told her it was from a car boot opening but her children are sceptical.

Juliana believes her mother wouldn’t have wanted to worry her by telling her if she had been assaulted, as Juliana suffers from significant health issues that can be exacerbated by stress.

It took 12-18 months for a coronial ruling on a cause of death for Mrs Mullane, which was eventually decided as being cardiac arrest and serequel overdose. Serequel is an anti-anxiety medication which Mrs Mullane did have a valid script for but the toxicology report also showed a number of other prescription medications that she did not have scripts for, and her family believe may have been administered to her as there was an unexplained needle mark in her hand.

Forensic medium Linda Usope. Picture: Supplied

Without closure, Juliana says the family have remained tortured over the tragic loss of their mother, and contacted forensic medium Linda Usope, who confirmed suspicions foul play was involved, telling them she “saw” Mrs Mullane with two younger men just before she died and that “it wasn’t good”.

While Usope has complete conviction in her visions, after decades working in forensic mediumship she appreciates the reputational challenges of the niche area.

“It’s about working in partnership with our law enforcement and giving them little bits of gold nuggets or little pieces of information that they can actually take to court. It’s got to be basically evidential connected to the information we get because no one can work with the psychic because where do they get their information from?” she said.

Despite their best attempts to provide police with information and request further investigation into what they believe is the suspicious death of their mother, Mrs Mullane’s family have allegedly been told there isn’t enough evidence to warrant further investigation.

They did receive a verbal apology from a police prosecutor but when they stressed that they continued to live in fear while the alleged offenders remained at large, Juliana recalls being told: “perhaps you should get a big German shepherd if you feel scared?”

Campbelltown Police Station, NSW. Picture: AAP

A spokesperson for NSW Police said: “Officers attached to Campbelltown City Police Area Command conducted inquiries into the 2017 death of Lynette Mullane. During these inquiries, details were obtained that outlined a significant medical history.

The body of Lynette was subsequently conveyed to a forensic medicine facility and a report was prepared by police for the information of the Coroner. A forensic pathologist conducted a post-mortem examination and there were no issues identified by the Coroner in relation to Lynette’s death.

Campbelltown City Police Area Command welcome anyone with fresh information about Lynette’s death to come forward. That information will be thoroughly reviewed and, if appropriate, further investigations will be undertaken.

Officers have reached out to Lynette’s family and will be meeting with them to discuss any concerns they may have.”

Originally published as How psychic led to ‘killer bikie’ in murder mystery surrounding Lynette Mullane’s murder