Jayde Kendall death: Brenden Bennetts pleads not guilty to Gatton murder

A QUEENSLAND teenager has been committed to stand trail for the murder of his school friend, Jayde Kendall, 16, last year.

The road which leads to the spot where the body of Jayde Kendall was found. Picture: Darren England

A QUEENSLAND teenager accused of the murder of a 16-year-old friend after he picked her up from school last year will fight the charge.

Brenden Bennetts, 19, faced Ipswich Magistrates Court on Monday morning, where he was committed to stand trial for the murder of Jayde Kendall. He is also charged with interfering with her corpse.

Bennetts denies all allegations and formally entered a not guilty plea.

He appeared via videolink from prison.

The teenager will appear in the Queensland Supreme Court on a date to be fixed.

Jayde vanished after leaving Lockyer Valley District High School in Gatton, about 90km west of Brisbane, on the afternoon of August 14, 2015.

The alarm was raised when she failed to show up for a scheduled shift at McDonald’s that evening.

Brenden Bennetts will stand trial for murder.

Jayde disappeared after school on August 14, 2015.

It sparked a two-week hunt for the teen that ended on farmland 17km west of the town, on August 27, when detectives investigating her disappearance found the teenager’s body.

The discovery came amid intense publicity surrounding the mystery of the missing teen, after police appealed for locals to check their properties for anything out of place.

Jayde’s friend Brenden Bennetts, now 19, was soon charged with her murder, as well as interfering with a corpse.

Police allege Bennetts picked Jayde up after school in his red Corolla, before killing her some time that afternoon and dumping her body.

The pair had known each other from Lockyer Valley District High School, which Bennetts graduated from at the end of 2014.

He denied involvement in Jayde’s disappearance from the outset, despite CCTV footage capturing his car at a service station six kilometres from where her body was found on the afternoon it was allegedly dumped.

Bennetts is also alleged to have twice withdrawn cash from Jayde’s bank account the afternoon she disappeared.

Jayde Kendall with her alleged killer, Brenden Bennetts.

Jayde’s disappearance sparked a two week hunt for her.

Outside court on Monday, Bennetts’ lawyer Brendan Ryan said the case against his client was entirely circumstantial.

“Police rely upon exhibits to place my client in the area of where the young woman, the victim was found,” the ABC quoted Mr Ryan as saying.

“It’s still a circumstantial case because no-one saw my client commit any offence.

“That’s not to say circumstantial cases are always weak, but the fact of the matter is that we do have a defence.

“At the end of the day they’ve got to prove their case, we don’t have to do anything.

“All evidence is subject to interpretation by a jury and thank God we’ve got juries.”

In his first court appearance charged with Jayde’s murder last year, Bennetts was supported by his parents and girlfriend, who sat in the back of the courtroom crying.

At that early stage of teh case, Mr Ryan indicated it was his client’s intention to plead not guilty.

He flagged an application for bail was likely, however, one year on, the teenager remains behind bars, having never applied to the Supreme Court for release.

Mr Ryan described Bennetts relationship with Jayde as one of “limited acquaintanceship”.

The discovery of Jayde’s body prompted an outpouring of grief in Gatton, where posters appealing for information to find the missing teenager littered the town.

Public vigils were held to pray for her safe return prior to the discovery of her body and, afterwards, a public memorial and her subsequent funeral were attended by hundreds.

This Sunday, the first anniversary of Jayde’s alleged murder, the town will again honour her memory with a memorial walk leaving her high school, which aims to take a stand against violence, bullying and discrimination.

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