Bronwyn podcast: Beverley Brooker leaves almost entire multimillion dollar estate to Jon Winfield
A woman stunned relatives by changing her will to leave her multimillion-dollar estate almost entirely to ‘stranger’ Jon Winfield, the longtime suspect in the disappearance of his wife Bronwyn | NEW EPISODE
A woman who lost her battle with cancer 2½ years ago stunned relatives when she left almost her entire multimillion-dollar estate to a “stranger” – Jon Winfield, the longtime suspect in the disappearance of his wife, Bronwyn.
Beverley Brooker secretly added Mr Winfield to her will six months before she died at age 71 at St Vincent’s Hospital in the northern NSW town of Lismore.
That was despite her never mentioning Mr Winfield to her brothers, Geoff and Paul Outerbridge, who are still reeling after the outsider was named prime beneficiary of their sister’s estate and walked away with a fortune.
Mr Winfield was working on renovations at Ms Brooker’s home. The exact nature and extent of their relationship remains a mystery. His big financial windfall and the fallout for Ms Brooker’s family are revealed in a new episode of The Australian’s investigative podcast Bronwyn, to be released on Friday.
“My opinion is this guy, he flies under the radar,” Geoff Outerbridge told the podcast.
“He cannot be trusted. He will not respond to any of my phone calls. He’s very, very secretive.”
Ms Brooker’s assets are estimated to have been worth several million dollars and included two new cars, superannuation and a big, two-storey townhouse with ocean views where she lived alone at Skennars Head, east of Lismore.
She started work as a typist in the Ballina office of the NSW government’s former roads and maritime authority in 1968 and stayed there for more than 50 years, earning financial security and independence. Previously married, she adopted the surname of her ex-husband, but had no children.
Mr Winfield lives in an up-market house in Skennars Head a short walk away from the late Ms Brooker’s home, which he now owns. Ms Brooker bore a striking resemblance to his estranged wife, Bronwyn, who vanished without trace one Sunday night in May, 1993. Listeners to the Bronwyn podcast, keen to contribute potential leads, had sent in tips about the reclusive Ms Brooker, her estate and Mr Winfield.
One local resident said Mr Winfield had been a regular visitor to Ms Brooker’s home before her death and since.
When Geoff Outerbridge, was contacted by The Australian’s national chief correspondent Hedley Thomas, he confirmed the dismay and confusion that still surrounds her last will and testament.
Mr Winfield, 70, emphatically denies any involvement in Bronwyn’s disappearance, and there is no suggestion he harmed Ms Brooker.
But relatives of both Bronwyn and Ms Brooker are questioning what the situation says about his motives and character.
Thomas says in the podcast: “Was he the ultimate good Samaritan, looking after another introvert because he cared deeply for Bev – so much that he was there for her during her darkest months, weeks and days as the end neared? A selfless volunteer, a shoulder to cry on, a pillar of support. Or was Jon always playing a long game with a watchful eye on the spoils – the beachside house, the savings in Bev’s bank accounts, new cars, and other items of monetary value? Are those two contrasting agendas mutually exclusive?”
Although she was close to and remained in regular contact with her brothers, Ms Brooker in her prior will from 2011 left everything to a cousin she was fond of.
But on March 23, 2022, Ms Brooker changed her will and left everything to Mr Winfield, apart from $200,000 bequeathed to the cousin who was previously the only beneficiary.
On the same day, she signed over joint enduring power of attorney to Mr Winfield and her brother Geoff to manage her legal and financial affairs. She also appointed the two men as her guardians, authorising them to decide where she lived, the health care she received, and even to effectively decide if she received treatment to live or die. Additionally, Mr Winfield was made executor of her will.
Geoff Outerbridge says the first he heard of Mr Winfield was in May 2022, two months after his sister changed her will, when she was already gravely ill.
At the time, he had gone to see Ms Brooker’s solicitor to sign the power-of-attorney paperwork.
The solicitor brought up Mr Winfield’s name and said: “He is Bev’s partner.”
It was a “total shock … because Bev never mentioned anything about anybody in her life,” Mr Outerbridge said. “His name was never brought up in conversation at any of our gatherings. It was just a bolt out of the blue.”
When Ms Brooker died in September 2022, Mr Outerbridge had to hire lawyers to get a copy of her will, and only then discovered where the proceeds were going.
Mr Outerbridge, 65, said he had no problem with his sister originally planning to leave everything to a cousin. “If that’s what my sister wanted to do, that was okay by me,” he said. “She (the cousin) was family. But this other guy, he’s a total blow-in. It was a real surprise and shock to think that he would inherit everything that my sister owned, virtually.”
Mr Outerbridge said his brother Paul, 60, “nearly had a mental breakdown over this … He can’t really talk very clearly about it at any time, because he’s absolutely devastated and gutted about the whole thing.
“He feels as though this guy’s just taken advantage of my sister. He would rather the cousin inherit everything that belonged to my sister. But not this stranger. This stranger who was just doing work on the property. Just doing maintenance and rebuilding.”
Ms Brooker had mesothelioma, and the cancer had spread to her brain. Questioning his sister’s mental capacity as her health declined, Geoff Outerbridge said she “seemed to be on a mission to spend as much money as she could” before she died. This included major renovations and, strangely for someone living on her own, replacing her “nice Honda” with two brand new cars.
“This guy was doing work for her, fixing up verandas, balconies, handrails. And then eventually she started on the inside,” Mr Outerbridge said.
Work on the downstairs bathroom, toilet and laundry was followed by a new kitchen, floating timber flooring and other work upstairs.
“By the time my sister passed away, there was still furniture being delivered to the house that she didn’t even get to benefit by using,” he said. “Jon was organising all the trades.”
Mr Outerbridge saw his sister every second week and spoke to her about every five days.
“I could see her health going downhill,” he said. “And she was making some really strange decisions. She was very strange in the last, probably, 12 months of her life. She became more and more reclusive.”
Just before Ms Brooker died, Mr Winfield phoned Geoff Outerbridge and introduced himself.
“He rang me out of the blue … and said ‘Look, I’ve got some information about your sister. She’s in hospital at the moment and she’s very seriously ill. Can I come around to your house and have a talk to you about your sister’s health?’”
After Mr Winfield arrived, he said he had met Bev years earlier when she was in her garden.
“He introduced himself to Bev and said that he is a builder, does maintenance work,” Mr Outerbridge said. “And she must have been happy with his work and that’s when he eventually did more and more.”
Mr Winfield had a diary with him at the meeting and used it to cite times Ms Brooker had fallen, was taken to hospital, saw specialists and nurses and the treatment she received.
“He had everything written down, the dates and the times and everything,” Mr Outerbridge said.
“I said, ‘Jon, look, that’s not important’. I said ‘I want to go and see my sister. Where is she?’ And he said, ‘No, no, no, you can’t do that. You can’t go there now. I’ll make arrangements for you to visit her tomorrow.’”
The next day Mr Outerbridge visited his sister at St Vincent’s. Mr Winfield was there, and had a cot beside Bev’s bed.
Mr Outerbridge said he was told by Mr Winfield that his brother Paul was not allowed to know she was about to die.
“I had to wait until Bev had passed away,” Mr Outerbridge said. “And then I went out and saw my brother and I broke down because I said, ‘Mate, I’m sorry, but I wasn’t allowed to tell you about Bev’s health and her passing. I had to keep it a secret, apparently. This guy said it was Bev’s wish’.
“My brother was devastated. He was gutted. He didn’t get to see his sister. He didn’t get to say goodbye.”
The Outerbridge brothers both looked at legally challenging their sister’s will, believing she was not of sound mind when she changed it. But they weren’t in a financial position to do so, Mr Outerbridge said.
Bronwyn had been entitled to as much as half the assets she shared with Mr Winfield, including a house in Sandstone Crescent at Lennox Head. They had separated and were on the cusp of divorcing when she disappeared.
For members of Bronwyn’s family including her cousin Madi Walsh, a forensic science graduate assisting the podcast, Ms Brooker’s will has stirred deep emotions.
“There is something seriously wrong. He got everything. Just like he did when Bronwyn died,” Ms Walsh said.
Do you know more about this case? Contact Hedley Thomas at thomash@theaustralian.com.au
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