Unsolved Lisa Jane Brown - Murder - 1998 - Perth WA

[one eyed spy]

Quite aside from the charges for which Bayley has been convicted, there are so many reports of him over the years from outdoor workers in St Kilda in Melbourne. He was a violent predator of the worst type and the volume is just enormous. I struggle to believe he left his home without assaulting someone.

Most of his time & crimes have been pinned to Victoria but nothing would surprise me. Any time unaccounted for makes them a possibility IMO. Apparently after confessing to Jill Meaghers murder he told police he should never have been let out & questioned how many chances does a person need. Just a bad egg allround.

 

[ms finch]

Most of his time & crimes have been pinned to Victoria but nothing would surprise me. Any time unaccounted for makes them a possibility IMO. Apparently after confessing to Jill Meaghers murder he told police he should never have been let out & questioned how many chances does a person need. Just a bad egg allround.

I agree. Bayley was so vicious and so predatorial that he should be in the frame for any unsolved violent crime that fits with any travel he did. In the case of any unsolved violent crime against a sex worker anywhere in Australia, he is a definite prospect based on his history.

My best guess with them ruling him out as the CSK is that they checked his DNA. However, I wonder if they had him in the frame generally or because they knew he traveled to Perth? It’s strange in another way, too. The implication with Bayley in most of the stuff I’ve read is that police consider Jill his first and only murder, with just a long history of violent assault and rape. Yet if they went to the trouble of ruling him out for Claremont that would suggest otherwise. Could have just been a formality, though. They would have looked blindingly stupid if his DNA was a match and they never tested it.

 

[ms finch]

What about Dixie for Lisa Brown, he was in town then?

You’re right! For some reason I thought they ruled out Dixie for the Claremont killings because he had left Australia before all of them occurred. I have no idea why I drew that conclusion because they actually ruled him out via DNA. He didn’t get deported until 1999.

This interested me:

“At his trial for the murder of Sally Anne Bowman, an unnamed Thai woman gave evidence that Dixie had stabbed and raped her in Australia in 1998; Dixie has yet to be formally charged with this attack, though a DNA sample from the woman's underwear has been matched to him.”

Mark Dixie - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

What a disgusting piece of filth he is. His “defence” in the Sally case nearly made me vomit.

I do think, however, that Dixie was a bit too sloppy to have killed Lisa and disposed of her body somewhere it wouldn’t be found. He really didn’t do anything to conceal his crime in Sally’s case, and Lisa’s murder was several years prior.

I would really love to know what Rebecca Delalande said in her information to police about a problem client. I assume she’d have some sort of description, at least of the car, if not of the person.

 

[ms finch]

Going back to Morey for a minute.

My understanding is that the reason he is a suspect in the case of Darylyn Ugle is because her body was found near his childhood home and she went missing around the time he attacked the sex worker, the attempted murder he was convicted for. Lisa was a few years prior. However, Sarah McMahon went missing in 2000 so Lisa was only two years prior there. That’s either early in the piece for him or late in the piece regarding the CSK.

Morey definitely had a predilection for sex workers. Another sex worker gave evidence at the coronial inquest into Sarah’s death. He was also involved with drugs by his own admission (he claimed he had given Sarah $10K of drugs to sell). (For anyone who wants to read about Morey, here is the coronial finding on Sarah https://www.coronerscourt.wa.gov.au/_files/Mcmahon_finding.pdf)

Looking at the timeframe on missing/murdered sex workers around that time:
Lisa Brown - Nov 98
Jennifer Wilby - May 99 - Dennis Bell convicted of manslaughter after injecting her with drugs at a party
Rebecca Delalande - Nov 01 (date an approximation as wasn’t discovered missing until 17 years later) - boyfriend at the time on trial for murder in 2019; trial abandoned but no further update
Christine Schipp - Mar 02 - remains appear to have been located 03; no details
Darylyn Ugle - Mar 03 - body found at Mundaring Weir, suspect Donald Morey
Judy M’Ringu - June 03 - believed to have been located
Name suppressed - Dev 2003 - Donald Morey convicted of attempted murder of sex worker

In 2002 Bayens stopped the car with the plastic lined boot full of abduction paraphernalia, which is believed to have been identified as the Holden Commodore of Donald Morey. The taskforce checking drivers in the area ran from 2000-2002. That really puts Morey in the frame for 2002 onwards, which we know is consistent with his attempted murder and Darylyn Ugle’s death. We know he knew sex worker(s) back in 2000, but that was a personal connection and at that time the only death in the frame is the personal connection of Sarah McMahon.

My feeling is that Lisa as a planned random predatorial attack is too early in the piece for Morey, unless there are other crimes he can be linked to going back further (quite possible) or there is a drugs connection.

One of the things that is frustrating about Lisa’s case is that the information they have in official reports online, and which was reported at the time of her disappearance, is a bit different to what is in the “To Catch A Killer” video.

In the video, the final sighting of her when she said she was just going to “walk around the block one last time”, appears to have come from her boyfriend, who was with her, a couple of hours after being seen with her at the service station. Yet years ago, it was said that they parted ways at the service station. Which is it? I am presuming the video is more accurate and that reporting at the time was just unclear (because it was implied that they parted ways at the service station at 12:30am where this video is clear that was earlier).

The reason I regard that as crucial is because, if he was hanging out with her the whole evening rather than merely catching up with her at some point during the evening, didn’t he wait around for her then? Sure, he may have assumed she had gotten a client, but why hang out waiting for her the rest of the night and not then? Did he assume when she didn’t return that she had a long booking? How long did he wait? Was it common for her to not return and him to just leave? Was the plan always for him to leave at that point regardless of whether she was quick in returning? I’m not of the opinion that her boyfriend had anything to do with her disappearance, but I’d like to fill in pieces of the puzzle, and it doesn’t help when the information is inconsistent and/or incomplete.

 

[ms finch]

Another violent predator and murderer with a history of targeting sex workers is Alexander Mackenzie (be careful if searching as there is someone with the same name wanted for murder elsewhere and, well, let’s just say I got myself very confused).

Mackenzie brutally murdered Roslyn Watson, a sex worker, in a house in Leederville, and he had attacked another sex worker a year prior in Fremantle. He can be ruled out for anything post 2001 because that was when he was charged (I assume he would not have been given bail). But he is in the frame for Lisa in 1998. Possibly too sloppy again, because he clearly made no effort to conceal what he had done to Roslyn or in Fremantle, although with the passage of time perhaps things changed. Plus a preference for indoor workers (escort and private perhaps) rather than outdoor workers.

Notorious killer dies of cancer

A mechanic described as one of WA's worst killers has died after a long battle with cancer nine years after he was jailed over the brutal murder of a prostitute.

thewest.com.au

 

[ms finch]

I am trying to see if I can find information on what sort of sex work Rachael did. If she was a private indoor worker that would, in my view, make it even more remote that Durrough murdered Lisa because she was an outdoor worker. There is not a lot of crossover in clientele.

Rachael was an outdoor (street) sex worker in Kings Cross. The night she disappeared her boyfriend accompanied her to her usual work spot to act as her spotter. He dropped her off and when he returned from parking the car she was gone. He presumed she was seeing a client and waited; she never returned.

Dorrough lived a few streets away from the Church where Rachael’s body was found. And, this is particularly interesting: apparently in his suicide note he confessed to the killing of a Sydney sex worker. So there is clearly more information in that note than we are being told.

That puts Dorrough back in the picture a bit more, in my view, because he targeted a street sex worker in a random attack in a momentary opportunity. The timing is still tight, but the MO is consistent, almost identical. Granted he dumped Rachael’s body in a pretty obvious way, but the fact is that he was quite willing to take the body to another location; he may have decided to be more careful with Lisa. They really do need to check out whether he could have travelled to Perth at all in the aftermath of Rachael’s murder.

I have some other information, too.

Police are apparently focused on the idea that Lisa’s “pimp” killed her, despite the fact that she didn’t have one. It seems that this is the Carr St connection - the police are convinced that one of the people who lived there at the time was Lisa’s pimp. It is thought by those who were associates of Lisa’s that (as I suspected) that is where one of her dealers lived and police have just jumped to absurd conclusions. If this is what is going on with police JFC. They need to move away from outdated stereotypes.

The report made by Rebecca Delalande is thought to reference something that has to do with Morey - either him or his car. Apparently other street sex workers from the time recall a person and car that fit Morey who was of concern to them.

 

[MsTeschmacher]

Donald Morey died in Kalgoorlie in July this year so any secrets he was keeping have gone to the grave with him.

 

[ms finch]

Donald Morey died in Kalgoorlie in July this year so any secrets he was keeping have gone to the grave with him.

I did not know that. Maybe the one positive that will come out of that is that someone close to him who knows something might speak out.

 

[MsTeschmacher]

I did not know that. Maybe the one positive that will come out of that is that someone close to him who knows something might speak out.

One can only hope. Now he's gone I wonder if some of his acquaintances might be more likely to speak up?

 

[ms finch]

One can only hope. Now he's gone I wonder if some of his acquaintances might be more likely to speak up?

Yes. His activities weren’t exactly unknown to people or something he seemingly concealed like Edwards, if even part of what was said in the inquest into Sarah McMahon’s disappearance is true. I’d have to think that someone around him knows something, even if it is only half-truths.

Sadly it may mean that less resources are put in to linking him to any crimes, although hopefully the particularly serious ones still receive the appropriate focus.

P.S. Thank you for the information!

 

[MsTeschmacher]

Yes. His activities weren’t exactly unknown to people or something he seemingly concealed like Edwards, if even part of what was said in the inquest into Sarah McMahon’s disappearance is true. I’d have to think that someone around him knows something, even if it is only half-truths.

Sadly it may mean that less resources are put in to linking him to any crimes, although hopefully the particularly serious ones still receive the appropriate focus.

P.S. Thank you for the information!

You're welcome. It doesn't seem to be widely known. Seems he kept a pretty low profile since he was released.

 

[ms finch]

You're welcome. It doesn't seem to be widely known. Seems he kept a pretty low profile since he was released.

I hadn’t seen anything about him since his release and I had certainly seen nothing about his death. First I had heard of it anywhere. I wonder if he has been unwell since he left prison?

 

[ms finch]

Given we are canvassing known killers with a history of targeting sex workers - Dorrough and Bayley - I thought we should add another to the mix: Peter Dupas.

Dupas murdered street based sex worker Margaret Maher in 1997, shortly before he killed Mersina Halvagis, and then he went on to kill Nicole Patterson 2 years later. He appears to have randomly targeted Margaret, picking her up while she was working in the outer northern suburbs of Melbourne. Dupas is also a suspect in other murders around that time and has an enormous criminal history.

So Lisa’s disappearance was right in the midst of his killing spree, and he targeted pretty much anyone indiscriminately including outdoor sex workers. The rest of his murders were in Melbourne (and most of the suspected ones are, too) but if he happened to take a trip to Perth his behaviour is such that I could well see him going out on a jaunt specifically for the purposes of killing someone. Truly a candidate for the worst of the worst.

Once again he should be an easy one to rule out if there is no evidence he went to Perth at that time.

 

[stevebrown94]

Going back to Morey for a minute.

My understanding is that the reason he is a suspect in the case of Darylyn Ugle is because her body was found near his childhood home and she went missing around the time he attacked the sex worker, the attempted murder he was convicted for. Lisa was a few years prior. However, Sarah McMahon went missing in 2000 so Lisa was only two years prior there. That’s either early in the piece for him or late in the piece regarding the CSK.

Morey definitely had a predilection for sex workers. Another sex worker gave evidence at the coronial inquest into Sarah’s death. He was also involved with drugs by his own admission (he claimed he had given Sarah $10K of drugs to sell). (For anyone who wants to read about Morey, here is the coronial finding on Sarah https://www.coronerscourt.wa.gov.au/_files/Mcmahon_finding.pdf)

Looking at the timeframe on missing/murdered sex workers around that time:
Lisa Brown - Nov 98
Jennifer Wilby - May 99 - Dennis Bell convicted of manslaughter after injecting her with drugs at a party
Rebecca Delalande - Nov 01 (date an approximation as wasn’t discovered missing until 17 years later) - boyfriend at the time on trial for murder in 2019; trial abandoned but no further update
Christine Schipp - Mar 02 - remains appear to have been located 03; no details
Darylyn Ugle - Mar 03 - body found at Mundaring Weir, suspect Donald Morey
Judy M’Ringu - June 03 - believed to have been located
Name suppressed - Dev 2003 - Donald Morey convicted of attempted murder of sex worker

In 2002 Bayens stopped the car with the plastic lined boot full of abduction paraphernalia, which is believed to have been identified as the Holden Commodore of Donald Morey. The taskforce checking drivers in the area ran from 2000-2002. That really puts Morey in the frame for 2002 onwards, which we know is consistent with his attempted murder and Darylyn Ugle’s death. We know he knew sex worker(s) back in 2000, but that was a personal connection and at that time the only death in the frame is the personal connection of Sarah McMahon.

My feeling is that Lisa as a planned random predatorial attack is too early in the piece for Morey, unless there are other crimes he can be linked to going back further (quite possible) or there is a drugs connection.

One of the things that is frustrating about Lisa’s case is that the information they have in official reports online, and which was reported at the time of her disappearance, is a bit different to what is in the “To Catch A Killer” video.

In the video, the final sighting of her when she said she was just going to “walk around the block one last time”, appears to have come from her boyfriend, who was with her, a couple of hours after being seen with her at the service station. Yet years ago, it was said that they parted ways at the service station. Which is it? I am presuming the video is more accurate and that reporting at the time was just unclear (because it was implied that they parted ways at the service station at 12:30am where this video is clear that was earlier).

The reason I regard that as crucial is because, if he was hanging out with her the whole evening rather than merely catching up with her at some point during the evening, didn’t he wait around for her then? Sure, he may have assumed she had gotten a client, but why hang out waiting for her the rest of the night and not then? Did he assume when she didn’t return that she had a long booking? How long did he wait? Was it common for her to not return and him to just leave? Was the plan always for him to leave at that point regardless of whether she was quick in returning? I’m not of the opinion that her boyfriend had anything to do with her disappearance, but I’d like to fill in pieces of the puzzle, and it doesn’t help when the information is inconsistent and/or incomplete.

Rachael was an outdoor (street) sex worker in Kings Cross. The night she disappeared her boyfriend accompanied her to her usual work spot to act as her spotter. He dropped her off and when he returned from parking the car she was gone. He presumed she was seeing a client and waited; she never returned.

Dorrough lived a few streets away from the Church where Rachael’s body was found. And, this is particularly interesting: apparently in his suicide note he confessed to the killing of a Sydney sex worker. So there is clearly more information in that note than we are being told.

That puts Dorrough back in the picture a bit more, in my view, because he targeted a street sex worker in a random attack in a momentary opportunity. The timing is still tight, but the MO is consistent, almost identical. Granted he dumped Rachael’s body in a pretty obvious way, but the fact is that he was quite willing to take the body to another location; he may have decided to be more careful with Lisa. They really do need to check out whether he could have travelled to Perth at all in the aftermath of Rachael’s murder.

I have some other information, too.

Police are apparently focused on the idea that Lisa’s “pimp” killed her, despite the fact that she didn’t have one. It seems that this is the Carr St connection - the police are convinced that one of the people who lived there at the time was Lisa’s pimp. It is thought by those who were associates of Lisa’s that (as I suspected) that is where one of her dealers lived and police have just jumped to absurd conclusions. If this is what is going on with police JFC. They need to move away from outdated stereotypes.

The report made by Rebecca Delalande is thought to reference something that has to do with Morey - either him or his car. Apparently other street sex workers from the time recall a person and car that fit Morey who was of concern to them.

Actually I hate to correct you but Lisa’s boyfriend at the time (Jason) was her supplier ************* as well as being her pimp, so she definitely had one and he is usually who people are referring to when they talk about Lisa’s (pimp)

 

[stevebrown94]

Going back to Morey for a minute.

My understanding is that the reason he is a suspect in the case of Darylyn Ugle is because her body was found near his childhood home and she went missing around the time he attacked the sex worker, the attempted murder he was convicted for. Lisa was a few years prior. However, Sarah McMahon went missing in 2000 so Lisa was only two years prior there. That’s either early in the piece for him or late in the piece regarding the CSK.

Morey definitely had a predilection for sex workers. Another sex worker gave evidence at the coronial inquest into Sarah’s death. He was also involved with drugs by his own admission (he claimed he had given Sarah $10K of drugs to sell). (For anyone who wants to read about Morey, here is the coronial finding on Sarah https://www.coronerscourt.wa.gov.au/_files/Mcmahon_finding.pdf)

Looking at the timeframe on missing/murdered sex workers around that time:
Lisa Brown - Nov 98
Jennifer Wilby - May 99 - Dennis Bell convicted of manslaughter after injecting her with drugs at a party
Rebecca Delalande - Nov 01 (date an approximation as wasn’t discovered missing until 17 years later) - boyfriend at the time on trial for murder in 2019; trial abandoned but no further update
Christine Schipp - Mar 02 - remains appear to have been located 03; no details
Darylyn Ugle - Mar 03 - body found at Mundaring Weir, suspect Donald Morey
Judy M’Ringu - June 03 - believed to have been located
Name suppressed - Dev 2003 - Donald Morey convicted of attempted murder of sex worker

In 2002 Bayens stopped the car with the plastic lined boot full of abduction paraphernalia, which is believed to have been identified as the Holden Commodore of Donald Morey. The taskforce checking drivers in the area ran from 2000-2002. That really puts Morey in the frame for 2002 onwards, which we know is consistent with his attempted murder and Darylyn Ugle’s death. We know he knew sex worker(s) back in 2000, but that was a personal connection and at that time the only death in the frame is the personal connection of Sarah McMahon.

My feeling is that Lisa as a planned random predatorial attack is too early in the piece for Morey, unless there are other crimes he can be linked to going back further (quite possible) or there is a drugs connection.

One of the things that is frustrating about Lisa’s case is that the information they have in official reports online, and which was reported at the time of her disappearance, is a bit different to what is in the “To Catch A Killer” video.

In the video, the final sighting of her when she said she was just going to “walk around the block one last time”, appears to have come from her boyfriend, who was with her, a couple of hours after being seen with her at the service station. Yet years ago, it was said that they parted ways at the service station. Which is it? I am presuming the video is more accurate and that reporting at the time was just unclear (because it was implied that they parted ways at the service station at 12:30am where this video is clear that was earlier).

The reason I regard that as crucial is because, if he was hanging out with her the whole evening rather than merely catching up with her at some point during the evening, didn’t he wait around for her then? Sure, he may have assumed she had gotten a client, but why hang out waiting for her the rest of the night and not then? Did he assume when she didn’t return that she had a long booking? How long did he wait? Was it common for her to not return and him to just leave? Was the plan always for him to leave at that point regardless of whether she was quick in returning? I’m not of the opinion that her boyfriend had anything to do with her disappearance, but I’d like to fill in pieces of the puzzle, and it doesn’t help when the information is inconsistent and/or incomplete.

As Lisa’s eldest son all I can say for sure is that Jason was her pimp and supplied her with drugs enough to keep her hooked and obedient but about the “walking around the block with her” every time I’ve spoken to the police they end up saying they parted ways after the Servo after buying smokes gave her a few and sent her on her way never to be seen again.

 

[stevebrown94]

Actually I hate to correct you but Lisa’s boyfriend at the time (Jason) was her supplier ************* as well as being her pimp, so she definitely had one and he is usually who people are referring to when they talk about Lisa’s (pimp)

Atleast somebody knows what they’re talking about Jason or (shithead) as my grandmother calls him definitely was her pimp and a sorry excuse for a “boyfriend”

 

[ms finch]

Two new articles have come out about this cold case since I last checked. They're a bit repetitive overall, but there is new information in each of them that I believe has never been public before, and it is very interesting regarding her case. I'm baffled as to why they didn't release this information sooner, given the main person associated has been dead for 10 years.

First one:

Inside the hunt for a killer: What happened to Lisa Brown?

A stolen wallet and a former escort agency owner known as ‘Willie’ lie at the heart of the ongoing police investigation into the suspected murder of Lisa Brown, who vanished in Perth almost 25 years ago.

thewest.com.au

A stolen wallet and a former escort agency owner known as “Willie” lie at the heart of an ongoing investigation into the suspected murder of 19-year-old Lisa Brown, who vanished in Perth almost 25 years ago.

Ms Brown was last seen alive on November 10, 1998, and police have long suspected the Maylands mother of two — who was a sex worker — was murdered but her body has never been found.

She was last seen in the vicinity of Lake Street in Northbridge about 12.30am.

Ms Brown’s suspected murder was one of the 64 cold cases to be given a new $1 million reward this week, as part of a major government and police initiative designed to help crack some of WA’s longest-running unsolved crimes.

A $250,000 reward was previously attached to the case.

A major review into Ms Brown’s disappearance — codenamed Operation Emerald —was carried out by police in 2019. It prompted detectives to dig up the backyard of a West Perth home, but nothing significant was found.

Now, an investigation by The West Australian has confirmed the property dug up in 2019 was being rented in 1998 by one-time escort agency owner David John Whyte.

Whyte, who has since died, stood trial in 1999 after he was accused of organising for Ms Brown to be bashed a week before she disappeared. He was ultimately acquitted.

During his trial, Whyte, whose nickname was Willie, was accused of hiring two prostitutes to bash Ms Brown in Northbridge on November 2, 1998, after she allegedly stole his wallet containing $2700.

The two sex workers were convicted and fined for the attack.

Police prosecutors reportedly asked the magistrate to convict Whyte for organising the assault, saying the strongest evidence came from the two sex workers who testified that he told them to bash Ms Brown because she had ripped him off.

But Whyte’s defence lawyer Ann Mikkelsen told the court the attack occurred because of a pre-existing dispute, after Ms Brown allegedly gave information to welfare authorities about one of the women.

In the end, Magistrate Wayne Tarr said he had been presented with “unreliable and contradictory evidence” and Whyte was acquitted of having organised the bashing.

Outside court Whyte denied any part in Ms Brown’s assault, or her disappearance.

“I coughed to what I was guilty for ... but I was not guilty of this one,” he said.

The West reported at the time how Whyte was charged with a string of offences by the team of detectives investigating Ms Brown’s disappearance, after they interviewed him for a total of 17 hours.

In May 1999, he pleaded guilty to two counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice by giving a false name, nine counts of driving without a valid licence and one count of cultivating cannabis. He was given a three-year suspended jail term and a $200 fine.

As part of the 2019 cold case review, police interviewed several of Whyte’s former acquaintances. It’s understood two men who associated with him around the time of Ms Brown’s disappearance were among those questioned as part of the renewed investigation.

But no charges were ever laid against them or anyone else in connection to Ms Brown’s suspected murder.

Whyte died about 10 years ago.

He gave an extraordinary interview in December 1998 — just a few weeks after Ms Brown went missing — during which he claimed police were targeting him based on hearsay.

“I am being made a scapegoat, each time they come back they come up with nothing except speculation and hearsay and the hearsay is coming from junkies,” Whyte said.

“I have done nothing. I have faith in the justice system and I know you can’t be done for something you have not done.”

Whyte confirmed he was the owner of a white 1972 Jaguar coupe, which police had sought information about in relation to Ms Brown’s disappearance.

Police had information at the time which put a white, older-style Jaguar in the vicinity of Lake Street on the night Ms Brown disappeared. Whyte also said both he and his partner at the time had given DNA samples to police.

Detective Superintendent Rohan Ingles, of the special crime squad, said this week there were still people in the community who had information about Ms Brown’s disappearance.

“We are still of the belief that someone in the community knows what happened to Lisa in November 1998 and we appeal to them to contact Crime Stoppers and share that information with us,” Det. Supt. Ingles said.

“Lisa’s body has not been located and any information on her whereabouts would be vital to the investigation, not to mention to her family who have suffered for nearly 25 years not knowing what happened.”

Second one:

Former cop still haunted by tragic disappearance of WA mum

The 1998 suspected murder of Lisa Brown still keeps former WA cop Ron Fyneman awake at night. In his 40 years with the force, it was one of just a few cases he was unable to solve. But he’s not giving up.

thewest.com.au

In every police detective’s career, there’s usually one case they can’t crack.

They’re the unsolved cases that keep them awake at night and torment them for decades — like a scratch they can’t itch.

For former WA Police detective Ron Fyneman, that case is the tragic 1998 suspected murder of Lisa Brown.

“Retirement was supposed to bring peace, but every night I still find myself poring over the details of Lisa’s murder. It’s the one stain on my record, the case I couldn’t close,” Mr Fyneman recounted this week.

“I may be out of the game, but that unsolved mystery still gnaws at me.”

Mr Fyneman’s brutally raw account of how Ms Brown’s disappearance still affects him should be front of mind for anyone who may still have vital information as to what happened to the 19-year-old mother of two.

The Sunday Times can also reveal police were told several years ago that a vast area of bushland north-east of Perth could be the spot where Ms Brown’s body was hidden after she vanished.

Ms Brown — who was a sex worker at the time — was last seen alive on November 10, 1998. Police are convinced the Maylands mother of two was murdered, and her body has never been found.

Last seen near Brisbane and Palmerston Streets in Northbridge about 12.30am, Ms Brown would have turned 45 years old in January if she were still alive.

The Sunday Times can reveal how several years ago, police were provided with fresh information which suggested Ms Brown’s body may have been left in a huge bushland area bounded by Morley Drive East, Benara Road and West Swan Road near the suburb of Lockridge.

The new information was given to cold case detectives about five or six years ago, around the same time a new team of police officers were carrying out a major re-investigation into Ms Brown’s disappearance.

Police did carry out a major search of the Lockridge bushland in 1999, several months after the 19-year-old went missing.

A fresh search of the bushland — which is riddled with swamps, rivers and snakes — was also carried out as part of the cold case review but it is believed nothing significant was located.

In 1999, the bushland was searched extensively by a 100 strong team of police — led by Ron Fyneman — and a SES volunteers.

An article published in The West in February of that year reveals police did find some clothing during that search but it was later deemed as not belonging to Ms Brown.

“We’ve had no success whatsoever,” Mr Fyneman — who led the initial inquiry — was quoted as saying at the time.

“We searched the area three times. I am very determined, one way or another, to solve this matter.”

A quarter of a century later, that determination still hasn’t wavered for Mr Fyneman — who spent 40 years with the WA Police.

Mr Fyneman — who is now semi-retired from the force — said Ms Brown’s disappearance still haunted him.

“In my years on the force I’ve cracked countless cases, but there’s always that one that haunts you, that one puzzle you couldn’t piece together,” Mr Fyneman said, as he re-visited the Lockridge bushland area this week.

“For me, that’s Lisa’s case. That’s my white whale.

“No matter how many leads I followed, how many suspects I interrogated, the truth remained elusive, slipping through my fingers like water.”

The huge area of bushland in Lockridge does have somewhat of a dark and painful history.

Up until 20 years ago, an Aboriginal settlement known as the Swan Valley Nyungah Community was based there.

But following an inquiry into sexual and physical abuse allegations at the site — and the death of a 15-year-old girl at the camp — the Gallop government shut it down in 2003.

A major focus for detectives investigating Ms Brown’s disappearance has been former escort agency owner David John Whyte.

As part of the cold case review — codenamed Operation Emerald — detectives dug up the backyard of a West Perth home that was being rented by Whyte in 1999, but nothing was found.

Whyte - who went by the nickname “Willie” - remains a major person of interest in the case, even though he died about 10 years ago.

Whyte stood trial in 1999 after he was accused of organising for Ms Brown to be bashed a week before she disappeared. He was ultimately acquitted.

During his trial, Whyte, was accused of hiring two prostitutes to bash Ms Brown in Northbridge on November 2, 1998, after she allegedly stole his wallet containing $2700.

The two sex workers were convicted and fined for the attack, but Whyte was found not guilty.

Outside court Whyte denied any part in Ms Brown’s assault, or her disappearance.

“I coughed to what I was guilty for ... but I was not guilty of this one,” he said at the time.

As part of the most recent cold case review, police interviewed several of Whyte’s former acquaintances.

It’s understood two men who associated with him around the time of Ms Brown’s disappearance were among those questioned as part of the renewed investigation.

But no charges were ever laid against them or anyone else in connection to Ms Brown’s suspected murder.

Whyte gave an extraordinary interview to The West Australian in December 1998 — just a few weeks after Ms Brown went missing — during which he claimed police were targeting him based on hearsay.

“I am being made a scapegoat, each time they come back they come up with nothing except speculation and hearsay and the hearsay is coming from junkies,” Whyte said at the time.

During the interview Whyte confirmed he was the owner of a white 1972 Jaguar coupe, which police had sought information about in relation to Ms Brown’s disappearance.

Police had information at the time which put a white, older-style Jaguar in Northbridge on the night Ms Brown disappeared.

Ms Brown’s suspected murder was one of the 64 cold cases to be given a new $1 million reward last year as part of a major government and police initiative designed to help crack some of WA’s longest-running unsolved crimes.

In a statement last year Detective Superintendent Rohan Ingles, of the special crime squad, said finding Ms Brown’s body was “vital” for the police investigation.

“We are still of the belief that someone in the community knows what happened to Lisa in November 1998 and we appeal to them to contact Crime Stoppers and share that information with us,” Det. Supt. Ingles said at the time.

“Lisa’s body has not been located and any information on her whereabouts would be vital to the investigation, not to mention to her family who have suffered … not knowing what happened.”

Ron Fyneman reiterated that appeal this week.

The former cop said finding Lisa and identifying her killer or killers was a matter of great importance to him.

“Even though I am semi-retired from the police force, this case has always remained a priority for me,” he said.

“It would mean so much to me, the police and obviously to Lisa’s family if we were able to locate her.

“Even after all of this time, I would urge anyone with information regarding Lisa’s disappearance to come forward and assist in bringing some closure to her family and loved ones.”

So the person police refer to as her pimp is David Whyte, and it was his former house in Carr St West Perth they searched back in 2019. I think that's a very misleading title to put on him and only serves to add to the salaciousness rather than provide any helpful insight, but at least we have some more information on who was associated with this case and who and what police were looking at. Seeing as Lisa's associates seemed to think her dealer lived at the house in West Perth, and David Whyte was convicted of drugs offences, I think we can say that he may have also been her dealer (or one of them).

David Whyte died 10 years ago as per the articles.

The fact that he allegedly arranged for her to be bashed the week before she disappeared is interesting, and that they pursued it even after her disappearance. Did Lisa report this before she disappeared? Did this come out during their investigation into the disappearance, reported by other workers?

He certainly seems like a shady character, but this is another one that has all the hallmarks of police fixating on a particular person and ignoring other information.

 

[ms finch]

Atleast somebody knows what they’re talking about Jason or (shithead) as my grandmother calls him definitely was her pimp and a sorry excuse for a “boyfriend”

I am very sorry to hear about your loss. Lisa deserves justice, and I'm sorry that she probably hasn't gotten the same attention as other matters due to her line of work.

Police have never indicated that her boyfriend was a suspect. Do you know if they ruled him out for some reason or did they just never look at him?

 

[FTY1]

Two new articles have come out about this cold case since I last checked. They're a bit repetitive overall, but there is new information in each of them that I believe has never been public before, and it is very interesting regarding her case. I'm baffled as to why they didn't release this information sooner, given the main person associated has been dead for 10 years.

First one:

Inside the hunt for a killer: What happened to Lisa Brown?

A stolen wallet and a former escort agency owner known as ‘Willie’ lie at the heart of the ongoing police investigation into the suspected murder of Lisa Brown, who vanished in Perth almost 25 years ago.

thewest.com.au

Second one:

Former cop still haunted by tragic disappearance of WA mum

The 1998 suspected murder of Lisa Brown still keeps former WA cop Ron Fyneman awake at night. In his 40 years with the force, it was one of just a few cases he was unable to solve. But he’s not giving up.

thewest.com.au

So the person police refer to as her pimp is David Whyte, and it was his former house in Carr St West Perth they searched back in 2019. I think that's a very misleading title to put on him and only serves to add to the salaciousness rather than provide any helpful insight, but at least we have some more information on who was associated with this case and who and what police were looking at. Seeing as Lisa's associates seemed to think her dealer lived at the house in West Perth, and David Whyte was convicted of drugs offences, I think we can say that he may have also been her dealer (or one of them).

David Whyte died 10 years ago as per the articles.

The fact that he allegedly arranged for her to be bashed the week before she disappeared is interesting, and that they pursued it even after her disappearance. Did Lisa report this before she disappeared? Did this come out during their investigation into the disappearance, reported by other workers?

He certainly seems like a shady character, but this is another one that has all the hallmarks of police fixating on a particular person and ignoring other information.

There were articles about this in the West in 1998 and 1999. It was not the first time they had searched his place.

Article from West Australian 19 November 1999 Charlene Wilson-Clark

"FORMER escort agency owner David John Whyte has been cleared of involvement in the bashing of Perth sex worker Lisa Jane Brown the week before she disappeared.
Mr Whyte, 49, who is also known as "Willie", was accused of procuring two prostitutes to bash Ms Brown in Northbridge on November 2 last year after she stole his wallet containing $2700.

Yesterday, Perth Magistrate Wayne Tarr said he had been presented with the unreliable and contradictory evidence of prostitutes and drug users and in those circumstances it would be dangerous to convict Mr Whyte. He awarded Mr Whyte $1000 costs.
Outside the court Mr Whyte, who has always denied any part in Ms Brown's bashing or disappearance, said justice had prevailed.
"I coughed to what I was guilty for ... but I was not guilty of this one," he said. Mr Whyte, of Carr Street, West Perth, was charged with a string of offences after Operation Hyde detectives - investigating Ms Brown's disappearance and suspected murder while touting for business in Northbridge on November 10 last year - interviewed him for a total of 17 hours.
His house was searched six times and two of his cars were taken for forensic testing.
In May, Mr Whyte pleaded guilty in the District Court in Perth to two counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice by giving a false name, nine of driving without a valid licence and one count of cultivating cannabis. He was released on a three-year suspended jail term and $200 fine.
Yesterday, Prosecuting Sgt Glen Moore asked Mr Tarr to convict Mr Whyte for procuring the assault, saying the strongest evidence came from 22-year-old prostitute Lawana Garlett's testimony that "Willie" told her and fellow streetwalker Carrie-Ann O'Donnell, 23, to bash Ms Brown because she had ripped him off.
Defence lawyer Ann Mikkelsen said the evidence in court of both women, who were fined after admitting they bashed Ms Brown, was clear the attack occurred because of a pre-existing dispute after Ms Brown dobbed Miss O'Donnell into welfare authorities over concern for her children."

24 December 1998.
A MAN police have spent five weeks grilling over the disappearance of sex worker Lisa Jane Brown says he is tired of constant police attention.

David Whyte, a former escort agency proprietor, said yesterday he was the owner of a white 1972 Jaguar coupe, which police had sought information about in yesterday's The West Australian.

He admits he threatened Ms Brown because he believed she had stolen his wallet, with $2700 inside, about a month before she went missing. But he said he did not have anything to do with her disappearance.

Det-Sgt Ron Fyneman, officer in charge of Operation Hyde, the police search for Ms Brown, said Mr Whyte could not be ruled out from the investigation yet.

Police had information which put a white, older-style Jaguar in the vicinity of Lake Street, Perth, on the night Ms Brown disappeared.

They also had information to link the Jaguar with drug dealings and an assault on Ms Brown a week before she disappeared.

Mr Whyte made a statement to police on November 20 detailing his dealings with Ms Brown and his movements on the night she disappeared.

He claimed he had gone shopping and then went home to cook dinner. He said he was at home watching videos on the night of Monday, November 9.

Ms Brown was last seen on Lake Street, Perth, just after midnight on November 10.

Mr Whyte said he cooperated in two police interviews with Operation Hyde detectives, the first lasting 11 hours and the second six hours. Police searched his house six times and two of his cars, including the Jaguar, were taken for forensic testing.

He and his partner, Simone, have provided police with DNA samples.

After a five-week investigation he has been charged with one count of cultivating cannabis after a marijuana plant was allegedly found in his backyard.

"I am being made a scapegoat, each time they come back they come up with nothing except speculation and hearsay - and the hearsay is coming from junkies," he said. He denied supplying drugs to Ms Brown or other sex workers.

He said continued attention from Operation Hyde detectives had put a strain on his family, including his partner who delivered their daughter on Wednesday last week, six weeks premature.

His seven-year-old son had asked him whether he had killed anyone.

"I have done nothing," he said. "I have faith in the justice system and I know you can't be done for something you have not done."

 

[ms finch]

There were articles about this in the West in 1998 and 1999. It was not the first time they had searched his place.

Article from West Australian 19 November 1999 Charlene Wilson-Clark

"FORMER escort agency owner David John Whyte has been cleared of involvement in the bashing of Perth sex worker Lisa Jane Brown the week before she disappeared.
Mr Whyte, 49, who is also known as "Willie", was accused of procuring two prostitutes to bash Ms Brown in Northbridge on November 2 last year after she stole his wallet containing $2700.

Yesterday, Perth Magistrate Wayne Tarr said he had been presented with the unreliable and contradictory evidence of prostitutes and drug users and in those circumstances it would be dangerous to convict Mr Whyte. He awarded Mr Whyte $1000 costs.
Outside the court Mr Whyte, who has always denied any part in Ms Brown's bashing or disappearance, said justice had prevailed.
"I coughed to what I was guilty for ... but I was not guilty of this one," he said. Mr Whyte, of Carr Street, West Perth, was charged with a string of offences after Operation Hyde detectives - investigating Ms Brown's disappearance and suspected murder while touting for business in Northbridge on November 10 last year - interviewed him for a total of 17 hours.
His house was searched six times and two of his cars were taken for forensic testing.
In May, Mr Whyte pleaded guilty in the District Court in Perth to two counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice by giving a false name, nine of driving without a valid licence and one count of cultivating cannabis. He was released on a three-year suspended jail term and $200 fine.
Yesterday, Prosecuting Sgt Glen Moore asked Mr Tarr to convict Mr Whyte for procuring the assault, saying the strongest evidence came from 22-year-old prostitute Lawana Garlett's testimony that "Willie" told her and fellow streetwalker Carrie-Ann O'Donnell, 23, to bash Ms Brown because she had ripped him off.
Defence lawyer Ann Mikkelsen said the evidence in court of both women, who were fined after admitting they bashed Ms Brown, was clear the attack occurred because of a pre-existing dispute after Ms Brown dobbed Miss O'Donnell into welfare authorities over concern for her children."

24 December 1998.
A MAN police have spent five weeks grilling over the disappearance of sex worker Lisa Jane Brown says he is tired of constant police attention.

David Whyte, a former escort agency proprietor, said yesterday he was the owner of a white 1972 Jaguar coupe, which police had sought information about in yesterday's The West Australian.

He admits he threatened Ms Brown because he believed she had stolen his wallet, with $2700 inside, about a month before she went missing. But he said he did not have anything to do with her disappearance.

Det-Sgt Ron Fyneman, officer in charge of Operation Hyde, the police search for Ms Brown, said Mr Whyte could not be ruled out from the investigation yet.

Police had information which put a white, older-style Jaguar in the vicinity of Lake Street, Perth, on the night Ms Brown disappeared.

They also had information to link the Jaguar with drug dealings and an assault on Ms Brown a week before she disappeared.

Mr Whyte made a statement to police on November 20 detailing his dealings with Ms Brown and his movements on the night she disappeared.

He claimed he had gone shopping and then went home to cook dinner. He said he was at home watching videos on the night of Monday, November 9.

Ms Brown was last seen on Lake Street, Perth, just after midnight on November 10.

Mr Whyte said he cooperated in two police interviews with Operation Hyde detectives, the first lasting 11 hours and the second six hours. Police searched his house six times and two of his cars, including the Jaguar, were taken for forensic testing.

He and his partner, Simone, have provided police with DNA samples.

After a five-week investigation he has been charged with one count of cultivating cannabis after a marijuana plant was allegedly found in his backyard.

"I am being made a scapegoat, each time they come back they come up with nothing except speculation and hearsay - and the hearsay is coming from junkies," he said. He denied supplying drugs to Ms Brown or other sex workers.

He said continued attention from Operation Hyde detectives had put a strain on his family, including his partner who delivered their daughter on Wednesday last week, six weeks premature.

His seven-year-old son had asked him whether he had killed anyone.

"I have done nothing," he said. "I have faith in the justice system and I know you can't be done for something you have not done."

Thanks. I'd never come across those.

I did know that they had previously searched the house in Carr St West Perth back when the original investigation was underway (I think they said that when they re-searched it in 2019), but I'd never heard about David Whyte specifically before.

Given the same search was redone and they are still rehashing the theory on David Whyte, it really shows that the investigation has gone absolutely nowhere in 25 years. It sounds more and more to me like another case of WAPOL fixating on something and therefore not being thorough in their investigation, and ultimately getting stuck.

 

[FTY1]

Thanks. I'd never come across those.

I did know that they had previously searched the house in Carr St West Perth back when the original investigation was underway (I think they said that when they re-searched it in 2019), but I'd never heard about David Whyte specifically before.

Given the same search was redone and they are still rehashing the theory on David Whyte, it really shows that the investigation has gone absolutely nowhere in 25 years. It sounds more and more to me like another case of WAPOL fixating on something and therefore not being thorough in their investigation, and ultimately getting stuck.

I had copies of the articles in 2019 but I didn't post them as the name wasn't mentioned in the 2019 articles. At the time I had access to some West Australian archives which I no longer have access to.

 

[ms finch]

I had copies of the articles in 2019 but I didn't post them as the name wasn't mentioned in the 2019 articles. At the time I had access to some West Australian archives which I no longer have access to.

I appreciate you posting them. This particular case is one I find extremely upsetting and frustrating, because I think police only gave it cursory consideration at the time and followed the most basic of leads to their apparent suspect. To hear that they repeated this decades later and are then throwing up their hands rather like, "Well we looked at one guy and it wasn't him so what can we do?", is infuriating.

They should, at various points, have thoroughly considered the CSK/BRE, Alexander Mackenzie and Donald Morey. Two known killers and one likely killer, two who targeted sex workers, all active around the time Lisa went missing.

There are three other killers I'm aware of known to have targeted sex workers around Australia - Richard Dorrough, Adrian Bayley and Peter Dupas - and it should have been checked whether they were in Perth at the time. (I think Dorrough is a stretch because he was in Sydney on 6/7 Nov that year likely killing another sex worker in Kings Cross, but it's not entirely impossible.)

Also, an update on Rebecca Delalande's case is that the trial of her boyfriend at the time resumed and he was acquitted. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03...ial-chris-blennerhassett-not-guilty/100042692 Hard to say whether this is truly indicative of someone else doing it or whether the evidence after all this time due to an investigation that didn't start for 17 years simply wasn't sufficient. Her case does however indicate to me that they pretty much didn't touch Lisa's matter after the initial investigation until nearly 20 years later, because otherwise they would have realised Rebecca was missing.

I personally favour Donald Morey for Lisa's death given the evidence he was prowling outdoor sex workers in that area at the time, was convicted of an attempted murder of a sex worker, and is thought to be responsible for the death of another sex worker (Darrylyn Ugle).

David Whyte looks like a shady character, and I can see why they suspected him with the evidence of other sex workers who claimed they had been ordered to bash Lisa, but from the information we have, aside from that accusation, he was never convicted of a violent crime or accused of another one. The only convictions mentioned are for cannabis, traffic offences and giving a false name. It would be unusual for someone to kill a person and not have a slew of violence accusations or convictions otherwise. Of course, who knows if the reporters even checked that. My opinion on him would change if there was evidence of a history of other violent crime.

ETA: Plus in cases of outdoor sex workers disappearing during the course of their work and being murdered or presumed dead, it is nearly always a client/someone who picked them up during their work. It's almost never someone from their personal lives or someone in the industry.

 

[FTY1]

I appreciate you posting them. This particular case is one I find extremely upsetting and frustrating, because I think police only gave it cursory consideration at the time and followed the most basic of leads to their apparent suspect. To hear that they repeated this decades later and are then throwing up their hands rather like, "Well we looked at one guy and it wasn't him so what can we do?", is infuriating.

They should, at various points, have thoroughly considered the CSK/BRE, Alexander Mackenzie and Donald Morey. Two known killers and one likely killer, two who targeted sex workers, all active around the time Lisa went missing.

There are three other killers I'm aware of known to have targeted sex workers around Australia - Richard Dorrough, Adrian Bayley and Peter Dupas - and it should have been checked whether they were in Perth at the time. (I think Dorrough is a stretch because he was in Sydney on 6/7 Nov that year likely killing another sex worker in Kings Cross, but it's not entirely impossible.)

Also, an update on Rebecca Delalande's case is that the trial of her boyfriend at the time resumed and he was acquitted. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03...ial-chris-blennerhassett-not-guilty/100042692 Hard to say whether this is truly indicative of someone else doing it or whether the evidence after all this time due to an investigation that didn't start for 17 years simply wasn't sufficient. Her case does however indicate to me that they pretty much didn't touch Lisa's matter after the initial investigation until nearly 20 years later, because otherwise they would have realised Rebecca was missing.

I personally favour Donald Morey for Lisa's death given the evidence he was prowling outdoor sex workers in that area at the time, was convicted of an attempted murder of a sex worker, and is thought to be responsible for the death of another sex worker (Darrylyn Ugle).

David Whyte looks like a shady character, and I can see why they suspected him with the evidence of other sex workers who claimed they had been ordered to bash Lisa, but from the information we have, aside from that accusation, he was never convicted of a violent crime or accused of another one. The only convictions mentioned are for cannabis, traffic offences and giving a false name. It would be unusual for someone to kill a person and not have a slew of violence accusations or convictions otherwise. Of course, who knows if the reporters even checked that. My opinion on him would change if there was evidence of a history of other violent crime.

ETA: Plus in cases of outdoor sex workers disappearing during the course of their work and being murdered or presumed dead, it is nearly always a client/someone who picked them up during their work. It's almost never someone from their personal lives or someone in the industry.

From what I could see there were a couple of articles on Perth now regarding Rebecca Delalande were from October and November 2018. I first heard she was missing in early June 2018 via another site and it had just been put on the missing persons page at that stage. The article below mention it was last year they first worked out she was missing. Rebecca normally didn't contact between 6 and 12 months because of drug use. There were rumours she was in Broome or interstate so her mother didn't worry. After police contacted the mother they worked out the timeframe. The mother still held out hopes of her being alive but I assume that police did the standard Centrelink, Tax, travel, passport, bank account check and they hadn't been touched.

Safe to missing to murder charge

THE bizarre cold case mystery of a woman missing for 17 years - 16 years without family or friends realising - is now a murder investigation after police charged a man with killing her.

www.perthnow.com.au

Fears missing mum a victim of crime

POLICE have renewed calls for information on a young mother’s disappearance from Perth’s southern suburbs 17 years ago.

www.perthnow.com.au

David Whyte looks like a good suspect but there are certainly others.

 

[ms finch]

From what I could see there were a couple of articles on Perth now regarding Rebecca Delalande were from October and November 2018. I first heard she was missing in early June 2018 via another site and it had just been put on the missing persons page at that stage. The article below mention it was last year they first worked out she was missing. Rebecca normally didn't contact between 6 and 12 months because of drug use. There were rumours she was in Broome or interstate so her mother didn't worry. After police contacted the mother they worked out the timeframe. The mother still held out hopes of her being alive but I assume that police did the standard Centrelink, Tax, travel, passport, bank account check and they hadn't been touched.

Safe to missing to murder charge

THE bizarre cold case mystery of a woman missing for 17 years - 16 years without family or friends realising - is now a murder investigation after police charged a man with killing her.

www.perthnow.com.au

Fears missing mum a victim of crime

POLICE have renewed calls for information on a young mother’s disappearance from Perth’s southern suburbs 17 years ago.

www.perthnow.com.au

David Whyte looks like a good suspect but there are certainly others.

Rebeccas Delalande is a very sad case. For nobody to even notice she was missing for 17 years is really tragic, and it also shows just how easy it is for people leading a transient lifestyle to disappear off the face of the earth completely unnoticed. I feel for her mother, who was probably devastated she wasn't seeing her but had accepted her life for what it was, only to find out that in fact she'd been gone for a long time.

I too presume police checked records and that's how they determined that she likely wasn't alive anymore.

We'll probably never know on her one. I doubt police are going to do any substantive investigation after the acquittal of her former boyfriend and after all this time there is not really anywhere else to go anyway. They were pretty lucky they had a lead at all after all that time.