Podcast
Bronwyn
Hosted by The Australian · EN
The Teacher’s Pet creator Hedley Thomas returns with a new podcast investigation for The Australian.
Bronwyn Winfield disappeared 31 years ago from the idyllic surf town of Lennox Head. She was a devoted mother of two little girls, and was going through a painful separation from her husband, Jon Winfield.
Jon Winfield has always maintained Bronwyn just went away and denies any wrongdoing.
Subscribers to The Australian and registered users hear episodes of ‘Bronwyn’ first. Plus, you can read more about this case and see exclusive stories, maps, timelines, graphics, video and more at bronwynpodcast.com
If you have information which may help solve this cold case, you can contact our team confidentially by emailing bronwyn@theaustralian.com.au
10episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Hedley Thomas’ new podcast: Sick To Death
Nov 1700:18:19Tap to summarizeA blockbuster new podcast from The Australian and our investigative star reporter Hedley Thomas: Sick To Death is the horrifying true story of a surgeon who made catastrophic mistakes - and went unchallenged by a broken system. Hedley Thomas is here for a special episode to mark the launch of Sick To Death, available now in Apple Podcasts and at sicktodeathpodcast.com This is an episode of our daily news podcast The Front, presented by Claire Harvey, produced by Kristen Amiet and edited by Joshua Burton with Lia Tsamoglou. Our team includes Kristen Amiet, Lia Tsamoglou, Tiffany Dimmack, Joshua Burton, Stephanie Coombes and Jasper Leak, who also composed our music. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →Episode 36: Forever Loved
Aug 2201:29:24Tap to summarizeIn the final episode for some time, the owners of a Sydney property learn that the missing mother’s remains may have been concealed under concrete there. Andy, Michelle and Madi reflect on some of the major milestones over the past 18 months of podcast investigation. New evidence is discovered by Karina who finds the former owner of the hair salon where Jodie Winfield worked in May 1993. She reveals that Bronwyn would telephone the salon to say Jon Winfield was going to kill her. Hedley and Karina go through the numerous clues which arouse suspicions over the Illawong property. Bev Brooker's cousin reveals what’s happening with a proposed legal challenge to Bev’s will and its multi-million-dollar windfall for Jon. Hedley thanks everyone who has helped the investigation and pays tribute to one of Bronwyn's best friends from Lennox Head, the late Denise Barnard. Read more about this case and see photographs, maps, timelines and more at bronwynpodcast.com. If you have information which may help solve this cold case, you can contact our team confidentially by emailing bronwyn@theaustralian.com.auSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →Episode 35: Home Truths
Aug 1501:03:49Tap to summarizeMegan performs a dramatic backflip by changing her evidence about Jon’s moves in Sydney in the hours after his wife Bronwyn’s disappearance. Megan expresses doubts about whether Bronwyn's body was in the car’s boot during a road trip from Sandstone Crescent to Sydney. Bronwyn’s brother Andy Read accuses Megan of inventing ‘fairytales’ in a bid to make herself more relevant in the investigation of the suspected murder of the mother of two. Megan denies she was helping Jon. Madi sides with Andy while a senior detective who ran an exhaustive cold case probe in 2009 into Bronwyn’s disappearance reveals his theory and the evidence to support it. Jon’s former lover Lena sends a heartfelt message to Bronwyn’s family. Read more about this case and see photographs, maps, timelines and more at bronwynpodcast.com. If you have information which may help solve this cold case, you can contact our team confidentially by emailing bronwyn@theaustralian.com.auSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →Episode 34: A Cautionary Tale
Aug 701:01:21Tap to summarizeRetired detective Glenn Taylor who has worked harder on Bronwyn’s case than any other police officer faces a problem. Will his video-taped formal interview in Ballina’s police station in 1998 with murder suspect Jon Winfield be ruled out in the event of any prosecution? Lawyers and police say it is on the cards because Jon was not cautioned by police that he had a legal right to silence. Glenn believes that damning evidence from the interview ‘should’ be admissible in a future prosecution – but he agrees it will be up to a judge to decide. Legendary former Sydney detective Michael Drury highlights what he describes as a disturbing ‘pattern of alibi construction’ by Jon, who denies wrongdoing. Chrystal ceases all contact with her Uncle Andy, who blames the Winfield family for the rift. Read more about this case and see photographs, maps, timelines and more at bronwynpodcast.com. If you have information which may help solve this cold case, you can contact our team confidentially by emailing bronwyn@theaustralian.com.auSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →Episode 33: The Legal Veil
Jul 3101:01:26Tap to summarizeAfter a break of almost three months between episodes, Andy and Michelle come away from a meeting for the loved ones of homicide victims with newly found patience and confidence in the restarted police investigation into Bronwyn’s 1993 disappearance. They explain why. A former insider from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions discloses concerns she has held for a quarter century about how the brief of evidence was handled behind closed doors in Lismore in 2000. The fallibility of prosecutors in significant cases where there is no formal external accountability comes under scrutiny. And Madi Walsh is a step away from joining the New South Wales Police Force to realise her ambition to help solve serious crimes as a forensic scientist. The podcast series starts its final stage. Read more about this case and see photographs, maps, timelines and more at bronwynpodcast.com. If you have information which may help solve this cold case, you can contact our team confidentially by emailing bronwyn@theaustralian.com.auSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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The Gangster's Ghost Episode 1: Dead Man Talking
May 30, 202500:43:47Tap to summarizeThe family of slain gangster Stewart John Regan has been frustrated by an unwillingness on the part of the NSW Police Unsolved Homicide Unit to share information about its investigation into his death. It's the same police unit leading the investigation into Bronwyn Winfield's disappearance – and they say they're reluctant to share important files because they're concerned publicity from podcasts like Bronwyn and The Teacher's Pet will compromise their investigation. Catch up on Episode 1 of The Gangster's Ghost now, and subscribe to hear new episodes first at gangstersghost.com.au The podcast investigates the five-decade mystery of who killed psychopathic pimp and murderer Stewart John ‘The Magician’ Regan at the age of 29. One of Australia’s most notorious gangsters, Regan was gunned down by three assassins in a Marrickville laneway in 1974.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →Episode 32: Finally, A Finding
May 8, 202501:27:51Tap to summarizeAfter a bizarre last ditch bid by Jon Winfield to curry favour from a Ballina detective, the coroner heading the inquest into Bronwyn’s presumed murder sums up the case against the surfing bricklayer. He describes Bronwyn’s predicament in May 1993, the plans she was making for herself and her two girls, and her resolve to be free from Jon. The coroner weighs and rejects Jon’s claims – that a mentally befuddled Bronwyn had gone on an impromptu break and must have started a new life. Jodie’s protection of her father comes under closer scrutiny. Chrystal reveals the significance of a signet ring. At the end of the inquest, Jon’s luck looks like it’s finally run out – he’s being referred to the DPP with a recommendation that he be prosecuted for murder. Read more about this case and see photographs, maps, timelines and more at bronwynpodcast.com. If you have information which may help solve this cold case, you can – contact our team confidentially by emailing bronwyn@theaustralian.com.auSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Listen to The Australian's new podcast The Gangster's Ghost
May 8, 202500:02:17Tap to summarizeJohnny 'The Magician' Regan was a murderer, pimp and psychopath, gunned down by three assassins in a grimy back lane in 1974. He was 29. In this new investigative podcast, The Australian's Matthew Condon investigates gangland’s last great murder mystery. Subscribers to The Australian and registered users hear episodes of 'The Gangster's Ghost' first at gangstersghost.com.au. Plus, you can read more about this case, see exclusive stories, photos, videos and more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →Episode 31: The Memory Hole
May 1, 202501:13:44Tap to summarizeJon’s daughter Jodie returns to the witness box for a searching cross examination on Day 4 of the inquest.She volunteers that she looked in the boot of the Ford Falcon on the morning that she says her father arrived at the Shire hair salon, Intercutz, after the overnight drive from Lennox. If Bronwyn’s body was in the boot en route to be concealed somewhere in the Shire – a theory which Jon emphatically denies – Jodie didn’t see it. Her memory of events was generally vague. Jodie couldn’t recall anything to do with suggestions of violence against Bronwyn. Murray reveals he’s grown and used marijuana but denies it’s affected his memory. The original police investigation in 1993 is criticised by the Coroner. He goes to Sandstone Crescent to walk around and see it for himself. Read more about this case and see photographs, maps, timelines and more at bronwynpodcast.com. If you have information which may help solve this cold case, you can – contact our team confidentially by emailing bronwyn@theaustralian.com.auSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →Episode 30: Mountains And Molehills
Apr 24, 202501:03:06Tap to summarizeDid Bronwyn have a secret boyfriend with whom she was having a clandestine relationship before he spirited her away from her daughters and her Lennox Head home? Was Jon’s neighbour Murray affected by painkillers or cannabis when he says he saw Jon leaving the house with his car’s engine and its lights off on the night Bronwyn disappeared? Was such a departure even unusual for Jon? The bricklayer’s lawyer Craig Leggat turns up the heat on witnesses on Day 3 of the inquest. Bronwyn’s close friend and neighbour Deb Hall answers the challenge as the legal strategy approved by her estranged husband and alleged killer pivots to depict the missing mother of two as a fantasist with multiple lovers. Read more about this case and see photographs, maps, timelines and more at bronwynpodcast.com. If you have information which may help solve this cold case, you can – contact our team confidentially by emailing bronwyn@theaustralian.com.auSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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