Maureen Joyce BRADDY & Allan George WHYTE

   

      

Allan Whyte’s brother, Kevin Whyte, and Maureen Braddy’s sister, Lyn Ireland, with family members outside Bendigo Magistrates Court. Picture from Geelong Advertiser with thanks.

 

She's not my wife

A MAN has hit out at claims his dead wife was Maureen Braddy, who disappeared 40 years ago as a teenager.

"Maureen's not my wife. My wife was Carol and she was born and bred in Swan Hill," John Carroll said.

Maureen Braddy, 16, and her boyfriend Allan Whyte, 17, disappeared on November 23, 1968, after a dance in Bendigo.

Nothing has been heard of the pair.

Police are convinced they were murdered and their remains are in a well close to the Braddy family home in nearby California Gully, or down one of the many abandoned mineshafts in the area.

But Maureen's father, Stan, told the Herald Sun his daughter and Allan had been living secretly in Swan Hill.

He claimed Maureen had died under another name just last year and is buried in the Swan Hill Cemetery.

He said he had even attended her funeral. Maureen would have been 55. Mr Braddy refused to reveal her name, but the Herald Sun has learned the identity of the woman - Carol Joy Carroll.

The mother of two, who died on November 17 last year, is buried at Swan Hill. She was 62.

She had two children, one a daughter named Maureen.

But that is where the vague connection ends.

Mr Carroll said he was confused by Mr Braddy's claims.

"I know nothing about this. I don't know what's going on. This is terrible," he said.

The Carrolls married in 1964 - four years before Maureen and Allan disappeared.

Asked if he knew Stan Braddy, Mr Carroll said: "I wouldn't know the man."

He said Mr Braddy's claims were disrespectful to his wife and her memory.

"That woman is my wife. She's Carol Joy Carroll. She was born and bred here in Swan Hill. Her maiden name was Carol Joy Murray," he said.

Mr Carroll said just before his wife's death detectives investigating the pair's disappearance visited their house.

"They asked a heap of questions and I went to the police station where I had my fingerprints taken. Carol was also questioned," he said.

"I thought it had all been cleared up."

Mr Braddy, a Bendigo pensioner, told the Herald Sun Maureen and Allan had lived under new identities. "She got a new name. She was with Allan and he's still alive and kickin'," Mr Braddy said.

Maureen's sisters Lynette Ireland and Jenny Braddy are pushing for a coronial inquiry into the disappearance.

They've approached a solicitor as part of their campaign.

Yesterday Kevin Whyte, Allan's older brother, joined in the call saying that a number of sensitive issues should be officially aired.

An inquiry, he said, would require people to give evidence under oath. He scoffed at Mr Braddy's claims that the two teenagers had been alive all these years.

"What rubbish. They're dead, they were murdered," he said.

Mr Whyte said Maureen's sisters were aware that she was pregnant at the time of her disappearance and Allan Whyte was not the father.

For 34 years police treated them as runaway lovers and they were never listed on the missing persons register.

"It was thought the pair had been in love and done a runner," a police source told the Herald Sun.

Three decades of inaction, he said, had only benefited their killer or killers.

Eight years ago, veteran homicide squad investigator Det-Sgt Brendon Murphy reopened the case after receiving information.

"The reality is that I believe they have both been murdered," he said at the time.

Without a trace

03 Aug, 2009 09:44 AM - Bendigo Advertiser

 

SHERYLE Cain is still haunted by the disappearance of her brother Terry Floyd 34 years ago.

Just like family birthdays and anniversaries, National Missing Persons Week, which began yesterday, is tough for the Maryborough woman.

Terry was 12 when he was last seen alive on June 28, 1975, and Ms Cain and her family have been looking for answers ever since.

No one has been charged in relation to his disappearance, or with his suspected murder, but the homicide squad has investigated at least two suspects, and overseen an inquest.

Sadly, the story is not an isolated one.

In Australia, one person is reported missing every 15 minutes.

About 95 per cent of these show up within about week.

The Bendigo area has had its fair share of those who fall into the other 5 per cent.

Maureen Joyce Braddy, 16, and Allan George Whyte, 17, were last seen on November 23, 1968 in Mundy Street at a YMCA dance.

The pair left the dance about 9pm when they spoke with Mr Whyte’s brother outside.

They declined his invitation to a party at his house.

Mr Whyte told his brother he was taking Ms Braddy home.

The couple has not been seen since.

They vanished with only the clothes on their backs.

Ms Braddy failed to claim her wages from the Crystal Egg Company in Garsed Street where she worked.

The couple did not take the car Mr Whyte had recently bought.

For many years it was believed they had run away together and their disappearance was treated as a missing persons case.

More than 30 years later, new information led police to announce the couple had been murdered.

The bodies of Ms Braddy and Mr Whyte, who would now be 56 and 57, have never been found.

Psychic steps in to Bendigo murder mystery

17 Oct, 2008 08:05 AM - Bendigo Advertiser

 

THE families of a Bendigo couple who disappeared almost 40 years ago believe an abandoned mine shaft could hold the key to solving the couple’s mysterious disappearance.

Maureen Joyce Braddy, then 16, and Allan George Whyte, 17, were last seen on November 23, 1968, in Mundy Street after a dance at the YMCA.

Police believe the two were murdered.

Their families, desperate for answers, have recently been working with a psychic.

It is believed some family members then began digging at a local mine shaft site for clues, and that items since recovered may be bone fragments of their loved ones.

“We are checking out some items that have been recovered and given to us, and we’ll be looking at those forensically,’’ Detective Sergeant Brendan Murphy told The Advertiser.

“They were found near the top of the mine site.

“The family is considering the possibility they may be bone fragments (of Maureen and Allan).’’

A local resident who lives near the disturbed mine shaft told The Advertiser he had seen people digging with shovels in the vicinity in recent times.

“I was just looking over the back fence and saw a few of them scratching around.

“I asked them what they were doing and they said ‘what are you - a copper?’

“They more or less told me to mind my own business.

“They just told me they were digging but I’ve heard on the grapevine they were looking for a body.’’

The Department of Sustainability and Environment conducted an investigation after receiving reports of digging at the site.

“Essentially it’s on our land; it’s Crown Land,’’ DSE northwest region spokesman Peter Beaton said.

“DSE has been investigating.

“Our investigations are based on a report someone had been digging.

“Initially we didn’t know who or why.

“We did find disturbances in the ground and the area had been fenced off by someone other than DSE.

“Victoria Police has requested that the shaft remain accessible for a short time to allow them to complete an investigation.

“In the meantime DSE is monitoring the site in case any safety related issues arise.’’

Mr Beaton said DSE intended to permanently seal the shaft with concrete as soon as possible.

Ms Braddy and Mr Whyte were last seen at a Saturday night YMCA dance in Mundy Street 40 years ago.

The pair left the dance at about 9pm when they spoke with Mr Whyte’s brother outside.

They declined his brother’s invitation to a party at his house.

Mr Whyte told his brother he was taking Ms Braddy home.

The couple has not been seen since.

They vanished with only the clothes on their backs.

Ms Braddy failed to claim her wages from the Crystal Egg Company in Garsed Street where she worked.

The couple did not take Mr Whyte’s recently purchased car.

For many years it was believed the couple had run away together, and their disappearance was treated as a missing persons case.

Thirty years later, new information led police to announce they had been murdered.

The bodies of Ms Braddy and Mr Whyte, who would now be 56 and 57 respectively, have never been found.

The police investigation remains open.

Anyone with information regarding the disappearance should contact Detective Sergeant Brendan Murphy at the Bendigo CIU on 5448 1386.

Missing teen puzzle lives on

  • Russell Robinson
  • From: Herald Sun
  • October 11, 2009 11:00PM
A 40-YEAR probe into the disappearance and suspected murder of two teenagers has taken a bizarre twist with claims they were living secretly in northern Victoria.

The father of missing girl Maureen Braddy claims she died only last year and is buried in Swan Hill.

"I've never believed they were dead ... that's all rubbish," Bendigo pensioner Stan Braddy said.

"She's in the Swan Hill Cemetery. I know because I went to the funeral.

"That's where she is ... and she's under a different name."

Maureen Braddy was 16 when she and 17-year-old Allan Whyte disappeared after a dance at the Bendigo YMCA in 1968.

"She got a new name. She was with that Allan and he's still alive and kickin'," Mr Braddy said.

He declined to reveal his daughter's assumed name.

But Mr Braddy's claims have been rejected by his other daughters, who are convinced Maureen and her boyfriend were murdered.

They want a coronial inquiry.

Maureen and Allan were last seen outside the dance hall where Allan's brother invited them to a party at his house. Allan declined, saying he was taking Maureen to her home in nearby California Gully.

They never made it.

The couple vanished with nothing more than the clothes they were standing in.

Maureen had not collected her wages from the previous week and Allan left behind the car he'd recently bought.

His bank savings remained untouched.

Maureen Braddy, one of 10 children, worked at the Crystal Egg Company as a packer.

Allan Whyte had 13 siblings and had just started work as a labourer for the company.

Police initially treated them as runaways, young lovers who would eventually return home when life got too tough.

It was 34 years before Bendigo police acknowledged they had met with foul play.

In 2001 they re-opened the case. "The reality is that I believe they have both been murdered," homicide squad veteran Det-Sgt Brendon Murphy said at the time.

Maureen's sisters, Lynette Ireland and Jenny Braddy, believe their remains are in a disused well near the family home in California Gully, or down a mineshaft.

Ms Ireland has approached a solicitor to push for an official inquiry.

"We want a coronial inquest to clear up this matter," said Ms Ireland, who was eight when her sister disappeared.

"Hopefully, some people will have to tell the truth once they're in the witness box."

Jenny Braddy supported her sister's call.

"It's the one way we get can try to get to the truth," she said.

Maureen Braddy and Allan Whyte were never officially listed as missing persons.

For more than 30 years police wrongly treated them as young runaways.

"It was thought the pair had been in love and done a runner," a police source said.

"It was 20 or 30 years before someone said, 'Hold on, this doesn't sound right'.

"This young fellow was working, he had a motor car, had some bank books. His motor car was left behind, so too were the bank books."

At one stage police thought their disappearance could be linked to the brutal killings of Garry Heywood, 18, and Abina Madill, 16, near Shepparton two years earlier.

This was discounted after Raymond "Mr Stinky" Edmunds eventually pleaded guilty to the gunshot executions of Heywood and Madill and was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Lynette Ireland said yesterday an official inquiry should be held in spite of the absence of bodies.

She referred to last year's Coroner's Inquest into the disappearance of Louise Falukner, 43, and her toddler daughter, Charmian.

The two vanished 29 years ago after being last seen by a neighbour getting into a ute at their flat in Acland St, St Kilda.

A number of people were called to give evidence at the inquest, including her boyfriend at the time, George Sutherland.

Mr Sutherland refused to give evidence at the hearing.

Deputy Coroner Iain West said he was satisfied Ms Faulkner and Charmian were dead and had met with foul play, but there wasn't enough proof to identify the person or persons responsible.

Bendigo couple still missing after 41 years
BY WHITNEY HARRIS
23 Nov, 2009 09:15 AM
 

THE family of a teenager who vanished with his girlfriend more than four decades ago is still haunted by the mystery surrounding their disappearance.
As the family faces the 41st anniversary of their disappearance, they are hoping a coronial inquiry will be announced.

Allan George Whyte, 17, and his girlfriend Maureen Joyce Braddy, 16, were last seen alive on November 23, 1968, at a YMCA dance in Mundy Street.

Allan’s niece, Michelle Tobin, said the family found it difficult to talk about her uncle’s case.

“I always figured there is too much hurt, especially for dad,” she said.

“My dad, being the last to see his brother alive, must carry so much hurt.

“The sadness he has felt, and others have felt, over the last 41 years has been unimaginable.”

Mr Whyte was the youngest of 14 children. On the night he disappeared he went to the dance with Ms Braddy.

They were last seen out the front of the YMCA Hall where they spoke to Ms Tobin’s father.

He invited them to a party at his place but Mr Whyte declined, saying he was taking Ms Braddy home.

They haven’t been seen since.

For many years it was believed the couple had run away together, and their disappearance was treated as a missing persons’ case.

Ms Tobin said Allan’s mother never gave up hope that her son was still alive.

“She believed he was going to come back,” Ms Tobin said.

“I think for a majority of nan’s life she believed he was alive. No parent wants to believe their children have gone before them.”

Thirty years after the young couple’s disappearance new information came to light and Bendigo police acknowledged the couple had met with foul play.

In 2001 they reopened the case, declaring it a murder investigation.

“For years growing up I could never understand why uncle Allan would stay away from the family that long, why he never contacted them,” Ms Tobin said.

The bodies of Ms Braddy and Mr Whyte, who would now be 57 and 58 respectively, have never been found.

Sergeant Jamie Ward worked closely on the case many years ago. He said the police investigation remained open.

“We believe there is someone out there that may be able to provide significant information that may be of great value to the investigation,” he said.

Anyone with information regarding the disappearance should contact the Bendigo CIU on 5448 1370 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Family granted inquest into missing Bendigo teens

WHITNEY HARRIS- Bendigo Advertiser
30 Sep, 2011 05:00 AM

 

FOUR decades after they vanished from a YMCA dance, a coroner will examine the mysterious disappearance, and possible murder, of Bendigo teenagers Maureen Braddy and Allan Whyte.

Members of the young couple’s family are expected to attend a mention hearing in Bendigo Magistrates Court on November 22, where the case will be discussed and a date for the inquest set.

The disappearance of Ms Braddy, 16, and Mr Whyte, 17, is one of Bendigo’s longest-running mysteries.

The inquest, which the families have been pushing for in the hope it will lead to an arrest, comes 43 years after the couple vanished and 10 years after Bendigo police declared their disappearance a double-murder investigation.

Ms Braddy and Mr Whyte were last seen alive on November 23, 1968, at a YMCA dance in Mundy Street.

For many years it was believed the couple had run away together, and their disappearance was treated as a missing persons case.

However, 30 years later new information came to light and Bendigo police acknowledged the couple had probably met with foul play.

In 2001 they reopened the case, declaring it a murder investigation.

In June last year the Coroner’s Court confirmed the matter would be heard in an open court, but a date was not set.

At the time Detective Sergeant Brendon Murphy said he welcomed the court’s decision.

“The circumstances surrounding this disappearance is something that hasn’t been fully aired in the public arena,” he said.

“We’re hoping the evidence given at the inquiry will assist police and (Ms Braddy’s and Mr Whyte’s) families in getting more answers to the mystery.”

Members from both families hope the inquest will shed light on the couple’s disappearance and bring closure.

The mention hearing on November 22 will likely discuss who will be called to give evidence.

Coroner examines case of missing teens

Claire Slattery - ABC

Updated November 22, 2011 07:56:36

A hearing will begin today into the disappearance of two teenagers from Bendigo 43 years ago.

Maureen Braddy, 16, and Allan Whyte, who was 17, vanished on the November 23, 1968.

They were last seen leaving a dance at a YMCA hall.

It had been widely believed they were lovers and had run away together.

But in 2001 police began a murder investigation after receiving new information about the disappearance.

The police and families have been pushing for an inquest ever since.

The deputy State Coroner will hold a hearing today, to set dates for the inquest and decide who will be called to give evidence.

Inquest granted for missing Bendigo teens

BRETT WORTHINGTON
23 Nov, 2011 09:48 AM
THE Victorian Coroners Court will hold a week-long inquest into a 43-year-old case of two missing teens.

Tears and applause erupted from family members of Maureen Braddy and Allan Whyte as the coroner yesterday announced an inquest.

The announcement came as family members of the suspected murdered teens mark the anniversary of their disappearance today.

Tears and applause broke out in a Bendigo court at the announcement of a coronial inquest into the disappearance of two Bendigo teens.

Today marks the 43rd anniversary of Maureen Braddy and Allan Whyte’s mysterious disappearance.

Twelve members of the believed deceased teens sat anxiously in Bendigo Magistrates Court yesterday awaiting Coroner Iain West’s ruling.

After a 30-minute directions hearing, an outpouring of emotion erupted when the Deputy State Coroner gave the families the news they had wanted to hear: that a week-long inquest would start on March 26 next year.

Maureen Braddy’s youngest sister Lyn Ireland repeated the word “finally” in the wake of the announcement.

“It should not have got this far. It should have been resolved years ago and it wasn’t,” she said.

“There is a lot of stuff that was never brought forward and it should have been and now the kids have got their day in court on the 26th of March and I am looking forward to it.”

Maureen was 16 and Allan 17 when they disappeared in 1968.

The couple was last seen leaving a dance at the YMCA Hall on the corner of Mundy Street and Lyttleton Terrace.

Allan’s brother Kevin had invited the couple to an after-party but they declined.

This was the last reported sighting of the teens.

The coroner said the inquest would analyse the circumstances on the night of the disappearance and assess the adequacy of the police investigation between 1968 and 1998.

The hearing will also determine if there is any evidence that suggests foul play, any allegations of criminal activity, any suspects or issues around self-incrimination and where the bodies might be.

The coroner will hear from 29 witnesses.

Authorities had treated the disappearance as a missing persons case until Detective Sergeant Brendan Murphy reopened the case in 2001, declaring it a murder investigation.

“The kids deserve closure, they deserve a proper burial and we would like to keep them together when they are buried,” Ms Ireland said.

“It is just something that should have never got this far, it should have been resolved a long time ago.

“I would like to thank everyone who has helped me get this far... what do you say? Sorry to the Whytes for what’s happened?

“That will never solve anything, you can say sorry until the cows come home.

‘‘I feel sorry for them. I mean, I work at an old-age facility where Allan’s mother actually died and her last words were for her son.

“All she wanted the whole time she was there was her son and she never got it.

“Well, it’s time this was resolved, so I am really looking forward to March 26th.”

 

Coronial inquest into missing Bendigo teens close

BRETT WORTHINGTON - Bendigo Advertiser
16 Mar, 2012 04:00 AM

 

BENDIGO’S Lyn Ireland is counting down the days until a Coronial inquest into her sister’s disappearance starts.

The Victorian Coroners Court will hold a week-long inquest into the 43-year-old case of missing teens Maureen Braddy and Allan Whyte.

Ms Ireland, Maureen’s youngest sister, has spent decades calling for a Coronial inquest into her sister’s suspected murder.

“It is overwhelming, I am counting down the days,” she said.

“I can feel it coming on. The pressure is starting to build up.

“We are hoping that people will come forward.

“And hopefully this will encourage other people in a similar situation to speak out and push for inquests to find answers about their loved ones.”

Maureen was 16 and Allan 17 when they disappeared in 1968.

The couple was last seen leaving a dance at the YMCA Hall at the corner of Mundy Street and Lyttleton Terrace in Bendigo.

It was their first date and they rejected an invite to go to an after-party and opted to go home. This was the last reported sighting of the teens.

In November the Deputy State Coroner approved a week-long inquest.

“It is an amazing feeling but emotionally stressful,” Ms Ireland said.

“We have been waiting for this for so long.

“I have paid for everything myself.

“It has been hard trying to find the money and this won’t be the end.

“The Coroner’s findings might put it back in the police’s hands and they will have to deal with it. It is going to take a long time.”

Authorities treated the disappearance as a missing persons case until Detective Sergeant Brendan Murphy reopened the case in 2001, declaring it a murder investigation.

The inquest will analyse the circumstances on the night of the disappearance and assess the adequacy of the police investigation between 1968 and 1998.

The hearing will also determine if there is any evidence that suggests foul play, any allegations of criminal activity, any suspects or issues around self-incrimination and where the bodies might be.

Almost 30 witnesses will give evidence.

The inquest is in Bendigo and starts on March 26.