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A day following the mysterious disappearance of an American beauty queen, prosecutors claim her boyfriend urgently requested a trench to be dug in his front yard. This development adds a chilling dimension to the case.
Priscilla Brooten remains missing, yet her boyfriend, Zumba instructor Mark Sheridan Waden, is currently on trial for her alleged murder in Australia. This trial commenced on June 1, nearly eight years after she vanished, as reported by news.com.au. Waden has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The trial faced an unexpected interruption on its second day due to jury misconduct, according to AAP News. Proceedings are anticipated to resume on June 3 with a newly appointed jury. Prosecutors have already laid out initial statements, shedding light on the disturbing case and detailing why they suspect Waden of Brooten’s murder, amid allegations of his affair with another woman.
Brooten, 46, was last seen on July 5, 2018, at the Brisbane north residence she shared with Waden. Her vehicle was discovered abandoned in Scarborough later that same month, as noted in a video statement by Queensland Police.
On the morning of her disappearance at 6:59 a.m., Crown Prosecutor Andrew Walklate presented evidence in court revealing that Waden allegedly sent a message to his new girlfriend, Desiree Hatzipapas, stating, “We could sneak a long kiss as no one is here to see it,” as reported by The Sydney Morning Herald.
At 6:59 a.m. the day she disappeared, Crown Prosecutor Andrew Walklate told the court that Waden allegedly sent his new girlfriend Desiree Hatzipapas a message that read, “We could sneak a long kiss as no one is here to see it,” The Sydney Morning Herald reported.
That same day, Brooten allegedly accessed her boyfriend’s Facebook account and read through his messages with other women, saving copies of some of them to her computer, prosecutors said.
Waden allegedly canceled his 6 p.m. Zumba class that night and had a 29-minute call with Brooten—but Walklate said it would be the final call between the pair.
“After that evening, as it appeared, the defendant began a series of actions and deceptions to which I say hid what he did to Ms Brooten that evening,” he told the court, per news.com.au. “It is my case that he murdered her.”
Mark Waden Accused of Having Trench Dug After Priscilla Brooten Disappearance
According to Walklate—who described the couple as being under “significant strain”—the day after Brooten vanished, Walden made “urgent” requests for a trench to be dug in his front garden. He later claimed, according to the news outlet, that the request had been made to comply with a council request.
Yet, just one year later, in May 2019, Walklate said that Waden dug up the trench and dumped around 800 kg of soil at a nearby waste facility, news.com.au reported. He was allegedly captured on camera leaving the dump with a wheelie bin placed on a trailer.
Brooten has never been found.
Walklate also pointed to evidence that just weeks after Brooten disappeared, Waden allegedly moved Hatzipapas into his home, offering her the clothing and makeup Brooten had left behind, per The Sydney Morning Herald. He’s also accused of doing a factory reset on Brooten’s phone and giving it to his new girlfriend.
Although Brooten was a United States citizen, she was living illegally in Australia after her visa expired in 2009 and she relied on others to financially support her, prosecutors said.
Walklate said after her disappearance, Waden allegedly told others looking for her that she’d gone into hiding as a result of her visa status. He told police the couple had broken up in June 2018 and she’d packed up and left while he was teaching a Zumba class.
Mark Waden’s Defense Attorney Argues Priscilla Brooten Could Still be Alive
The original jurors in the case also heard from Waden’s defense attorney James Godbolt, who argued the police search of Waden’s garden had produced no evidence of a death.
“There is not a single piece of evidence that suggests the area excavated was used as a gravesite,” he told the court, per news.com.au. “None of it implicates Mr Waden in an offense.”
He argued that Brooten lived an “unusual life” and could still be alive today.
“Perhaps she managed to leave the country under another name, perhaps she is still living in the country under the radar,” he said, according to the outlet, “perhaps she committed suicide.”
The attorneys will lay out their initial arguments again for a new jury when the trial restarts on June 3.