June 10, 2025 • 23 mins
In this follow-up episode to our original investigation into the case of the beautiful Pheobe Bishop, we return with day-by-day updates on what has happened since we last spoke.
New developments, new charges, and what is left to be uncovered for justice?
I'm also answering a commonly asked question on this case so join us as we re-examine what has been happening and what might be coming.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:17):
Welcome to. Exhuming the truth, the podcast
where we delve into the mysterious.
Worlds of Cold. Cases, missing persons, true
crime and the fascinating science.
That is forensics. I'm forensic scientist and
criminologist Asha Welfer and I am so.
Thrilled to have. You with me on this journey as
we dance in the shadows of the world of crime, shining a light
(00:38):
on scientific discovery while becoming another voice for those
who need it most. So grab a.
Drink and get. Comfortable.
While we jump into this episode.Together, this podcast is
recommended for persons over theage of 18 and contains explicit
content not suitable for minors.We will be covering sensitive
content that ranges from sexual assault, physical, mental,
(01:01):
social and emotional abuse, suicide, homicide, murder,
attempted murder, and other violent crimes, including crimes
involving weapons and drugs. This often extends to drug
misuse and other harmful and illegal activity.
If you find any content to be distressing, I have listed a
number of resources that may be able to help you in the podcast
(01:21):
notes. I'd also like to remind our
listeners that all victims and all perpetrators are someone's
loved ones. So I ask that in any discussions
in our group or on our social accounts that you remain
respectful of that at all times.And by listening today, you
acknowledge that all persons of interest remain innocent until
proven otherwise. Hello beautiful people, and
(01:43):
happy Tuesday. While we are on the topic,
topic, topic of our content warnings and going over explicit
content. So that's content for people
over the ages of 18. So if you are here, we can
safely infer that you're an adult and our content is made
(02:03):
for people over 18 because of what we talk about and what we
discuss. And I also like to assume that
if you're here and you're an adult, you know how to act like
an adult responsibly both in person and online.
So I just want to extend that a little bit in saying your
(02:23):
comments and even when you're giving feedback and things like
that, keep things respective, respective, respectable.
I've had a couple of issues online lately with some like
negative trolling going across like the same people going
across various accounts. That's not OK.
(02:45):
I won't tolerate it. I won't go into like who it is
because I honestly don't know who they are, but it is the same
people and I just have a 0 tolerance, OK.
For anything like that, I'm not even going to give warnings.
It's like 1 and done. That's it.
Obviously this is a minority andit's the first time that it's
(03:06):
happened and it was bound to happen because being on the
Internet unfortunately makes people feel like they can do
that sort of thing. And I have mostly really, really
great people who are listening and joining in.
But I've started to post frequently on TikTok as that
seems to be where it's at for a lot of the younger people these
days. And I'll continue on Facebook as
(03:27):
usual because that's nice and simple.
But I somehow reached the amountof people on TikTok following
the ATT page that people now also argue in the comments
section. And I want to say two things
about that. So first of all, I'm loving the
filtered comments and anti bullysituation going on over at
TikTok. I know I'm late to the party,
but I think that's a really great start to say for social
(03:50):
media and protecting people's mental health.
And it's great for our next generation.
So safer social media is always great.
So shout out to whoever implemented that.
But second, there's a lot of hardcore true crime fans out
there and it can be super overwhelming.
But I do appreciate the dedication.
And like I always say, constructive conversations are
always welcome at ETT, even if they're a little bit
(04:13):
controversial, as long as it's done respectfully, We have space
for your conversations. But yeah, as I was saying, in
regard to bullying and negative comments, you guys are adults.
So I'm not going to be saying, oh, tone it down or, you know,
we'll have to remove you. It's like 1 and done.
OK? Like, we know how to act.
(04:34):
We know what's offensive. We know what's rude.
So sorry to start on such a downer, but I had to get that
out there because I just, I havelost so many friends to mental
health and I just won't tolerateit.
While we're on that, I'm going to say I'm going to try and add
like a chapter note so that people can skip over the
(04:55):
introductions that a few people are sick of and bored of
listening to. I would love it if you could
listen to the housekeeping, but I understand if you're here just
to listen to the content. But as long as everybody's on
the same page, then hey. On a much lighter note for
housekeeping this week, I got a new car yesterday which was
(05:17):
awesome and exciting. And yeah, I have not had a car
this new where it's like a push button start and stop.
So I'm getting a bit used to that.
I'm still trying to find like, yeah, my rhythm with that.
It's very space age in my mind. I'm always trying to grab the
keys out. But I love my car.
(05:37):
I got a new Nissan X Trail and the kids love it, so that's
good. That's about all for
housekeeping, you guys. I just want to make sure
everybody's being respectful of one another.
I don't really have anything else new to report, but picking
up from where we left off. OK, so when we last spoke and we
were doing the Phoebe Bishop episode, we went over right from
(05:59):
the beginning when Phoebe first went missing, which was the 15th
of May 2025. So we spoke about her two
housemates, Tanika Bromley and James Wood, and how Tanika was
taken to court over weapon possession charges.
You might Remember Me saying that that was not her first
rodeo. In regard to weapons charges.
Tanika previously held charges that related to weapons such as
(06:20):
a sworn of shotgun and carrying a knife.
That was back in March. I don't know if in the last
episode I got to say, but may the 19th authorities did a land
search along Bundaberg's airportdrive and surroundings.
I just wanted to throw that in there because there's been heaps
of comments online about why it didn't they search that area,
but they did. I just don't think they
(06:41):
televised that much. So that was the initial alleged
area that the housemates claimedto have dropped Phoebe to, but
nothing was found. So come May 20th and the police
are holding a media conference where they're seeking
information about the vehicle inquestion, which is that 200 and
11211 two 1011 grey Hyundai IX35hatch that was reportedly seen
(07:04):
on Airport Drive. So if we go from May the 21st,
OK, this was the day that they established the vehicle and
their residence as the two separate crime scenes.
At this stage, most of the appeals to the public are
requesting any footage of that Hyundai in the Bundaberg Airport
Dr. area and the area of Samuel Road and then also the Jinjin
(07:28):
area around the residence. So basically any footage that
anybody could provide is what they're searching for in regard
to that vehicle. Then May 23rd, Phoebe's mom
actually spoke out and she was urging people to stay close to
their loved ones and was visiblydistraught, as we can
understand. But then that afternoon at a
police press conference, it was revealed that they were
(07:48):
searching the Good Night Scrub National Park, bushland and
waterways. So we covered a bit of that last
time, but since we last spoke Monday, May the 26th, the police
said that they had expanded their search area in the Good
Night Scrub area and that they believed that evidence had been
there at one point but had been moved.
(08:08):
Now when they made this call or when they made this call, like
it was grim. I felt like she was there at
some point and then she was moved because as we know, it's
incredibly common. In fact, more often than not,
the offenders actually returned to their victims, right?
So that's where my mind was at this point.
(08:28):
I don't know how everyone else was feeling, but I didn't feel
good at all about it when they made that statement.
So I decided to then keep alertson from the QPS, which is just
the Queensland Police Service ontheir official releases and what
have you. Because once that statement was
made, I felt like they were super close and that they had,
you know, tying evidence. So come Tuesday, May the 27th,
(08:53):
they suspected the Goodnight scrub search.
Sorry, they didn't. What am I talking about?
They suspended the goodnight scrub search.
So that was a total of 1. Yeah, Five days.
Yeah. Total of five days searching for
Phoebe and or her items or any items of interest in the
Goodnight scrub area. OK, on Wednesday the 28th of
(09:16):
May, they announced that they would no longer be conducting
any physical searches for Phoebe.
So this might have been quite analarming statement, but usually
it means they have enough or they have something and they'll
pause until they get that in it's entirety.
So whether that means that they have enough to arrest someone
and question them, we don't know.
(09:37):
But generally, that's the go. Later in that statement, they
did say, as I mentioned, that they would restart the search as
it was needed and as informationwas provided.
So they were obviously hoping toget answers somehow.
They just didn't disclose that. So this same day, the Wednesday,
(09:58):
James Wood, the male housemate, he's then arrested by police.
They didn't charge him, OK, And the reports out during that
period said he was assisting them with their inquiries, but
then released him on Thursday, the 5th of June.
OK, so this is where it gets a bit fussy.
This can be a bit infuriating when you're not sure what's
(10:18):
going on. And everybody's like, why didn't
like, why did they release him? Like, what are they doing?
Are they mad? But sometimes there's a method
to their madness, OK, They can have things set up.
I don't know in this case, but they can have things set up like
undercover patrol cars to followor like recording devices,
mapping devices set for that person or others that they might
(10:38):
think are involved. And they're basically waiting
for the cherry on top also to say which would be enough to
press charges. So again, we don't know the
specifics, but that's just one avenue of opportunity there.
So sometimes they do this deliberately and to the public,
it can be like, what the hell, why did they let him go?
And like, would he go on the runand things like that?
(10:59):
But I can almost guarantee you they would have all eyes on him
once they let him go. I just realised, sorry, my
(11:26):
microphone cut out. I just realised that my
Bluetooth speaker just turned off in the background.
So if you heard like another female talking, it was her.
She's from Kmart and she's got an Aussie accent.
So she was just turning herself off.
OK, so where were we? So we don't know the specifics
there around, you know what theywere doing to keep tabs on
James. But they would have been so come
(11:47):
Saturday, right? Phoebe's mum, she decides to
make a video and that video is then released via the police
where she said and I quote. I still hold hope that Phoebe
will come home, but I have to consider the possibility that
she won't. So she was basically making a
plea and giving a personal update there.
I don't know how everyone else felt about this video if you
(12:08):
have seen it, but I found it oddpersonally that she continued to
refer to her daughter in the past tense.
That's just a little feeling that I had.
But anyway, moving on, let's jump ahead a little to Thursday
the 5th of June, just last week.So James Wood, the male
housemate, again, he's aged 34. He is arrested in Bundaberg at
(12:31):
7:20 PM, three weeks to the day after Phoebe went missing.
So Tanika Bromley, the female housemate who's 33, she was also
arrested. And the charges are as follows,
Both facing one count each of murder and two counts each of
interfering with a corpse. Following the news of their
(12:52):
arrest, the police said that they will allege that Phoebe's
body was moved on more than one occasion.
So they're making this, they're alleging this, and they're going
to put it to them. Then they've got, you know,
something that aligns with this,which is usually the situation.
So there's actually been the body worn camera footage of the
(13:15):
arrest. You can find that online.
He's dressed in a grey, he's James Wood.
He was dressed in grey tracksuitpants and a tight bean T-shirt.
And he was escorted from a caravan that was like entirely
disgusting and covered in mess, as was the place of residence.
And he was taken outside and youcan hear the one of the
(13:35):
detectives saying just listen tome before identifying themselves
as a Detective Sergeant from theBundaberg police station.
They then continued to say I'm placing you under arrest for the
homicide of Phoebe Bishop to where the footage shows James in
the backseat of a cop car beforethey close the door.
So if you want to have a look atthat clip, I'm sure you will
have no trouble finding it. So Friday June the 6th police
(13:59):
released another statement saying they have located remains
when the search when in the search for Phoebe and those
remains have been sent for forensic testing for
identification purposes, which is where they remain at this
point and have not yet been confirmed.
The remains that they did locatewere in the vicinity of the Good
Knights Grub National Park and they were made discovered by a
(14:23):
specialist unit at around 2:30 PM that day.
So that day, I had made some live updates on TikTok as these
statements were released by QPS and these updates got a bit of
traction and quite a few questions.
So I'm just going to go over themain theme of the questions that
are still relevant. A lot of them are not because
there's since been updates, but one of the main comment themes
(14:46):
was prosecution without a body. So let's get into that.
So sorry, I had to run. I had a delivery from Timu.
OK, I'm back since the remains that were found have not been
formally identified in this scenario, if we assume they're
not phoebes, can we prosecute a person or two people in this
case over a murder without a body?
(15:08):
So that is being a common question.
The answer is absolutely no. Body murders were actually my
speciality group in my last job and I had similar thoughts when
I got given that role. I was like what the hell like
how am I meant to work on this? But of course, here in
Australia, thank you to Hayley Dodd's family, We have the no
(15:30):
body, no parole order. So if someone is prosecuted for
murder and they don't give up where the remains are, then they
will not be eligible for parole if they don't disclose where the
remains are. But of course, outside that law,
yes, the answer is yes, many ways.
There are many ways what is going on.
There are many ways a person canbe charged without the remains,
(15:54):
and I'm gonna go through a couple of those just off the top
of my head to give you a better idea and understanding.
And essentially, there's a situation of strong
circumstantial evidence of death.
So even without a body, the prosecution can argue that a
person is dead based on the totality of the evidence.
OK, so that can include the sudden disappearance of a person
without explanation. No use of bank accounts, phones,
(16:17):
social media, Medicare and things like that.
Leaving behind dependents, pets and other responsibilities that
they wouldn't usually voluntarily abandoned.
An example is Bradley Murdoch who was convicted of the murder
of a British backpacker, Peter Falconio.
This was back in 2005. So in that case, Falconios
remains were never recovered, but there was strong enough
(16:39):
evidence forensically and circumstantially to convict
Murdoch. So that's one way.
Then there's confessions and even incriminating statements or
a person of interests own words can be used against them.
So whether that be what they said to authorities, informants
or like a conversation has been recorded, that can be used as
(17:00):
key evidence. So some people give a full
confession of murder without disclosure of the body's
location. They like that power of control.
Some people give partial admissions, like statements that
suggest their involvement or knowledge of what's an example
there. What about Christopher Wilder?
He was suspected of a number of murders that and in that case,
(17:23):
he made a statement that impliedhe was guilty.
So some of the victims were actually never found in that
case, but circumstantial evidence was heavy and it tied
him to their disappearances. And then, of course, there's the
forensic evidence itself. So while a body may not be
found, there could be blood spatter, tissue, DNA evidence at
a scene. All of those things indicate
(17:43):
death, particularly when we haveno remains.
So digital evidence is a huge one, like social media, TikTok,
text and that sort of thing. But in terms of digital evidence
as well, GPS and mobile, mobile data, sorry, that plots a person
in a certain location that is proximal to a key location of
interest. And then of course, the deletion
(18:05):
of any records and you know, trying to paint themselves in a
different light. Suspicious searches like the
mushroom chef case that we spokeabout that's happening right
now, making Internet searches about death cat mushrooms.
And then lastly, another mess method.
My God, I'm so sorry. Another method used in nobody
murder prosecutions is witness testimony or even accomplice
(18:27):
testimony, which is possible when there's more than one
person being arrested like thereis here.
So that's interesting, but I think I might leave it open for
more questions now because the case is pretty updated.
I'm giving you the most recent updates and most of the other
questions were prior to the murder charges being laid and
things like that. So now a lot more question, a
(18:47):
lot more questions, a lot more information is available.
I can answer those questions if you have them.
I just want to touch quickly on the GoFundMe situation because I
like to usually share the GoFundMe is relevant to each
missing person case and things like that, but this one's a bit
weird. So in a nutshell, there was a
GoFundMe circulating on behalf of Phoebe Bishop and her family,
(19:10):
which wasn't actually authorizedby her family.
Someone just set it up. So Phoebe's mom actually came
out and she pointed that out andshe said this, this wasn't me.
This wasn't authorized by me. And then one that was authorized
by her was set up, so a second GoFundMe account and that was
created essentially to assist, Ithink they said the funding for
(19:32):
like the searches money to go back into things like one of the
local schools that was good to Phoebe and things like that.
So I'll try and locate the correct link and pop that with
this episode. Just keep that in mind if you
are planning on making a monetary donation because I
would hate for you to donate to something that's actually not
going to the right 'cause. But in terms of things coming
(19:54):
up, I will continue to update you on Phoebe and her case.
But coming up shortly, we have another episode for Jack
McLennan, who's still currently missing in Queensland.
We've got a bit of an update there in what's happening.
We have a new case of a young man who was shot and killed by
the Queensland police and the fight that his parents are
(20:15):
currently enduring with the legal system in regard to that.
We also have a case that's actually semi local to me for a
change, that being in WA, That'sa gentleman who went missing.
He was supposed to board a trainfrom country WA to Rockingham,
which is literally 10 minutes down the road from me.
He's been missing for some months.
He went missing in January and as you can imagine, there has
(20:38):
been very little exposure from police there.
Off the top of my head, what else have we got?
We've also got a case that's a couple years old in the NSW area
that's another missing man. He is getting next to no
exposure as well. And then of course, we've got to
go deeper into the Diddy trial and the Mushroom Lady trial.
(20:58):
If you've got any case requests,you know, just message me, you
know where to find me. I'm happy to cover most cases.
I do have another missing man inI believe Queensland that I was
going to look into. So that's on the list, but I
haven't started that yet. I try and be as responsive as I
can, but I'm just a one man bandyou guys, So forgive me if
(21:22):
there's a slight delay. I don't mind a double message or
a triple message even. Just yell at me.
Happy to get back to you. Happy to cover most cases.
But we've been getting a little bit more traffic and comments
and feedback, so I really appreciate it.
I put a lot of work into this, like I've told you guys and
you're probably not interested, but I have quit everything else
(21:43):
going on in my life to pursue this.
So it means a lot to me when yougive me feedback and make
comments and share and things like that.
So thank you so much. I will be able to reward you a
little down the line when we start our merchandise and things
like that, but for now, you justget a big fat.
Thank you and I love you and thank you for being here and
(22:05):
allowing me to do this and spread my knowledge.
If you've got any questions, happy to answer them.
You know where to find me. Thank you so much for joining me
and I hope you enjoyed it. Thank you so much for joining
me. I hope you have enjoyed it here.
If you have, you can subscribe to stay up to date on new
episodes or you can find us on Instagram, Facebook, and now
(22:26):
TikTok. Please feel free to jump onto
our Facebook group to join in onthe case discussions.
You can find the link to our group in our podcast notes.
As always, stay curious, stay informed, and until next time,
trust your instincts and keep seeking the truth.
Welcome to. Exhuming the truth, the podcast
where we delve into the mysterious.
Worlds of Cold. Cases, missing persons, true
crime and the fascinating science.
That is forensics. I'm forensic scientist and
criminologist Asha Welfer and I am so.
Thrilled to have. You with me on this journey as
we dance in the shadows of the world of crime, shining a light
(00:38):
on scientific discovery while becoming another voice for those
who need it most. So grab a.
Drink and get. Comfortable.
While we jump into this episode.Together, this podcast is
recommended for persons over theage of 18 and contains explicit
content not suitable for minors.We will be covering sensitive
content that ranges from sexual assault, physical, mental,
(01:01):
social and emotional abuse, suicide, homicide, murder,
attempted murder, and other violent crimes, including crimes
involving weapons and drugs. This often extends to drug
misuse and other harmful and illegal activity.
If you find any content to be distressing, I have listed a
number of resources that may be able to help you in the podcast
(01:21):
notes. I'd also like to remind our
listeners that all victims and all perpetrators are someone's
loved ones. So I ask that in any discussions
in our group or on our social accounts that you remain
respectful of that at all times.And by listening today, you
acknowledge that all persons of interest remain innocent until
proven otherwise. Hello beautiful people, and
(01:43):
happy Tuesday. While we are on the topic,
topic, topic of our content warnings and going over explicit
content. So that's content for people
over the ages of 18. So if you are here, we can
safely infer that you're an adult and our content is made
(02:03):
for people over 18 because of what we talk about and what we
discuss. And I also like to assume that
if you're here and you're an adult, you know how to act like
an adult responsibly both in person and online.
So I just want to extend that a little bit in saying your
(02:23):
comments and even when you're giving feedback and things like
that, keep things respective, respective, respectable.
I've had a couple of issues online lately with some like
negative trolling going across like the same people going
across various accounts. That's not OK.
(02:45):
I won't tolerate it. I won't go into like who it is
because I honestly don't know who they are, but it is the same
people and I just have a 0 tolerance, OK.
For anything like that, I'm not even going to give warnings.
It's like 1 and done. That's it.
Obviously this is a minority andit's the first time that it's
(03:06):
happened and it was bound to happen because being on the
Internet unfortunately makes people feel like they can do
that sort of thing. And I have mostly really, really
great people who are listening and joining in.
But I've started to post frequently on TikTok as that
seems to be where it's at for a lot of the younger people these
days. And I'll continue on Facebook as
(03:27):
usual because that's nice and simple.
But I somehow reached the amountof people on TikTok following
the ATT page that people now also argue in the comments
section. And I want to say two things
about that. So first of all, I'm loving the
filtered comments and anti bullysituation going on over at
TikTok. I know I'm late to the party,
but I think that's a really great start to say for social
(03:50):
media and protecting people's mental health.
And it's great for our next generation.
So safer social media is always great.
So shout out to whoever implemented that.
But second, there's a lot of hardcore true crime fans out
there and it can be super overwhelming.
But I do appreciate the dedication.
And like I always say, constructive conversations are
always welcome at ETT, even if they're a little bit
(04:13):
controversial, as long as it's done respectfully, We have space
for your conversations. But yeah, as I was saying, in
regard to bullying and negative comments, you guys are adults.
So I'm not going to be saying, oh, tone it down or, you know,
we'll have to remove you. It's like 1 and done.
OK? Like, we know how to act.
(04:34):
We know what's offensive. We know what's rude.
So sorry to start on such a downer, but I had to get that
out there because I just, I havelost so many friends to mental
health and I just won't tolerateit.
While we're on that, I'm going to say I'm going to try and add
like a chapter note so that people can skip over the
(04:55):
introductions that a few people are sick of and bored of
listening to. I would love it if you could
listen to the housekeeping, but I understand if you're here just
to listen to the content. But as long as everybody's on
the same page, then hey. On a much lighter note for
housekeeping this week, I got a new car yesterday which was
(05:17):
awesome and exciting. And yeah, I have not had a car
this new where it's like a push button start and stop.
So I'm getting a bit used to that.
I'm still trying to find like, yeah, my rhythm with that.
It's very space age in my mind. I'm always trying to grab the
keys out. But I love my car.
(05:37):
I got a new Nissan X Trail and the kids love it, so that's
good. That's about all for
housekeeping, you guys. I just want to make sure
everybody's being respectful of one another.
I don't really have anything else new to report, but picking
up from where we left off. OK, so when we last spoke and we
were doing the Phoebe Bishop episode, we went over right from
(05:59):
the beginning when Phoebe first went missing, which was the 15th
of May 2025. So we spoke about her two
housemates, Tanika Bromley and James Wood, and how Tanika was
taken to court over weapon possession charges.
You might Remember Me saying that that was not her first
rodeo. In regard to weapons charges.
Tanika previously held charges that related to weapons such as
(06:20):
a sworn of shotgun and carrying a knife.
That was back in March. I don't know if in the last
episode I got to say, but may the 19th authorities did a land
search along Bundaberg's airportdrive and surroundings.
I just wanted to throw that in there because there's been heaps
of comments online about why it didn't they search that area,
but they did. I just don't think they
(06:41):
televised that much. So that was the initial alleged
area that the housemates claimedto have dropped Phoebe to, but
nothing was found. So come May 20th and the police
are holding a media conference where they're seeking
information about the vehicle inquestion, which is that 200 and
11211 two 1011 grey Hyundai IX35hatch that was reportedly seen
(07:04):
on Airport Drive. So if we go from May the 21st,
OK, this was the day that they established the vehicle and
their residence as the two separate crime scenes.
At this stage, most of the appeals to the public are
requesting any footage of that Hyundai in the Bundaberg Airport
Dr. area and the area of Samuel Road and then also the Jinjin
(07:28):
area around the residence. So basically any footage that
anybody could provide is what they're searching for in regard
to that vehicle. Then May 23rd, Phoebe's mom
actually spoke out and she was urging people to stay close to
their loved ones and was visiblydistraught, as we can
understand. But then that afternoon at a
police press conference, it was revealed that they were
(07:48):
searching the Good Night Scrub National Park, bushland and
waterways. So we covered a bit of that last
time, but since we last spoke Monday, May the 26th, the police
said that they had expanded their search area in the Good
Night Scrub area and that they believed that evidence had been
there at one point but had been moved.
(08:08):
Now when they made this call or when they made this call, like
it was grim. I felt like she was there at
some point and then she was moved because as we know, it's
incredibly common. In fact, more often than not,
the offenders actually returned to their victims, right?
So that's where my mind was at this point.
(08:28):
I don't know how everyone else was feeling, but I didn't feel
good at all about it when they made that statement.
So I decided to then keep alertson from the QPS, which is just
the Queensland Police Service ontheir official releases and what
have you. Because once that statement was
made, I felt like they were super close and that they had,
you know, tying evidence. So come Tuesday, May the 27th,
(08:53):
they suspected the Goodnight scrub search.
Sorry, they didn't. What am I talking about?
They suspended the goodnight scrub search.
So that was a total of 1. Yeah, Five days.
Yeah. Total of five days searching for
Phoebe and or her items or any items of interest in the
Goodnight scrub area. OK, on Wednesday the 28th of
(09:16):
May, they announced that they would no longer be conducting
any physical searches for Phoebe.
So this might have been quite analarming statement, but usually
it means they have enough or they have something and they'll
pause until they get that in it's entirety.
So whether that means that they have enough to arrest someone
and question them, we don't know.
(09:37):
But generally, that's the go. Later in that statement, they
did say, as I mentioned, that they would restart the search as
it was needed and as informationwas provided.
So they were obviously hoping toget answers somehow.
They just didn't disclose that. So this same day, the Wednesday,
(09:58):
James Wood, the male housemate, he's then arrested by police.
They didn't charge him, OK, And the reports out during that
period said he was assisting them with their inquiries, but
then released him on Thursday, the 5th of June.
OK, so this is where it gets a bit fussy.
This can be a bit infuriating when you're not sure what's
(10:18):
going on. And everybody's like, why didn't
like, why did they release him? Like, what are they doing?
Are they mad? But sometimes there's a method
to their madness, OK, They can have things set up.
I don't know in this case, but they can have things set up like
undercover patrol cars to followor like recording devices,
mapping devices set for that person or others that they might
(10:38):
think are involved. And they're basically waiting
for the cherry on top also to say which would be enough to
press charges. So again, we don't know the
specifics, but that's just one avenue of opportunity there.
So sometimes they do this deliberately and to the public,
it can be like, what the hell, why did they let him go?
And like, would he go on the runand things like that?
(10:59):
But I can almost guarantee you they would have all eyes on him
once they let him go. I just realised, sorry, my
(11:26):
microphone cut out. I just realised that my
Bluetooth speaker just turned off in the background.
So if you heard like another female talking, it was her.
She's from Kmart and she's got an Aussie accent.
So she was just turning herself off.
OK, so where were we? So we don't know the specifics
there around, you know what theywere doing to keep tabs on
James. But they would have been so come
(11:47):
Saturday, right? Phoebe's mum, she decides to
make a video and that video is then released via the police
where she said and I quote. I still hold hope that Phoebe
will come home, but I have to consider the possibility that
she won't. So she was basically making a
plea and giving a personal update there.
I don't know how everyone else felt about this video if you
(12:08):
have seen it, but I found it oddpersonally that she continued to
refer to her daughter in the past tense.
That's just a little feeling that I had.
But anyway, moving on, let's jump ahead a little to Thursday
the 5th of June, just last week.So James Wood, the male
housemate, again, he's aged 34. He is arrested in Bundaberg at
(12:31):
7:20 PM, three weeks to the day after Phoebe went missing.
So Tanika Bromley, the female housemate who's 33, she was also
arrested. And the charges are as follows,
Both facing one count each of murder and two counts each of
interfering with a corpse. Following the news of their
(12:52):
arrest, the police said that they will allege that Phoebe's
body was moved on more than one occasion.
So they're making this, they're alleging this, and they're going
to put it to them. Then they've got, you know,
something that aligns with this,which is usually the situation.
So there's actually been the body worn camera footage of the
(13:15):
arrest. You can find that online.
He's dressed in a grey, he's James Wood.
He was dressed in grey tracksuitpants and a tight bean T-shirt.
And he was escorted from a caravan that was like entirely
disgusting and covered in mess, as was the place of residence.
And he was taken outside and youcan hear the one of the
(13:35):
detectives saying just listen tome before identifying themselves
as a Detective Sergeant from theBundaberg police station.
They then continued to say I'm placing you under arrest for the
homicide of Phoebe Bishop to where the footage shows James in
the backseat of a cop car beforethey close the door.
So if you want to have a look atthat clip, I'm sure you will
have no trouble finding it. So Friday June the 6th police
(13:59):
released another statement saying they have located remains
when the search when in the search for Phoebe and those
remains have been sent for forensic testing for
identification purposes, which is where they remain at this
point and have not yet been confirmed.
The remains that they did locatewere in the vicinity of the Good
Knights Grub National Park and they were made discovered by a
(14:23):
specialist unit at around 2:30 PM that day.
So that day, I had made some live updates on TikTok as these
statements were released by QPS and these updates got a bit of
traction and quite a few questions.
So I'm just going to go over themain theme of the questions that
are still relevant. A lot of them are not because
there's since been updates, but one of the main comment themes
(14:46):
was prosecution without a body. So let's get into that.
So sorry, I had to run. I had a delivery from Timu.
OK, I'm back since the remains that were found have not been
formally identified in this scenario, if we assume they're
not phoebes, can we prosecute a person or two people in this
case over a murder without a body?
(15:08):
So that is being a common question.
The answer is absolutely no. Body murders were actually my
speciality group in my last job and I had similar thoughts when
I got given that role. I was like what the hell like
how am I meant to work on this? But of course, here in
Australia, thank you to Hayley Dodd's family, We have the no
(15:30):
body, no parole order. So if someone is prosecuted for
murder and they don't give up where the remains are, then they
will not be eligible for parole if they don't disclose where the
remains are. But of course, outside that law,
yes, the answer is yes, many ways.
There are many ways what is going on.
There are many ways a person canbe charged without the remains,
(15:54):
and I'm gonna go through a couple of those just off the top
of my head to give you a better idea and understanding.
And essentially, there's a situation of strong
circumstantial evidence of death.
So even without a body, the prosecution can argue that a
person is dead based on the totality of the evidence.
OK, so that can include the sudden disappearance of a person
without explanation. No use of bank accounts, phones,
(16:17):
social media, Medicare and things like that.
Leaving behind dependents, pets and other responsibilities that
they wouldn't usually voluntarily abandoned.
An example is Bradley Murdoch who was convicted of the murder
of a British backpacker, Peter Falconio.
This was back in 2005. So in that case, Falconios
remains were never recovered, but there was strong enough
(16:39):
evidence forensically and circumstantially to convict
Murdoch. So that's one way.
Then there's confessions and even incriminating statements or
a person of interests own words can be used against them.
So whether that be what they said to authorities, informants
or like a conversation has been recorded, that can be used as
(17:00):
key evidence. So some people give a full
confession of murder without disclosure of the body's
location. They like that power of control.
Some people give partial admissions, like statements that
suggest their involvement or knowledge of what's an example
there. What about Christopher Wilder?
He was suspected of a number of murders that and in that case,
(17:23):
he made a statement that impliedhe was guilty.
So some of the victims were actually never found in that
case, but circumstantial evidence was heavy and it tied
him to their disappearances. And then, of course, there's the
forensic evidence itself. So while a body may not be
found, there could be blood spatter, tissue, DNA evidence at
a scene. All of those things indicate
(17:43):
death, particularly when we haveno remains.
So digital evidence is a huge one, like social media, TikTok,
text and that sort of thing. But in terms of digital evidence
as well, GPS and mobile, mobile data, sorry, that plots a person
in a certain location that is proximal to a key location of
interest. And then of course, the deletion
(18:05):
of any records and you know, trying to paint themselves in a
different light. Suspicious searches like the
mushroom chef case that we spokeabout that's happening right
now, making Internet searches about death cat mushrooms.
And then lastly, another mess method.
My God, I'm so sorry. Another method used in nobody
murder prosecutions is witness testimony or even accomplice
(18:27):
testimony, which is possible when there's more than one
person being arrested like thereis here.
So that's interesting, but I think I might leave it open for
more questions now because the case is pretty updated.
I'm giving you the most recent updates and most of the other
questions were prior to the murder charges being laid and
things like that. So now a lot more question, a
(18:47):
lot more questions, a lot more information is available.
I can answer those questions if you have them.
I just want to touch quickly on the GoFundMe situation because I
like to usually share the GoFundMe is relevant to each
missing person case and things like that, but this one's a bit
weird. So in a nutshell, there was a
GoFundMe circulating on behalf of Phoebe Bishop and her family,
(19:10):
which wasn't actually authorizedby her family.
Someone just set it up. So Phoebe's mom actually came
out and she pointed that out andshe said this, this wasn't me.
This wasn't authorized by me. And then one that was authorized
by her was set up, so a second GoFundMe account and that was
created essentially to assist, Ithink they said the funding for
(19:32):
like the searches money to go back into things like one of the
local schools that was good to Phoebe and things like that.
So I'll try and locate the correct link and pop that with
this episode. Just keep that in mind if you
are planning on making a monetary donation because I
would hate for you to donate to something that's actually not
going to the right 'cause. But in terms of things coming
(19:54):
up, I will continue to update you on Phoebe and her case.
But coming up shortly, we have another episode for Jack
McLennan, who's still currently missing in Queensland.
We've got a bit of an update there in what's happening.
We have a new case of a young man who was shot and killed by
the Queensland police and the fight that his parents are
(20:15):
currently enduring with the legal system in regard to that.
We also have a case that's actually semi local to me for a
change, that being in WA, That'sa gentleman who went missing.
He was supposed to board a trainfrom country WA to Rockingham,
which is literally 10 minutes down the road from me.
He's been missing for some months.
He went missing in January and as you can imagine, there has
(20:38):
been very little exposure from police there.
Off the top of my head, what else have we got?
We've also got a case that's a couple years old in the NSW area
that's another missing man. He is getting next to no
exposure as well. And then of course, we've got to
go deeper into the Diddy trial and the Mushroom Lady trial.
(20:58):
If you've got any case requests,you know, just message me, you
know where to find me. I'm happy to cover most cases.
I do have another missing man inI believe Queensland that I was
going to look into. So that's on the list, but I
haven't started that yet. I try and be as responsive as I
can, but I'm just a one man bandyou guys, So forgive me if
(21:22):
there's a slight delay. I don't mind a double message or
a triple message even. Just yell at me.
Happy to get back to you. Happy to cover most cases.
But we've been getting a little bit more traffic and comments
and feedback, so I really appreciate it.
I put a lot of work into this, like I've told you guys and
you're probably not interested, but I have quit everything else
(21:43):
going on in my life to pursue this.
So it means a lot to me when yougive me feedback and make
comments and share and things like that.
So thank you so much. I will be able to reward you a
little down the line when we start our merchandise and things
like that, but for now, you justget a big fat.
Thank you and I love you and thank you for being here and
(22:05):
allowing me to do this and spread my knowledge.
If you've got any questions, happy to answer them.
You know where to find me. Thank you so much for joining me
and I hope you enjoyed it. Thank you so much for joining
me. I hope you have enjoyed it here.
If you have, you can subscribe to stay up to date on new
episodes or you can find us on Instagram, Facebook, and now
(22:26):
TikTok. Please feel free to jump onto
our Facebook group to join in onthe case discussions.
You can find the link to our group in our podcast notes.
As always, stay curious, stay informed, and until next time,
trust your instincts and keep seeking the truth.
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