Episode 18: Origin Story

Jon disparages Bronwyn’s mother Barbara as a sex worker. In one of his final comments in his 1998 interview with police investigating the disappearance of Jon’s estranged wife five years earlier, Jon’s smear of the grandmother of Lauren and Chrystal goes unchallenged until now.

Kim Marshall and her brother Andy emphatically reject the labelling and explain Barbara’s mental illness struggles as depression took hold. A deeply personal account of Barbara’s life story is told through her own statement to police.

Bronwyn’s long-silent sister Melissa comes forward, shedding more light on Jon’s controlling nature and his jealousy of Bronwyn’s relationships with her friends and siblings.

Inconsistencies and omissions in Jon’s 1998 account of his conversations with Bronwyn and their actions on the night of her disappearance are singled out for special attention by listeners who zero in on the detail and compare it with known evidence and Jon’s earlier versions.

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.au

If you need support, Lifeline can be reached on 13 11 14.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bronwyn

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

• No. of episodes: 36
• Latest episode: 2025-05-01
• True Crime

Where can you listen?