Accused killer told police of ‘hidden secrets’ before girlfriend went missing

It’s shortly after 9.30pm on a December evening in 2018, and Mark Sheridan Waden is standing in the doorway of his Brisbane home.

In footage from a police body-worn camera, the officer is heard asking about the disappearance of Waden’s former girlfriend, US citizen Priscilla Brooten, who he met while he was teaching Zumba classes.

Waden is now facing a Supreme Court trial for allegedly murdering the former beauty queen months earlier, on the evening of July 5, 2018. He has pleaded not guilty.

The prosecution case is that Waden killed Brooten following an argument, possibly disposed of her body in a tip, and then gave her belongings to his new girlfriend.

The vision, about 13 minutes long, is the first time the jury in Waden’s trial has seen inside the property in Bracken Ridge where Brooten was living before she was allegedly murdered.

Waden is softly spoken as he talks of splitting up with Brooten earlier that year.

“It wasn’t working out,” he explains to then constable Millan Richards. “I was finding out a lot of her hidden secrets she’d been keeping.”

The relationship had started to fall apart after he began a new job in real estate in April, he says.

There were a “whole lot of lies and secrets”. He tells the officer about several things that had affected the relationship, including finding out Brooten had used different identities.

The officer asks Waden if he can briefly look inside the home. Waden allows him, and the pair walk through the house together.

In the footage played to the court, Waden tells the officer that Brooten had left the property in June, two days after he had threatened to report her to immigration officials.

At one point, Waden points to a chest of drawers, saying that Brooten had left it behind, along with two plants and kitchen utensils.

Waden’s police statement

The jury were read Waden’s police statement from December 2018, where he detailed his relationship with Brooten, and his new girlfriend, Desiree Hatzipapas.

Within a few weeks of Brooten’s disappearance, Waden had invited Hatzipapas to his home for the first time, and gave her Brooten’s clothing, make-up, and her phone, which he had factory reset, the prosecution said.

Waden said his relationship with Hatzipapas had begun in July 2018, but it had ended three weeks before he gave the statement, and at that stage, he was dating again.

He described Brooten as computer savvy and very intelligent, but also secretive about her laptop and her use of a file-sharing platform.

He told police Brooten had a difficult relationship with her family in the US, and had mentioned suicidal thoughts. He said Brooten could be erratic, and found it difficult to control her emotions.

“She would become uncontrollable, and then she would calm down and become normal again,” his statement read.

He said he believed Steve Thompson, who had been in a relationship with Brooten, was providing financially for her. At one point, she was doing some business work for Thompson.

“I asked her if the arrangement included sex, and she said no. I don’t know what else she did for Thompson,” Waden’s statement said.

Waden said he took issue with the fact Brooten had used his surname for a subscription because they were not married.

He told police he had threatened to call immigration officials.

“She freaked out about it, she became emotional and crying. She threw things and smashed them. She became abusive and threatening towards me. She was inconsolable.”

When he got home about 8.30pm one night, Waden said her car was gone and her belongings were no longer in the property.

“It made me feel relieved, and I was happy not to have her in my life,” he told police.

Waden said he believed Brooten had gone back to Thompson, and that she had not tried to contact him.

Witnesses recall interactions with Brooten and Waden

Acting Sergeant Jamie Buley told the court he was working at Redcliffe police station in September 2018 when two people came in with concerns about Brooten’s welfare. One of them was Thompson.

Buley said he then located a phone number for Waden, and called him.

“He said Priscilla left him three weeks ago for another person,” Buley said.

Buley said Waden told him he had not heard from Brooten. When asked if he had concerns for her welfare, Waden said he did not, Buley said.

A psychologist who assessed Brooten gave evidence that she had wanted strategies to help with communication issues in her relationship.

“She was very emotional at that time,” Dr Simone Baker said, explaining Brooten had indicated she felt “worthless”.

Baker said Brooten talked about having a series of unhealthy relationships. She referred to being abused when she was younger, but did not want to elaborate further, and seemed ambivalent about her relationship with her daughter, Caitlin, who she was estranged from at the time.

On the first day of the trial, the court heard about a series of messages from Waden to Hatzipapas, including one when Brooten disappeared.

Waden wrote: “We could sneak a long kiss as no one is here to see it.”

The prosecution said this was the morning of the day Brooten disappeared and was murdered, adding that Waden may have disposed of her remains at the Nudgee dump.

Waden’s defence barrister James Godbolt said the case was based on conjecture and speculation, and questioned whether Brooten could still be alive, living under the radar elsewhere in Australia.

He said there was a complete absence of any forensic evidence linking Waden to Brooten’s death.

The trial before Justice Peter Callaghan continues.

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