Connection to Melbourne swingers' scene thought possible link to brutal killing of family man and former top NZ executive.
Herman Rockefeller had a secret double life - a mystery girlfriend, five mobile phones and a connection to Melbourne's swingers scene - and it may have led to the brutal death of the millionaire and former New Zealand-based Brierley Investments executive.
Human remains found in the backyard of a run-down Housing Commission home in suburban Glenroy are thought to be those of the 52-year-old millionaire, who disappeared nine days ago, according to Melbourne's Sunday Herald Sun.
Rockfeller had a string of successful companies, was married with two children, and drove an environmentally friendly Toyota Prius.
He appeared to the outside world to be an average, albeit mega-wealthy, suburban dad and husband.
He was a fitness fanatic who ran marathons - including last October's Melbourne Marathon, where he covered the gruelling 42km in just 3hrs, 40mins and 22 seconds, according to the Sunday Herald Sun.
But police investigations have revealed that he led a secret double life - and had allegedly met the two people charged with his murder through an internet site for swingers, or people who swap sexual partners.
Bernadette Denny, 41, and Mario Schembri, 57, will appear in court tomorrow charged with murdering Rockefeller.
Police allege he was killed at Denny's home in South St, Hadfield, and his body later burned and buried in the backyard of a home in View St, Glenroy.
Police inquiries have revealed that Rockefeller had at least one mystery girlfriend, and that the pair had been involved in the swingers scene. He also had five secret pre-paid mobile phones.
Rockefeller's family, including wife Vicky and children Herman and Sarah, were yesterday grieving the loss of their husband and father.
Rockefeller's brother and business partner, Robert Rockefeller, spoke outside the family home in East Malvern, thanking the police, the media, and the public for their help.
"Our family is devastated by Herman's loss and deeply shocked by the circumstances of his death," Robert Rockefeller said.
"This is an intensely painful time for all members of our immediate and extended family.
"We wish to thank the media and the public for their support in response to the family's appeal for help in finding Herman. We also thank everyone who has offered us their comfort and prayers."
The family home in leafy East Malvern is a world away from the modest home in View St, Glenroy where police will allege Rockefeller's body was burned and buried.
A run-down house owned by Victoria's Department of Human Services, was messy and unkempt.
A car for sale in the front yard bore the same mobile phone number as a car advertised for sale on the front yard on Denny's home in Hadfield, and is believed to have been put up for sale by Schembri.
Neighbours said the occupant of the house was a long-term resident known only as Jack, who paid A$10 a week to use the yard to repair cars.
"Jack wouldn't hurt a fly," she said.
The back yard yesterday resembled a junkyard, with four cars and two trucks surrounded by car parts, tyres and scrap metal, and a burned patch of grass surrounded by shredded paper.
A police source said no further charges or arrests were expected to be made in relation to the murder.
Rockefeller's double life seems to explain his mysterious absence after flying home to Melbourne from a four-day inter-state business trip.
His uncharacteristic disappearance and failure to head home to his house in Melbourne's well-to-do Malvern suburb puzzled police and those close to him. Rockefeller was for eight years the chief financial officer of Brierley Investments, based in New Zealand.
He played a prominent role in the April 1998 boardroom coup that forced the departure of Brierley's chief executive, Paul Collins, and chairman, Bob Matthew.
He left the company two years later when relocation to Singapore saw a major restructuring of Brierley's.
Detective Senior Constable Tim Bell told the court both Schembri and Denny had admitted being involved in the altercation with Rockefeller on the night he went missing on January 21 or early January 22.
They also allegedly made admissions to police that they had assisted in the disposal of the body.
A neighbour said she was questioned by police about a burning smell on Australia Day but dismissed it as someone having a barbecue.
Marika Williams, 33, said: "They asked whether we had seen fire or smelled fire over the past week," she said.
"And we did mention that on Australia Day we had smelled something about four o'clock in the afternoon."
But Williams said she dismissed it as a local barbecue: "We just disregarded it."
Meanwhile Melbourne's Herald Sun newspaper earlier reported that police interest in the swingers' website centred on the possibility that people using the website may have led to a meeting involving Rockefeller.
The mystery deepened as his distressed family marked his 52nd birthday on January 25.
As they gathered at the house in Malvern East desperate for news, Rockefeller's blue Toyota Prius was found locked 80km west of Melbourne, near an abandoned homestead by the Werribee River.
Two days later, his Facebook page had 21 friends listed - 20 more than the day he went missing. In minutes, 19 of those "friends" vanished.
Vicky Rockefeller, who met her husband in New Zealand in the 1980s, told the Daily Telegraph there was no sign of a secret life.
Meanwhile the Herald Sun also reported family and neighbours as saying Denny, a mother of two, became distant after her new relationship began about six months ago.
Denny's father yesterday described his daughter as "a good girl. But we haven't really seen her much since (her partner moved in). Our grand-daughters are living with us."
The father said the first he heard of his daughter's arrest was on a radio news bulletin. The couple spent the day waiting by the phone for news.
"It's hurting, it's hurting," the woman's mother said. Her husband added: "But at least we know she's (safe) with the police."
Rockefeller's double life and the swingers' connection struggles to align itself with a man regarded by friends and associates on both sides of the Tasman as a clever, hardworking businessman of sober and straightforward habits.
"He was one in a million and we are very blessed to have him. We adore him."
When Virgin flight DJ346 from Brisbane arrived at 9pm on Thursday, January 21, Rockefeller looked like any other businessman in his grey business suit, white shirt, carrying a laptop, satchel and bag of three grapefruits. He emerged into a warm evening.
He had been on a four-day business trip with his brother Robert. His wife, for whom he left a message before leaving Brisbane while she was at the Australian Open tennis, was expecting him home.
Robert Rockefeller, who travelled with Herman to NSW, said they had meetings in Bowral, Sydney and Maitland, where they own the Pendle Place shopping centre, and that his brother was in high spirits.
Rockefeller collected his blue 2007 Toyota Prius from the car park. Security cameras captured the car leaving and a man who appeared to be Rockefeller leaned from the driver's window at the prepaid exit to insert the card.
The car turned into Melrose Dr. Then Herman Rockefeller - pleasant, unassuming businessman, fitness fanatic, marathon runner and family man - disappeared into his other life.
