Unexpected twist to long Australian kidnap mystery

BILLY ADAMS on a decision that has revived a family's agony.

SYDNEY - Kerry Whelan, a devoted mother of three, vanished.

She double-parked her car outside a hotel, left the keys in the ignition, and was never seen again.

When she didn't meet her husband at the airport that night, he knew something was wrong.

Bernie Whelan's worst fears were confirmed when a ransom note was received demanding $A2 million ($2.48 million).

It is almost four years to the day since Kerry disappeared. Hopes of finding her alive have long since faded.

But last week one of Australia's most enduring mysteries took another unexpected twist.

The police case against the prime suspect collapsed. All charges against Bruce Burrell were dropped.

For Bernie and his three teenage children it was dreadful news.

Yet they remain defiant, and have posted an $A250,000 reward for any information leading to the discovery of Kerry's remains.

In the days following Kerry's disappearance on May 6, 1997, few who knew the Sydney-based family could come to terms with the fact that they were suddenly at the centre of an extortion bid.

Suspicion soon fell on Burrell, a former advertising manager at Crown Equipment where Whelan was, and still is, a senior executive. When Whelan got rid of several staff in 1990, Burrell was one of those shown the door.

It wasn't long before police conducted an extensive five-day search at Burrell's farm , and seized several shotguns, including one owned by Whelan. They also found several stolen cars, and charged him with theft and receiving stolen goods.

But there was no trace of Kerry, or any information that would lead detectives to her whereabouts.

In December 1997, Burrell was jailed for two years after pleading guilty to possessing the stolen vehicles and stealing Whelan's gun. On April Fools Day in 1999, while in prison, he was charged with Kerry's kidnap and murder.

But last month, at a pre-trial hearing, the case against Burrell began to unravel.

During the 1997 raid police found two "dot point" notes in his handwriting which they believe referred to the kidnap plan. They formed the basis of the case against Burrell.

But in a case built on circumstantial evidence they could not stand alone, and after Supreme Court Justice Brian Sully ruled nine other pieces of evidence inadmissible, the charges were withdrawn.

They included an empty bottle of chloroform found at the farm, and proposed testimony from the family's nanny, Amanda Minton-Taylor, who saw Kerry and Burrell talking in the garden of the Whelan's home three weeks before she vanished.

The nanny said Burrell kissed Kerry on the cheek before leaving, and Kerry later told her nanny not to tell anyone he had been there.

"Don't worry, I'm not having an affair," Kerry allegedly told the nanny. Later she is said to have muttered to herself: "That bastard, why did he do this to me?"

The judge said there was a "real risk" that a jury would jump to the "wholly speculative" conclusion that she was referring to Burrell.

Last week, Burrell was released from jail after the Director of Public Prosecutions, Nicholas Cowdery QC, said there was "no reasonable prospect of a conviction."

The decision does not prevent Burrell, or anyone else, from being charged with the murder in future. Prosecution hopes are resting on the results of DNA tests on hair found in Burrell's car which are being conducted by the FBI in the United States.

This week, Burrell again publicly declared his innocence. He also indicated he was considering legal action, although he did not say against whom.

Bernie Whelan also spoke out, revealing the private reward which includes donations from friends and work colleagues.

He has tried to move on since losing Kerry. He sold the home they shared for 17 years, and has remarried.

His new wife Debra was a friend of Kerry's. He was best man at her first wedding, and Kerry was her maid-of-honour. The marriage ended in divorce.