Philip island murder: New twist in cold case killing of Beth Barnard
Inside the house on Phillip Island, just off Australia’s southern coast, was the body of a 23-year-old girl who had been brutally murdered and left in the most shocking of crime scenes.
The killer had placed a blanket over the body, but when it was removed, the savagery of the attack was evident.
Beth Barnard’s nightgown had been lifted up to her neck, her throat cut, her body slashed and stabbed repeatedly and her hands bore defensive wounds.
Carved into her chest was a knife wound which resembled a letter “A” and the murder was dubbed by some as “The Scarlet Letter”.
It is a reference to the historical novel of the same name, in which young Hester Prynne who had given birth to an illegitimate child was forced to wear a scarlet “A” on her dress.
Strewn around Beth Barnard’s body were cigarette butts and a knife, while paper towels stained with blood were stuffed around the sink in the bathroom.
It was September 1986 and the murdered young woman had worked as a farmhand for the Camerons, a wealthy and influential family, for several months.
She had been having an affair with her boss, Fergus Cameron, who was married and had two young sons with his wife Vivienne.
The fact of the affair was well-known on Phillip Island, in Victoria, where the Camerons and Ms Barnard lived.
The idyllic five-thousand-strong island community was close-knit but also secretive and protective.
Fergus Cameron was a founding shareholder of the world-renowned Phillip Island Grand Prix but still worked on the family farm.
The night before the discovery of Beth’s body, Vivienne and Fergus had fought over his infidelity.
After he had returned home, Vivienne confronted him about the affair.
When he admitted that it was true that he was involved in a sexual relationship with Beth Barnard, Vivienne smashed a wine glass across his head and back.
The injuries were serious enough for Vivienne to drive her husband to hospital.
He would later spend the night at his sister’s house and Vivienne would ask friends to mind their two boys while she was out.
The story becomes confused after that, with different accounts of what Vivienne did, but she vanished and has never been seen since.
Police accepted that it was Vivienne, in a rage over her fractured marriage, who murdered Beth and afterwards took her own life.
Her LandCruiser was seen about 5am at a location on Phillip Island, where police would find it ten hours later.
An 1988 inquest found it was likely Vivienne had killed Beth in a “personal attack” before taking her life.
But investigators felt key evidence did not fit the coroner’s findings.
And in September, Victorian Police confirmed Homicide Cold Case detectives were still actively working on Beth’s case
One person who has inside knowledge of the case is author Vikki Petraitis, who wrote the 1993 book The Phillip Island Murder.
To this day, she still receives information, and possible new leads on the case.
Originally a teacher by profession, she co-wrote the book with a Melbourne Age reporter Paul Daley.
Petraitis visited Phillip Island to research her book and tried to speak to locals, but found them either fearful of speaking or resistant to an outsider digging into island business.
Not only did she get “the door slammed in my face”, Petraitis was hounded out of the local newspaper office and when it was published, her book was banned from sale on the island.
Even the edition of The Age which published an article about the book was not for sale on the island.
When she managed to speak with Vivienne’s friends, and with others off the record, Petraitis had the growing feeling that an injustice had been done to Vivienne and that her “suicide” was out of character.
They told the author Vivienne would have “never left her boys” behind.
People are still speaking to Petraitis 34 years after the grisly series of events, and she has now made a ten-part podcast, The Vanishing of Vivienne Cameron.
The podcast will be released exclusively by Spotify on the Australian true crime podcast series, Casefile on Thursday.
The podcast delves into “what really happened that night … and where is Vivienne?”.
Petraitis’ new interviews with many of the people connected with the case will feature in each episode.
They include interviews with the original homicide detective, Rory O’Connor, and local Phillip Island cop Peter McHenry, and a nurse who treated Fergus Cameron for his head wound.
One of the most compelling accounts comes from Vivienne Cameron’s friend, Glenda Frost, whoreceived a phone call about 10am on September 23, 1986 from Vivienne.
The call came five hours after Vivienne’s Land Cruiser was spotted and she was presumed to have died by suicide.
Ms Frost knows it was Vivienne and remembers the conversation they had, which included talk of personal interests they shared, such as sewing patterns.
Petraitis said detectives interested in pinning down Vivienne Cameron as Beth Barnard’s murderer, had dismissed Ms Frost’s claims as just that of a woman who was mistaken.
The podcast will also look into inconsistencies in the evidence, such as the knife found beside Beth Barnard’s body not matching the inflicted wounds.
There were strange cuts on Beth’s clothing. The towel found in the bathroom contained Vivienne’s blood, yet none of Beth’s.
Vivienne’s blood was also found in her own house, despite the fact it was only her husband, not her, who had been treated at the hospital the night before.
One of Australia’s most popular crime podcast makers, Casefile’s legendary but anonymous host, suggested to Vikki Petraitis that she be involved in the exclusive Spotify series.
Just why Australians are addicted to true crime podcasts such as his, does not surprise Casefile.
“People have always had an interest in true crime,” he told news.com.au
“Before podcasts, there were books, documentaries and even magazines – I still remember true crime subscription magazines that you could get from your local newsagent.
“Podcasting has just provided a new medium.
“I think they attract listeners because they’re free, accessible, and there’s so much quality content being produced regularly.”
Criminologist and anthropologist Xanthe Mallett told news.com.au it was human nature to be fascinated in evil, bad people and trauma.
Mallett, who lectures in forensic science at Newcastle University and is also a true crime author, said people were “fascinated by the extremes of what people will do to each other for a myriad of reasons”.
Being able to learn about this without being a victim or an offender – a kind of “car crash voyeurism” – was completely normal, Mallett said.
And the majority of true crime podcast listeners, as well as the students signing up for the courses she taught, were women.
This was because of evolutionary reasons: women moved to protect in times of danger, when the primitive part of our brain, the amygdala or centre of the “fight or flight” response was activated.
She said people are fascinated by killers, and even more so by the sort of violent psychopaths who become serial killers.
The Vanishing of Vivienne Cameron, a Casefile ten-part series, will be available exclusively on Spotify from November 12.
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