Casefile True Crime - Case 05: Donna Wheeler

Episode Date: February 6, 2016

On Tuesday the 2nd of November 1999 Donna Wheeler was found murdered in her home in Berala, Western Sydney. There were several suspects. Was it her ex-husband John who found her body and called the police? Was it her violent ex-boyfriend Keith who was recently arrested for assaulting Donna. Keith wasn't happy that Donna was spending a lot of time with his brother Colin since they separated… For all credits and sources please visit casefilepodcast.com/case-05-donna-wheeler

Oil sands operations contribute significant carbon emissions in Canada. So the six largest companies have teamed up to make strides on the path to NetZero. Investing in technology and innovation. Already cut emissions in average 22% per barrel. Working with governments to create and protect jobs. Developing one of the world's largest carbon capture and storage facilities. Our NetZero plan is in motion and we're making progress on multiple pathways. See our plan in action at pathwaysalliance.ca

Music On Tuesday the 2nd of November 1999 Donna Wheeler was murdered in her home at Biralla in western Sydney. But who was responsible? Was it her ex-husband John who found a body and alerted the police? Was it her violent ex-boyfriend Keith who was recently charged for assaulting Donna? Keith wouldn't have been happy that Donna was spending a lot of time with his brother Colin since they separated. Speaking of Colin, he was seen with Donna on the night of her murder. And then there was the phone call she received from a mail caller asking to meet him that night.

Music Donna Wheeler was 30 years old at the time of her death in 1999. She lived at Kingsland Road in Biralla which is west of the Sydney city area. She was a bright and sparkly person who was well liked by everybody. She had a lot of friends and they described her as a beautiful, caring and loving person. She had one son from a previous marriage who was age 12 at the time. She was an excellent mother, very loving and supportive of her son. The first Tuesday of November is the day that a horse race stops Australia.

Melbourne Cup Day, the day that everybody becomes a horse racing expert. It's the biggest race of the year. The night before the cup Donna had been having a few drinks with Colin Bond at the Regents Park Hotel, one of the local watering holes. Donna had become friends with Colin through her ex-boyfriend Keith Bond. Keith and Colin were brothers who lived together at Amy Street in Regents Park. Only a few minutes drive from Donna's house at Biralla. Donna had only split up with Keith a few weeks before. It was described as a volatile, violent relationship.

At times they would get on and everything would be fine, but Keith wanted more than Donna was willing to give him, and this upset Keith. Keith wanted a serious relationship with Donna. He constantly professed his love for her and said he wanted to get married and have kids. Donna tried to get it through Keith's head that she had just come out of a marriage and she really wasn't looking to settle down into another serious relationship. She wasn't looking for a partner, she had been there and done it, she just wanted to be friends. Keith couldn't accept that and it was the cause of a lot of fights between them. It was when one of these fights turned physical that the relationship ended. Keith struck Donna hard causing her front tooth to break.

The police were called and Keith was arrested and charged for assault. An apprehended violence order, what some would know as a restraining order, was taken out to keep Keith away from Donna. But a piece of paper wasn't going to stop Keith, he was obsessed. Not long after that Donna woke up to find the tires on her car had been slashed. Keith was the prime suspect but of course nobody saw anything so it couldn't be proven. Since Donna had split with Keith she had become a lot closer to his brother Colin and they spent a lot of time together. Keith wasn't overly impressed with this. So it was that night, the 1st of November 1999, the eve of Melbourne Cup Day, that Donna gave Colin $20 to put a bet on for her on the big race.

She wanted $10 each way on the Bart Cummings trained horse, Rogan Josh. And what happened that next day? Donna had done it, she picked the winner. She couldn't enjoy it straight away though, she was at work, but once she finished her shift she made her way to the Regents Park Hotel. She got there just after 6pm when she met Colin, who had been there drinking most of the day. Colin handed over Donna's winnings and then they shared a few drinks together in celebration. A little while later they decided to change location and go to the Regents Park bowling club. This might have had something to do with the fact that Keith had just turned up to the Regents Park Hotel.

They played the poker machines and had a few more drinks at the bowling club. Not long after that Donna received a call from her ex husband John. John had their 12 year old son at the time. John tells Donna that he needs to borrow some money and Donna agrees. So they arranged to meet in the nearby suburb of Strathfield. Donna tells Colin what's going on and he asks Donna to drop him back at the Regents Park Hotel. He said he'll order some takeaway Chinese food from the bistro for them while she goes and meets John. Donna agreed to that so they go back to the Regents Park Hotel and then Donna goes off to meet her ex husband John.

After her meeting with John where she arranged to pick their son up the next evening Donna returns to the Regents Park Hotel. Colin is waiting at the bar with the Chinese food. They leave together and go back to Donna's house to eat. It's here while they're eating that Colin says Donna got another phone call from an unknown caller. After the call Donna told Colin she had to leave and go and see somebody in Strathfield again. And she had to leave straight away no time to finish dinner. Colin says that's fine but asks if Donna can drop him home on her way. Donna agrees and Colin says he gets home somewhere around 9 or 9.30 PM.

Colin is the last known person to see Donna alive. The next day Wednesday the 3rd of November 1999 John makes a few attempts to call Donna but he can't get a hold of her. Nothing too unusual she's at work so he doesn't think too much of it. But as the morning turned to afternoon and the afternoon turned to evening John started to worry. By evening he still hadn't heard from Donna and that was unusual. Donna should have answered or at least returned his phone calls by now. It was the out of character for her. If she didn't answer she would always ring back.

He had their son and he needed to make sure she was still right to picking him up at the time they had arranged the night before. She would always ring the day they were exchanging custody to make sure everything was still right to go ahead. John starts to call friends and family. He calls Donna's mother. She says that she hasn't heard from Donna either. John tries other friends and family without any luck. He rings Donna's mother back and she suggests that John go to Donna's house. She said you'll know if she is home straight away because her car will be parked at the front.

John drives to Donna's house and their son was still with him. They find Donna's red Mitsubishi Lancer parked out the front under the carport. Their son has a key for Donna's place and so John grabs the key and goes inside. As you walk inside the house there is a bedroom off to the right and the entrance to the lounge room is off to the left. It was here at the entrance to the lounge room that John finds Donna's body. He immediately makes a fintech phone call to Donna's mum and to the police. Police arrive soon after. The house was immediately taped off and a crime scene was established.

Donna was covered in blood. She had multiple stab wounds and her face was badly bruised and swollen. She was naked from the waist down. The lounge room was in complete disarray and it was clear a violent struggle had occurred. There were things all over the place. There was a pillow and a plastic bag located next to her head. Both had blood on them. There was a towel located in the lounge room with blood all over it.

The knife was found in the corner of the lounge room with blood on it and the blade had been bent. Such was the ferocious nature of the attack. On the coffee table there were three containers of Chinese food all partly eaten. Next to the Chinese containers were two bowls and a bottle of Tuizbi. On the floor were two spoons, two forks and another bottle of Tuizbi and a can of vodka. There was no sign of forced entry to the house. Police think her attack was very quick over in a matter of minutes. An impulse attack.

Donna may not have even had a chance to scream. So the fact that the neighbours said they heard nothing wasn't a great surprise. As police were of the belief there may not have been anything to hear. John was taken back to the police station with his and Donna's son where they were both interviewed. John immediately tells them about Keith, Donna's violent ex-partner. John was well aware of the volatile nature of their relationship. Police interviewed John extensively and traced his movements the previous night and his story checked out. They were able to conclusively say he had nothing to do with her murder.

Ruling John out put one person straight to the top of the suspect list. Keith Bond. Police pull up Keith's record and see that there was the recent assault charge against Donna and the apprehended violence order application. They say the history of violence throughout the relationship. He immediately becomes the focal point of the police investigation. Detectives visited Keith's house on Amy Street Regions Park at 7 30 a.m. the next morning Thursday the 4th of November 1999. No one was home at this time.

They knocked on a few neighbours' doors and found that along with his brother Colin a fair man Peter also lived with them. They decided to try again a bit later and left. When they returned a few hours later they were out of luck again with Keith but Colin Bond answered the door. Colin was cooperative and invited the detectives inside. He told them that Keith was at work for the day and their other flatmate Peter wasn't home either. Detectives got talking with Colin and asked if he knew Donna. He said of course Donna was Keith's ex-girlfriend. Colin told police that Keith and Donna used to fight constantly.

He felt bad for Donna because of the way Keith treated her. One night got so bad that Colin stepped in and had to punch up with Keith over how he was treating Donna. Detectives asked him when the last time he saw Donna was and he told them about being with her Tuesday night at the Regions Park Hotel. Then they left and had some takeaway Chinese food at her place before Donna got a phone call and had to leave. Well what an answer that was. Colin certainly got the attention of detectives with that one. Colin agrees to go with the detectives back to the station to conduct a recorded interview. He wasn't under arrest, he went voluntarily. He was very cooperative and wanted to help the investigation.

He liked Donna, he wanted to help any way he could. In that interview Colin went back through his evening with Donna. He added in that he had two bottles of to his beer and Donna had a can of vodka and these have been found at the scene by police. He told detectives about the phone call that Donna had gotten while they were eating Chinese food. And she said that she had to leave and go and meet somebody in Ashefield. He says his phone call was somewhere around 8.30 or 9 o'clock p.m. He requested Donna drop him home, which she did. He told them he got home somewhere around 9 or 9.30 p.m.

He didn't see or hear from Donna again. During this interview something else caught the eye of police. Colin's right hand was very swollen and there was also a cut on a knuckle. But that was easily explained when asked about his hand Colin had this to say. It happened when I was doing the gardening yesterday. I hit a steel pike, the garden hose real thing. Colin was the last known person to see Donna alive so they were very interested in what he had to say. Especially when he admitted going back to her place to eat Chinese food, which police had found half eaten at the scene.

But he was being very cooperative. He was happy to talk to detectives and to help out. Surely it wouldn't be this helpful if he was guilty. And by now police had confirmed that Donna did in fact receive two telephone calls around the time Colin had mentioned. One at 8.30 p.m. the other at 8.39 p.m. Colin was telling the truth about that so there was no reason to believe he was lying about anything else. So who did Donna go and meet? And there was another problem that police had. They still couldn't find Keith.

On that day Thursday the 4th of November police conductors search were on at Keith and Colin's place. Not long into the search they noticed a few smears of blood on the floor in the lounge room. But it was easily explained. Both Colin and Keith had recently cut their fingers so the blood could have been either of theirs. A sample was taken to match just in case. The search was extensive and took around four hours. Colin was present at the time of the search and a police officer noticed what looked like a blood smear on his watch. Colin was questioned about it and he says it was probably blood from when he heard he's here in gardening.

Police seized the watch for DNA testing. They also took a ring he was wearing on his right hand. Colin was still pretty non-plus, didn't seem too phased. He handed the items over with no complaints. He was happy to help. Unfortunately the DNA tests don't work as quick as the TV shows so police wouldn't have any results back for a few weeks. There was a bit to test too. They had all the bloodstained items found at the scene, the towel, the plastic bag, the knife.

And now these few items from Colin as well as the blood smear on the floor. But detectives couldn't just sit back and wait for the results. They had to keep working at it to see if they could solve it before then. There was one other thing of interest found during the search worm. Underneath Keith's bed there was a wallet. Why was that wallet of interest? Because it was Donna's wallet. Later that day police found Keith.

Or he found them. He heard police were trying to catch up with him so he presented to the police station himself. He also agreed to be interviewed. In relation to Donna's wallet being found under his bed, Keith said Donna had left it there one night and they broke up not long after that. So he kept it out of spot. He also immediately presented an alibi. He said shortly after breaking up with Donna he started seeing a new girl, Debbie, and he was with her on the night of Donna's death. Keith was up front with detectives about why he had broken up with Donna.

He told them about the assault charge. But that's no great surprise. He would have already known that they knew about that. Keith gave the following version of events. On Melbourne Cup Day, Tuesday the 2nd of November 1999, Keith was with his new girlfriend Debbie at the Regents Park bowling club. About 7pm Keith left Debbie at the bowling club to play bingo and he decided to go to the Regents Park hotel. When he got to the hotel he saw Donna and Colin. He noticed that Donna and Colin left soon after.

Colin returned by himself a bit later on and then Donna returned after that. He said it was about 9pm when Donna returned to the hotel. At this time Keith decided it would be a good time to leave and he went back to the bowling club to see Debbie. They left the bowling club together about 10pm and went straight back to Keith's home where they went to bed together. They arrived home at about 10.30pm. A bit later on Keith heard Colin walk inside and sometime around midnight Keith was woken up by the washing machine. Colin decided it was a good idea to do some washing. Keith wasn't too impressed with this and he got up and had it out with Colin.

Keith turned off the washing machine and went back to bed. Keith said he noticed that along with Colin clothes there was also a pair of shoes in the machine. Keith's interview was somewhat similar to Colin's. Colin said in his interview he was with Donna at the Regents Park hotel before leaving for a while to go to the bowling club. That's when Donna got a call from her ex-husband John. Colin went back to the Regents Park hotel and Donna met him back there a bit later on. So their story seemed to match up but there was one important discrepancy. Keith says he got home at about 10.30pm and Colin got home after him.

But Colin says he was home by 9.30pm. That was an important difference although it was only an hour. So is it possible that one of the brothers was simply mistaken with their time? And of course there was the other question. What was Colin doing his washing after midnight for? Was this normal? Debbie corroborated Keith's version although she wasn't exactly independent. There wasn't any great shock that she backed up Keith's story.

So now who is the number one suspect? We've got Colin washing his clothes after midnight. We've got Keith with Donna's wallet under his bed. We've got a blood smear in their lounge room. And one of them was possibly lying about their movements on the night Donna was murdered and lying about what time they got home. And what about this mystery caller? Who did she go and meet? No matter who detectives thought was responsible there was a difference between believing someone had committed a murder and being able to prove it beyond a reasonable doubt.

The police had no witnesses and they still didn't have the DNA results back. They didn't have enough to make a case against anybody just yet. The post-mortem was conducted on Donna on Thursday 5th November 1999. Her facial injuries were extensive and it was determined that they were suffered by the use of extreme force. Death was determined to be due to a combination of severe head trauma and multiple stab wounds. Despite the fact she was naked from the waist down, there was no evidence of sexual assault. As the investigation continued, police find that the two fan calls Donna received the night of her death at 8.30pm and 8.39pm were both from John, her ex-husband. They were the only calls she had answered that night.

There was no other mysterious caller, no mysterious person she met at Ashfield. John was the only person Donna went out to meet that night. That was significant, as were the DNA results that had come back. The plastic bag located in Donna's lounge room contained a bloody fingerprint. The blood was Donna's, the fingerprint wasn't. And the towel located in the lounge room contained two blood samples. One sample was Donna's, the other blood sample belonged to the same person who waned the fingerprint. Detectives decided it was time to get one of the Bond brothers back into the station for another interview.

On the 15th of November 1999, Colin Bond was arrested and he was interviewed for a second time. It was here he learned that there was a bloody fingerprint at the same as to him and his blood was also found at the scene. There was more bad news. The blood on his watch that police had seized at the search warrant, that was Donna's blood. But that wasn't enough to convince Colin. He stuck to his story. He was adamant that they were at Donna's house seating Chinese and she got a phone call. When she got that phone call, she said she had to leave to meet somebody in Ashefield and she dropped him home.

He again maintained that he got home about 9 or 9.30pm. But there was a problem with this story. Police had a lot more information by now. They were actually able to confirm Keith's story that he got home around 10.30pm and Colin wasn't there. They were able to confirm that Donna didn't answer any phone calls after the 8.39pm call from John. They were able to confirm she had her meeting with John and then returned to Regent's Park Hotel after that. The Chinese meal was bought after Donna's last phone call. Nobody called Donna while Colin was at her house. Donna didn't leave to go and meet her needy body and she definitely didn't drop Colin home about 9.30pm.

There was no sign of forced entry to the house. Colin had an injury consistent with punching someone with extreme force. They could prove he was lying. It finally became too much for Colin when detectives asked him if he could again clarify his movements between 9.30pm and 10.30pm. He replied. Colin Bond was charged with a murder of Donna Wheeler. He had tried to cover his tracks once he got home. He washed his clothes and his shoes.

He had a shower. But what happened was he took his watch off to have the shower, not realising there was a blood spec on the watch. But at the end of the day, the watch was just another string to the bow. The bloody fingerprint and his blood at the scene were more than enough to charge him. Colin Bond stood trial in June 2001. Colin's defence team had a little glimmer of hope to work with. Keith was subpoenaed to attend court and give evidence, but he refused. He didn't comply with the subpoena and he went into hiding.

This gave the defence team their opportunity. They worked hard the entire trial to say that Keith was the killer. After all, he was the one with the history of violence against Donna. They tried to put that doubt in the jury's mind. They only needed to convince one that Keith was on the run because he was guilty. On the 29th of June, the jury retired to reach a verdict. They didn't take them all. They were back very quickly. Colin Bond was found guilty of murder and sentenced to 30 years in jail with a non-parallel period of 25 years.

When the finding was read out, Donna's mother yelled at Colin to rot in hell. He just clad at her with a smug, arrogant look. He was sent to Lithgow jail to serve out his sentence. There's no doubt Colin killed Donna. But in case for some reason one of the jurors had some lingering doubt, or in case anyone listening has a doubt, the crown prosecutor took the unusual step of requesting that the jury stay in the courtroom while Colin's criminal record was read. They got to hear about a murder Colin had previously committed

that bore a chilling resemblance to the murder of Donna Wheeler. In 1987, Colin Bond attacked a woman. According to Colin, it went like this. With a few beers under my belt, I got the shits and hit her. That was a gross under-exaggeration. The woman's face was beaten to a bloody pulp. He left her for dead, taking off her pants, leaving her naked from the waist down. She died 16 days later as a result of those sickening facial injuries.

Police at the time were of the opinion that the woman had rejected Colin's sexual advances, so he snapped and bludgeoned her to death. Police were of the opinion that's exactly what happened with Donna. Colin made sexual advances towards her that she rejected. Somehow, Colin was able to plead that first murder charged down a manslaughter and was sentenced to 20 years jail with a non-parole period of 10 years. Of course, he only served a minimum 10 years and was out of jail less than 12 months before he killed Donna Wheeler. Imagine if the courts had have imposed a proper sentence.

Donna Wheeler might still be alive today. And of course, this information couldn't be brought up during Colin's trial, as it would have been unfair to him if the jury had knowledge of that previous charge. Donna and her mother were both aware that Colin had been in jail for killing a woman. Donna's mum told her to be very careful hanging around him. But Donna believed the story that Colin had told her about her. His explanation to Donna was that he became involved in a heated argument with the girl and he pushed her over. When she fell, she hit her head and died.

It was all an accident according to him. I guess the light sentence Colin got fell in line with that story, so I can see why Donna might have believed it. If only she knew the truth. Colin ended up dying of a heart attack a few years into his 30 year sentence. But just think, he had already committed two sickening murders, but he still would have been eligible for parole in his late 70s. You