![\"Cloe](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/63969d041ab3e8b95716f2891ac29aa30b718b6a4b95c1da7abad8d66abff796.png\")
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n Sitting across from two detectives, Mark Sheridan Waden is emotionless as he\u2019s questioned over the murder of his girlfriend.<\/p>\n \u201cMurder?\u201d Waden asks.<\/p>\n It\u2019s June 2019, about a year since US citizen and former beauty queen Priscilla Brooten went missing.<\/p>\n Waden is measured as he tells police he came home from work one day in 2018 to find Brooten had left.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t unusual \u2013 he had told her he wanted the relationship to end. He had threatened to call immigration officials on her.<\/p>\n He had discovered she was keeping secrets, he said.<\/p>\n But investigators had begun to build a case that Waden had, in fact, killed her.<\/p>\n It was eventually a circumstantial one, with no body, no eyewitnesses, and no crime scene.<\/p>\n So, detectives asked, what happened to Brooten?<\/p>\n And why had Waden excavated his Brisbane yard, dumping more than 800 kilograms of soil and taking a wheelie bin to a suburban tip?<\/p>\n Waden\u2019s police interview was made publicly available for the first time on Friday, days after a jury found the Brisbane real estate agent and Zumba instructor guilty of murder<\/a>.<\/p>\n He begins the interview telling police he needs to pick up his girlfriend, Desiree Hatzipapas, from the airport.<\/p>\n For years, Hatzipapas remained in the scope of the police investigation as many of Waden\u2019s lies began to unravel.<\/p>\n Before her disappearance, Brooten shared a home with Waden. She had discovered messages between him and Hatzipapas, his 21-year-old colleague at Bees Nees Realty.<\/p>\n It was a high-stress job, Waden tells police, and his long hours led to a strain on his relationship with Brooten.<\/p>\n Brooten confronted Waden about his messages with Hatzipapas. There was a huge argument, the prosecution said.<\/p>\n The interview bounces around various moments in the life of Waden, who referred to himself as \u2018Marky Mark\u2019 in his police statement. At one point, he rattled off a list of all the women he\u2019d dated.<\/p>\n Brooten and Waden first met through his work teaching Zumba classes at a gym in Deagon, on Brisbane\u2019s north side, and started a relationship in late 2016.<\/p>\n Brooten had been living in Scarborough, about 20 minutes north-east of Waden\u2019s home in Bracken Ridge, before she moved in with him, bringing three suitcases full of clothes, make-up, shoes, a table, a chair, and some plants.<\/p>\n But Waden claimed she was secretive. He tells police she closed her laptop around him, wouldn\u2019t speak about her past, and used false names while doing illegal activities online.<\/p>\n Eventually, Waden says he wanted the relationship to end.<\/p>\n \u201cFinding out about her past, her aliases, different surnames, she wasn\u2019t a nice person,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n He claimed Brooten had been using him to stay in the country, spending his money.<\/p>\n Around the breakdown, Waden spent more time with Hatzipapas, in what was described by the prosecution as an intense relationship. His messages to Hatzipapas became central to the case.<\/p>\n One, from July 5, 2018 \u2013 the day Brooten was said to have been murdered \u2013 read: \u201cWe could sneak a long kiss as no one is here to see it.\u201d<\/p>\n That evening, Waden cancelled his Zumba class, making a 29-minute phone call to Brooten. It was the last recorded call between the pair.<\/p>\n When Hatzipapas asked Waden that evening if everything was OK, he replied he had a class but could not respond.<\/p>\n The day after, Waden asked for a trench to be dug on his property, and for work to be done on a retaining wall. He told contractors that council were \u201con his back\u201d.<\/p>\n The prosecution case relied on the locations where Waden and Brooten\u2019s phones had pinged off cell towers, and places where the missing woman\u2019s Volkswagen Golf was tagged.<\/p>\n That car was given to Brooten by Steve Thompson \u2013 a man she had a complicated relationship with, and who provided for her financially.<\/p>\n Waden had sent a series of messages from Brooten\u2019s phone to Thompson about where the car had been left. But by then, she was already dead.<\/p>\n Within a few weeks, Hatzipapas was invited to Waden\u2019s home for the first time. He offered her Brooten\u2019s clothing and make-up, and Brooten\u2019s phone, which he\u2019d restored to its factory settings.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t until late 2018 that Brooten was reported missing by her former partner Thompson, and her friend from Zumba class, Laetitia Penfold.<\/p>\n Brooten\u2019s daughter reached out from the US, discovering Penfold was also looking for Brooten.<\/p>\n In December 2018, police attended Waden\u2019s home. Body-worn camera footage shows an officer asking if he can briefly look inside the home.<\/p>\n Waden is softly spoken as he talks with the officer. It is the first time police see inside the home where Brooten had been living before her disappearance.<\/p>\n He tells them he split up with Brooten earlier that year, talking of lies and how the relationship wasn\u2019t working out because of her \u201chidden secrets\u201d.<\/p>\n By May 2019, police visited Waden\u2019s home. They did not speak to him, but the day after visiting, he hired a self-drive excavator.<\/p>\n On May 4, he messaged Hatzipapas explaining his entertaining area was flooded and that he needed to go to Bunnings to purchase a drainage pipe.<\/p>\n A day later, the excavator was delivered. By 10am, Waden bought tarpaulins and rope from Bunnings.<\/p>\n Waden again messaged Hatzipapas, saying he was taking excess soil to the dump.<\/p>\n That day, he dropped off 400 kilograms of soil from his trailer covered in a blue tarp. By 6pm, he was at his parents, with a wheelie bin on his trailer.<\/p>\n The following day, CCTV captured Waden washing the bin at a Deagon car wash. Later, he dumped another 460 kilograms of waste at the tip.<\/p>\n The trial heard it was not known when or where exactly Waden disposed of Brooten\u2019s body \u2013 but it may have been at the Nudgee tip.<\/p>\n The jury were given glimpses into Brooten\u2019s at times troubled life.<\/p>\n Her daughter, Caitlin Williams, told the murder trial that her relationship with her mother was at times complicated, and became distant once she began dating Waden.<\/p>\n Williams became emotional as she told the court her mother had not responded to her several messages, including about her grandmother being sick in hospital.<\/p>\n \u201cShe would\u2019ve called if she\u2019d known her mum was sick,\u201d she told the court.<\/p>\n Brooten\u2019s audio messages were also played to the court, as part of emotional testimony by her former boyfriend Steve Thompson.<\/p>\n In audio played to the court, Brooten could be heard talking about her mental health. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be hard \u2026 I need to learn how to be me, how to be a good person \u2026 stop taking, be more thoughtful.\u201d<\/p>\n Thompson said his relationship with Brooten became strained over financial issues, and together, they had accumulated more than $70,000 in debt.<\/p>\n He said he told Brooten at one point he could not afford her lifestyle, and a week later she spent $700 on perfume.<\/p>\n Pages from Brooten\u2019s notebook were also shown to the court, detailing her struggles with mental health and hopes for the future.<\/p>\n Many entries did not specify who they were referring to, including one that read: \u201cRemember when you beat the shit out of me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou gave me excuses … I hate you for what you did to me. I tried to kill myself. You don\u2019t care. You hit me, you don\u2019t care. I have nothing now. Everything I had, everything believed was just lies.<\/p>\n Other sections of the notebook included: \u201cHe claims he fears for his life, that I will stab him while he is sleeping. He chooses to sleep next to me. I have never threatened to kill, stab or physically hurt him. Why would I kill or stab him?<\/p>\n \u201cAccording to him, I have threatened to ruin his life by exposing his weed growing and selling operation and publishing my injuries he gave me after almost killing me on Facebook.<\/p>\n \u201cMark is trying to put all this on me. Yes, it may appear he is taking responsibility and apologising but his facts regarding my mental health are incorrect. It is an attempt to save himself, to give himself an out or to try and make me appear crazier than I am.\u201d<\/p>\n In other entries, Brooten defends her decision to seek help. \u201cIt is hard to face, to realise, to see that I am this way.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI will not continually beat myself up over this \u2026 while I am sorry I cannot change what I did or didn\u2019t do but I\u2019m not going to feel sorry for myself and it happened and it\u2019s what I needed but at sir\u2019s expense.<\/p>\n \u201cSir has every right to feel how he does, do not dismiss that. I\u2019m grateful he expresses his feelings. I will\/am changing what I do now.\u201d<\/p>\n The audio messages and notes are some of the last pieces Brooten\u2019s family have left of her.<\/p>\n Earlier this week, before a packed courtroom, Waden was found guilty of Brooten\u2019s murder by a jury.<\/p>\n He now faces life imprisonment, and will be eligible for parole after 20 years. From the dock, he said: \u201cIt wasn\u2019t me.\u201d<\/p>\n His legal team have indicated they will consider appealing.<\/p>\n Brooten\u2019s daughter still holds hope that one day her mother\u2019s remains will be found.<\/p>\n \u201cUntil we know [where] he hid her body we cannot fully rest and I hope she haunts his dreams forever until he confesses.\u201d<\/p>\n Start the day with a summary of the day\u2019s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n![\"Priscilla](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ac7acb6f1c932ac6c55191c152eab9e52b6ad1afbb8cf29744c7214f9b05828a.jpeg\")
Priscilla Brooten and Mark Waden.<\/p>\n![\"Mark](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/a832903629eff5d919b5ab4baeed8a0a0d738b2328ac40c62fb9ace8461e1cd2.jpeg\")
Mark Waden with new girlfriend Desiree Hatzipapas.Queensland Police<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/7eb5d6bb3d93d80e40217234b828905ecd4b7177017452971810700a48e713b5.jpeg\")
The trench at Waden\u2019s house. Queensland Police<\/p>\n![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/151e2760abb5ef7d39eaad57be2457b0805fede4817415d4685dcb3f5d989c22.png\")
An excavator used to dig a trench at Waden\u2019s house.Queensland Police<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/07d1c2a187599fef37e075fc1a7a4bbeff6d976a0a6633eeff2f8612fe590906.png\")
The wheelie bin that Waden took to the rubbish tip.Queensland Police<\/p>\n![\"Cloe](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/63969d041ab3e8b95716f2891ac29aa30b718b6a4b95c1da7abad8d66abff796.png\")
Cloe Read<\/a> is the crime and court reporter at Brisbane Times.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":746653,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":["post-746652","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/746652","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=746652"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/746652\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/746653"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=746652"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=746652"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=746652"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}