Murders In Australia – Tiffany & Jayde

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Queensland Australia

Despite there being a low number of murders in Australia two 16-year-old girls disappeared from the Brisbane area a month apart in 2015.  Who was responsible?  Was it the same person or different predators?  Listen to the story of how two young girls fell victim to someone who appeared to be safe.

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*The two cases that we will be sharing with you today come from a listener in Australia Amy S.

Both cases involve young girls who share a similar tragic outcome but attracted different attention both from a law enforcement perspective and a public viewpoint.

Brisbane Australia

Brisbane is the most populated city in the territory of Queensland, Australia. It is the third most populated city in Australia. Brisbane averages 300 days of sun a year. It is known for its diversity and welcoming environments. Brisbane has over 2,000 green parks and 2,500 different species of plant life.

It is also home to the music group The Veronicas and actress Claire Holt (Vampire Diaries, The Originals).

Tiffany Taylor

On July 12, 2015, at 11:45 am 16-year-old Tiffany Taylor walked out of the Waterford Motor Inn which was located south of Brisbane.  She and her boyfriend of four years had been staying there at the time. She got into a champagne-colored 1995 Hyundai Excel sedan.

This would be the last time anyone would see or hear from Tiffany. 

She was the second oldest of six girls. Tiffany stood 4 feet 11 inches or 150 cm tall. She had a slim build, green eyes, and blonde hair. Tiffany was described as a “loving soul” who loved singing and cooking for her family. She was both shy and reserved, but friendly and willing to talk to anyone. Tiffany’s father allegedly committed suicide by walking in front of a train. This happened when Tiffany was five-years-old..

Tiffany’s mother, Leanne Dillion moved her young family into a two-story home in the Logan suburb of Boronia Heights. This is where Leanne met Greg Hill. It appears that not long after establishing a friendship with Leanne he started to spend more time with Tiffany and her older sister Chloe. Soon the 38-year-old Greg Hill was lavishing his time and attention on Tiffany. She was only 12 or 13 at the time. He would buy her gifts and take her shopping and to the movies.

Her mother became aware of this inappropriate relationship when she came home one day and found Tiffany giving Hill a lap dance.

The Age Of Consent Is 16

Around the time that Greg Hill started spending more time with Tiffany, she began making some poor decisions. She stopped attending school on a regular basis. She started using drugs, specifically smoking marijuana and chroming.

Chroming = Inhalants

Tiffany’s family didn’t like Greg Hill or his influence over Tiffany and tried to keep them apart. Unfortunately, that did not work. Tiffany left home to live with Greg Hill who didn’t have a permanent address at the time. They drifted from place to place. At first, they stayed with a friend of Greg Hill who was a known drug user.

Tiffany’s family was not in agreement with her decision to leave. Queensland Child Protective officers investigated Tiffany’s living arrangements and told her mom that Tiffany was “fine.” At one point, Hill became Tiffany’s “carer.” He even received some welfare payments for her care. Hill claimed that he and Tiffany did not become sexually intimate until two months after she turned 16.

In Queensland Australia, the age of consent is 16.

There is no mention of any agencies interceding on Tiffany’s behalf when she stopped attending school, was living in cars, or even when she solicited men on the internet for sex in exchange for money.

Hotsexylady1

When Tiffany disappeared it was three days before police were notified. Greg Hill did not contact Tiffany’s family until Wednesday, July 15th, and her family were the ones that notified authorities. When police began their investigation they discovered that Tiffany had been on at least a dozen dating sites. She portrayed herself as a 19/20-year-old offering companionship in exchange for money.

She used profile names such as “Hotsexylady1” and “sexybabe11232.”

One dating website was called “Oasis.” She had been on this site offering sexual services for $400 for a 30-minute encounter. Police found that in the days leading up to her disappearance she was desperate for money in order to pay for their rent. She had posted messages like “I need money, ASAP.  I need to pay rent and phone bill.”

She also posted about looking for a “sugar daddy.” What made this disappearance a concern for police was not only Tiffany’s age but also the fact that she was five months pregnant.

Missing Teen, Waterford West

The police didn’t make a public announcement of Tiffany’s disappearance until two weeks later. They issued a brief to the media entitled “Missing Teen, Waterford West.” This did little to generate public interest, but police were still actively investigating Tiffany’s disappearance.

On August 14, 2015, it came as a shock to many when the police arrested and charged Rodney Wayne Willaims with Tiffany’s murder. The 60-year-old Williams was on the Oasis website under the profile name “muddles54” and communicated with Tiffany on July 12th. He had offered to pay her $500 in exchange for sex.

He also drove the vehicle that Tiffany was seen getting into outside the hotel. As far as the public and her family knew Tiffany was just a missing person as her body had yet to be found.

Tiffany Disappears

In the late morning hours of July 12, 2015, Tiffany said goodbye to her boyfriend Greg Hill, exited the motel, and entered William’s car. Police theorized that they drove down Loganlea Road before entering a dead-end street in an industrial area of Larapinta. Whatever happened to Tiffany police think it occurred in the 22 minutes between their arrival to the area and when Williams’s vehicle is seen leaving the area.

Williams entered the Brisbane Valley Highway and traveled between Fernvale and the Blacksoil area between 1 pm and 1:45 pm. Police extensively searched properties, dams, and bushlands for any sign of Tiffany. There was no sign of Tiffany or her white Samsung phone.

Rodney Wayne Williams

Police questioned Williams about his encounter with Tiffany since he was the last person to be seen with her. Police also had a trail of messages between Williams and Tiffany as they negotiated sex for money. Williams didn’t do himself any favors when he lied to the police about meeting Tiffany on July 12th. Police believe he tried to set up a false trail by messaging Tiffany hours after he had picked her up.

“Sorry I didn’t turn up.  Decided I wasn’t going to pay for it.” He was trying to make it seem he had never met up with her.

Rodney Has Killed Before

Ultimately, Rodney changed his story and admitted that they did meet up, but didn’t have sex. Instead, he drove her to Redbank Plains where Tiffany had gotten out of the car at a traffic light. That story changed later to dropping Tiffany off at a truck stop on the Warrego Highway. It didn’t help Williams that Tiffany’s blood was found in his car. The blood was on the passenger seat headrest, door handle, glove box, and gear shift.

Williams claimed that when Tiffany got in his car she had a nose bleed.

The cherry on top was that Williams had a criminal past. In 1977 then 24-year-old Williams was convicted of stabbing to death 75-year-old Doris Rodman after breaking into her Hobart home to rob her. Rodman knew Williams and when she let him into her home he punched her in the face and stabbed her in the back. Doris didn’t die right away. Williams helped Doris to the bathroom, bathed her, and dressed her wound before leaving.

Doris Rodman died several hours later from her injuries.

In 1978 he was sentenced to life in prison. In the 1990s he was paroled but would soon return to prison after being convicted of committing a sexual offense against a 14-year-old girl. Police felt that they had the person responsible for Tiffany’s disappearance and ultimately her murder.

Greg Hill Denies Being A Pimp

Williams didn’t go on trial until February 2020. It was almost five years after Tiffany’s disappearance. Her body had still not been found. Williams pleads not guilty. His trial lasts 3 weeks and the court hears all about his checkered past. Jurors also heard about the darker side to Williams’s online profile when he stated that he was looking for submissive females.

Williams’s defense tried to put the focus on Tiffany’s boyfriend, Greg Hill. Hill testified that he knew nothing about Tiffany selling sex for money. He claimed that he thought Tiffany worked in housekeeping or as a receptionist. Hill also told the court that Tiffany was the one to pursue him initially and that they had been together for four years. He claimed that he was most likely not the father of Tiffany’s unborn child because they were not intimate in that way. Hill denied pimping Tiffany out or being violent towards her.

Tiffany’s mother and sister testified that at times Tiffany would come around with bruises and a black eye. She always would forgive Hill because she loved him.

Williams’s defense attorney told the court that Williams had lied to the police initially because he feared she was underage. In the end, the jury came back with a verdict of guilty of intentionally killing Tiffany Taylor and disposing of her body someplace where it has never been found.

Usually, life in prison is a 20 to 30-year sentence before one is eligible for parole, but under Queensland’s No Body No Parole laws Williams will not be eligible for parole until he tells authorities what he did to Tiffany’s body and its location.

Jayde Kendall Disappears

The same day that Williams was arrested and charged in Tiffany’s murder another 16-year-old girl disappeared 55 miles (90km) west of Brisbane in Gatton. Jayde Kendall was last seen entering a red Toyota Corolla upon leaving Lockyer District High School at 3:20 pm. Jayde had a similar background to Tiffany as they both lost a parent at a young age. Jayde’s mother died when she was 7 so her father, Bruce Morrissey raised her and her younger brother. 

Jayde struggled with anxiety and was known as being quiet and shy, but she was a hard worker and responsible. Jayde also experienced episodes of bullying in school. Her father became alarmed when he arrived to pick her up from her part-time job at McDonald’s on the 14th and was told she never showed up for work. Knowing that was not like Jayde and not being able to reach her on her cellphone he immediately contacted the police.

At 9 pm that night after contacting police Jayde’s dad accessed her Facebook account but noticed there was no recent activity. An immediate news alert went out. Missing person flyers were posted around the area asking anyone that had seen Jayde call the police with any information that they had.

.On August 18th, Jayde’s wallet was found by a guardrail on Warrego Highway near Walloon. An elderly man out walking discovered it and turned it over to police after seeing Jayde’s story on TV.

She Wanted To Be Alone And I Respected That

Police were able to ascertain the owner of the red sedan was 18-year-old Brenden Bennetts and that he was the last person known to have texted Jayde. Bennetts claimed he had last seen Jayde while she was working at McDonald’s.

Similar to Rodney Wayne Williams, Bennetts changed his story with police once they confirmed he had been the one to pick her up at school the day she disappeared. He then admitted he picked her up and drove to a water tower to talk as Jayde was very emotional and crying. Bennetts claimed that Jayde wanted to get away and asked him to cover for her, but he thought she would have reappeared by now.

He also told police that Jayde asked him to withdraw $70 from her bank account for her. Bennetts claimed that Jayde sat down in the back seat so she wasn’t seen by the CCTV cameras while he withdrew the money. At 3:58 pm he texted himself Jayde’s ATM code.

He then said he dropped her off on the side of the road. Jayde told him she would make her way to Brisbane on her own. He claimed, “she wanted to be alone and I respected that.” Bennetts told his mother five days after Jayde disappeared that he was with her the day she went missing. This was something he had denied to her previously.

Jayde’s Secret Relationship

Jayde and Bennetts were friends that were also in a secret relationship. Bennetts was already in a relationship with another girl he had seen the day Jayde disappeared. On the day she disappeared Jayde and Bennetts were texting each other about getting together to have sex. Jayde was nervous and Bennetts was telling her not to be and that the nerves would subside once things started heating up.

Jayde told him lets just take things slow to start which he agreed to. Bennetts drove Jayde out to some remote farmland and what exactly happened only he knows, but we know that Jayde never left that area. For two weeks no one but Bennetts knew where she was. That would change on August 27th when Jayde’s body was discovered covered in grass in a ditch along a rural farm road south of Gatton.

An elderly man out walking discovered her body on his Upper Tenthill property. When her body was found Brenden Bennetts was placed under arrest.

The Best Way To Dispose Of A Body

On Monday, September 4, 2017, Brenden Bennetts stood trial in Brisbane Supreme Court. Upon the start of his trial, he pleaded guilty to manslaughter, but not guilty to murder. The manslaughter plea was rejected by the court. Unfortunately, a cause of death could not be determined by police forensic scientists because the body was so decomposed upon discovery.

Jayde was also missing her left hand, forearm, and left foot. They were most likely taken by scavenging animals. Her head was skeletal and she was still wearing her school uniform. Her underwear was found in her pocket.

The crown prosecution showed the court Bennetts police interviews where he changed his stories multiple times. They also showed footage of Bennetts at an ATM machine removing money from Jayde’s account while trying to hide his face. The footage was from around 4 pm and was most likely after Jayde had been murdered.

Probably some of the most damaging testimony came from three previous girlfriends of Bennetts that testified how he would often strangle them while having sex. If the jury thought that would be the only shocking testimony they would be wrong.

The prosecution put on evidence that on Thursday, August 13th, the day before Jayde was murdered, Bennetts searched YouTube for “the best way to dispose of a body.” He even texted a friend about having never lost someone, but he would know soon enough.

Consensual Sexual Misadventure

Once it was the defense’s turn to present their case they didn’t deny that Bennetts was with Jayde when she died, but that her death was not intentional. It was caused by consensual “sexual misadventure.” Then he panicked and tried to cover it up by saying Jayde had taken off after she asked him for help. Even though he liked to be rough with his sexual partners it did not prove he had the intent to cause anyone harm.

The prosecution rebutted the defense’s case by pointing out that if it was an accident Bennetts should have dialed tripe-0 (911) for help, instead he actively tried to cover up what he had done by lying to the police. They also pointed out that the day before Jayde died Bennetts was searching for ways to dispose of a body and the next day he disposed of a body.

The jury deliberated for four hours and came back with a guilty verdict for murder on September 14, 2017. Bennetts was sentenced to life in prison. He will not be eligible for parole until 2037 (20 years).

Differences

Two 16-year-old girls who both lost a parent at a young age grew up in vastly different circumstances. Jayde’s murder sparked an immediate outpouring of support and empathy for her family. She even had a memorial marker in her memory placed in a Gatton park and a memorial walk in her name. This was done not only to honor Jayde but according to her grandfather to remind all to be mindful of “where you are, what you are doing and the circumstances you can place yourself in.”

Now compare that to Tiffany Taylor who was a pregnant teen who in my opinion was taken in by a predator who disguised his abuse and used Tiffany’s naivety to make her feel that she was responsible to provide for them both by any means.

By the way, Greg Hill who denied knowing Tiffany was working as a sex worker, had over 300 text messages on his phone where he was negotiating money terms with other men. I haven’t found anything that reports if Greg Hill was ever investigated for his involvement in Tiffany selling herself for money.

Her family didn’t receive the same outpouring of support from the community about her disappearance and Williams’s conviction for her murder. They have no body to bury and feel that Tiffany’s disappearance in the eyes of the public was her fault.

Both were young and naive girls who lived vastly different lives but had families that loved and misses them. Hopefully, everyone can mourn them. They died tragically at the hands of predators and far too young.

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