Daughter of US citizen allegedly killed by Zumba instructor Mark Waden gives evidence in murder trial
The daughter of a missing US citizen allegedly murdered by her boyfriend says her mother became distant and then stopped responding to messages altogether, including about her grandmother’s death, setting off alarm bells.
Former US beauty queen Priscilla Brooten disappeared from her home in Brisbane in July 2018. His body was never found.
Her then-boyfriend, Mark Sheridan Waden, whom she met at Zumba classes, is now on trial in the Supreme Court for alleged murder. He pleaded not guilty.
The prosecution alleges that Waden killed Brooten after an argument, likely dumped her body after a tip, and then gave her belongings to his new girlfriend.
So far, the court has heard, Brooten discovered messages Waden sent to his new girlfriend in the days before his disappearance.
On Thursday, the Supreme Court heard from Brooten’s daughter, Caitlin Williams. She talked about how her mother loved dancing, was training to be a nurse, and started a new life in Australia.
Speaking via video link from the US, Williams said her mother was usually very responsive to messages, but became distant in late 2017 and early 2018.
The jury was shown a series of messages between Williams and Brooten. Williams became emotional, telling the court her mother did not respond when she texted her grandmother was sick in hospital.
“If he had known his mother was sick, he would have called,” he said.
Williams said when Brooten didn’t respond, something didn’t seem right and he began researching online. She discovered that one of her mother’s close friends was also looking for her and told Williams that Brooten was missing.
“Stopped randomly [replying] one day and it was very strange. “He normally reacts, but he wasn’t,” he said.
“He slowly seemed to get annoyed or annoyed about something, he wasn’t as responsive as before.”
Williams said the couple communicated regularly about their lives, but their relationship was complicated at times. He said Brooten was distant in his relationship with Waden.
“He seemed very distant. He didn’t tell me much about her like he normally does,” she said.
Williams recalled that her mother’s relationship with her previous boyfriend, Steve Thompson, was healthy.
“He was really nice, very supportive, very friendly,” she said, adding that they had a lot in common and played a lot of video games.
Williams said the silence when Brooten’s mother died was “very, very strange.”
“When my grandmother passed away [my mother] If he was alive he would be there. “He wouldn’t let his mother die that way,” Williams said.
He recalled an argument about sending money to their families in the Philippines.
“The last time I heard from him was in 2017. He had an argument with my grandmother about sending money to our relatives in the Philippines,” Williams said.
My grandma told me that for some reason she was confused why my grandma would be upset about this and that it was a very strange discussion.
“He never spoke to her again after that phone call.”
Williams recalled that her grandmother stopped receiving calls from Brooten and began to worry, asking Williams to check her out online.
Some of Williams’ messages were about being homeless in the US and asking her mother if she could live with her in Australia.
“So that day I asked her if I could come and live with her and she never responded to that, normally she would.”
Williams said he continued to send messages to his mother, including telling her he had a son. “He never responded to that either,” he said.
When asked about Brooten’s immigration status, Williams said: “As I recall… he was trying to renew his visa but never got the chance. I’m not sure why.”
He said his mother had no intention of returning to the United States.
“He didn’t want to go back to America at all. He told me he had a lot of bad memories in America… He was really determined to start a new life in Australia.”
Williams said she knew her mother was struggling with depression, but she was seeing a therapist.
The court also heard evidence from Senior Constable Neil Ollenburg, who received a missing person report on Brooten in December 2018.
The request came with a number of surnames for Brooten, including Thompson, Waden, Saunders and Webb.
The court heard Qantas provided flight details of several people using names similar to Brooten.
Cloe Read is the Brisbane Times’ crime and courts reporter.Connect with: X or email.
