Elderly man denies murdering AFL champ’s lost brother

An elderly man accused of murdering the brother of an AFL premiership champion is to enter charges.

Brendan Breen, 55, brother of St Kilda legend Barry Breen, was last seen at the Hilton Hotel in Melbourne’s South Wharf in April 2012.

Mr. Breen’s ex-wife reported him missing a month later after becoming concerned that he had canceled dinner plans via a last-minute text message and stopped returning her calls.

Investigators initially thought she chose to disappear voluntarily, but after a case investigation, they believe she encountered foul play.

Brian James Hall, 72, appeared before Melbourne Magistrates Court via video link from custody on Friday and pleaded not guilty to one count of murder.

Hall is alleged to have killed Mr Breen between 11 and 13 April 2012 at Toorak in Melbourne’s inner east.

His case will return to the Supreme Court for a directions hearing on August 6.

Police arrested a 42-year-old Brisbane man in March and released him without charge following an earlier appeal for information about Mr Breen’s disappearance.

The victim, who included Brendan Green, Brian Greer and Brendan Lacombe, was known to police and had previously been charged with fraud and spent several years behind bars.

His twin sister Fiona said she had an inkling something wasn’t right, making an emotional plea for information in February.

“It’s so hard. How can you explain how you feel when you don’t know what happened to him?” he said.

She said her fears were compounded when Mr Breen failed to attend his daughter’s wedding and missed her funeral about a month after she disappeared in 2018.

Police said his bank accounts and phone were never accessed and there had been no news from him in the years since his disappearance.

Over the past 14 years they had been consulting with friends and business associates to find Mr. Breen.

Detective Inspector Dave Dunstan said several aspects of the case were cause for concern to investigators, particularly the length of time he was missing “without a trace”.

Mr Breen’s brother Barry is a St Kilda legend; He played 300 matches in the red, black and white; this includes the 1966 first-place team, where the Saints edged mighty Collingwood in the final quarter.