Brittany Jade Dwyer convincingly played the devastated granddaughter when the body of Robert Whitwell was found in his Adelaide home, but then she confessed to murdering him.
The 19-year-old was comforted by the murder victim’s relatives while she wept about “my poor poppa”, only for them to later discover they were comforting his killer.
On Monday, Dwyer listened to her family’s victim statements in Supreme Court after pleading guilty to the crime.
Robert Whitwell.
In his statement, Mr Whitwell’s “very close” brother outlined what happened in the wake of his death.
“We welcomed you into our home, embraced you and comforted you, all the while you wept with your fake tears and made comments like ‘my poor poppa’,” he said to Dwyer.
“I now know that I had been embracing and comforting my brother’s killer. You are a master of deception, I will give you that.
“I will never forgive you. You’re a cruel, deceitful person with no regard for human life — I believe you are dangerous and evil and deserve the highest penalty.”
Brittany Dwyer pleaded guilty to murdering her grandfather but the court is yet to hear the true motive.
Tonya Dwyer, who is Dwyer’s mum and Mr Whitwell’s daughter, said she feels “like I’m drowning in life” after the shocking events of May 2nd last year.
“Since this crime has taken place I have been on a rollercoaster of emotions, shock, grief, anger and sadness,” she said.
“I feel like I am drowning in life. I can’t concentrate through the day and I can’t sleep at night.
“The images of what my father went through in his last minutes of life consumes me with sadness.”
Both Dwyer and her friend Bernadette Burns were charged with his murder and while Dwyer confessed and awaits sentencing, Burns pleaded not guilty and will go to trial in August.
The court is yet to hear the details of the murder and the motive behind it.
As the victim impact statements were read, Dwyer sat emotionless next to her friend Shelby Lee Angie Holmes who is charged with breaking into Mr Whitwell’s home with the intention of stealing money before his death.
Holmes previously pleaded guilty to aggravated serious criminal trespass, and Tonya Dwyer described her involvement as “unbelievable”.
Holmes is accused of helping Dwyer to “scope” Mr Whitwell’s home for several days before they allegedly robbed him of $30,000.
Holmes and Dwyer.
The pair exchanged chilling texts in the lead up to Mr Whitwell’s murder, including Dwyer warning her flatmate not to get too attached to her grandfather because he “might have to die”.
While another message details that a mutual friend had “come into a large amount of money”, Dwyer jokes “maybe they beat us to poppers (sic)”.
Dwyer’s father, Garry Dwyer, said his former father-in-law was a “great man, who loved his family” and asked the court to sentence his daughter to an “appropriate” jail term.
