IN darkness 10 years ago, 53-year-old Mount Gambier mother Glenys Heyward was lured to her grisly death by the ultimate act of betrayal and the “evil” acts of her de facto partner Neil Heyward.
In a crime that shocked the Blue Lake city, Neil, Glenys’ son Matthew Heyward and farmhand Jeremy Minter were charged with the murder of Glenys Heyward.
While Glenys’ eldest son Thomas was also originally charged with murder, the charge was later dropped.
According to details that unfolded in court, Matthew who was aged 20 at the time and convicted of murder – lured his mother to a vacant childcare centre on Pick Avenue in Mount Gambier on July 23, 2007.
It was here where Glenys was restrained, assaulted, bound and gagged by Neil and Jeremy Minter before she was stuffed in a wheelie bin and thrown onto the back of a utility.
Sadly, four months later her body was unearthed from a septic pit on farmland across the Victorian border.
In the lead-up to the 10 year anniversary of the Glenys’ murder this weekend, her brother Richard Childs has paid tribute to his sister and reflected on this horrific crime.
Sitting in the kitchen of his Heywood home this week, Mr Childs described the acts of Neil, Matthew and Jeremy as incomprehensible and the ultimate act of betrayal, greed and brutality.
“You can’t imagine someone doing that sort of stuff,” he said.
“It beggars belief they could do that to anyone, let alone your mother.”
Asked how he felt about Neil who suicided while he was in custody, Mr Childs described him as being at the “bottom of the earth”.
“Obviously he was the architect of the whole thing,” Mr Childs said.
“His evil acts cost his own life, Glenys’ life and left a son in jail … for what?
“It has cost a lot of people a lot of misery, I’m not just talking about our side of the family, but their own side.”
Mr Childs said he suspected foul play after Glenys failed to visit his mother in hospital.
“Neil was walking away from the media not answering questions and things just didn’t add up – we started suspecting the worst early on,” Mr Childs revealed.
Regarding Matthew’s involvement, he admitted he still found it hard to comprehend how her own son could have been connected.
“Matthew and Jeremy have been in jail now for seven years, it is a long time to think about what they did,” Mr Childs said.
“I think they were old enough at the time to make better choices than what they did – they have chosen to do what they did and say what they said.
“Matthew was the quiet one, Glenys trusted him.
“She thought they had a bit of a connection – she was quite confident Matthew would have been on her side,” Mr Childs explained.
“Matthew’s actions were a huge betrayal – she would have been let down by that.
“Obviously, Neil somehow got into his ear – whether it was fear, we don’t know.”
According to the court, the crime was motivated by Glenys’ claim for $2m of the family’s $6.9m farming estate.
“While Matthew may not have committed the act of murder, it was explained to me that if you are in an armed robbery and you drive the getaway car, it is still armed robbery.
“At any stage, even if he was frightened of Neil, he still could have gone to the police and said ‘I think something is going to go down’.”
“Matthew could have stopped it.”
Mr Childs said he did not know if Matthew – who was sentenced to mandatory life in prison – had shown any remorse over his actions.
“Surely you would, how do you spend every day in jail without thinking about it?,” he said.
He is waking up every morning in jail – why am I here and what I have done.”
Regarding farmhand Jeremy Minter, he questioned whether “perhaps he was not real smart to get sucked into something like that”.
“In my opinion I would not have been surprised if he was next,” Mr Childs said.
“What did Neil have to lose, he already killed one – he was a witness.
“Minter was the one who opened his mouth in the nightclub and that is where it all started to come undone.
“Matthew kept his mouth shut through fear or something else, but Jeremy couldn’t help himself.”
While there was speculation Neil had pledged Jeremy $10,000, Mr Childs said he was unsure if Minter ever received the money.
Mr Childs said not only did the crime devastate his family and Glenys’ friends, but rocked the Mount Gambier community.
“It was a terrible crime for Mount Gambier – you don’t see murders like that,” he said.
“People get shot and that sort of thing, but this was different – it was about greed, control and where he put her in the end was terrible.”
Regarding the upcoming anniversary of the murder, he admitted it was still “raw”.
“Sometimes I think it is a long time ago, other times it feels like yesterday – time does pass fairly quickly,” Mr Childs said.
“People told us you would never get over it, you just learn to live with it – and that is probably how it is.”
Reflecting on his sister, Mr Childs said Glenys was an outgoing and jovial person.
“She was fantastic with animals – I remember dad saying years ago that she could run the farm,” he said.
Conceding the 10 year anniversary of the murder will be difficult for family members this weekend, he said Glenys would want them to move on with their lives.
“It was a big deal what happened,” said Mr Childs, who has three siblings including Glenys.
At the time of the murder, Mr Childs said he took on the role of being the family spokesperson.
“We don’t have anything planned for this Sunday, we will reflect and remember Glenys in our own way,” Mr Childs said.
“Life needs to go on, that is the way it should be – when a tragedy happens the world can’t stop. At the time you think it should, but it doesn’t.”
Mr Childs said he was particularly saddened Glenys did not have the opportunity to have a happy life with a new partner after years of domestic abuse.
He praised the Heywood and Mount Gambier police and major crime detectives from Adelaide for their commitment to the case.
