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New twist in cold case
The cold case murder of Beth Barnard and the mystery disappearance of Vivienne Cameron, her supposed killer, is the subject of a new ten-part crime podcast.
Inside the house on Phillip Island, just off Australia’s southern coast, was the body of a 23-year-old girl who had been brutally murdered and left in the most shocking of crime scenes.
The killer had placed a blanket over the body, but when it was removed, the savagery of the attack was evident.
Beth Barnard’s nightgown had been lifted up to her neck, her throat cut, her body slashed and stabbed repeatedly and her hands bore defensive wounds.
Carved into her chest was a knife wound which resembled a letter “A” and the murder was dubbed by some as “The Scarlet Letter”.
It is a reference to the historical novel of the same name, in which young Hester Prynne who had given birth to an illegitimate child was forced to wear a scarlet “A” on her dress.
Strewn around Beth Barnard’s body were cigarette butts and a knife, while paper towels stained with blood were stuffed around the sink in the bathroom.
It was September 1986 and the murdered young woman had worked as a farmhand for the Camerons, a wealthy and influential family, for several months.
She had been having an affair with her boss, Fergus Cameron, who was married and had two young sons with his wife Vivienne.
The fact of the affair was well-known on Phillip Island, in Victoria, where the Camerons and Ms Barnard lived.
The idyllic five-thousand-strong island community was close-knit but also secretive and protective.
Fergus Cameron was a founding shareholder of the world-renowned Phillip Island Grand Prix but still worked on the family farm.
The night before the discovery of Beth’s body, Vivienne and Fergus had fought over his infidelity.
After he had returned home, Vivienne confronted him about the affair.
When he admitted that it was true that he was involved in a sexual relationship with Beth Barnard, Vivienne smashed a wine glass across his head and back.
The injuries were serious enough for Vivienne to drive her husband to hospital.
He would later spend the night at his sister’s house and Vivienne would ask friends to mind their two boys while she was out.
The story becomes confused after that, with different accounts of what Vivienne did, but she vanished and has never been seen since.
Police accepted that it was Vivienne, in a rage over her fractured marriage, who murdered Beth and afterward took her own life.
Her LandCruiser was seen about 5 am at a location on Phillip Island, where police would find it ten hours later.
A 1988 inquest found it was likely Vivienne had killed Beth in a “personal attack” before taking her life.
But investigators felt key evidence did not fit the coroner’s findings.
And in September, Victorian Police confirmed Homicide Cold Case detectives were still actively working on Beth’s case
One person who has inside knowledge of the case is author Vikki Petraitis, who wrote the 1993 book The Phillip Island Murder.
To this day, she still receives information and possible new leads on the case.
Originally a teacher by profession, she co-wrote the book with a Melbourne Age reporter Paul Daley.
Petraitis visited Phillip Island to research her book and tried to speak to locals, but found them either fearful of speaking or resistant to an outsider digging into island business.
Not only did she get “the door slammed in my face”, but Petraitis was also hounded out of the local newspaper office and when it was published, her book was banned from sale on the island.
Even the edition of The Age which published an article about the book was not for sale on the island.
When she managed to speak with Vivienne’s friends, and with others off the record, Petraitis had the growing feeling that an injustice had been done to Vivienne and that her “suicide” was out of character.
They told the author Vivienne would have “never left her boys” behind.
People are still speaking to Petraitis 34 years after the grisly series of events, and she has now made a ten-part podcast, The Vanishing of Vivienne Cameron.
The podcast will be released exclusively by Spotify on the Australian true-crime podcast series, Casefile on Thursday.
The podcast delves into “what really happened that night … and where is Vivienne?”.
Petraitis’ new interviews with many of the people connected with the case will feature in each episode.
They include interviews with the original homicide detective, Rory O’Connor, local Phillip Island cop Peter McHenry, and a nurse who treated Fergus Cameron for his head wound.
One of the most compelling accounts comes from Vivienne Cameron’s friend, Glenda Frost, who received a phone call about 10 am on September 23, 1986, from Vivienne.
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