The Vanishing of Vivienne Cameron: Forty Years Searching for the Phillip Island Murderer

by Vikki Petraitis

A murdered young woman; a missing wife; a forty-year mystery.

In 1986 on Phillip Island, a young woman called Beth Barnard was savagely murdered and her boyfriend’s wife, Vivienne Cameron, went missing. The police immediately jumped to what they thought was the obvious in a jealous rage, Vivienne had killed Beth and then herself. Vivienne’s body was never found.

But Vikki Petraitis wasn’t convinced. The official line didn’t explain all the evidence, and it certainly didn’t seem like the behaviour of a mother with two small boys. Fascinated by both the case and the bias it revealed in investigators, Petraitis wrote her first true-crime book about the murder, with Paul Daley, and decades later made a podcast on the case. Both brought new evidence and testimony to light, and asked questions that were not asked at the time.

Now, to mark the fortieth anniversary of Beth’s murder and Vivienne’s vanishing, Petraitis brings together all her discoveries and true-crime experience in a brilliant forensic investigation into what happened all those years ago, and why.

Genres: Audiobook, True Crime

304 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 28, 2026

Reviews

[Amy Hourigan · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the moment I heard that Marnie allegedly sat unaware with a shaking Vivienne after telling her that Fergus was with Beth, I knew it was a lie. She later admits that she was aware Vivienne at least suspected Fergus was having an affair. A woman doesn’t drop a bomb on another woman — that her husband is late home because he’s with his suspected affair partner — without understanding the implications.

From the beginning, Vikki respectfully takes us through the crime scene, then back to the night before the murders, and weaves the story across decades — from her own perspective as well as from the perspectives of the key players involved.

Vikki’s ability to examine this crime through a feminist lens is powerful, particularly in how she dismantles the misogynistic assumptions made by police. The cops’ willingness to believe the perpetrator and his family’s weak alibis and false narratives reeks of corruption and a preference for comfort over justice.

Vikki’s storytelling and wry humour made this book an absolute binge-listen for me. It also highlighted the urgent need for women’s perspectives to be not only heard, but genuinely embedded at all levels of law enforcement. The book makes it clear how a male-dominated police force, unable or unwilling to understand the psychology of women, allowed a cold-blooded murderer to live his entire life without justice — while two women’s lives were swept under the carpet.

I loved every minute of this book, and listening to it in Vikki’s own voice was an absolute delight from beginning to end.

The book is deeply respectful of the victims, Beth and Viv, while also ensuring that the actions of the perpetrator — and all those who protected him (including the police) — receive a scathing and well-deserved critique for their appalling behaviour and incompetence.

I’m glad I chose the audiobook, because all the eye-rolling I did along the way would have made it very difficult to keep reading.

I’ll definitely return to this book more than once, and I’d encourage any true crime enthusiast to do the same.

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to the audiobook version of this, and at first I wasn’t a fan of Vicki's "casual" approach to the writing style, it felt more like a friend chatting to you about something than the usual True Crime style of keeping it purely neutral and factual like I'm traditionally used too… But I pretty quickly changed my mind and actually enjoyed Vicki’s style, especially when she was having not-so-subtle passive aggressive digs at Fergus blatant lies! … I was cheering along as I was listening and it was actually a great experience - because honestly, the bullshit that man spews is ridiculous “sHe SaId I wAs A gOoD fAtHeR aNd ThE bOyS sHoUlD sTaY wItH mE” *vomit (there is no way anyone believes that now right? I get the 70s/80s/90s was rife with that rhetoric - just look at examples like Lynette Sims (also known as Lynette Dawson) who's men say that kind of crap and the Police ate it up and blamed the women.. But now we’re in the 2020s and realising just how completely ridiculous that is for a dedicated mother to suddenly say, and right before she disappears, and only to the 1 person who probably did it? Yeah right.
I also love how Vicki brings the feminist lens to this - whilst i know thats going to ‘piss alot of people off’, I think shes 100% spot on to do so, because the inequalities based on gender are STARK in this case! (just look at all of the double standards of what Fergus was allowed to say and be believed as one person, but what all of Vivienne's friends said were ‘lies’ or ‘gossip’? Seriously.)

If you’re interested in the case, I HIGHLY recommend this book.
If you haven’t heard of the case, but you’re interested in true crime, then I HIGHLY recommend you read this book.


My thoughts about the case:

This is a case that I’ve been interested in since I first heard about it in the late 90’s / early 2000s when it was on a popular crime show at the time, “Sensing Murder” and it really stuck with me, just how ODD it seemed to be that Vivienne would have done it, but the fact that she apparently unalived herself by jumping off a bridge that is also known to be a ‘jetty jumping’ type spot for teens in summer?! There is no way that she did that (and didn’t leave a trace on the railing), that the fall killed her, AND that her body was never found, AND that no trace of her fluffy mo-hair jumper wasn’t in the car… And that was just what I thought about at the time, let alone how much more is ‘off’ now all these years later!

I desperately want resolution for Vivian's family and Beths family. Everything to me points to Fergus killing Beth out of a false sense of possession towards Beth (I think she either said she was going to leave him for good this time, or told him he needed to leave Vivienne and was pushing him - either way, I think it was a big changing point for Beth and Fergus didn’t like that), and then he came home and told Viv another manipulative lie (I think it was probably something like “I told her I was calling it off, and she attacked me! But I love you Viv”, I doubt Viv knew Beth was dead by this point tbh) and she took him to the hospital to get stitched up and was angry but relived that “Fergus had finally come to his sense and called it off” so was willing to say she’d cut him so the nurses/doctors didn’t have to know about her embarrassment of her husband cheating…
Then I think when they got back home again, Fergus realised he was going to be caught for Beths murder (because obviously it was him, and the affair was going to become very public knowledge), so since he didn’t want to be with Viv anyway, and was angry at her for existing and stopping his relationship with Beth and ‘making him kill Beth’ because of it (because men who murder women DO believe its woman's fault for ‘pushing him’ into it… aka “See what you made me do?” DV bullshit.)... so he came up with the plan to frame Viv for it, got rid of her (which was easy because he was still angry about losing his relationship with Beth and was blaming Viv for that, plus he wanted to get himself out of this situation (and honesty meant prison, and ‘he didn’t deserve that since it was Viv’s fault anyway’) and so he got rid of her.
At some point he’s looped in both his sister and his brother-in-law, and whilst I’m sure they were annoyed that it got to this, I’m guessing they took everything he said at his word and they didn’t want to risk their joint business ventures, so they helped. I’m guessing thats how all the other weird ‘evidence planting’ stuff came about, they all did it together… the late night phone call to Vivs friend to pick up the boys was Marnie, the drips of Vivs blood on the path into Beths were caused by the dripping towels they brought into her bathroom. The weapon to kill Beth is probably hidden in the same location Viv is. They planted the cigarettes, moved the land cruiser (and similar to Vicki, I think they tried to make it look like she caught the bus off the island or got a ride, not that she jumped - but who knows what their actual intent was - they’ll never tell us!). It's why Fergus left the house that night (even tho it was Viv who was going to be leaving according to Fergus story - wouldn’t it make more sense she stayed at Marnies if that was the case?!), why he asked others to check in Beth (so that he wasn’t the one doing it, therefore distancing himself from the crime he knew he committed), why none of the Camerons looked for Viv (they knew where she was, and they were going to stick with Fergus story she was leaving anyway!)....
The ‘A’ carved into Beths chest I suspect is another red herring, done to make it look like Vivienne did it (which makes me angry when, as Vicki points out, the ‘adulter’ here is FERGUS, not Beth and not Viv. The blame should sit where it belongs.)
I’m angry for them. These women deserve better than this. And our justice system is doing nothing to right that wrong, and its not right… From a legal perspective it still looks like Viv did this (coroners report), and she isn’t listed as a missing person. She’s been labeled as a ‘jealous psychotic bitch’ who murdered someone and ‘took the cowards way out’ (also FYI: Suicide is NOT weakness.), and its not only a unfair, but its a narrative that benefits only Fergus. Beth isn’t better off for the lie, and poor Vivienne and her friends and family sure aren’t! I can’t comprehend having a loved one sacrifice her life style (she was a ‘city girl before she got married’ to move to a farm on an island with all of his family with him, then to go through the torture of being married to that said ‘man’ who lies and cheats, and THEN to be blamed for his mistresses murder (that he committed) and then kills her too to cover his own ass. And then labels HER as the violent problem that he had endured all those years… Hell, I’d probably want to harm Fergus out of revenge tbh - so well done to those who didn’t!
To say I’m furious on each woman's behalf feels like an understatement.
And I’m also personally deeply affected by some peoples judgement of Beth. As someone who whilst young fell for an older man and his lies, I know all too well how that type of dynamic works and the imbalance of power and your lack of life experience to see through the cliches and lies. When you’re young, you have a naively blind hope/belief that if you feel these feelings so strongly, and they are telling you that they do too, then it MUST be real, and it MUSTN’T be wrong. But the older we get and more experience we gain, the more we realise that's not factual.
I hope this book helps to bring justice to this before it's too late and Fergus has to spend at least some of his time in prison.

[True Crime Bookcase · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Vanishing of Vivienne Cameron by Vikki Petraitis is a powerful deep dive into one of Australia’s most haunting true crime cases. The book explores the brutal murder of Beth Barnard and the mysterious disappearance of Vivienne Cameron on Phillip Island in 1986, while relentlessly questioning the official narrative that has stood for decades.

“The search for Vivienne Cameron was never just a physical one; it was always about finding out who she was…” — Vikki Petraitis

That quote perfectly captures the heart of this book. Vivienne was lost to her boys, lost to her friends, and ultimately lost to silence, and Vikki is determined to bring her back into the story.

I loved learning Vikki’s backstory: what first drew her to this case and her endless, almost obsessive pursuit of the truth. She takes the reader directly into the crime scene, painting such a vivid picture that you feel like you’re standing inside Beth’s bedroom. At times, it feels less like reading a book and more like sitting in a café with Vikki, talking through each piece of evidence, theory, and contradiction.

This isn’t just about a young woman murdered in her home in the middle of the night, or a young mother accused of killing her. It’s about giving a voice to the voiceless when the evidence appears to point in a very different direction to what law enforcement and the coroner concluded. It’s about one woman’s tireless quest to uncover what really happened to both Beth and Vivienne.

Unlike Vikki’s other true crime books, she writes herself into this one, and I’m so glad she did. As true crime fans, there are cases that grab hold of you and crawl under your skin, and this is clearly one of them. Vikki has poured her blood, sweat, and tears into this case for nearly 40 years, and it shows on every page.

A compelling, emotional, and deeply important read.

[Mayumi Purvis · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Epstein case has taught us that we live in a world where the files of one dead man are more valued in establishing the truth than the voices of a thousand living women. Let’s just hold that gender-based deafness in our awareness as we cast our minds back to 1986, when Beth Barnard was murdered and Vivienne Cameron disappeared.

This book, The Vanishing of Vivienne Cameron, is a masterpiece because it not only shines a light on that which has been kept in the silent dark, it also expertly calls out the maleness of so many bad and dismissive decisions that were made when this case was “investigated”. Critically though, it holds a microphone up to the voices that have been ignored every step of the way.

This book is an act of courage on behalf of Vikki Petraitis that required a level of endurance and fortitude that I can’t even fully grasp. It is the culmination of 40 years of researching, following leads on this case, and really listening. Listening to those whose testimony doesn’t fit the convenient male narrative. Listening to those who have been dismissed or told they must have mis-remembered. Listening to the lesser heard from voices. Listening to women.

The idea that Vivienne Cameron spilled her own blood all over her own house and also murdered Beth Barnard in Beth’s house before throwing herself off a bridge and abandoning her two young children is ludicrous. But then…women have always been punished for men’s crimes.

[Tamsin Ramone · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had read the Phillip island murders so as soon as the body was discovered on Phillip island at the start of 2026 I was immediately interested. It must be Vivienne right? Such great timing to release this book with years of collected information. I really hope it makes the police stop and think a bit harder. Vivienne and Beth deserve justice.

Great book - At the start it annoyed me that Vicky kept breaking the fourth wall but by the end I really liked it. It’s clear and concise and compelling.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 1986, in Phillip Island, the body Beth Barnard was discovered brutally murdered, and her boyfriends wife, Vivienne Cameron, is missing, the police form the conclusion that Vivienne is the one responsible for Beth’s death. This theory never sat well with Vikki Petraitis, it didn’t explain the evidence or fit with what a mother of two young children would do. Over the decades Vikki has never let the case go, it was the subject of her first True Crime novel and the subject of her podcast, to mark the fortieth anniversary Vikki has bought together all her discoveries and expertise to investigate what truly happened, and why.

This was an interesting read, a case that I had known the basics about but never knew the full story. The bias, and assumptions of the police throughout the investigation was aggravating, and that is from an outsiders view - I can’t imagine the pain and angrier than the families of these two women must have felt, and still feel to this day. Told chronologically, with inputs from the present, the facts of the crime are laid out, it seems ridiculous that the police, and later a coroner, concluded that Vivienne kills Beth on a jealous rage, and then took her own life. Well written, informative and left me wanting more. One for fans of true crime.

[Saskia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow!

As someone who was born and raised on Phillip Island this case holds a special place in my heart. Growing up you knew about it - everyone has their theories. Vikki is keeping the memory of these two women alive and in the forefront of people’s minds. I hope one day we know the truth.

[Andrea Vollbrecht · Rating 5 out of 5]

still one of the greatest mysteries around with so many unanswered questions and inconsistencies in the evidence given......this case needs to be reopened. Brilliant book that deserves a resolution