Missing, Presumed Dead: The double murder case that shocked Australia

by Mark Tedeschi

It was the double murder case that gripped Australia, and former Crown Prosecutor Mark Tedeschi KC is finally able to share all the astonishing details.

Shortlisted for the 2023 Danger Awards

Dorothy Davis and Kerry Whelan were both happy, healthy, affluent, middle-class women from conservative, loving families.

Such women are hardly ever among the ranks of the missing. They were not hitchhikers, or associates of drug dealers, or unhappy with their family relationships, or suffering from mental health issues. Dorothy Davis and Kerry Whelan came from different parts of Sydney, mixed in quite different circles, and led completely different lives. They had never met each other, and if they had, they would have had little in common. But Dorothy and Kerry did have one thing in common – they both knew Bruce Allan Burrell.

The disappearance of these two women without trace led to massive police investigations and resulted in sensational trials that gripped the nation. This book explores the intricacies of those investigations and delves into the twisted, tortuous processes of legal proceedings, while exploring the dark recesses of the mind of Bruce Burrell.

'Gripping writing, from an expert on the inside of some of the state's worst murders and disappearances.' Peter FitzSimons

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Australia, Crime, Audiobook

Audible Audio

First published January 1, 2022

About the author

Mark Alfred Guido Tedeschi, AM, QC (born 1952) is an Australian barrister, law professor, photographer and author. He has won numerous awards for his photography and has been featured in galleries throughout the world including in the State Library of New South Wales, the New South Wales Art Gallery, the Center for Fine Art Photography in Colorado, and the National Library in Canberra. He is the Senior Crown Prosecutor for New South Wales and the Head of Chambers of the 84 Crown Prosecutors. He is the founder and president of the Australian Association of Crown Prosecutors and a visiting professor at the University of Wollongong. As a prosecutor, Tedeschi is best known for the prosecution of numerous high-profile cases in Australia including the 2006 conviction of Dr. Suman Sood for illegal abortion and the Backpacker Murders committed by Ivan Milat in the 1990s.

Tedeschi is the author of two books, one on law and the other on photography. In 1980, he co-authored Law of International Business in Australia with Dr. P.J. O'Keefe. He released a book of photograph in 2012 entitled Shooting Around Corners which featured over twenty five years of his photography.

Tedeschi is the author of a true crime book called Eugenia, published in 2012 by Simon & Schuster, which tells the story of Eugenia Falleni, a woman of Italian and New Zealand background who lived in Australia as a man from 1898 until she was charged with the murder of her first "wife" in 1920. In this book, Tedeschi describes the tortuous life that Eugenia Falleni led as a woman trying to lead life as a man in a society that did not understand such things. He describes her murder trial in Sydney in 1920 in which she was prosecuted by the first Senior Crown Prosecutor, William Coyle KC. Part of the book describes this very complex and interesting trial, and Eugenia Falleni's life after her trial.

Kidnapped will be published by Simon & Schuster in 2015.

Reviews

[Sheree | Keeping Up With The Penguins · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent chunk of Missing, Presumed Dead is made up of extracts from Tedeschi’s addresses to the jury, and this was what I found most interesting (other parts relied a little too heavily on speculation for my taste). It was fascinating to see how prosecutors speak and present complex evidence to laypeople, and why they make the choices they do in how they argue a case.

My full review of Missing, Presumed Dead is up now on Keeping Up With The Penguins.

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

Missing, Presumed Dead tells what is, at its heart, a very interesting story about a double murder case from the perspective of the crown prosector who worked to convict the murderer. The case itself is interesting in that its circumstances are relatively unique, and the unravelling of the investigation in a world much less saturated in technology and surveillance than the present was compelling. As many other reviews have pointed out, the author relies heavily on transcripts from the trials. As a result, a lot of the book circles back on ideas and phrases repeatedly. Its a structure that is probably effective in address in court, but is less so in a book.

[Mandy White (mandylovestoread) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to DMCPR Media for my giveaway win - another one that my husband grabbed and read straight away! I look forward to reading it soon as well.

Husband's review

This is the double murder case that gripped Australia. Two women, Dorothy Davis and Kerry Whelan were both happy, affluent middle class women who vanished and have never been seen again. The person that linked them was Bruce Burrell. He needed money and did what he wanted to get it.

This book is the Crown Prosecution's case by the man who prosecuted Burrell. There were massive police investigations, separate trials and Mark Tedeschi QC has produced a fascinating, easy to read and understand narrative of the evidence, the trial procedures and legal processes.

A gripping read. All the stars

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mark Tedeschi AM QC was, until 2019, the Senior Crown Prosecutor, and the head of Chambers of the Crown Prosecutors for New South Wales. He's now a private barrister, but in 35 years with Crown Prosecution he has prosecuted many high-profile trials in Australia, some of which have involved the worst of the worst murderers and offenders this country has ever seen.

MISSING, PRESUMED DEAD is the story of the disappearance of two women in particular - 74 year old Dorothy Davis and 39 year old Kerry Whelan, both of whom had the great misfortune to come into contact with one of the more awful men this country has produced - Bruce Burrell, an entitled, greedy, lazy, appalling man who was eventually found guilty of abducting and murdering at least these two women - all to cover up his financial transgressions. Their bodies have never been found, and at the end of this book we find out that he died in prison, serving a life sentence, never disclosing the location of the bodies, never giving the families of these victim's the chance of a dignified farewell.

The first half of the book, where the story of the offender is drawn out, is incredibly difficult to stomach. There's nothing in the story of Burrell, his background, his offending (and there is the possibility of at least one other disappearance with parallels to the two he was found guilty of), or his general demeanour that makes the opening chapters anything other than difficult to stomach. Not through any fault of the author - this offender is just an appalling human being, there doesn't appear to have been a single mitigating factor in anything he did - and I could have stood knowing he died relatively young, from cancer, in prison a bit earlier - might have made having to know about him just that bit more tolerable to be brutally frank.

The second half of this book, where Tedeschi gets into the trials and the complications of the legal requirements of proving murder when no body has ever been found, and the need for multiple trials is detailed without being confusing, and informative without being overtly instructional or dry. The author has a way of explaining complex legal issues with clarity and meticulous attention to detail that make them very accessible to the legal lay person. His ability to dissect the core of the prosecution case, compare it to the defence strategies, explain the process and the decisions they took is flawless, giving the reader a real insight into the processes of law, and the complications.

For the second half alone MISSING, PRESUMED DEAD was a book that, despite my struggle (and I really really struggled with the first half), I'm glad I got to the end of. For the insight into the legal process, and for the time that he gives to the impact this case had on the Whelan family in particular. The victim's are given their due place in history as well, and the impact that their loss had on those around them is touched on, respectfully and forthrightly. The fallout from Burrell's actions is inter-generational and unforgivable and the legal system and it's participants served us well.

https://www.austcrimefiction.org/revi...

[Tracey Allen at Carpe Librum · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 2014 I read Eugenia, A True Story of Adversity, Tragedy, Crime and Courage by Mark Tedeschi QC and it was so good, the book went on to make my Top 5 Books in 2014 list. Mark Tedeschi is an Australian Barrister and the former Senior Crown Prosecutor for NSW and I've been looking forward to reading more from him since then. Naturally I was excited to enter the competition hosted by Carol over at Reading, Writing and Riesling and even happier to win it!

Missing, Presumed Dead covers the disappearances of Dorothy Davis and Kerry Whelan, both middle class women from Sydney who had only one thing in common, they both knew Bruce Burrell. In the late 1990s, both women were kidnapped and subsequently killed by Burrell. In the case of Kerry Whelan, Burrell sent the victim's husband a ransom note and Detectives found a checklist of kidnapping tasks in his personal papers. The remains of the women were never found, but Burrell was sentenced to life in prison on the grounds of the circumstantial evidence presented to the court. It's a fascinating case and it gripped the headlines in Australia at the time and proved that a suspect can be charged with murder, even in the absence of blood, a body or any human remains.

Tedeschi worked on the case and his legal insights were invaluable. Burrell didn't testify at his trial, but Tedeschi expands his examination to include the questions he WOULD have asked Burrell if he had testified at trial. That in itself was refreshingly unique and I haven't seen that done in true crime before.

I read the print copy alongside the audio and found the narrator Stephen Briggs a little too dramatic for my tastes, given this was true crime and not a suspense thriller. Briggs also didn't convey the voice of Tedeschi at trial very well either. My only other gripe was wondering why Kerry Whelan appears on the cover alone when this story is also about the death of Dorothy Davis. Why exclude Dorothy Davis from the cover when the byline claims this is 'the double murder case that shocked Australia.'

Burrell died in prison in 2016 and frustratingly never disclosed the location of his victim's remains, causing untold anguish for the families. I hope he rots in hell, but Missing, Presumed Dead is a real eye-opener and is recommended for readers of true crime and Australian legal history.

* Copy courtesy of Simon & Schuster & Reading, Writing and Riesling *

[Craig and Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Simon & Schuster for sending us a copy to read and review.
A gripping murder case heightens the emotions when reading as it was real not just the product of a clever author.
A detailed summary by a QC lawyer is factual and not clouded by emotion.
It is logical and makes the reader feel like they are in the courtroom.
Bruce Burrell was not a fine example of humanity, he was conniving, deviously clever and a murderer.
A type that thought the world owed him, and fleecing people an action committed without flinching.
Two unsuspecting women disappeared without a trace, both knew Bruce and were both aware of his manipulative demeanour.
He knew their weakness and preyed upon it.
A detailed and riveting court case summary followed, giving insight into the planning he did and the audacious facade he presented.
An epilogue gratefully providing all the answers and updates on such a gruesome case and despicable man.
This expose’ did share so many shocking details and they were presented very well.
It was a true crime book that may help the families of the victims and answer some of the many questions and mysteries around the case.
I know a few out there, would love this.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. Many people would be familiar with this crime because of the publicity it attracted but there is so much more to it than you could possibly imagine. The book is quite accessible even though it deals with legal matters. I found much of the information absolutely fascinating.

[Xanthi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to this on audiobook format.
An interesting book though a large part of it was reproduction of court transcripts with comments by the author added. That part of the book was excellent for law students but for the layperson it was a bit repetitive and overly detailed. I think a more summarised approach would have been better for the average true crime reader.
As for crimes themselves and the perpetrator- a prime example of a murderous narcissist who was pretty much enabled by family from a young age, and by some of his friends and his wife until they wised up to him. I found the part about the gun and his father and sister, particularly deplorable.

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mark Tedeschi writes in an easy to follow style. This book was an intriguing account of the kidnapping and murder of Kerry Whelan, and the murder of Dorothy Davis. There are still two very intriguing mysteries in these cases. Why Kerry Whelan went to meet Burrell. And the location of the bodies of both women. Burrell went to his grave refusing to admit guilt or to say where he had placed the bodies. Tedeschi is donating author proceeds from this book to help the families of missing persons.

[Merav Ross · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was chosen in my Bookclub and I finished it because of that but otherwise I would have put it away. I struggled getting through each and every fact, and didn’t enjoy the narrative at all. I would have happily read the beginning and the end, which summarised so well what the entire book dragged out. I’m sorry to give a bad review but this book was not for me.

[Maxie Mancuso · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty decent read, Once it got into the court case I would sometimes find myself reading the page and not actually absorbing the information because of the legal jargon used, but with a bit of concentration it’s easy to get through. Would recommend, super interesting how this whole thing played out.

[Catherine Campbell · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5.

[Cate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting information but repetitive

[Venessa Johnstone · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didnt like the narrator. enjoyed the story though..

[Colin Garrow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Australians Dorothy Davis and Kerry Whelan had a lot in common – they both came from middle class, happy families and were well off financially. Unfortunately for them, they also both knew Bruce Burrell. When Dorothy disappeared in 1995 after leaving her home to visit a friend, police had very little to go on. Initially suspecting Burrell, an alibi seemed to put him in the clear. Two years later, when Kerry also disappeared, the police soon got on his tail. Trouble is, with no bodies, how could they prove the women were murdered?

Former Crown Prosecutor Mark Tedeschi QC reveals the story of how Bruce Burrell was eventually brought to trial, despite the fact that the bodies of Kerry Whelan and Dorothy Davis remained missing. Though all the evidence was circumstantial, it clearly pointed to Burrell’s involvement, especially considering his odd behaviour leading up to Kerry’s abduction.

Tedeschi’s account is an intriguing insight into the police investigation and the subsequent trials. While for the most part it is well written and engaging, some elements of the trial transcripts are repeated (in some instances, several times), which is a little irritating. Also, the decision to have the narrator doing a ‘this is me being the barrister’ bit became tedious. That aside, the book is a fascinating account of how circumstantial evidence and the lack of a body can still result in a conviction.

[Phillip Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

The content of this book was disturbing and therefore saying I enjoyed it seems contradictory.
However the author, Mark Tedeschi, AM, KC was formerly the Senior Crown prosecutor for New South Wales and prosecuted the cases against Bruce Burrell( the person who was the thread between 2 woman unknown to each other however missing presumed dead.

Leaving aside the disturbing matters arising in the book I found the writing clear and concise. The author linked extracts of his court appearances dialogue with his interpretation of actions and events thereby lightening the legal with informal.

The legal world is a universe of its own. We in the ordinary world can be swamped by its complexity.

This book needed to be written both for the victims and their families and for ordinary people like me to better understand the impact on victims and families. Further I better appreciate the people within the legal system who we do not know yet work on our behalf.
Finally a guilty verdict without the body can be handed down.

The Whelans life changed dramatically and after many years felt that they would rather have had a wife and mother’s body laid to rest than Burrell incarcerated knowing where it is yet not disclosing her whereabouts.

A 4 star read, well written but this book is life and a guilty verdict is not necessarily a happy ending.

[Maureen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book goes a way to explaining why some trials take an age to come to fruition. In this complex case police decided to try to contact the 1694 owners of a Pajero similar to the one driven by the murderer and succeeded in the case of all but 44 of them. It is this persistent, and probably boring, investigation work that means the difference between a conviction or acquittal.
One thing that shocked me about the behind the scenes court machinations was the fact that the judge can reject evidence which then the jury never sees. In this case it included, in my opinion, important facts that could have had bearing on the jury's decision: such as the defendant having a part used bottle of chloroform, having a note which listed amongst other things 'vacuum passenger side 1/2 hour' and owning a street directory which had a route marked on it from the point of kidnap in Parramatta to a deserted area at Smithfield.
Although the book gave me a couple of sleepless nights I don't for a minute regret reading it.

[Bree T · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’d very much doubt that there’s a person of adult age in the early to mid 2000s in Australia that doesn’t recall these two murders, both of which were prosecuted without police ever finding the bodies. I remember both these cases particularly well for quite a few reasons, one of which being my family had a pretty personal connection to one of the victims and their family.

Both women that disappeared were wealthy, happy, well adjusted women – one an elderly widower but still living a very active life and with quite a large investment portfolio, the other a wife and mother, married to a very wealthy man which enabled her to also live a certain sort of lifestyle. Both disappeared, one without a trace and one in an orchestrated kidnapping where there was a ransom note issued. No traces of either woman have ever been found and the man convicted of both their murders, Bruce Burrell, died some six years ago of cancer without ever having given up even the slightest shred of information.

This book is written by the Crown Prosecutor in both trials against Bruce Burrell, one for the kidnap and murder of Kerry Whelan and the other for the murder of Dorothy Davis. It’s a pretty deep dive into not just the circumstances surrounding both disappearances but also the trials themselves – mostly the trial for Kerry Whelan, which takes up a considerable chunk of the book and includes large parts of the opening address, evidence presentation and closing address. As I mentioned, I’m pretty familiar with this case and I’ve watched a couple documentaries on it too but this still included stuff I didn’t know before (especially about the elderly man that disappeared without a trace). It’s very methodical and precise, as you would expect something that is written by a prosecutor to be, taking you step by step through each disappearance, the ways in which police investigated and came to the conclusion Bruce Burrell was responsible, the ways in which they pursued him and then how they got both cases to trial, without any bodies. Or without any actual direct evidence – it was all circumstantial but they had quite a lot of it and when put together, it made a pretty convincing case.

This was very thorough and it was incredibly easy listening – I actually got through it in 2 days which is excellent for me with an audiobook that is almost 10 hours long. I find non-fiction much easier to listen to and this was something I was already incredibly interested in and I found the more it dug deeper, the more interesting it became. The little things that never got out or weren’t made much of in the press because they weren’t that important in the scheme of things when two people have been murdered for such awful reasons. Not that there is really many good reasons to murder someone, but killing a little old lady because she wanted her $100k back that she loaned you and the wife of your former boss because he’s rich and you’re not and you were crap at your job and he fired you SEVEN YEARS AGO are indications of such a gross entitlement to what other people had that it’s actually hard to find the words to describe how heinous it is.

The only negative is that this book sometimes gets quite repetitive – quite a lot of statements are repeated multiple times, verbatim, throughout the book which maybe I might not have picked up on so much reading but when listening, became very obvious. Certain things and events and conversations are also rehashed multiple times as well. It just became quite noticeable and I don’t think that this is a particularly long book either. Perhaps the reiteration was deliberate to emphasise some things but it more just felt like ‘I’ve heard this before, why am I hearing it again?’. That was really my only quibble in reading this, those bits really stuck out and maybe that’s how it is in a trial, things getting repeated to you constantly so that it sinks in and this does include a lot of the addresses to the jury. I’ve never been a juror in any sort of case, let alone one with this type of notoriety. That is a pretty minor thing though and I still recommend this if you’re interested in a really deep dive into a case, how it’s done from beginning to end, especially in the circumstance of there being no body.

[Claudette · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Audiobook) This book was an interesting read. It relied heavily on the Prosecution case (of course as it was written by a Prosectuor) but the author did refer to the defence case as well. At times I thought it was a tad boring because a lot of the book was written directly from the court transcript, not the type of genre for a book. However in saying that, you as a reader get to understand the submissions made by the Prosecutor and why certain evidence is omitted and what evidence is relied upon. Kudos to the Police for the time and effort they put into this investigation. The evidence relied upon by the Prosecutor was circumstantial evidence. So if a body is never found, circumstantial evidence can convict a person. I believe from the information I read in this book that Charlie Spears was also killed by Burrell but he was never prosecuted for it. Burrell was a true narcissist!

[Brendon Fehre · Rating 2 out of 5]

The disappearance without trace of these two women was a major new story - especially where it was realised that they were both linked to the killer Bruce Burrell, resulting in lengthy trials at great cost to the state. This book repeats itself again and again. It was more tortuous than twisted and didn't really go into the mind of Bruce (as it was suggested).

As for Peter Fitzsimons stating it was gripping writing! One wonders what he got in return for writing that. It certainly wasn't gripping, it was however boring as it went over the same thing again and again.

I kept reading so it must have been ok, but really not much here folks. Quite disappointing really, former Crown Prosecutor Mark Tedeschi QC didn't really share any shocking new details. If you read the paper and watched the news at the time you basically have read this book.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second Tedeschi book I’ve read, but the first one from a case he worked on. I hadn’t heard about this case or followed it in the courts/media so it was an interesting case for me to read about.
Fascinating reading and all the time you ask yourself how some murderers are just so full of confidence and think their lies and charm work on everyone and that they’ll never get caught.
Mark always breaks down the case and court room proceedings for you because that’s his area of expertise, I appreciate his clear explanations.

[Amba · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mark has a unique way of telling true crime stories. Coming from a legal background, Mark is not only able to explain how crimes are solved and how the justice system work, he also explains the motivations of the criminal. He does this in a way that anyone can understand. A natural story teller I had to know how this story ended and if anyone got justice. Mark also does in a way that is respectful to the families affected by violence.

[Gemma W · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found the first part of this book really captivating. Once the book started discussing the first trial it became repetitive and relied on transcripts which I skipped reading. The transcripts offer no value to the writing or storyline. It feels like a lot of the trial transcripts and the authors recollections are just trying to fill pages and don't make this book interesting to read. I feel the author was at times big noting themselves in this book which detracted from the quality.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this. I found the amount of detail just right. The detailing of the motives of this less than remarkable criminal and the ways he tried to cover himself were believable. What a horrible man that murderer was. Harder to understand than crimes of passion of people who had poor upbringings

[Anna Loder · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t read much true crime at all, so I’m not sure I am qualified to be able to rate Missing, Presumed Dead..but I did find it so easy to read and follow, it felt like I was listening to the court transcripts, it really made the case that Bruce Burrell is guilty well. I’m so ready to see Mark Tedeschi speak at Sutherland Library

[Dean · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the first 30% of the book. The rest of the book was excerpts from the prosecution of the murder in court. That I found less interesting. But good read, well written, clearly written by a prosecutor as it was very methodical, clear, logical and easy to follow.

[Dale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insightful and in-depth

I wanted to read this account of Kerry Whelan for a long time. After an initial flush of enthusiasm it took me a long time to finish it. There's a lot of information and detail necessary for authenticity but there's a tendency to repetition. Of course technically for completeness there's a purpose in this, but it makes for a test of reader engagement. Other than locating Bruce Burrell's victim's bodies this book comes as close to a tombstone and therefore I acknowledge and applaud the author's efforts and sentiments.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

What an evil, horrible man Bruce Burrell was. Mark Tedeschi has written an interesting account of the investigations and trials of Burrell for the murders of two innocent women, Dorothy Davis and Kerry Whelan.

[Shirley Baerken · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was extremely interesting. I enjoyed it very much and learnt a lot about what goes into the court cases of missing persons, presumed dead, but no body is found. A great true story and an excellent read.

[Trish · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting.