Contract killings, multiple affairs, and the dangerous woman at the centre of it all. When Michelle Burgess fell for suburban dad Kevin Matthews, not even his wife could get in the way of their twisted relationship. And Michelle made sure of it.
Kevin had been with his wife Carolyn for 17 years, but it hadn’t all been smooth sailing. Kevin had recently received a demotion at work, and Carolyn had been getting anonymous calls suggesting that Kevin was having an affair.
On July 21 2001, Kevin took their three sons to the video store, leaving Carolyn home alone.
When they returned only 20 minutes later, they found Carolyn’s body on the kitchen floor – lying in a pool of her blood.
Police found DNA and a bloody footprint on the property. Although the DNA had no matches, the footprint seemed to belong to a boot-wearing male, like a tradie.
When police looked through Kevin’s phone records, they found multiple calls to a woman named Michelle Burgess – the wife of one of Kevin’s employees.
Michelle’s web of lies – and lovers
Police began surveilling Michelle and suspected her of having an affair with Kevin. Witnesses saw them at Kevin’s workplace the night before Carolyn’s murder, allegedly arguing with another man.
Through a tap on Michelle’s phone, police found she was in a relationship with another man named David Keys. He had a criminal record of robbery and drugs, and became a suspect in Carolyn’s murder.
Police arrested Keys over outstanding traffic offences. When police searched his belongings, they found boots that matched the bloody footprint, and a contract in Key’s wallet for the murder of Darren Burgess – Michelle’s estranged husband.
Keys admitted to the plot, but said he’d destroyed the contract for Carolyn’s murder by eating it in a sandwich!
Michelle’s handwriting was matched with the handwriting on the surviving murder contract, and she was arrested for Carolyn’s murder.
During her trial, Kevin attended court in a hat that read ‘forever’, mouthing words of encouragement to his lover.
But it wasn’t long before Kevin was swept up in the trial.
Find out how the case was closed on this episode of Minds of Madness.
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