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at 3:30 p.m. on February 9 2005 Greenville primary schools end of day Bell echoed through the suburban heart
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of Greenville an upmarket inland suburb on the northern fringe of Melbourne Victoria a vibrant cacophony of noise
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followed as hundreds of young students poured out of the classrooms they rushed with renewed energy to the school gates
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where parents were waiting to take them home after a long day when 11 year old Greenville student Damien cork reached
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the gates that warm afternoon it came as no surprise that his mother Maria wasn't
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waiting for him 50 year old Maria cork was a machine operator at the Kaiser hosiery Factory in the nearby industrial
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suburb of Kuler ooh at the end of each workday Maria aimed to leave the factory by 3:30 p.m. to pick up Damien from
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school the drive from her workplace to Greenville primary took upwards of 15 minutes getting her to the school gates
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by around 3:45 p.m. so Maria wasn't one of the earlybird parents waiting the moment the bell rang
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however she never failed to pick up her son minutes tick by as cars rolled out of the carpark students on bikes pedaled
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down the leafy streets and to those opting to walk disappeared down the Wandy suburban sidewalks Damien pastime
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on the school playground whilst keeping an eye on the school gate he expected the C's mothers 1995 burgundy colored
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Mazda 626 sedan pull up any minute dozens of cars stopped alongside the gate as students left into the back
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seats as each car came and when Maria's Burgundy Mazda was nowhere to be seen the bell rang again at 3:45 p.m. over
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there now quiet school grounds this second Bell informed all remaining students on school property to head to
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the school's administration building to be supervised then after-school care as Damien headed to the admin building he
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wondered if his mum was caught up a work lost track of time and had forgotten about him school star found a peculiar
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to say Damien Corp in after-school care that wasn't luck Maria to be late nevertheless they weren't immediately
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concerned they believed she was probably caught up at work stuck in traffic or maybe even had car trouble they
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anticipated hearing from her soon however by 4:00 p.m. Maria still hadn't arrived nor contacted the school the
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school admin tried to call Marie's mobile phone that it went straight to voicemail
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over the following 20 minutes several more calls to Maria's mobile were made but there was still no response
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when it was clear they couldn't get ahold of her the school found Maria's husband Joe Corp
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47 year old Joe Corp was a manager at South Pacific tires a tire factory located in Somerton a few suburbs east
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of Greenville he was at work when Greenville primary called informing him of Maria's absence Joe was perplexed and
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could often no explanation why Maria hadn't picked up their son Maria prioritized her role as a mother
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above all else she dropped whatever she was doing no matter how important to ensure she
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reached her son on Taunton even those who knew little about her knew she was a devoted mother
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it was incredibly out of character for her to abandon Damien without explanation
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the prickling question lingered in the backs of concerned minds where's aria [Music]
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joke or Petrovka Greenville primary to collect Damien after woods the two headed to the court family home in
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McCallum hoping Maria might be there the courthouse was located on Mount Wrigley
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Road which separated Miquelon to the north from Craigieburn to the south on the northern side of the road of Michael
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Long's grassy farmland pastures Goddard with uniquely designed country houses few and far between on the southern side
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other condensed maze-like block estates of the Craigieburn suburbs packed with identical modern houses tightly sitting
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side-by-side back to back the courthouse was situated on the McCallum side of Mount Ridley Road Joe purchased the
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empty five acre block of land cheap in 1998 confident it was the ideal place to build the court family dream home the
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northern suburbs of Victoria were considered relatively rural at the time resting on the cusp of the countryside
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with Melbourne CBD only around 40 kilometers sell an urban boom was anticipated up north over the following
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years Joe walkest rated the construction of a five-bedroom country mansion with two bathrooms extensive living and
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entertaining areas a theatre room a three-car garage with three separate doors and a large work shed out the back
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of the property Maria helped out where she could and would proudly show off her contributions
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to the construction when friends and family visited by early 2004 the house was complete the corpse impressive 700
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square metre red brick estate loomed at the end of a circular crushed dirt driveway
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it took almost seven years and over 500 thousand dollars to build the finished property was estimated to have a selling
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price over a million dollars boasting it was the best house on the street Joe took immense pride in his handmade
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homestead Maria found serenity in her large semi isolated house on the edge of the expensive Victorian countryside and
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made her comfortably nostalgic bringing back memories of childhood growing up on a working farm
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in the rural hillside village of Grimm mayor Lombardo in Portugal Maria migrated from Portugal to
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Australia in 1976 with her first husband Manuel the two settled in the Greenville
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suburbs and in 1978 they had a daughter Laura Manuel considered returning to Portugal one day Heluva Maria no longer
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felt her homeland told much appeal she had come to fully embrace her new Australian lifestyle but 1987 the family
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were well established spending warm days tending to the garden of their small family home whilst practicing their
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English with neighbors over the fenceline but their ideal it suburban life fell apart abruptly in 1987 when
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Manuel suffered a fatal heart attack sadly this wasn't the first traumatic heartbreak Maria had experienced in her
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life so far when she was a teenager her childhood sweetheart was killed in the Angolan Civil War a sudden widow with a
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nine-year-old daughter Maria had little choice but to return to work shortly after Manuel's death at that time maria
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worked as a factory hand at south pacific toys in Somerton where she met her current husband Joe caught Maria was
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a hard worker a trait ingrained by her family since childhood others marveled at her tenacity her
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limitless energy and had never give up attitude where she found her immense power and energy was purely within Maria
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was only a petite 52 kilogram figure staining it just far foot 2 inches it was easy to underestimate her but she
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was much tougher than she looked [Music] the possibility maria was home the afternoon of february nor in 2005 was
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dashed the moment joe turned onto the driveway leading to their red brick house her car wasn't in the driveway or
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the garage there was no sign that maria had been home during the day at all at around 5:30 p.m. Joe planned to drive
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the route Maria usually took between Hope workplace and Damian's school maybe Maria had a flat tire who had gotten
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into an accident leaving her stranded somewhere along the way as he turned his car out onto Mount Ridley Road his
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stepdaughter Laura passed him in her own car 26 year old Laura was Maria's daughter from her previous marriage with
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Manuel she had been at work that day a hairstylist at a local salon Laura pulled her car into the garage and was
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curious to find her mother's car wasn't there once inside her younger brother Damien
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revealed that Maria didn't pick him up from school that day Laura knew this was unlike her mother but brushed away any
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concerns by assuming there was a simple explanation she went into the study logged onto the family computer and
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started listening to music a short time later Hirst that part that joke burst into the study he was visibly
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anxious and began asking if she had seen or heard from a rail after driving around the local area he'd failed to
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find any sign of her remaining level-headed Laura suggested Marija was probably out shopping or stuck at an
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appointment but even she felt something wasn't right Joe paced the house waiting for Maria to
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come home as hours past the front door didn't open and the home phone didn't ring as the Sun slowly said there was
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still no sign of Maria and Joe was convinced she had found trouble at 7:30 p.m. he got back into his car and drove
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straight to nearby a Craigieburn police station Joe Corp formally reported his wife as a
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missing person he told police the last time he saw or heard from Maria was that morning February 9 Joe explained he got
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up early to prepare for work downstairs Maria was in the kitchen making a sandwich for Damian's school lunch and a
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salad roll for her own she didn't give Joe any reasons why her school pickup might be interfered with that afternoon
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after giving his wife a kiss goodbye Joe entered the garage got into his car and
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drove off to his workplace in Somerton clocking in a work around 7:00 a.m. joe stated he didn't hear from maria during
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the day the fact confirmed by his mobile phone records there was little doubt Joe
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had been at work all day notable co-workers saw him in the office consistently throughout and he was also
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present at four meetings occurring at or around 8:30 a.m. 11:00 a.m. 3 p.m. at 4:30 p.m.
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no one saw Joe take a break or leave the premises and he wasn't absent for any extended periods of time
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Joe was surprisingly upfront to police and confessed he and Maria had been through a recent bit of marital problems
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that had made Maria depressed although he was quick to shut down any considerations Maria was suicidal
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self-harm went against Maria's devout Catholic beliefs and she would never abandon her children from the police
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perspective Joe seemed genuinely concerned for Maria's welfare yet there was no suggestion Maria was in immediate
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danger or had met with foul play she was an unhappy suburban wife in a rough marriage the simplest explanation
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seemed to the most likely maybe Maria had had enough and just ran away police agreed to conduct the precautionary
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search for Maria that night a broadcast over police radio told officers in the area to be on the lookout for Maria's
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car and squad cars circled the factory parking lot where she worked and shopping centres she frequented yet
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there were no sightings local towing companies were contacted but none had her car in their possession calls to
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Maria's close friends and relatives repeated the same fact over and over it was out of character for Maria to just
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disappear Maria was described as personable and warm although she could be a little melodramatic this added
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weight to the theory she might have run away to emotionally impact her husband no one had seen or heard from her that
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day Maria's mobile phone was off and untraceable but her recent phone records showed no suspicious activity the last
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time her personal banking account was accessed was two days prior her withdrawal of only one hundred and fifty
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dollars police contacted Maria's work supervisor at the factory and to their surprise they found out Maria didn't
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show up to work that day her supervisor also revealed Maria came into work late the day before she was late because she
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had been at the Broadmeadows magistrates call all morning with her husband at Chow
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they were canceling a restraining order she had previously placed against him the restraining order was taken out by
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Maria a few months earlier and was used to prevent Joe from coming within 200 metres of the family home and from
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harassing assaulting or intimidating Maria according to the Registrar who handled the case in court on the morning
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of February 8 Maria appeared on edge when asking for the order to be repealed the registro
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was troubled by her behavior so eased all conditions except one the one preventing Joe from harassing or
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assaulting Maria this decision seemed to settle Maria's nose the search carried on that night with no sightings of Maria
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although police did receive an interesting phone call the caller was Joe corks brother gust
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news of Maria's disappearance had spread through the corp extended family and gust had his own pressing concerns about
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the situation a rundown of what gust told police was noted at the end of Maria's missing-persons report quote
00:16:13
police were contacted by Joe's brother gust cork stated that he was concerned his brother Joe may have done something
00:16:20
to Maria stated that Joe stepdaughter Laura had mentioned she was woken by screaming at 6:30 a.m. and Joe told her
00:16:28
that she must have been dreaming also stated that Joe had forced Maria to change the content of her will also
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stated the Joe had rung him and said Gus I think on [ __ ] gust helps Joe with his computer and said that he had read
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some emails which Joe sent to his girlfriend Tonia Herman who lives in Greenville one of the emails went along
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the lines of I have to do it alone I don't want you to be involved gusts wife Patricia told him that Tonya told her
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that she would kill Maria before she gets Joe back at 10:44 p.m. that night three police
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officers arrived to the courthouse the privacy that made the rural landscape appealing also felt rich with suburban
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secrets Joe was welcoming to police when he answered the front door he permitted
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them to search his house for clues to Maria's whereabouts taking them on a guided tour of his experience of
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property Joe was forthcoming to authorities willingly answering questions allowing them to search his
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car and giving them permission to check his bank accounts and phone records the interior of the court residence was
00:17:42
impressive there was little wonder why Joe had such immense pride for his creation rooms were spacious neat and
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uncluttered decorated with polished timber furniture and authentic leather upholstery several large windows
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throughout the estate gave an unrestricted view of the sparkling garden lots of Melbourne City in the
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distance on the back wall of the theatre room was a large plasma screen the children's bedrooms were located at the
00:18:09
rear of the house giving both the kids and adults space and privacy from one another
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the master bedroom at the front was upstairs and included a queen-size bed propped up on the wall above for frank
00:18:22
photographs of Joe and Maria on their wedding day a walk-in wardrobe led to a sparkling ensuite featuring a double
00:18:29
vanity expensive fixtures and an elevated spa bath the three-car Garage housed both Jose and Dolores vehicles
00:18:38
with an empty spot where Maria's car should have been Joe was especially fond of his study in
00:18:46
which he spent long nights in front of the family computer surrounded by memorabilia of his
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favorite Australian rules football team the Collingwood Magpies Maria had her own sanctuary a prayer room featuring a
00:18:59
desk covered in Catholic imagery candles and incense as police conducted their search Joe confirmed no luggage was
00:19:08
missing from the house and at none of Maria's personal necessities such as toiletries or clothes appeared to be
00:19:14
gone raising doubts on the runaway theory in the backyard was a vegetable garden Maria cultivated that she called
00:19:24
her Costello washab Costello being the Portuguese word for castle she'd also read sheep on the property a throwback
00:19:32
to her childhood in which her family had done the same thing at the very back of
00:19:37
the lot was Joe's large work shed stocked with tools a workbench and gardening equipment the envy of every
00:19:43
handyman there was nothing suspect the Drewe police attention the house was well
00:19:50
presented cared for and maintained police spoke to Maria's daughter Laura wanting more insight into gust corpse
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claims she had heard screaming that morning Laura confirmed the screams they seemed so real they'd been playing on
00:20:04
her mind to the whole day it was around 6:30 a.m. when she heard them they sounded as though they came from the
00:20:11
front of the house where her parents bedroom was located Laura quote when I heard the scream I went into my
00:20:19
brother's room I asked him if he was the one screaming he said no and went back to sleep then I went back to my bedroom
00:20:27
and went back to sleep police checked the corp amassed a bedroom from where laura thought she
00:20:35
heard the screaming but they found two no signs of foul play an orderly couple who were close friends with Maria
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attended the core past that night whilst police were present pulling an officer aside to speak privately
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the woman revealed Maria had considered running away from Joe recently she didn't go through with it though as she
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didn't want to leave her children behind the woman then wanted the officer Joe cork shouldn't be trusted Joe Cobb
00:21:07
remained an enigma to police if what they were dealing with was a crime everything and everyone pointed to him
00:21:14
as the prime suspect yet he carried himself as anything but he seemed to genuinely concerned for Maria his alibi
00:21:23
was solid and he offered himself to police as an open book with nothing to hide before the police left Joe gave
00:21:31
them a photograph of Maria to aid in the ongoing search curious police were eager
00:21:36
to unravel Joe further however they decided not to push him too soon they didn't want to risk striking fear in the
00:21:43
man and having him completely shut down on them but they were watching him very closely they did have one last question
00:21:51
for him though if he could think of anyone who might not like Maria without hesitation Joe gave a name there was a
00:22:00
name police had heard before making it clear she was his former girlfriend the name Joe offered was Tonya Herrmann
00:22:14
by daybreak on February 10 an intensive search from area began helicopters circled the sky above the northern
00:22:22
suburbs as detectives from the broad Meadows Criminal Investigation Unit interviewed Maria's close friends and
00:22:27
family the topic of the restraining order resurfaced in a second interview with Maria's daughter Laura when her
00:22:35
mother took out the order she warned Laura that if anything were to happen to her to call the police laura was highly
00:22:42
suspicious of her stepfather with whom she had a tense relationship for the last year she had observed firsthand the
00:22:49
negative impact Joe's actions had on her mother after near 13 years of marriage Joe felt it had romantically fizzled and
00:22:59
Galacta Maseeh so he began going online to organize casual hookups with random women on his dating profiles his self
00:23:07
described himself as a Latino love God and uploaded images showing off his country mansion in detent muscles Joe
00:23:16
initially kept his Affairs from his wife hiding them behind lies about work-related business it was around 2
00:23:23
September 2004 when Maria confided to Laura that she believed the Joe was seeing someone else the evidence was all
00:23:31
around her unexplained withdrawals from their bank accounts higher car receipts frequent calls to run familiar numbers
00:23:38
on their phone bills and to let us sent to a post-office box when Maria found a racy photograph of a
00:23:44
tall blonde woman posing seductively in little else but Joe's Collingwood Football jumper she confronted her
00:23:51
husband Joe maintained a familiar liar and claimed she was just the work colleague but Maria wasn't naive about
00:23:59
her husband she knew he was fully capable of adultery in fact it was through similar circumstances that the
00:24:07
two had gotten together in the first place Joe met Maria in the early 90s when they
00:24:14
both worked at South Pacific tires he was a manager who had recently transferred departments to oversee the
00:24:20
factory area when Maria worked Maria found herself drawn to Joe called described as a charming persuasive
00:24:28
smooth talker with an engaging boastful personality Joe was also considered handsome with olive skin thick dark hair
00:24:36
and an athletic build draping gold jewelry at the time Joe lived in Craigieburn with his first wife Leone
00:24:44
they had been teenage sweethearts from back in the day back then Leone was reluctant to date him but Joe fancied
00:24:52
himself as a charismatic a ladies man who enjoyed the thrill of the chase and wouldn't take no for an answer the kind
00:24:59
of guy who liked to show off his desirability through grand acts of romantic exhibitionism he'd circle
00:25:05
around her house on his bike for hours yell out to her when he saw her and toss the bunches of flowers over her fence
00:25:12
Leone reflected on his relentless determination to get what he wanted quote he chased me until he caught me
00:25:20
that's basically what happened the two married in 1977 and moved to Craigieburn where they had two children in the
00:25:30
following three years within their marriage Joe was possessive and insecure he forbade Leone and their daughter from
00:25:37
wearing makeup as he didn't want them to attract male attention he'd call the only three to four times a
00:25:43
day whilst the work to check in to Leone Jo's controlling nature was indicative of how much he cared but for
00:25:52
Jo the monotony of domestic responsibilities was slowly losing his interest and it couldn't compare to the
00:25:58
addictive thrill of a lustful new romance we only started hearing the name Maria pop up in casual conversations
00:26:06
with her husband she initially didn't think much of it as Jo insisted Maria was just the work colleague when they
00:26:14
started spending more and more time together outside of work we only joked that Maria should find her
00:26:19
own man after a night out Jo entered the kitchen where Leone and their children were having breakfast using two recent
00:26:27
deaths in Leone's family as the mitigating factor for his decision Jo told his wife that life was too short
00:26:33
and he was going to be with Maria by October 1991 his divorce with Leone was finalized and he and Maria married Maria
00:26:45
took a new husband to meet her extended family in Portugal it was obvious to them Maria was happy and very much in
00:26:52
love they felt Jo was pleasant enough but believed he lacked sincerity they also caught glimpses of his controlling
00:27:00
side like when he draw issue anytime Maria spoke in Portuguese nagging concerns they had about Jo were
00:27:07
internalised after all the tragic heartbreak Maria had been through they didn't want to
00:27:12
ruin her new chance of love and happiness when Maria suspected Jo was cheating on her she blamed herself her
00:27:20
anxiety is heightened and weight plummeted emotions switched between extreme anger and bitterness to
00:27:27
self-loathing and long bouts of depression co-workers witnessed her breakdown at work falling to the floor
00:27:34
in tears during this time she kept a personal diary entries candidly chronicled her emotional torment of
00:27:42
restless nights broken promises and forgotten birthdays it was clear Maria couldn't bring
00:27:48
herself to leave Jo and go through yet another massively traumatic heartbreak she was determined to win him back
00:27:56
the suffering resulted in bizarre desperate behaviors a highly superstitious woman Maria believed a
00:28:04
Jo's infidelity was a curse against her as punishment for taking Joe from his first wife she sought the help of
00:28:10
priests clairvoyance gurus and psychics putting her family in upwards of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars debt
00:28:17
for their services she'd wander the house at night praying burning incense and making the sign of the Cross when
00:28:26
she found a long blonde hairs in the creases of Joe's carseats she suspected they belonged to one of his girlfriends
00:28:32
in the dust on the exterior surface of the car she drew hundreds of small crosses in an act she thought would
00:28:39
change her destiny maria state of mind at the time of her disappearance added to the very real and very sad
00:28:46
possibility that she may have committed suicide this was further substantiated when police were given a plastic bag of
00:28:54
belongings from a friend of Maria's Maria had given her friend the bag to be out a month prior with the instruction
00:29:01
to take it to the police should anything happen to her inside the bag was an odd
00:29:07
collection including a bunch of random receipts a piece of plastic hose a flip wallet containing a fake police badge
00:29:14
alongside a picture of Joe Maria's personal diary an adult playing card game and a racy photograph of a tall
00:29:22
blond woman posing in a Collingwood Football jumper there were also several notes in Maria's handwriting including
00:29:30
one that read quote dear Joe I love you very much I cannot keep going like this I have taken things into my own hands
00:29:40
god bless you love Maria at approximately 2:00 p.m. on February 10 Joe Corp arrived at the Craigieburn
00:29:55
police station for a formal interview he dismissed the restraining order stating
00:30:01
Maria took it out as punishment for his infidelity not because he harmed her in any way he explained that a few months
00:30:09
earlier he had returned home to find his clothes dumped at the front gate and the
00:30:13
locks to the house changed using a steel picket he attempted to force his way into the house to get his computer Maria
00:30:20
called the police and the following day they convinced her to take out the restraining order
00:30:25
four days later Maria calmed down and allowed him to move back in as things were going well they agreed to go to
00:30:33
court to quash the order once and for all which is what they did the day before Maria disappeared
00:30:40
[Music] detectives pressed the jury for details on his relationship with his former
00:30:46
girlfriend Tonya Herman Joe considered Herman a thorn in his marriage he'd met her online over a year prior and the two
00:30:54
had a casual less than serious on-and-off-again sexual relationship joe maintained it was now all over and he
00:31:01
tried to sever ties with her but she always maintained a presence in his life unwilling to accept their fling was over
00:31:08
when asked if he loved her Joe replied that he did at some point but it always lost Maria more two hours later the
00:31:18
interview was reaching its end Joe was asked if he had anything to do with Marie's disappearance he responded
00:31:26
with a confident no and was free to go at around 4:30 p.m. he left the station climbed into a sleek red Holden
00:31:36
Commodore SS and drove off unbeknownst the Joe tailing behind him was an undercover surveillance team they
00:31:46
watched as he drove down Craigieburn Road appearing to be heading home but then his vehicle slowed and stopped
00:31:52
alongside a footpath a surveillance officer took note of what happened next quote
00:31:59
I observed co-op wearing dark glasses get out of the vehicle holding a white plastic bag with blue stripes in his
00:32:06
hands observed a cop walked to an open green wheelie bin with a broken Brown lid on the nature strip he dropped the
00:32:14
bag into the bin walked back to the vehicle and to the vehicle moved off once Joe drove away police rushed to the
00:32:24
bin the contents of the bag included a spare set of car keys to his Holden Commodore documents and receipts
00:32:31
photographs of computers and notebook a walkie-talkie handset a balaclava and a vial filled with white powder a short
00:32:42
time later Joe's car pulled into the driveway of his McCollum home to find dozens of police detectives and forensic
00:32:49
officers in the midst of executing a search warrant they canvassed every room and scoured every inch cameras clicked
00:32:56
belongings were carried away and DNA collected every stain scuff and scratch was thoroughly inspected standing back
00:33:08
Joe watched the action with no resistance he chatted idly with attending officers and in one such
00:33:14
conversation he remarked Maria's body might be found in near Whittlesea a town northeast of McCallum he offered no
00:33:22
explanation for this thought there was no conclusive proof Maria was deceased but Joe considered the likelihood
00:33:29
possible as he'd even discussed her funeral arrangements with Laura Joe admitted to dumping the bag in the
00:33:37
rubbish bin on his way home that afternoon although he downplayed its contents stating had only carried papers
00:33:43
and photographs later an officer caught Joe digging through the pockets of a pair of khaki shorts in the walking
00:33:50
wardrobe of his master bedroom when the officer startled him Joe quickly grabbed
00:33:55
the coat off a nearby hanger and explained he felt cold before leaving the officer checked the shorts and found
00:34:02
a green colored security k2 courts workplace police were scratching their heads at his increasingly shady behavior
00:34:09
and the question arose what was Joe Coreper trying to hide after six hours of intense searching and evidence
00:34:19
collecting the police left the court residence the entire situation was shaping up into a rather perplexing
00:34:25
investigation surrounding a man that seemed to have both nothing and everything too hard
00:34:31
some people lauded the guy claiming Joe was a good bloke an accommodating boss and the favorite Uncle Joe's family
00:34:40
stood by him in a show of solidarity even gust caught who had called police only hours after Maria had been reported
00:34:47
missing to implicate his brother had an about-turn and was now one of his most vocal
00:34:52
supporters to his critics Joe was vain bombastic and a little full of himself they believed he thrived on attention it
00:35:03
was clear that there were many sides to Joe cork and police were ready to visit the one person who knew Joe intimately
00:35:09
aside from Maria his former girlfriend Tanya Herrmann just before 6 p.m. that night police
00:35:22
pulled up to a rather unassuming and small 1 story brick rental house in Greenville belonging to Tonya Herrmann
00:35:30
36 year old Tanya Herrmann was a single mother who'd recently moved to Greenville from a chuka a Victorian
00:35:36
country town on the border of New South Wales at the time Tanya was nursing the emotional scars of
00:35:43
multiple failed relationships in 1987 her first husband was physically abusive their union only lasted 5 months her
00:35:53
second serious relationship produced attend his first daughter but ended after two years when her partner left
00:35:59
her for another woman her third relationship which became her second marriage looked to be the most promising
00:36:05
Paul Herrmann and Tanya were married and had a daughter together Taylor however Tanya claimed Paul was an
00:36:13
alcoholic and a workaholic who had a short fuse around her young girls the catalyst for their separation in 2002
00:36:22
after this third failed relationship 10 years roommate introduced her to the world of online dating by 2003 Tonya had
00:36:31
a lot of online interest she was a wholesome down-to-earth Aussie country girl a tall lean blonde fit triathlete
00:36:40
Tanya longed for something more meaningful than abusive partners and fleeting hookups she was on the lookout
00:36:46
for someone long-term who treat her right and accept her for who she was on October 11 2003 Tanya received a
00:36:55
personal message from username joke a underscore 40 clicking on joke a underscore for T's profile brought up
00:37:03
images of an olive-skinned dark-haired athletic middle aged man who introduced himself as Joe Bronte according to his
00:37:10
online bio Joe was a single 40 year old from miquelon a builder by trade who owned his own construction company
00:37:18
Tanya didn't know it at the time but everything she was reading about Joe K underscore 40 was a lawyer Joe Bronte
00:37:26
was actually Joe Corp married 46 years old and a factory manager over the following four months they got
00:37:35
to know each other through online chat and webcam then over text messages and phone calls they met for the first time
00:37:43
in person on February 11 2004 Joe drove two hours to ten years house in a Jukka and they went to the local pub to hang
00:37:51
out from that moment on Joe would visit Tanya upwards of once per week witnesses
00:37:57
described them like teenagers in love their infatuation was obsessive passionate over-the-top and full of
00:38:04
flashy displays of Joe's trademark romantic exhibitionism hits shower both Tanya and her daughter with gifts and
00:38:12
spontaneously purchased a new car a bright red holden commodore SS because Tanya said he'd looked good in it often
00:38:21
they'd meet in hotels halfway between their homes other times of room wasn't necessary one of their preferred made-up
00:38:28
locations was on the banks of a dried-up lakebed with Tanya Joe was able to live
00:38:35
out his wildest fantasies maria was too prudish joe believed and unwilling to be
00:38:41
sexually adventurous but tanya was completely open to do whatever Joe wanted Joe introduced her into the world
00:38:48
of sex games swinging and group sex the pair posed as a married couple online and listed themselves as looking for
00:38:55
ways to spice things up in the bedroom they engaged in multiple hookups with other consenting couples for Joe he was
00:39:04
feeding his lustful addiction for romance in new irresistible ways he'd take risque photographs of Tanya for his
00:39:11
own pleasure including the image Maria later found of Tanya posing seductively wearing Joe's Collingwood Football
00:39:17
jumper Fatah yo the sex and smart men little to her in the long run she was more invested in her developing future
00:39:26
with Joe Joe had told police tanya was a former fling he no longer had an interest in yet as police searched her
00:39:37
house they found evidence to suggest otherwise a soppy love letter written by Joe listed the 20 reasons why he
00:39:45
of tatanya documents know that Joe is tenures emergency contact he was also listed as the executor of
00:39:53
Tania's will that detailed her ashes be scattered wherever Joe decides her rental
00:39:58
agreement was signed in both their names with Tonya's signature under the name Tonya Herrmann Corp police seized
00:40:06
documents clothes and a computer hard drive but most intriguing was a list handwritten by Tonya found in a
00:40:12
wastebasket underneath some chocolate wrappers it listed paper balaclava suit north backpacked gloves socks shampoo
00:40:24
and conditioner two hours later Tonya Herrmann was escorted to the broad meadows police station for a formal
00:40:32
interview of her own Tonya had heard about Maria's disappearance but denied any involvement her story was that the
00:40:40
night before Maria vanished she had been up most of the night because her eight-year-old daughter Taylor was
00:40:45
suffering from nightmares the following morning Tonya kept the school preparations at a leisurely
00:40:51
non-stressful pace meaning Taylor arrived a little late to school some time between 9:00 and 2:00 9:30 a.m.
00:40:59
Tonya had to go to the administration building to sign her daughter in because they were late according to school staff
00:41:06
Taylor was unusually distressed that day at first she wouldn't let go of her mother when she was dropped off
00:41:13
throughout the day she clung to the classroom comfort toy and cried twice teachers could tell she'd been through a
00:41:20
rough couple of nights police questioned Tanya about her relationship with Joe Cork according to her she was his
00:41:29
princess and he was completely committed and invested in their future together he'd offered to help her start a
00:41:35
business build her dream home take her holiday around the world have children together and even proposed a marriage it
00:41:45
was unclear exactly when Tonya found out Joe was married to Maria but the betrayal she felt was void once
00:41:51
Joe told her how miserable his marriage was Joe spent most of their time together venting to Tonya
00:41:58
how he was unhappy love deprived sexually frustrated and finally all because of Maria he'd burn own hell
00:42:06
Maria was putting the family in debt spending hundreds and thousands of dollars of his money on religious
00:42:11
crackpots and charlatans hell Maria was blackmailing him with photographs that could put him in jail but he never
00:42:18
actually revealed what the photographs were of divorce wasn't an option she'd fired him for the corpus state despite
00:42:26
knowing the house was his pride and joy he'd tell Tanya that there was no love between him and Maria anymore but Maria
00:42:34
had threatened to kill him and herself multiple times meaning he couldn't just leave her because he was scared of how
00:42:40
she would react Tanya never doubted Joe's claims and as she listened to him vent over and over
00:42:47
about the woman that was stopping them from being happy together forever Tanya herman grew to despise Maria Korb
00:42:55
the feeling was mutual Maria had identified her husband's mistress as Tanya and her seething hatred for the
00:43:03
woman was obvious they're toxic rivalry only grew when Joe cork encouraged Tanya
00:43:09
to move the green veil and came to a head when Tanya enrolled her daughter in the same school that damien attended on
00:43:16
November 3 2004 Maria wrote in her diary I saw the [ __ ] Tanya in the morning into when I went to pick Damien up at
00:43:25
3:30 I saw her again Joe did nothing to quell the conflict between the two women
00:43:32
he'd hold a crying Maria lovingly and reassure her that he would never leave her only to tell Tanya the same thing
00:43:39
later even though Joe portrayed his relationship with Kenya as long over tanya revealed the pair had seen each
00:43:47
other that day of Maria's disappearance at around a 10 a.m. tanya drove to joe's workplace to give
00:43:53
him a ham sandwich for his morning tea the two had a brief casual conversation about nothing in particular then Tanya
00:44:00
left when asked if she loved Joe Tonya answered yes and responded the same when I asked if he loved her she considered
00:44:11
Joe an honest forthright person and insisted he had never lied to her when police revealed that Joe had told them
00:44:18
he only loved Maria Tonya seemed shaken she responded quote in a way that comment shook me a little bit because
00:44:27
you know who was sort of planning our future and that sort of thing yeah so it's throwing me a little bit
00:44:33
but maybe he's just pod on her I honestly can't answer that because I feel his love and I know his love is
00:44:42
genuine the two hour long interview concluded with police asking Tonya whether she believed - Joe had done
00:44:51
something to Maria she responded no he would never harm another human being he couldn't he could never do it it's not
00:45:01
him police asked if she had any knowledge of Maria's whereabouts Tonya required I have absolutely none if
00:45:11
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com slash case file for hims dot-com slash case file Rick Bryan didn't usually work on Sunday
00:50:24
he was a park worker who maintains the land in and around the shrine of remembrance and the Royal Botanical
00:50:30
Gardens in South Yarra on the southeastern edge of the Melbourne CBD Victoria's weather had been relatively
00:50:36
warm over the last few days but not stifling so a Melbourne summer could produce week-long heat waves of 30
00:50:44
degrees Celsius and tire the temperatures had been resting in the warm and comfortable low 20s during
00:50:51
these warmer months water features across the parkland and needed more frequent attention and maintenance so
00:50:56
Rick made the decision to go into work on Sunday February 13 to do just that at around 7 a.m. after finishing work on
00:51:05
two fountains in the parkland Rick went back to the depot to have a cup of coffee the depot was located on Dallas
00:51:13
Brooks drove a winding narrow road that framed the rear of the shrine of remembrance
00:51:18
led into the Botanical Gardens and reached the government house at peak times Dallas Brooks Drive was busy with slow
00:51:26
frequent traffic and its left sideline with parked cars but just after 7 a.m. that morning the road was near empty
00:51:34
except for a single car parked near a ticket machine when Rick noticed the lone vehicle he
00:51:41
immediately record a conversation with a co-worker the day before about a woman who'd been missing for four days and the
00:51:48
ongoing search for her car in 1995 burgundy Mazda 6 to 6 in good condition with the number plate ni w-30 6
00:51:57
- Rick surprise he was looking straight at it a mix of curiosity and concern propelled
00:52:07
Rick to go over to check out the car the windows were foggy from condensation did
00:52:12
several things inside caught Rick's attention strewn across the passenger seat were pens paper and a moldy salad
00:52:19
roll on the floor of the passenger side was an upturned black handbag on the rear seat was an open Street directory
00:52:27
Rick felt something wasn't right when he circled the rear of the car he was struck by a fare loader that seemed to
00:52:34
be emanating from the boot Rick knocked on it and yelled out is anyone inside there was no response by 10:30 a.m.
00:52:47
Dallas book stripe had been cordoned off as authorities surrounded the car its doors were locked and windows shut there
00:52:55
was no visible damage anywhere no tampering marks on locks or windows the car was in impeccable condition as the
00:53:05
morning wore on and the temperature slowly rose the pungent odor from the boot of the car became more pronounced
00:53:11
seasoned officers recognized that immediately the smell of decomposition the crime-scene unit canvassed the area
00:53:21
as technical crews worked on opening the boot they forced entry into the vehicle by
00:53:26
peeking at lock causing the jarring car alarm to go off across the quiet park lands located by the driver's seat was
00:53:34
the lever that unlocked the boot with a slight pull the boot clicked open lifting the rear hood or at least the
00:53:44
rancid smell of decay as officers caught sight of what was inside parts sank the
00:53:51
smell the colors and the wounds police knew they were looking at a corpse that had been dead for some time
00:53:59
Mireya caught skin was pale and covered in bruises crusted around her nostrils and mouth was dried blood her lips were
00:54:07
cracked and split the right side of her face was swollen she had a larger open head wound
00:54:15
suddenly they caught sight of the tiniest bit of movement Maria's chest slightly rose then fell
00:54:22
there was a shallow breath then another to the absolute shock of everyone looking down at her
00:54:29
Maria was still alive missing-persons detective Narelle fraser witnessed the harrowing moment quote I just wanted to
00:54:39
wrap my arms around her I wanted to hold her and tell her that she was safe Nia that no one would ever hurt her again
00:54:45
to see this woman so helpless so alone and in such a confronting state was heartbreaking I kept saying to her that
00:54:53
it was going to be okay as she was safe I don't think she heard me who knows Maria was rushed to nearby Alfred
00:55:06
Hospital in a critical condition she was unconscious and unresponsive to stimuli
00:55:11
it shocked both police and medical staff that she was still alive after the intense trauma her body had clearly been
00:55:17
through Maria was certainly tough to release pressure and swelling on her brain maria was quickly put into an
00:55:26
induced coma this allowed medical staff to start treating her extensive injuries without
00:55:32
putting her fragile body through more traumatic strain or pain the extent of her injuries were devastating Maria had
00:55:40
severe dehydration her heart was a weak barely pushing blood through her arteries blood pressure so low her blood
00:55:47
vessels were no longer visible a CT scan revealed brain swelling her flesh featured patches of black dead skin
00:55:54
blood cuts and ulcers caused by lack of mobility had formed throughout her body judging by the progression of these
00:56:02
injuries it was determined that Maria had been unconscious in the boot of her car for the duration of her
00:56:06
disappearance just over four days up to 102 hours a distinctive ligature mark was found around to Maria's neck her
00:56:17
eyes were bloodshot and enlarged experts concluded she had been strangled an abrasion on the right side of her scalp
00:56:24
a scar on the upper right side of her forehead along with the scab on the front of her nose was attributed to a
00:56:30
struggle Maria had with her attacker it appeared she fell or was pushed face-first onto a course hard surface
00:56:38
most likely concrete there was absolutely no question about what had happened to Maria now she met with foul
00:56:47
play the person responsible had fully intended to kill Mariah she had been strangled unconscious which fooled her
00:56:56
attacker into thinking she was dead the assault was amateurish it was clear the would-be killer was inexperienced and
00:57:03
incompetent there was someone out there who wanted Maria cork dead so a police guard was maintained at her hospital
00:57:11
room at 3 p.m. detectives arrived at the courthouse to give Joe the news he was overtly
00:57:18
ecstatic and grateful to the police and asked to go see Maria Maria's chance of survival was at the
00:57:25
time only 25 percent authorities hoped she'd pull through and offer insight into what happened but there was no
00:57:32
guarantee she'd ever record the event after the trauma her brain had been through she had a long arduous road to
00:57:39
recovery police couldn't sit waiting by her bedside in the hope she would wake up and recall something they needed to
00:57:46
find - the perpetrator now Joe begged the officers to take him to visit Maria instead they clamped down on him either
00:57:55
reinstating the restraining order Maria had previously taken out on him legally banning him from going to see his wife
00:58:02
in hospital if Joe was involved in her attack they needed to protect her Laura was quick to visit her mother's
00:58:13
bedside in hospital and was absolutely devastated to see her in such a dire state she did notice something strange
00:58:20
about her mother though bringing up her realization to police quote when I went to see mum I noticed that her
00:58:28
wedding-ring cross and earrings were missing mum's wedding ring is a plain gold band and I
00:58:34
cannot recall the last time I saw her without a wedding ring on she wore the ring all the time
00:58:39
you would have to physically remove the ring to get it off Maria's necklace was a chain with a
00:58:46
crucifix and medallion attached the earrings were a small pair of gone and the cluster studs
00:58:52
police checked Maria's car and house for the jury but their whereabouts remained
00:58:56
unknown on the evening of February 14 the night after Maria had been found at all broad-shouldered by key in a leather
00:59:09
jacket fronted police introducing himself as Steve Deakin Tonya Herman's brother after hearing on the news Maria
00:59:18
had been found he felt he needed to tell police what he knew he didn't know Maria personally but
00:59:24
he did know Joe core and Steve had strong feelings about him tanya was besotted with the bloke the Joe made a
00:59:33
bad impression on Tanya's family the boastful stories Tonya bragged of Joe raped of him being too good to be true
00:59:40
although tanya was enamored by his confident charm all her family saw was a smooth-talking loudmouth they also
00:59:48
witnessed firsthand the dangerous control joe had over tanya when joe abruptly stopped contacting tanya she
00:59:55
became depressed and attempted suicide it was at this point her family became more vocal in their dislike of the
01:00:01
unhealthy relationship Tanya's mother felt Joe was intentionally driving a wedge between her daughter and her
01:00:09
family to cut her away from her network of support and to gain more control over
01:00:13
her his immense control was clearest in August 2004 when Joe told Tanya he was going to Barcelona to look after his
01:00:22
mother who had recently suffered a heart attack during his trip Tania received a call
01:00:27
from Joe's brother who revealed Joe had been killed in a car accident the new shuddered Tania and she had to be
01:00:33
hospitalized her family were immediately suspicious about the entire situation but Tania didn't doubt it for a second
01:00:42
for two days she remained in the fetal position rocking back and forth unable to eat or sleep weeping for her lost
01:00:49
love she wrote a message to be read at Joe's funeral quote Joseph William Bronte you
01:00:58
came to me on the wings of an angel my world was complete we had dreams hopes a future together everything was perfect
01:01:06
and planned Joe I love you with all my heart and soul your Sun shone upon me together we were going to grow but your
01:01:15
life was taken suddenly I prayed especially for you my love for you are the special one I know God sent you to
01:01:23
me somewhere you have wings my darling angel you are now where no one can hurt you I won your heart for being myself we
01:01:32
were one we were true soul mates days later Tanya's phone lit up she couldn't believe it when the caller came up as
01:01:43
Joe and when she heard his voice on the other end she felt dizzy Joe maintained he'd been in the car accident in
01:01:50
Barcelona but he didn't die he even called Tonya via webcam to show off his bruises eleven days later he appeared at
01:01:59
her doorstep fully recovered before Tonya's family could question him about the legitimacy of his unbelievable story
01:02:07
Joe was asking them for their blessing to marry Tonya Tonya was happy to have Joe back and didn't allow herself to
01:02:15
question him if she had she would have easily picked apart all the obvious holes in his story and discovered it was
01:02:23
entirely made up it was all a lie his mother's heart attack the trip to Barcelona and the car accident
01:02:31
tanya was just happy to have Joe back but Joe learned a valuable lesson Tonya couldn't live without him it was
01:02:43
late 2004 at a pre-christmas barbecue where Steve Deacon was first introduced to his sister's new beau Joe Corp when
01:02:51
he found out job is married Steve was both shocked and disappointed in his sister after all the scumbags she dated
01:02:58
she'd managed to hook yet another one Steve was not shy about his disapproval of their relationship
01:03:06
he felt Joe gave off bad vibes but Tonya was quick to defend their relationship explaining Joe's wife was a [ __ ] and
01:03:14
Joe had had enough of her Steve told police that on the morning Maria disappeared February 9 sometime
01:03:23
before 9 a.m. Tonya surprised him by turning up to his workplace a motorcycle shop located on
01:03:29
Elizabeth Street in Melbourne City she was dressed in workout gear a hoodie leggings and runners she was red in the
01:03:38
face sweaty and flustered Tonya told Steve that she'd been at a job interview in Camberwell and
01:03:44
afterwards decided to go for a run into the city she asked if he could give her a lift back home to Greenville Tonya had
01:03:52
been a fit athlete her entire life she even once participated in marathon training so it wasn't unusual for her to
01:03:59
run the ten kilometers from Camberwell win to Melbourne nevertheless Steve felt she was lying to him
01:04:09
Steve Dagon wasn't the only person to come forward to police with information on Tonya Herrmann after Maria had been
01:04:16
found at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday February 15 a school friend of Taylor Tanya Herman's daughter gave her own startling
01:04:26
revelations she recalled a conversation she had with Taylor days after Maria had
01:04:31
disappeared eight-year-old Taylor was sitting amongst a group of friends under a secluded tree in the schoolyard
01:04:38
for almost a year she had been an invisible victim of the drama surrounding her mother's love life
01:04:43
Saylor knew all too well about Maria she was the nasty woman keeping Joe from being a part of her
01:04:50
family but tailing knew even more than that she had a secret beneath the shade of the tree surrounded by her chatty
01:04:59
friends she blurted out that she knew who strangled Maria the girls fell silent Taylor explained it was her mum that did
01:05:09
it because Joe told her to and that she had left a lot of blood in the garage she added her mother was going to bury
01:05:17
Maria at the Greenville Reservoir Park but didn't the group of young schoolgirls were shocked Tyler told her
01:05:27
friends to promise not to tell anyone about what she said as she didn't want her mom to go to jail when asked what
01:05:34
she didn't tell an adult straight away Taylor's friend told police she was afraid Tania was going to get her but
01:05:41
afterwards much like Taylor she couldn't carry the burden of the secret any longer and fessed up to her mum
01:05:49
there was an intriguing story Todd with certainty and purpose by a little girl who didn't appear to be alone but
01:05:56
Maria's story had been plastered all over the news including the key fact she had been strangled
01:06:01
there was the talk of Melbourne perhaps the girl was making up an elaborate tall
01:06:07
tale stitched together by facts she'd heard from various sources when police laid a question to Taylor
01:06:13
about the story she denied it with all the incriminating statements piling up around her
01:06:20
there was no wild stretch for police to assume tenure Herrmann had a part to play in what happened to Maria but
01:06:26
police were not so quick to assume she acted alone life had been rough for tanga since
01:06:32
Maria had been found the media named her as Joe's mistress and the body in the boots story was at the forefront of
01:06:39
every news publication flocks of reporters have her front door surrounded keeping Tanya from leaving her house
01:06:46
counselors who she permitted to visit described a highly anxious and emotional woman the love of her life was no longer
01:06:54
answering her calls or responding to her messages worse still was these comments
01:06:59
to the media in which he absolutely maintained his deep undying love for Maria Tonya felt abandoned sending Joe
01:07:07
angry message after message expressing her devastation at his betrayal but she still maintained her
01:07:13
love for him the media attention had woven tied around to Joe too but he came out looking better than Tonya his
01:07:21
willingness to brave the cameras and answer questions allowed him to portray an image of himself to the public that
01:07:26
was favorable he was the concerned husband loyal to his wife dealing with an unstable and infatuated lover his
01:07:36
cooperation with police was long gone though police were steadfast and kept the restraining order in place meaning
01:07:43
he still couldn't visit Maria in hospital whatever information the police needed from him would have to be dug up
01:07:50
elsewhere at 10:00 a.m. on February 16 Tania's brother Steve visited her Tanya looked
01:08:01
ragged the bright spark of love and romance that had her bouncing off the walls months earlier had dimmed and what
01:08:07
remained was a defeated heartbroken woman they talked over coffee Steve felt his sister had suicide on her mind she
01:08:16
wasn't coping well under the intense police and media pressure she had become a prisoner in her own home she
01:08:24
constantly worried about her parents and her daughters Tanya's eldest teenage daughter lived with her father
01:08:30
it was eight-year-old Taylor who was her main concern paranoid Tanya believed that the police had
01:08:36
bugged her home with listening devices Steve reassured her they hadn't Steve didn't visit that day for just a coffee
01:08:45
and ketchup he was fed up and he was looking for the truth he knew if Tanya did have something to do with what
01:08:52
happened to Maria then without a doubt Joe Corp had some sort of involvement - Steven said I know what you've done what
01:09:03
did he do Tanya replied he organized the whole thing her back and forth followed
01:09:12
Steven ask Tanya questions about what Joe had done trying to get more detailed information
01:09:18
Tanya replied in short vague answers brainwashing she said that's what he's done to me
01:09:25
he's brainwashed my head Tanya discussed the shameful ways in which her and Maria
01:09:32
competed for Joe's affection how Maria sensing she was losing him began to dress similar to Tanya and was growing
01:09:39
her hair and dyeing a blonde in an attempt to be more like her more like the woman Joe wanted Maria was also
01:09:48
participating with Joe's sexual fantasies despite her own discomfort about the whole scene in a desperate
01:09:54
attempt to win him back Tania asked her brother well what do I do what would you do
01:10:02
Steve remained supportive and encouraged the sister to go to the police until the
01:10:07
truth Tania considered that option she wanted to do the right thing that was conflicted she didn't want to be the
01:10:16
embarrassment of her family or for her daughter to be ridiculed and she didn't want to go to prison
01:10:21
Steve assured his sister that he would support her no matter what you've got to give this guy up
01:10:29
you really have to he told her a short time later Steve left leaving Tania to chew over the thousands of thoughts
01:10:37
circling her head Tania had no idea she was right her entire conversation was being recorded by police through a
01:10:45
listening device but it wasn't where she had originally suspected it was concealed underneath her brother's shirt
01:10:53
after encouragement from detectives Steve made the difficult decision to wear a wire during the conversation with
01:10:59
his sister in the hope she'd revealed the truth that had worked someone Tania was elusive and nonspecific but she made
01:11:07
it clear that Joe had done something the details of which we're about to emerge that afternoon police arrested Tonya for
01:11:20
the attempted murder of Maria Korg as she was being driven to the police station
01:11:25
Tonya surprised everyone when she broke down into a long emotional breathless confession of what exactly happened to
01:11:32
leading up to and on the morning of February 9 2005 it was early February when Jo pitched the idea of murdering
01:11:41
his wife it wasn't the first time he had broached the topic with tenure did fairness I asked about it before
01:11:48
thinking up ideal ways to successfully carry it out but in those previous times Tonya believed it was just all talk this
01:11:57
was the first time she felt he was serious jo was adamant the only way they could
01:12:02
be together was if they got rid of Maria Jo had a plan Tonya would strangle Maria
01:12:09
to death in the garage of the core poem Joe couldn't do it as it would be the number one suspect
01:12:15
so instead he'd go to work to create an alibi even if the police did suspect him
01:12:21
he'd have a concrete proof he couldn't possibly have done it Tonya doubted her ability to get away with murder but Joe
01:12:29
assured her he was looking out for her she'd wear a pair of his shoes and gloves during the attack so she wouldn't
01:12:35
leave behind any forensic evidence Tonya Herrmann quote he was so convincing about how it would be done
01:12:44
that I never for one minute thought would be caught over the following weeks Joe put the wheels in motion intricately
01:12:52
planning the murder of his wife it all came to a head at a meeting between the pair at around 7:15 p.m. the night
01:13:00
before sitting together in Tonya's car at a service station across the road from where Joe worked Tonya record
01:13:06
feeling white headed and breathless as Joe went over his method of how she would kill Maria reluctant Tonya told
01:13:14
Joe she couldn't go through with it how much do you love me he asked Tonya answered you know how much there's no
01:13:25
way out of this joe said you have to get rid of her for me at 5:20 a.m. on the morning of February 9 Joe's car pulled
01:13:36
up in front of 10 years house Tonya put on dark leggings under hoody she pulled her hair back tight when Joe entered the
01:13:44
house he kissed her you know what I want you to do he told her I want her strangled and dead she's not to come out
01:13:53
of the garage alive her bag held tengas tools a swimming cap to keep her hair from being left at the scene a pair of
01:14:03
gloves to avoid fingerprints a balaclava so witnesses couldn't identify her and have made a long thick carry bag strap
01:14:12
her murder weapon on the short drive to the courthouse Tonya internally considered the
01:14:20
situation in which she had found herself Joe had set up the perfect crime for him they had completely distanced
01:14:29
himself from what was about to occur if Tonya were to get caught there would be no proof he was involved only her a
01:14:38
prickly sense of doubt lingered in the back of her anxious Morand she expressed this worry to Joe he immediately
01:14:46
dismissed her telling her not to worry and that everything would be fine for the first time in their relationship
01:14:53
Tonya took a long hard look at Joe Corp he was a man willing to go to the deadliest lengths to get his own way
01:15:01
kill any woman who became a problem she quickly swallowed her concerns the only way she could get through this now
01:15:10
was to trust the man she loved and hope he had our best interests at heart around 5:50 a.m. Tania Herrmann wearing
01:15:20
a balaclava dark clothing and Joe shoes crouched in the dim corner of the cork family garage clutching a bag strapped
01:15:28
tightly in her clothed hands 15 minutes later Joe who had gone inside to prepare for work reappeared before he
01:15:37
got into his car to leave for work he embraced Tania in what felt like a final goodbye she was stiff and trembling I
01:15:45
love you he told her you don't know how much I love you how much do you love me are you going to show me today I don't
01:15:55
want her out of this garage unless she's dead you've got to do this for me at 6:30 a.m. maria rented the garage and
01:16:05
headed towards her car without any sense of danger as she opened at the driver side door Tania lurched out from the
01:16:12
shadows and threw her arms over Maria's head using all her strength she pulled the strap tight against Maria's neck and
01:16:20
jerked the far smaller and lighter older woman's back into her broad chest Maria managed to slip her hands between
01:16:29
the strap and her neck giving herself a brief reprieve and a desperately needed inhale of air she twisted herself around
01:16:36
until she was facing her masked attacker using her free hand she grasped the balaclava that covered tenures face and
01:16:44
pulled it away in the heat of the life-and-death battle Tania and Maria laid eyes on each other it was the first
01:16:52
time they had met Maria screamed out her daughter's name several times for help in a morbid twist Laura had woken to the
01:17:01
sound of her mother's screaming the garage was located underneath the master bedroom where Laura had incorrectly
01:17:08
thought the screams had come from she'd gotten out of bed to investigate but didn't check the garage
01:17:15
assuming she must have dreamt what she heard Laura went back to bed and fell asleep 10 his adrenaline picked up once
01:17:23
the fear settled in that she might be caught the two women fell against Laura's car and then down to the
01:17:30
concrete floor Maria hit the concrete face-first blood poured from her nose and mouth as she continued to fight for
01:17:38
her life Tanya climbed on to Maria's back pulling the strap tighter and tighter until
01:17:45
finally she stopped struggling and her body went limp Tanya believed with utmost certainty
01:17:51
that she had just killed Maria Cork she placed her unmoving body into the trunk of her own car with tenure at the wheel
01:17:59
she recalled Joe's instructions to dump Maria's car as far away from the house as possible but he'd never specified a
01:18:06
location Tanya's memory of the drive was cloudy shock had well and truly set in she couldn't record the exact route she
01:18:19
took but did recall one startling memory the stomach-turning sound of Maria stirring and gasping for air in the boot
01:18:28
upon realizing that Maria was not dead Tanya drove on in a nervous panic weaving hastily through the
01:18:35
early-morning work traffic with no end in sight for over an hour she sped around to melbourne before winding up in
01:18:42
South Yarra she dumped the car in the quiet Dallas Brooks Drive by now Maria had
01:18:49
stopped stirring and Tania could only hope she was finally dead before abandoning the car
01:18:58
Tania removed anything from the vehicle that could be used to identify Maria she
01:19:02
emptied Maria's handbag on the passenger seat and took Maria's mobile phone wallet and some exercise books climbing
01:19:10
out of the car Tania removed her swimming cap and gloves and sprinted towards Melbourne City whilst crossing
01:19:18
Prince's bridge over the Yarra River Maria's mobile phone started ringing in a panic Tanya tossed it over the bridge
01:19:25
into the river a short time later tanya reached the motorcycle shop her brother worked out
01:19:31
on Elizabeth Street where she asked for a lift back home after her brother dropped her off tanya cleaned herself up
01:19:38
and rushed Taylor to school arriving late at 10 a.m. haunted by the prospect that Maria wasn't dead Tanya called Joe
01:19:48
at work and asked the same Joe was reluctant but agreed tanya took him a sandwich and expressed their concerns
01:19:56
about Maria still being alive Joe reassured her but was angry to find out that Maria had bled on the garage
01:20:02
floor joe warded tenure to burn the evidence of the crime the bag strap Maria's wallet into the balaclava later
01:20:14
Tonya drove to Lake epilogue an old made-up point for her and Joe at the start of their affair it was there she
01:20:21
set fire to the evidence of her crime using bleach Joe cleaned up Maria's blood on the garage floor the following
01:20:30
day he gave tenure a bag of items he demanded she discard for him it included the cleaning materials he used to remove
01:20:37
the blood the pair of Maria's diamond earrings and his running shoes Tony Award during the murder which had
01:20:43
bloodstains on them Tanya buried the bag in an isolated area within greenville reservoir after answering 719 questions
01:20:54
over four hours Tanya Herman's a massive confession was over teams of crime-scene investigators
01:21:01
swarmed like at block and Greenville reservoir in search of the evidence claim to a stashed at each location in a
01:21:08
pall of char - at the lake bed they found the only thing that survived the flames the metallic pieces from the bag
01:21:15
strap at Greenville reservoir they dug up the plastic bag containing Joe's blood-stained runners a red scrubbing
01:21:22
brush and a pair of diamond stud earrings a crime scene was established at the court residence chemical luminol
01:21:31
was sprayed over the concrete floor in the garage under the cover of darkness as slowly illuminated patches of blood
01:21:38
that were no longer visible to the naked eye surveillance camera footage was collected from sources all throughout
01:21:45
Melbourne CBD showing Tanya driving Maria's car on the morning of February 9 2005
01:21:51
Maria's mobile phone that Tonya claimed to have thrown into the Yarra River after the attack was never recovered nor
01:21:58
was her wedding ring or necklace joke or was the rest that the day of Tonya's confession he was charged with
01:22:06
conspiracy to commit an indictable offense intentionally causing serious injury attempted murder
01:22:12
as well as four counts of theft the theft charges were unrelated to the attack on Maria in the blue striped
01:22:20
plastic bag Joe had thrown in the bin after his first formal police interview was a collection of seemingly
01:22:25
unimportant photographs of computers the computers were later found at Joe's home
01:22:31
their serial numbers revealed that were actually stolen property from his employer at the tire factory in total
01:22:39
Joe Corp had stolen up to ten thousand dollars worth of equipment and stationery from his workplace the thefts
01:22:48
had always been a mystery is there had been no sign of forced entry into the factory suspecting it might be an inside
01:22:54
job all managerial staff were forced to turn in their green colored master security key however Joe pocketed one to
01:23:02
continue his crime spree it was later found in the pocket of the khaki shorts Joe was seeing rummaging through during
01:23:09
the police search of his home a police member confiscated the key and at the time didn't understand why it was so
01:23:15
important to Joe Joe's 150 thousand dollar bail surety was covered by putting up his parents home
01:23:25
the restraining order still remained in place protecting Maria but now Joe was also banned from contacting his
01:23:32
stepdaughter Laura as well as his son Damien almost four months later on June 28 2005
01:23:43
Maria was still fighting for life in the Alfred hospital when Tonya Herrmann fronted the Supreme Court of Victoria
01:23:48
and pled guilty to attempted murder the guilty plea along with the pledge to testify against Joe Corp in his trial
01:23:56
dropped two of her charges one for conspiracy to murder and another for intentionally causing serious injury
01:24:04
her lawyers tried to answer the incredibly complicated question as to why Tonya Herrmann went along with Joe
01:24:10
courts murder plot months of joe grooming Tonya into hiding Maria had worked in his favor
01:24:17
Tonya fully perceived Maria as some sort of villain in her fairy tale romance and
01:24:22
when Joe offered his princess the opportunity to get rid of the villain of course she agreed in hindsight
01:24:31
Tonya was embarrassed by her naivety and now saw Joe for what he really was a predator Tonya Herrmann quote on 100%
01:24:43
sure that Joe concocted our relationship and befriended Ben for the sole purpose
01:24:46
of helping him get rid of his wife from his life others believed Jo's intentions went
01:24:55
further than that perhaps as he had done so with others in the past he had grown
01:25:00
bored of Tanya too he had always lusted after thrilling new romances but she was
01:25:06
looking forward to settling him down into another marriage many feldjoe wanted both of them out of the picture
01:25:12
with Maria dead and Tanya in prison Joe would be a free man to pursue his next paramedic conquest a psychologist who
01:25:22
treated Tanya concluded she was not psychopathic and did have a conscience once free from Joe's control deceit
01:25:30
dishonesty lies and hollow promises she felt a strong sadness and hold deep regret for what she had allowed herself
01:25:37
to be coerced to do it was widely accepted that if Tanya Herman had never met Joe Corp she would never have tried
01:25:45
to commit murder due to her cooperation with authorities her guilty plea no prior convictions and indications of
01:25:54
genuine remorse Tonya Herrmann was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment with a non-parole period of nine years the
01:26:02
judge assess her prospect of rehabilitation as excellent [Music] as Joe Corp had Clent not guilty to all
01:26:11
charges a committal hearing was hold in August to determine if there was enough evidence to send him to trial one of the
01:26:18
witnesses were Steve Dagon tenures brother he revealed towards the end of December 2004 he was at his sister's
01:26:25
place watching an episode of the crime drama CSI with Joe and Tanya that led to what initially seemed like a light
01:26:33
insincere conversation on what would be the best way to get away with murder Steve came up with the idea of
01:26:39
strangulation with piano wire but then said a more practical item would be a belt Steve felt uneasy when Tonya
01:26:47
mentioned offhandedly that she and Joe wanted to kill Maria afterwards Steve warned to Tonya to let Joe go but
01:26:56
she didn't the topic of murder arose again after New Year's Tonya mentioned her and Joe had crushed up 24 sleeping
01:27:04
tablets and discreetly given them to Maria but it only made her drowsy Steve was shocked at how frequently the pair
01:27:12
discussed motor and the way Tonya readily agreed with absolutely anything joe said no matter how disturbing but
01:27:20
steve couldn't take their murderous admission seriously their casual impassiveness and the lack of concern
01:27:26
convinced him they were just joking the witness whom everyone was waiting in anticipation to see appeared on day two
01:27:34
of the committal hearing Tonya Herrmann entered the overcrowded courthouse and marched with intent into the witness box
01:27:42
eager and excited reporters and journalists were pouring out the doors jotting down notes on her every
01:27:48
expression the only person who wasn't transfixed on her was Joe he didn't acknowledge her his focus was on his
01:27:56
hands turning his wedding ring around his finger questioning led tenure back through the events of February 9 the aim
01:28:05
of Joe's defense team was to prove Tonya acted alone labeling her a jilted mistress who
01:28:11
killed today with a man she loved they bolstered their theory by referring to Maria's wedding ring and necklace
01:28:17
which had never been found the defense insisted Tonya had stolen the jewelry as a vengeful and symbolic
01:28:24
souvenir of her crime of passion acclaimed Tanya coolly denied the authenticity of
01:28:31
Tanya's character was called into question in regards to her having heard Maria stirring in the boot after the
01:28:36
attack if Tanya truly felt guilty for her actions she would have pulled out at that moment released Maria and called
01:28:44
emergency services instead she drove around for an hour looking for the perfect place to hide Maria where she
01:28:51
wouldn't be easily found at the end of the committal hearing who was determined is that there was enough evidence for
01:28:59
Joe cork to face trial his bail was continued sensing her mother didn't have long to go Laura applied to have Maria's
01:29:09
will remade Maria's will named Joe Corp her beneficiary and executor of her estate he stood to collect her half of
01:29:18
the family home $100,000 from her life-insurance policy and to two hundred and thirty two thousand dollars in
01:29:24
superannuation savings Laura fronted court asking for Joe cork to be disinherited from Maria's will the court
01:29:33
granted her application Joe cork would receive nothing as those responsible for her injuries were being brought to
01:29:43
justice Maria continued to lay in an unresponsive state in the general medical ward of the Alfred hospital she
01:29:50
was no longer in a medically induced coma but still remained unconscious specialists performed an
01:29:57
electroencephalogram a test used to record electrical activity in the brain positron emission tomography was also
01:30:05
conducted to observe her metabolic processes the results of both tests were discouraging Maria's brainwaves were
01:30:14
very low in amplitude and her brain activity was lower than a patient under a deep anaesthetic her body reacted to
01:30:21
painful stimulus but this was due to a spinal reflex not the result of brain activity she showed no evidence of
01:30:29
visual fixation or tracking no blink response to threat she did not follow commands or make a comprehensible speech
01:30:37
her nourishment came from a tube that saved liquid nutrition directly into her stomach muscles were withering Judit
01:30:44
inactivity heart attack and infection could cause death at any moment a precious aura the base of a spine
01:30:52
refused to heal specialists concluded Maria Corp had no meaningful sense of the world and was in a vegetative state
01:31:02
her body was deteriorating by the day the likelihood of recovery was considered exceedingly small Maria's
01:31:11
situation was compounded by the fact she had no legal guardian the person who'd usually be responsible for the role was
01:31:18
Joe but being a suspect in her attempted murder entered the restraining order meant he couldn't fulfill the duty
01:31:25
Maria's thought of Laura was also not eligible for the role for three months Maria had no guardian as her body showed
01:31:34
no signs of improvement difficult decisions needed to be made the Alfred Hospital applied to the Victorian Civil
01:31:42
and Administrative Tribunal to have an independent public advocate take the role as Maria's medical guardian a
01:31:48
guardianship hearing was held in which a judge tasked the job to Public Advocate
01:31:52
Julian Gardner Julian went to great lengths to determine what would be the outcome of
01:31:58
Maria's faith he quizzed doctors specialists physicians neurologists and palliative care specialists who all gave
01:32:06
their opinions on Maria's health he spoke with her family friends colleagues and even her priest yet Maria had never
01:32:15
discussed her personal views on the controversial topic of euthanasia with anyone or whether in the most dire
01:32:21
circumstances she would choose to sustain her life or end it Julian read Maria's personal Diaries in an effort to
01:32:29
gauge the kind of person Maria was under the reasoning behind her thoughts and decisions what he gained was a great
01:32:36
sense of injustice Maria did not deserve her fate Maria was a personable and warm
01:32:42
woman who prioritize being a mother above all else she loved her children and had never wanted to leave them
01:32:50
ongoing public interest in Maria's plight brought with it a highly emotional ethical debate about her
01:32:56
future some believed a bureaucrat did not have the right to play God and determine the fate of a woman he had
01:33:02
never met others saw prolonging her life through medical intervention as unnatural they didn't want to prolong
01:33:09
Maria's suffering others were more hopeful and wanted to believe she could still one day wake up Joe Corp was vocal
01:33:18
in his opinion on the matter he stated voluntary death was against Maria's religious beliefs and she would
01:33:24
never agree to it although his agenda was questionable if Maria died he would be facing a murder charge
01:33:34
Julian Gartner spoke with two Catholic ethicists on the matter who both formed the view that within the principles and
01:33:41
policies of the Catholic Church that was appropriate to permit Maria to die after
01:33:47
deep consideration and soul-searching Julian came to a decision after multiple medical assessments which determined
01:33:55
that palliative care was futile and she had no prospects of recovery Julian sat at Maria's bedside and told her I'm
01:34:03
sorry Maria but there's nothing more we can do for you Julian Gardner authorized
01:34:12
the medical staff to stop administering Maria's food and water with his decision
01:34:17
came another wave of strong public opinion both in favor and against his choice anti euthanasia campaign has held
01:34:27
peaceful protests outside of the hospital criticizing a decision they considered inhumane they called Julian
01:34:33
the public executioner members of Maria's family in Portugal were also against the decision they refused to
01:34:40
believe Maria was dying and held out hope for her recovery Maria's daughter Laura indicated she did
01:34:47
not oppose the decision most others close to Maria kept their opinion on the sensitive matter private Julie and
01:34:55
Gartner received hundreds of letters from the public the claim to the supportive letters outweighed the
01:35:00
unsupportive despite the debate of whether the decision was right or wrong Maria's fate was set to Lynne Gardner
01:35:09
explained his decision in an interview with the ABC quote I do believe in this case that we did protect somebody with a
01:35:18
disability because we were able to stand aside and not have a conflict of interest not be overborne by emotions or
01:35:26
some of these very virulent comments that were made that might in the end push our decision-making into a
01:35:31
situation where you looked after your own skin rather than hers it would have been far easier for me to
01:35:38
simply keep her alive but I'm not here to make decisions in my best interests I'm here to make a decision in hers as
01:35:47
Maria Corpse guardian Julian Gardner had one final decision to make on her behalf
01:35:53
whether or not to permit Joe Corp from seeing her one last time to say goodbye Julian Gardner also told the ABC quote
01:36:04
that was a decision that I had to make in the best interests of Maria and in making that decision it was important to
01:36:12
try and understand what she might have wanted and I had evidence to indicate that she wanted to try and keep the
01:36:17
marriage together I had evidence that she was a strong Catholic and therefore I had assumptions that I drew from that
01:36:24
that compassion and forgiveness would be part of her thinking and also I had to take into account that there's a
01:36:30
presumption of innocence and if I thought it was in her best interests for other members of the family to visit it
01:36:37
was difficult to say why for all of these factors I should exclude him it wasn't technically a difficult
01:36:45
decision but it was nonetheless as a human being as an emotional situation a very difficult decision on the day her
01:36:57
feeding tubes were removed Joe cork was permitted a 30-minute visit to his dying
01:37:02
wife under police supervision after kissing her forehead Joe rubbed the backs of Maria's hands
01:37:09
whispering a prayer between tears it will never be known if Joe's initial opinion on keeping Maria alive was for
01:37:17
altruistic or selfish reasons but after this visit he revealed he had come to support the decision to end Maria's life
01:37:25
in the early hours of August 5th 2005 maria corp died peacefully in her sleep on august 12 her funeral was held for
01:37:38
Maria with more than 250 of her close friends and family in attendance a farewell letter written by her son was
01:37:46
read out during the service damien wrote of how he loved his mother's soft cuddles her cooking the way she helped
01:37:54
him with his homework but more than anything he loved the way she loved him this sentiment was shared
01:38:01
by his sister Laura who thanked her mother for making her who she was and for teaching her how to stand on her own
01:38:07
in the world Damien and Laura released four white doves at the end of the service
01:38:15
there was one notable absence Joe cork was not permitted to attend the funeral as his bail conditions being him from
01:38:23
being near Laura and Damien instead he watched news coverage of it on the television just after 10 p.m. that same
01:38:33
night a police car sped towards the court family house in Mechelen after several urgent emergency calls had
01:38:40
reached them gust Corp Joe corks brother was waiting for them at the front gate he directed police towards the large
01:38:48
work shed at the rear of the property the windows were blacked out and no one knew for certain what was going on
01:38:54
inside one of the officers banked the door and called out Joe can you hear me well they could hear coming from inside
01:39:03
was the pitched ringtone of Joe's mobile phone going unanswered [Music] once police gained access to the garage
01:39:12
they were confronted by a chilling sight hanging three centimeters above the floor and in front of a messy cluttered
01:39:19
shrine consisting of Collingwood Magpies memorabilia photographs of Maria court suicide notes and empty beer cans was
01:39:28
Joe corks body a thin nylon rope tied around his neck at 10:28 p.m. Joe cork was pronounced Abed
01:39:41
even in death Joe left police perplexed and scratching their heads for those at the scene there was a debate as to
01:39:49
whether Joe had genuinely intended to take his own life or if he had staged the entire scene as an elaborate cry for
01:39:56
help but never originally intended to go through with the act and it was all an accident it was difficult to determine
01:40:03
the intentions of a man who was a master manipulator as in life Joe Corp died carrying many secrets On
01:40:15
February 14th 2014 nine years and four days after she was jailed for the attempted murder of Maria Corp Tonya
01:40:23
Herrmann was released from minimum security prison during the final months of her life Maria Corp wrote a candid
01:40:32
letter to her husband Joe detailing a battle between two women in which the emerging Victor was the men who
01:40:39
controlled them both she titled the letter Tonya versus Maria part of which read Joe I've made my mind up about the
01:40:50
marriage I've tried everything to get you back but unfortunately you refused my help this week you nailed the last
01:40:59
nail in the coffin I've been very patient with you but tenure is your love Joe you're not the
01:41:07
man I married and I can't understand how far you went all I can see is what you have done to us is something I will
01:41:15
never understand as long as I live my heart is crushed and bleeding I don't know how I'm going to cope because I'm
01:41:23
back where I was seventeen years ago but remember I will always love you until I
01:41:31
die [Music] you [Music]