An Island of Secrets - Part 2 of 2 - Analysing the Evidence

The official story seemed simple: Vivienne Cameron murdered Beth Barnard in jealous rage, then jumped from the San Remo Bridge. Case closed.

But when forensic scientists examined the evidence, they found something impossible. A pink mohair jumper that never left a single fibre. A blood-soaked murder scene where the killer left no victim's blood in the escape vehicle. Phone calls at times that don't match the timeline. A handbag that appeared in two different places. And a woman who supposedly drowned hours before her friend received a phone call from her discussing sewing patterns.

In Part 2, we examine what the evidence really shows and why every piece of forensic science points away from the official narrative toward something more complex, more troubling, and more deliberately concealed.

After forty years, the bones in the sand might finally reveal the truth. Or they might prove that Phillip Island's secrets run even deeper than anyone imagined.

Sources

• Petraitis, Vikki and Paul Daley: The Phillip Island Murder (1993, 3rd edition 2018)
• Petraitis, Vikki: The Vanishing of Vivienne Cameron: Forty Years Searching for the Phillip Island Murderer (Simon & Schuster, January 2026)
• Casefile Presents Podcast (2020): The Vanishing of Vivienne Cameron
• Sensing Murder (2006) The Scarlett Letter (Series 1 - Episode 8)
• Under Investigation: Adultery, Murder and Mayhem (2021)

Title Music: by Jesse Frank from Pixabay

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