Overview
- Mark Sheridan Waden has pleaded not guilty as his retrial resumes in the Brisbane Supreme Court in June 2026 after an earlier trial was aborted for juror misconduct.
- The prosecution says Priscilla Brooten vanished from her home on July 5, 2018, and police checks of airlines, banks and government records showed no proof of life after that date.
- Witnesses have told the jury that Brooten abruptly cut off contact with family before she disappeared and that her daughter and former partner gave emotional testimony about her distress and self‑harm.
- Court evidence includes claims Waden ordered a four‑metre trench the day after the disappearance, dumped more than 800 kilograms of soil at the Nudgee tip in May 2019, and that he tried to create a false trail by phoning the US consulate.
- Prosecutors say seized items such as a notebook and messages show abuse and turmoil in the relationship while the defence disputes the circumstantial case, leaving a jury to weigh credibility and forensic links without a recovered body.