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Man jailed after bludgeoning brother to death with spanner

A man who killed his brother after bludgeoning him with a spanner for hours has been jailed for 10 years.

Michel Francoise Theodoor Willemyns, 62, attacked his younger sibling Patrick West of Brisbane while suffering a "hyper manic episode" in March 2017, the Supreme Court heard.

After becoming paranoid about his brother, Willemyns struck the 53-year-old with the spanner and stomped on his head repeatedly.

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Michel Francoise Theodoor Willemyns has been jailed for 10 years for killing his brother.

Willemyns stopped at times to talk to his brother, filming it on his phone.

His sibling was too severely injured to respond.

Patrick Willemyns was killed in 2017 after his brother suffered a hyper manic episode in Brisbane.

The overall footage lasting about 10 minutes was considered too distressing to be shown in court but was watched privately by Justice Melanie Hindman.

"The video is disturbing to say the least," Hindman said.

Willemyns drove to his brother's Karana Downs residence after 9pm and practised swinging the spanner before smashing his way into the residence of his brother who was lying on the couch.

The attack was prolonged and lasted several hours, the court heard, before Willemyns finally left after 5am the next day.

The victim was later found with blunt force injuries over his body, with 10 lacerations on his head alone.

Two blows were so severe that they fractured his skull.

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Scene of the crime where a man bludgeoned his brother to death with a spanner in Brisbane.

Willemyns' mental health deteriorated amid escalating alcohol and cannabis use as his personal and professional life unravelled, the court heard.

He became paranoid about his sibling, who was head chef at the Karana Downs Golf Club, and was suffering a hyper manic episode at the time of the attack, the court was told.

Willemyns was kept in a secure mental health facility for two years before stabilising, his defence barrister said.

"He did not intend to kill his brother," she said.

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A man who killed his brother after bludgeoning him with a spanner for hours has been jailed for 10 years in Brisbane.

He has been in custody under medication since his 2017 arrest.

Willemyns had been initially charged with murder but pleaded guilty to one count of manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility on Friday.

"Good luck Mr Willemyns," Hindman said after sentencing him to 10 years.

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Police probe data on Caddick's phone

The officer in charge of investigating Melissa Caddick's disappearance said data taken from her phone indicated it was potentially at Sydney airport the day after she went missing.

Detective Sergeant Michael Foscholo told an inquest on Friday that he took over the case more than a week after she was reported missing.

He discussed lines of inquiry with his team to follow-up that included obtaining Ms Caddick's toothbrush for a DNA profile, and some data checks on her phone.

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Apple data had raised questions as to whether someone was trying to externally access her account, he said.

They were also "following up on a potential pin data point at Sydney airport" on November 13, at 12.45am found on her Uber account.

It is not yet known what NSW police officers found after investigating this data point.

Det Sgt Foscholo replaced Detective Sergeant Michael Kyneur on November 23, as the investigation "might benefit from a fresh set of eyes", Detective Inspector Gretchen Atkins said of her decision.

The last verified sighting of Ms Caddick was when the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and Australian Federal Police raided her Dover Heights mansion on November 11, 2020.

READ MORE: Melissa Caddick's husband had just $1.95 in bank when she vanished

The next morning she was purportedly heard leaving in the early hours to go for a run. Ms Caddick's husband Anthony Koletti informed police she never returned about 30 hours later.

Her Ponzi scheme victims, mostly family and friends, lost $20 million to $30 million she used to fund her lavish lifestyle.

Many of the people scammed by the conwoman were only made aware she was missing following a media appeal on November 20, "or that their nest eggs may be in peril", barrister Lachlan Gyles SC said.

Senior crime scene officer Ellen Konza was brought in to forensically inspect the eastern suburbs home 19 days after Ms Caddick disappeared.

"I saw nothing indicating any sign of blood, or clean up of blood, nothing of particular interest," she said.

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And her subsequent search of the luxury sports cars indicated they were also untouched.

"Your observation of the vehicles looked like they hadn't been cleaned for a period of time … for the 19 days most likely," Jason Downing SC counsel assisting the coroner said.

"Yes," she said.

Following Friday's hearing, the two-week inquest will break before Mr Koletti is due to give evidence on September 26. However, the current list of witnesses is running overtime.