Brenda Goudge was a businesswoman, a mother of three and a grandmother of six. She loved, and was loved. And she was brutally killed by someone she knew.
As far as her family is concerned, that person "has got away with murder".Â
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Suspect in Brenda Goudge's murder changes alibi, court hears
A murder suspect has sat near grieving family members at an inquest into the death of a Wantirna South grandmother. (Vision courtesy Seven News Melbourne)
On Friday, Coroner Caitlyn English handed down an open finding into the murder of Mrs Goudge, to the anguish of the victim's family.Â
Ms English said she was unable to say - to a satisfactory standard of proof - who killed Mrs Goudge.
"Whilst I have concluded my investigation, the murder of Mrs Goudge remains unsolved," she said.
In court, Mrs Goudge's sister Susan McCormack, son Adam Goudge and daughter Rebecca Goudge held onto each other after the verdict, and wept.
Outside, still wiping tears from their eyes, they were angry.
"The justice system is broken," Adam Goudge said, shaking his head. "Somebody has got away with murder here. My mother is dead. There's no closure in a case like this."
Mrs Goudge's body was discovered under a pool cover in her backyard swimming pool in Wantirna South on July 8, 2011.
She had been struck twice to the face and head, and then smothered - possibly with a pillow or doona - before being thrown into the pool, along with bloodied bedclothes.
It was impossible to know whether Mrs Goudge was alive or dead when she went into the water, the coroner found.
Ms English said it was likely that whoever killed Mrs Goudge knew that by throwing the body and bedclothes into the water, they would destroy any DNA evidence.
The chief suspect, Paul Callaway​ - a former policeman who developed a DNA sampling patent while he was a member of the force - would have such a knowledge, Ms English said.
Police have suspected Mr Callaway of being responsible for Mrs Goudge's murder since 2012.
The pair worked together at Jay-Dee Auto Cables in Bayswater, which they had jointly owned since 2007 with another man, James Duffus.Â
But there had been tensions.
Mrs Goudge and Mr Callaway clashed often.
Previous hearings have been told that Mrs Goudge suspected her business partners were trying to force her out of the business.
Ms English said several staff had left because of Mrs Goudge's management style, including one woman who alleged she had been bullied.
"It appears she [Mrs Goudge] was not always easy to get on with and she struggled with the interpersonal aspects of her management role," Ms English said.
But Mrs Goudge had a particularly difficult relationship with Mr Callaway, confiding in her sister, her daughter Rebecca, and her neighbour that the conflicts at work were deeply upsetting her, and taking a high emotional toll on her.
"More than one witness described her as being intimidated by Mr Callaway," Ms English said.
Mr Callaway declined repeated requests by police to take a lie-detector test, and declined to give evidence to the inquest on the grounds that it might incriminate him.
Ms English said that Mrs Goudge's three children and two business partners stood to benefit financially from the murder.
The three directors of Jay-Dee Auto Cables had taken out a life insurance policy, and income protection insurance, in 2009, which was payable to the company. When Mrs Goudge died, the business was paid $330,750 from life insurance, and $10,818 in income protection insurance.
Ms English noted that Mr Callaway had erroneously told police that the policies had already been in place when he bought into the business in 2007, when Mr Callaway had in fact negotiated the insurance.
"The police rely on this as demonstrative of Mr Callaway's deceptive behaviour and minimisation of his financial motive," Ms English said.
She also found there were "inconsistencies" in Mr Callaway's explanations of his whereabouts on the morning Mrs Goudge's body was found.
"I find that Mr Callaway's evidence of his whereabouts and movements on the morning of 8 July are contradictory, and the version he initially related to police was untrue," she said.
But Ms English stopped short of naming Mr Callaway as the person responsible for Mrs Goudge's murder, instead issuing an open finding.
Outside court, Mrs McCormack was in no doubt about who she held responsible.
"I hate him [Mr Callaway], I do hate him," she said. "If I saw him in the street, I'd smack him in the mouth."
A $1 million reward remains in place for information that leads to a conviction in Mrs Goudge's murder.
Anyone with information should call 1800 333 000 or visit crimestoppersvic.com.auÂ