Backpacker kidnapped and shackled in abandoned pig shed by madman | 60 Minutes Australia

to his family and friends Jeanne Bristow was an unassuming hard-working hobby farmer but his life was a facade in truth Bristow was a monster consumed with thoughts of depravity the 54 year old devised an evil plan to lure a young female to his remote South Australian property and keep her as his hostage his scheme was as meticulous as it was wicked except for one thing he picked the wrong target the ingenuity and will to live of the now 26 year old Belgian backpacker Devine Arkin's meant when bad collided with good there would only be one winner the end of a hot summer's day in a paddock in remote South Australia please help look for me from an isolated Pig shed a chilling cry for help I've been kidnapped in South Australia skeltal run away distressed messages from a terrified backpacker he we chased me down shoots me that would travel around the world to her friends and her distraught family in Belgium the message was I'm kidnapped please I'm on the farm somewhere it drives a red peak a red pickup I'm scared has a gun will shoot contact the police and mom I'm so far away from her and I couldn't I didn't really know where she is shackled and alone Devane Atkins risked it all to break out of her chains to grab her one fleeting chance to tell whoever was listening she was in the worst kind of trouble my first thought was just to send a message for help I didn't really know where I was where should go to who to trust who did you send these messages to everyone who was online a cow farm frosty fairies tonight inside the police investigation that captured a monster how would you describe devane's actions throughout this courageous very courageous and this is the kidnapper Jean Charles Bristow now a prisoner himself he is despised especially by his 22 year old son David Bristow who helped bring him to justice if you had an opportunity to say something to him you get what you deserve please please I am so afraid hewlet is a typical Belgian town clean charming and a little sleepy not a place to satisfy the adventurous spirit of Devine Arkin's a small-town girl who set out to see the big wide world so define why was Australia on the map why did you want to come here I really wanted to see the wildlife in the nature just seemed like an amazing country to visit to go backpacking by her early 20s Devane was already a seasoned traveler who ticked off South Africa Guatemala and China but Australia was to be the big one and so when she arrived here at the end of 2016 the 24 year old had a year's working visa in her pocket and the promise of a trip of a lifetime do you remember the emotion you were feeling when you booked your ticket to come to Australia I was feeling quite nervous but also very excited to finally go did you consider Australia to be a safe place to visit yes yes I know there were some dangerous animals jellyfish or crocodiles but I felt like it was a safe place to go to [Music] the first two months were crammed with new experiences and landscapes a world away from Belgium flooring pink leg from Sydney Devane hid itself taking in Melbourne and Tasmania by now she had set her mind on getting work in the bush a visa requirement to allow her to stretch her trip for an extra year and so she headed to Adelaide I wanted to do my amount of days that you needed to get a second year visa so I felt like in Adelaide there was a good opportunity to find some work devane's next step while not uncommon would be thankful she turned to the internet to help in her job hunt I wanted really to find something so now I just posted my own at looking for work and then finally had a response to it would you be interested in rearing baby calves on a farm 2.5 hours from Adelaide just as she was getting desperate it was the office she'd been hoping for supposedly from a network of farms that employed foreign backpackers my name is Max and we will be working on one of many farms in South Australia owned by a company called Genesis Inc I did ask questions to get more information did you get an impression from him that there had been a lot of female workers on the phone he spoke about another French girl who's recently going to another farm so that makes me feel a bit more reassured like okay there's other people doing this job just like me what was your reaction when you heard she was going to this remote farm first reaction is congratulations girls because that's what you are always looking for since meeting in China three years ago Aiko Wang and Devine Arkin's have remained close friends echo was on her own backpacking adventure fruit picking in Far North Queensland when she heard that Devine had finally found some work you will be fine thousands of backpackers they are doing the same job and you will be fine that really happy for her and that's what you told her you'll be fine yes yes but the man who called himself max was in fact 54 year old hobby farmer Jane Charles Bristow he was also a Fanta cyst and a liar with a secret plan to kidnap and sexually abuse a backpacker and devein Arkin's was about to fall into his trap this was the only thing I was gonna do alone finding a job and then it goes wrong how does that make you feel it's like he cannot even do one thing alone or you're unsafe so no it doesn't feel good right no clearly upset yeah yeah yeah what is that do you think that upsets you about that mmm I think it is because I always make sure that that I had someone with me I always made sure that I wasn't alone I was always careful and just unlucky to meet a person like that and yeah coming out walking into a trap to now know that was all a fabrication yes there were no other female workers do you have any sense couldn't can you look back and go oh he was lying to me and held hostage in she must have been absolutely terrified I was like stop moving my struggling and he put something against my face Robert I thought it was young next on 60 minutes on the morning of Thursday February the 9th 2017 Devine Arkin's had checked out of her hostel and was waiting at a bus stop in central Adelaide he told me I could take a bus to Murray Bridge so I looked it up and it seemed fine to me it was not that far and it was easy to go there they told me that he would pick me up at the bus station so I just had to look for the bus get there and that would be it keen to stop the next big chapter of her Australian adventure Devine traveled out of Adelaide an hour south to Murray Bridge and sure enough the man calling himself max was waiting to pick her up so you made him at the bus stop yeah it was a very first impression he just looked you know like like a farmer and working clothes hard-working man [Music] the pier set off on a long drive the farmer was chatty and friendly as they headed down quiet roads through the expanse of the South Australian countryside what is it like to meet resistance it's kind of bit weird just knowing that this was like the road to the place for you I have something horrible happening [Music] Jeanne Bristow had carefully planned the run to the pig shed on his hobby farm on the edge of many need the direct route which would involve a drive through town would have taken less than an hour instead Bristow went on a long drawn-out journey designed to disorientate and deceive to make Devine field she was heading into complete isolation a two-hour drive down the back roads that took in two ferry crossings [Music] you drive and drive and drive and then you get to the property paint the picture for me what is it that you see so we drove to a fence drove up went to another fence like a lot of parts of the farm yeah and then we got to this shit and he was still explaining this is where you raise the calls where you will feed them he sounds like a very good liar yes yes I was very surprised didn't expect anything to happen [Music] when Devine finally arrived at the pig shed she felt she was in the middle of nowhere just as Jean Bristow had engineered it but the center of Menengai and the town's police station was just over a kilometer away Bristow's house where his wife son and son's girlfriend were on the day was hidden behind some trees but still just 350 meters away of course Devine did not know help was so close at hand nor could she know that very soon she would desperately need it so what happened they didn't you wanted to make sure that I wasn't doing any of the trucks because he told me he had problems before you wanted to look for needle marks check your feet for needle marks it was a bizarre demand from her new employer but as puzzled as she was Devane thought it best to do as he asked so he was like can I see your arms they would put the needles there or on your leg so he wanted to look there was he threatening in that moment to you know he stayed very calm very friendly didn't really change until the very last moment [Music] this is the awful scene that confronted Devane that day a filthy Pig shed along with animal feces and plenty of flies in the corner an old broken-down fridge under sofa bed and this is where Bristow intended to keep his prisoner the backpacker forced to become his plaything but in those early moments Bristow keeps up the charade that he must check Devine for drug use and so he asks her to lie face down on the sofa bed so he can inspect the soles of her feet he was really looking at my feet for a while and he and suddenly you just got on my back stop moving stay still try to grab my arms to put around my back but I wouldn't let him out struggling and I was like what's going on no it's gonna be happening and then I was like no I felt very very strong so I felt like I I could really overpower like you can get away but they Bristow tells Devane he has a gun and he will use it he puts something against my back and said it was a good I thought it was it was over so then I gave up because I thought if I keep struggling he would just shoot me and so I stopped we clearly believed him yes yes I was not gonna take any chances you know if you don't wanna die somewhere not like that you know not there Bristow first used cable ties then chains to bind to veins wrists and chains to shackle both her legs he stripped her naked sexually abused her and threatened to kill her if she tried to escape in the beginning is very young like commanding like when I walk in here you'll be always undressed you don't put on anything anymore that I'll have to be kind don't run away or he would find me and shoot me with the gun you must have been absolutely terrified I mean shocked obviously but terrified - yeah I was just stuck there and I thought to take her out for someone to notice I was gone or even to find me so I was like I'm not getting out of here I thought this is this is it this is where I'm gonna die and adding to the physical threat gene Bristow played elaborate mind games telling Devane she was now the property of a criminal gang the trafficked young women you would tell me that he was in an organization and there were other people and that they are watching him and what was this organization well he was working for a boss who would approve girls and then ship them to Sydney on or Melbourne for prostitution he told her not to trust anyone that even the police were in on us when you heard that what did you think you don't have any anything to say you lose everything your clothes your freedom your family your friends you feel very very powerless and tiny you're stuck it seems like that his feelings are still very raw you think it's a poor important that that you have your freedom and then when someone just takes everything away and it's a very hard how close was your relationship with your dad prior to this very close yeah like we we did nice things together you know hey was he dead yeah someone that I I always looked up to David Bristow and girlfriend Shane were both at home on the farm that day along with his mum Jan all were oblivious to the horror taking place in their own backyard will you both know that said can you imagine what that girl went through it would be horrifying absolutely you'd fear for your life you'd fear for your safety you tree for everything you wouldn't know what to do what I'd ever be in that situation did you have any idea any inkling that there was somebody in that shed no everything seemed fine everything was normal coming up how did you connect seeing that hook and thinking or maybe this can help me or anyone see devane's messages so you were giving out as much information yes I didn't really know where she's and can she outsmart the monster just put on the chains again so you change yourself back up yeah that's next on 60 minutes young backpacker devayne Atkins is being held captive in a filthy Pig shed in a paddock in South Australia she thinks she's in the middle of nowhere a stranger in a strange land shackled in Chains and subjected to violence like you're kind of in a coma you know you you can hear everything and feel but you cannot do anything how did long did you think that was going to go on for I thought it would take months no one knows she's kidnapped and there's no hope of escape until her captor opens the door of the broken-down fridge he's looking to remove anything Devine might use to get away in that moment she spots something he doesn't little metal hooks that could be a lifeline so in this terrible scenario this awful bleak situation in the middle of nowhere the fridge door opens and you see something in the fridge how did you connect seeing that hook and thinking or maybe this can help me there was nothing else he took my keys my phone and I was like maybe that's it maybe I can use it Jeanne Bristow has used pliers to tighten the shackles making them impossible to remove by hand if she can get to the hooks devine hopes she can use them as a tool to get free by now she's chained by one arm and one leg as darkness falls Bristow leaves the shed and Devine makes her move not knowing when he might return I was so scared so nervous as soon as I started I wanted to move as fast as I could Sarah just put the hook in no and chest on the Army was quite easy just no twisting I was like you know would then on my leg didn't move at all like oh no what now you know but I didn't had any other options so I just keep trying and pushing harder harder and there was no other way so I just kept trying and the gun looser and looser as well so finally yeah it I was free you know I was like oh it works now free does she run does she hide Devine decides not to make a run for it instead she grabs the one advantage she has Bristow has made a critical error by failing to look for the laptop and Wi-Fi stick hidden in her bag the computer fires up suddenly she's online it works I was like it's all working and going fast put the light down of my laptop and send messages I hope messages I have been kidnapped in South Australia I'm on the farm somewhere I described the road I crossed went from Mira bridge cross two ferries so you were giving out as much information yes yes told him I was taking in a red pickup car and I'm very scared to run off but he has a gun please take the podium mom the messages fired out around the world to family and friends including fellow backpacker eco Wang who was flicking through her phone in Far North Queensland it just you know some horrible words like police helped me to call the police and I was kidnapped with the threat of devane's kidnapper returning at any moment the two friends frantically messaged each other I just couldn't imagine what might happen to her but I knew it might be something really not good and she's she's really helpless yeah that's that's that's what I feel that moment you were terrified for her yes and desperate I guess you just want to help so much and you can't I'm so far away from her and I coulda that I didn't really know where she is these are the messages Devane and Echo sent each other that night before the connection suddenly failed when the signal got lost just put everything back as fast as I could in them he was getting very dark so I didn't take any chances to run so just put on the chains again so you change yourself back up yeah holding herself back in the clutches of her sadistic captor took incredible courage an extraordinary calculated move and as she promised her desperate friend Echo raised the alarm she said she was gonna call the police so I knew that it's out there they know it they gotta start to search that now I just have to hopefully find me in Belgium devane's messages had reached her now stricken family and her stepdad Luke did you feel having read those words that this was a race against time the time is of the essence yes the first thought who come to us how long was he already kidnapped how many time do we have left how critical was the information that Devane managed to get out very critical the fact that she'd been abducted the fact that she'd gone through Marie bridge on a couple of ferries we wouldn't be able to start anything without her being able to make contact with someone for detective Superintendent Mark Weissach it was immediately clear the Devine was in danger how quickly did police act on that information within 10 minutes they actually asked for a triangulation to to commence within 10 minutes within 10 minutes because we have this terminology you know like when the balloon goes up it's all in and that's what the response was why was time of the essence in this case well we had great fears for his safety I also appeal to that person who may be holding Devine against her will it was only a matter of time before we identify here you are June Bristow didn't know us but as Devine was being driven to the pig shed her phone had been transmitting signals picked up by nearby phone towers by triangulating that data police were able to identify a more specific area in which to search we received information that it sought Meninga and south of Manila it just shows that yes what she's saying you know is right and and the clues that she's given all adds up to the fact there she's in this area somewhere so it's a matter of finding it in the quiet town of Meninga a major manhunt was soon underway by police on the ground and in the air that night I heard planes flying over and I was I was hoping they were police planes and they would have infrared or something I don't know this then in the morning again there were planes flying over that's what made him panic by 2:00 p.m. on her second day of captivity a car fitting devane's description was spotted in a paddock hidden under a tree they watched as Jeanne Bristow got in and drove into town so the air wing saw a red ute vicinity of the farm and radioed that down to patrol that actually pulled the ute over was being driven by Jeanne Bristow and I just had a chat with him to find out who he was and took his details and took a photo of him these were the photos taken in the moments jeanne Bristow was pulled over it was a routine stop police had no reason to hold him but it was enough to rattle Bristow who raced back to the shed and he came back and they're police everywhere we gotta go he told me to put on my Cruz took my backpack with me and we had to run out of the shirt he was panicking he was very scared coming up he just told me not to trust anyone confused and alone why she fears the police that must have been terrifying yes see all these police coming at you and a son's anger nothing can forgive that playful fall by his own father when someone has been so normal and then this happens or blows him off that's next on 60 minutes freed from her chains and bundled into the back of her kidnappers backpacker devayne Hawkins has no idea whether she will live or die until Jeanne Bristow drops her here at a motel in Murray Bridge the town in which they first met when Jen Bristow dropped you at the hotel did he give you any instructions did he tell you what to say or what to do he just told me to get on the bus go to the airport to wear a cap lay low and to just go home did you go to police at that point no you didn't trust anyone just I was very scared brainwashed and alone Devine still believes she's in grave danger eventually though hunger gets the better of her and she finally decides to leave the motel and go out in search of a cafe all the while fearing that she will again be picked up by someone from Bristow's sex trafficking ring as she starts to head back she's spotted by an off-duty policeman and he calls out her name suddenly they were coming cars from everywhere people and was surrounded at police and then I kind of panicked cuz I couldn't do anything anymore I couldn't go anywhere I'm like oof I'm done it's only at the police station that Devine finally feels safe back in Belgium Devine stepfather Luke gets word the family has been praying for and suddenly came the news it's her it's her we found her and then we we were so joyful she's safe we are going to take her to our police station how would you describe that level of relief after so much anguish and concern we help each other that's everyone in the house we really helped each other as we cried we we were relieved we couldn't speak to the vignette but we knew she was in good hands as the vein is picked up Jayne Bristow is furiously trying to cover his tracks he heads home shaves his head and tries to dispose of the crime scene evidence the next morning police raid the farm and arrest him much to the shock of his family my mum rang me and just told me what had happened he'd been arrested for kidnapping and rape of the building backpack and then there was police everywhere not your typical Saturday by now Bristow's son David he is coming to terms with the reality that his father is a monster what happens in that moment do you stop loving this person yes right away really mm-hmm he could have ended up being a murder and could have ended up being anything and that's that's the scary part because I don't know if this has happened once twice ten times no one knows when when someone like that in your life has been so normal and nothing has seemed out of the play out of the ordinary and then this happens it be really open but blows your mind and just it makes you wonder has it happened before as police pored over the farm they assembled an overwhelming body of evidence the chains used to shackle devine were found in a well and her mobile phone in a water tank a fake gun bought on ebay a few weeks before the kidnapping was discarded in a paddock and overwhelming DNA evidence was recovered from the pig shed where Devine was kept prisoner it's pretty compelling for a court case when you can recover things that actually match the victims story you know things like the manacles over there who change the fake gun it all goes to show the court this was what was used for David Bristow it was the chains custom-made into manacles that revealed the true horror of his father's deeds there were chains and bolts and D shackles and all sorts of stuff that had been constructed and it it's not something that you'd make in five minutes it's something that has been planned and it's it to me as a farmer I've never seen a use for something like that so made me realize that it's real it's real yeah it's horrifying isn't it yeah very in the two years since the kidnapping Jean Bristow has never shown a shred of remorse to the anger of his son David and his girlfriend shown just very much pointing the finger at everyone else besides himself so to this day he won't admit to you or the rest of the family that he did this he is a hundred percent thinks he's innocent he just keeps making excuses he first he started off with she wasn't there and I needed help because David wouldn't help me the bizarre claims are contained in a series of letters Jeanne Bristow sent to his son from his prison cell I want to reassure you both that I'm not guilty of anything they've only got a pack of lies to go on from the woman claiming to be the victim she's doing it for the money would you have more respect for him if he actually told you the truth yes I think I would if he came if he came out and said that he was guilty and earned up to it I would have more respect for him do you think you'd be able to find in your heart to forgive him no nothing can forgive that it took a huge amount of courage for David Bristow to give evidence a court appearance that saw him discredit his father's claim that he hired Devine to help him on the farm when you saw him in the courtroom what did you think of him in that moment I was disgusted the any word I can use disgustin helped by his own sons evidence against him last month Jean Bristow was sentenced to 18 years in jail he won't be eligible for parole until 2032 and men most likely sent back to his native Britain when you learned of the outcome of the actual court case that Jane was convicted and now sentenced what was your reaction to that all that because I'll never get the same memory I'm glad that I'm as I have to look at him again is that a hard thing to say a hard thing to feel it is it is quite hard something that I think about Lots but never really talked her we had it I mean this whole incident represents a massive loss in your life doesn't yeah he's dead to me he's dead to you yes Devine to had the ordeal of facing Bristow one more time at trial what was it like to see somebody who at one time in your life was so powerful and so frightening to be so pathetic in the end I had to look twice like is that him because he was very skinny and he looks very terrible and awful so when I saw him I was like this is what you deserve you should feel awful this is justice yeah coming up Friends Reunited and Devine places her future do you have the sounds that go with the moves it wasn't very bright nothing no he wasn't prepared I guess for me in the two years since she escaped the horror of the pig shed in South Australia Devine Arkin's has been haunted by flashbacks and nightmares I couldn't go in the dark I couldn't walk alone I tried to walk the dog alone then when I couldn't I cried and then one day I could and I felt so like I can walk the dog but I was still looking over my shoulders and I had to like learn everything again do everything again for the first time day by day Devane is fighting back against her fears she's taking up self-defense classes learning skills to disarm a would-be attacker determined that never again will she be the victim so you've got the moves yeah yeah do you have the sounds that go with the moves oh we don't really do karate okay food was more like boxing and disarming you're being prepared yeah what is it like to see the old devayne coming back if not fully back yet Cummings is not fully bad kid but we can laugh again but there is something broken and if something is broken it has sharp edges those edges will become round one day it will be good but not not the same anymore no one has the right to do that to someone else no no one no one eco Wang was devane's lifeline when she needed her most ever since davines been hoping for this moment the chance to thank echo in person thank you what's it like to see each other yes it is still cannot believe it I'm exploding I don't know you're exploding you're emotional yeah oh I felt so alone that moment and you are like the only one corresponding in for me you're like my Savior you know I'm always a good friend there for you together again with plenty of catching up to do the backpackers who have experienced the very best and the very worst of Australia echo played such a big part in this when you think of echo in what way do you think about her feel like a hero for me like she helped me she was there for me she took action you know if you hadn't got the message out Devane if no-one knew you were there what do you think this man would have done to you yeah I thought he would kill me and I would die dear we feel kind of bit ashamed in the beginning because you let someone trick you and that someone fool you did you feel reassured though by the police and by your parents that they knew it wasn't your fault that this was a monster and he upon you you had to tell me a few times you know yeah I'm glad they got me true dad because it's very hard [Music] delay knock ins obvious strength was there right from the terrifying start it took sheer bravery and ingenuity for this young backpacker to seize the moment to ultimately defeat her attacker to win her freedom she did a good job to unshackle herself and to send the message in us it was an act of courage was yes and smart very smart very smart is instinctive it's courageous it's all in one I think really smart really clever you've heard her speak about this and you've heard her talk about initially being ashamed of her own role you know that somehow she thought she should have not been in that position well how do you feel when you hear that no no toughen you didn't do it wrong you did it right he was the one who did it wrong he was the one to be ashamed of not you you must be proud we are proud of you of what you did of what you are [Music] do you feel like you did outsmart this man yeah it just worked and felt good that you couldn't get away [Music] I feel very very lucky how everything worked out I feel so so very lucky he wasn't prepared I guess for me doing something for you baiting him yeah hello I'm Tara brown thanks for watching to keep up with the latest from 60 minutes Australia make sure you subscribe to our Channel you can also download the 9 now app for full episodes and other exclusive 60 minutes content

Channel: 60 Minutes Australia

Views: 981,254

Rating: 4.7228904 out of 5

Keywords: 60 Minutes, 60 Minutes Australia, Liz Hayes, Charles Wooley, Tara Brown, Liam Bartlett, Allison Langdon, Ray Martin, Jana Wendt, Jeff McMullen, Jennifer Byrne, Richard Carleton, Peter Harvey, George Negus, Ian Leslie, Gerald Stone, Sarah Abo, backpacker, australia, tourist, wolf creek, madman, psychopath, south australia, crime, kidnapping, survival, escape, hero, strength, inspiration

Id: ccK2GifNn4A

Length: 44min 55sec (2695 seconds)

Published: Sun Jun 16 2019

Reddit Comments

[u/MournBlad3]

Loved it! She's badass! I'm not ashamed of these tears

[u/easilypersuadedsquid]

I have only just started watching this but it looks like it's going to be an incredible story.

[u/iambluest]

Ok, let's not miss bedtime for this.