PARENTAL DESPAIR
Victim’s mum and accused’s dad share disbelief at DJ’s death
TWO despairing sets of parents are sharing heartache and disbelief after the festive season death of DJ Chris Bradley (right). His mother says it is yet to sink in that he has gone. The father of the man accused of killing him can’t believe his boy could do such a thing.
IT was Boxing Day last year when Carolyn Bradley received a call no mother ever wants.
While camping with her husband Scott in New South Wales she learnt her son Chris – a popular DJ who regularly performed on the Gold Coast – had died after an altercation at a house party on Christmas Day. Disbelief flooded her mind.
“It can’t be true. It’s impossible. It can’t be my son,” she said in her first interview since the tragedy.
She and her husband immediately informed family, including his two younger sisters Beth and Maddie.
The sad reality is Chris, 29, would usually be with his family on Boxing Day. It was a family tradition to celebrate the holiday on the 26th.
But last year, for the first time in decades, they met two weeks before Christmas to ease the holiday strain.
“Chris came down and all his cousins were there,” she recalled.
“This was the first time in 35 years that the Bradley family hadn’t celebrated on Boxing Day,” Ms Bradley said, talking to the Bulletin after scattering his ashes at Byron Bay.
“On Christmas Eve I messaged him and said ‘What are you up to?’ He said ‘Doing my favourite thing’; which was sitting down, having a glass of red with a platter of cheese.
“Christmas Day he was going to a couple of friends’ houses.
“Then we received the call on Boxing Day, about nine o’clock.”
Chris moved to Byron Bay aged 22 to pursue a passion for music. He studied at SAE Institute earning a Bachelor Degree in Sound Production. He cemented his name as a popular DJ playing every Byron venue as well as some on the Gold Coast and in Brisbane. Despite living hundreds of kilometres apart, he remained close to his family in Sydney.
“It still hasn’t really sunk in,” Ms Bradley said. “I have dreams every night that it’s been a whole big nightmare and I’m going to wake up and he’s going to be there. He’s going to ring and ask me a food question like he always would. It still doesn’t seem real. It’s too raw and too unreal.”
The man charged with his death is Javen O’Neill, a 24-year-old Muay Thai fighter believed to be an acquaintance but not close friend.
A source said they were Facebook friends but never had a real conversation.
Mr O’Neill has been described as having a “short fuse”. He has not contacted the Bradleys and has made unsuccessful bids for bail, most recently last Thursday.
Part of Ms Bradley’s disbelief at the death is the way it happened.
“Chris didn’t like to be involved in arguments,” she said. “He hated confrontation. And if anyone was going to argue he’d just walk away.”
Last weekend friends and family scattered his ashes at Byron Bay.
Ms Bradley said she had never seen tears flow as they did that day.
“We scattered his ashes into the ocean where he had said he always felt at peace. He loved his life in Byron, loved the surf, loved his friends and beloved little dog, Brent.
“The saddest thing to see is the effect this has had on his friends who are struggling to comprehend the loss of their special friend. There are so many stories from friends. I felt so proud listening to them.”
Ms Bradley will always be immensely proud of her son’s achievements and how he treated people.
“We found a scribble book just beside his keyboard and he’d scribbled something down one day about how to love. I’m going to try to do something with that little book because it has the most beautiful words in it.
“And I thought ‘He’s learnt love, he’s learnt how to be nice to people’.”
I HAVE DREAMS EVERY NIGHT IT’S BEEN A WHOLE BIG NIGHTMARE AND I’M GOING TO WAKE UP AND HE’S GOING TO BE THERE. CAROLYN BRADLEY