‘So easy’ to snap neck Chilling words allegedly spoken by murder accused

THE son of missing woman Linda Sidon muttered things to himself about his mother in three trips to a bushland area in the Numinbah Valley, police will allege.

He has also been accused of telling a friend he had no respect for his mother and it would be “so easy” to snap her neck.

Daniel Paul Heazlewood, 28, was yesterday charged with the murder of Ms Sidon, who was last seen six years ago. Her body has never been found.

Police have kept a close eye on Heazlewood’s movements through surveillance since March and allege he drove three times to Numinbah Valley in August, including two trips with another man.

Heazlewood’s conversations with himself, allegedly picked up through surveillance on the drive, are expected to be used against him in the case.

The first trip to the Numinbah Valley was allegedly made the day after police visited a Broadbeach Waters home in an attempt to speak to Heazlewood.

Police allegedly knew Heazlewood was at the address through surveillance on the home but at the time his friend allegedly told them he wasn’t.

Investigators allegedly used maps, distance-time calculations and CCTV footage to identify Heazlewood’s destination in the Numinbah Valley, adjacent to dense bushland.

Detectives began searching the area in August for Ms Sidon’s remains or personal belongings but it is understood they are yet to locate anything.

The police investigation has built a largely circumstantial case against Heazlewood based on statements from those who knew him and alleged inconsistencies in his version on where his mother was. Ms Sidon’s father in New Zealand reported her disappearance in 2010 – allegedly telling

police he be- lieved she had been murdered and that her son “beats her up a lot”.

It is alleged Heazlewood initially told police he remembered his mother talking about wanting to go back to New Zealand to look after her father.

But his version in 2009 to a representative from the Department of Housing allegedly differs, where it is claimed he said his mother would be back in October and on another occasion that she was sailing with a new boyfriend. Police have also obtained statements from those who knew Ms Sidon and Heazlewood about the pair’s allegedly dysfunctional relationship.

A former girlfriend allegedly described how he was manipulative and had regularly used steroids, which made him aggressive and violent.

The woman allegedly told police he had no respect for his mother and said that it would be “so easy” to snap her neck.

Yesterday, Heazlewood’s barrister Chris Rosser said his client emphatically denied the charges and would apply for bail.