Sins of the Father
Sun Herald investigative reporter Eamonn Duff talks about his new book Sins of the Father.

In this edited excerpt from Sins of the Father, author Eamonn Duff reveals the series of events that led to the arrest of the drug mule Schapelle Corby at Denpasar Airport in 2004.


DRUG runners come in all shapes and sizes but this mule was unusual to say the least. Brenda Joyce Eastwood was a 51-year-old grandmother of three, born in Port Augusta, who had been raised single-handedly by her mother after her father was jailed when she was two.
She dropped out of school in year 10 and gained work as a sewing machinist, then as a shop assistant. She married at 18 and, less than a year later, gave birth to the first of four children. In public, Eastwood tried to maintain the impression that she lived a happy existence but behind closed doors it was a different story. Her husband was a chronic alcoholic who abused her physically and mentally. Like many women, she endured years of domestic torture and punishment for the sake of her kids. Then finally, in 1985, she could face no more and broke free.
Eastwood remarried 10 years later, after a chance meeting in a pub. His name was Richard and he dressed like a country singer. They shared a passion for jive dancing and he swept her off her feet. But, as time progressed, he suffered health problems and she was forced to become the sole breadwinner in the household. Her cause wasn't helped by the fact that she had developed an addiction to the pokies. By 2002, she was deep in debt.
Schapelle with Dave McHugh. Photo: Schapelle Corby: The Hidden Truth


The drug dealer Malcolm McCauley met Eastwood through a neighbour. For some time, he quietly monitored her money worries. ''Once Ken [a previous driver] had left, I was on the lookout for a decent courier and Brenda was an attractive proposition in that regard,'' he says. ''She didn't fit your usual mould - she didn't smoke the hooter; she was tall, with short blonde curly hair and a reasonably good figure.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/books/the-downfall-of-the-daughter-20111112-1ncnw.html#ixzz1e87LWsW3