A man and woman have faced court this morning charged with the murder of missing Melbourne businessman Herman Rockefeller.
Police found remains believed to be those of Rockefeller at a house in the Melbourne suburb of Glenroy late on Friday and charged Mario Schembri, 57, and Bernadette Denny, 41, with his murder.
They faced the Melbourne Magistrate’s Court this morning in a brief hearing and were remanded in custody.
Rockefeller, a prominent property investor in Australia and New Zealand, disappeared from Melbourne Airport on January 22 after a business trip to Newcastle.
Police were initially baffled by the disappearance. Rockefeller appeared to have no business conflicts and had not used his bank accounts or credit cards after leaving Melbourne Airport.
A state-wide hunt for the millionaire took police to regional Victoria (where his car was found early last week in the town of Ballan) and finally to Melbourne’s northern suburbs, where Schembri and Denny were arrested on Thursday before being charged with Rockefeller’s murder the next day.
Police are now reportedly investigating Rockefeller’s links to Melbourne’s swingers scene and are examining five pre-paid mobile phones that he used.
SmartCompany has also received information suggesting that Rockefeller may have been the target of a blackmail attempt as early as November 2009.
The reports of Rockefeller’s bizarre double life, including suggestions he had a mystery girlfriend, have shocked the millionaire’s grieving family.
“Our family is devastated by Herman’s loss and deeply shocked by the circumstances by his death,” Herman’s brother, Robert Rockefeller said on the weekend.
“This is an intensely painful time for all members of our immediate and extended family.”
Rockefeller kept an extremely low profile in his home town of Melbourne, but the Harvard graduate’s impressive career included stints with Carlton & United Breweries, the Pratt family’s Visy Industries and New Zealand-based investment company Brierley Investments.
In recent years, Rockefeller has concentrated on property investment, particularly in the Tasmania market where he made several multi-million dollar deals.
James was the editor and publisher of SmartCompany and LeadingCompany for five years. He is now the Australian Financial Review‘s companies & markets editor, and a former BRW editor.
