On 24 September, 2002, Queensland mother Dianne Brimble was found dead on the floor of a cabin on the cruise ship Pacific Sky, less than 24 hours into what was to be the holiday of a lifetime. The cabin belonged to four men from Adelaide who were part of a group of eight colourful characters, whom the media would later describe as the most hated men in Australia. Within hours of Dianne Brimble's death it emerged that she had been showered and dressed before medical help was called. Soon there were rumours of drug use and group sex, which grew into allegations of rape and murder. P&O personnel failed to secure the cabin, allowing the men back in to collect their belongings thus making the truth even more difficult to determine. A police investigation, a high-profile inquest, a grieving family and a criminal trial probed what went on in those few crucial early morning hours ending in her death. This extraordinary case, which captivated Australia, highlights the lines between criminal and moral responsibility and how easily things can get out of hand when care is abandoned.
Abandoned...the Dianne Brimble story
I have just finished reading the book and was left with a deep sense of sadness for Dianne and the Brimble family over her death. To think that she was treated with such disrespect by those men in the cabin that night is appalling. The book had so much more information than the media reported, some absolutely awful and undignified acts on Dianne that was unnerving to read.
You are left making your mind up pretty early on in the book that Dianne was perhaps drugged at the disco and then once under the influence of Fantasy started acting in a way she wouldn't have done in normal everyday life as the drug is a date rape drug. In the cabin it was reported by the men when interviewed that she willingly took a dose of Fantasy...which most certainly lead to her death.
The only thing Dianne is guilty of is not being not a good judge of character on that night regarding the men. The book is a raw and shocking account of how despicable and low some human beings can become when they adopt a pack mentality, but also an account of how a loving family such as the Brimbles never stopped from finding out the truth that in the end wasn't forthcoming.
M.Simms.
Guest, 25/10/2010
