PC Laurie Maydew

In late 2002, Richard, up to his eyes in debt and his business interests failing, concocted a plan to convince everyone that mother-in-law Audrey Roberts was entering senility and then kill her in a fire in her house which would be put down to an accidental death and her estate would be paid to daughter Gail. Audrey was saved from the fire by Steve McDonald and Archie Shuttleworth and while recovering at Gail's house she overheard Richard talking to her daughter about getting Power of Attorney over her finances. This alerted Audrey to the real reasons behind her supposed memory losses as well as the fire and she and Archie took their suspicions to the police.

They told DC Brett their story and he was interested enough to call on Richard and take him down to the station for an interview. Richard remained calm through his interrogation and was able to give convincing answers to several of the points - that Audrey was receiving medical attention for senility and that Richard's missing ex-wife Patricia Hillman, who he had murdered, had not turned up in Australia to meet her best friend Charlotte Morris as she had recently found out that Charlotte had made several passes at Richard and therefore disowned her. PC Laurie Maydew was sent to clarify these two pieces of information and he reported back to Brett that they were both confirmed as true.