Shark Arm Case - Arrest of Brady

Arrest of Brady

Patrick Brady was arrested on 16 May and charged with the murder of Smith. A taxi driver testified that he had taken Patrick Brady from Cronulla to Holmes' address at 3 Bay View Street, McMahons Point, New South Wales on the day Smith had gone missing, and that "he was dishevelled, he had a hand in a pocket and wouldn't take it out... it was clear that was frightened."

Holmes's statement to police.

Initially, Holmes denied any association with Patrick Brady but four days later, on 20 May 1935, the businessman went into his boatshed and attempted suicide by shooting himself in the head with a .32 calibre pistol. However, the bullet flattened against the bone of the forehead and he was merely stunned. Revived after falling into the water, he crawled into his speedboat and led two police launches on a chase around Sydney Harbour for several hours until he was finally caught and taken to hospital.

In early June 1935, Reginald Holmes decided to cooperate with the police investigating the murder of Smith. He told Detective Sergeant Frank Matthews that Patrick Brady had killed Jim Smith, dismembered his body and stowed it into a trunk that he had then thrown into Gunnamatta Bay. He then claimed Patrick Brady had come to his home, showed him the severed arm and threatened Holmes with murder if he did not receive ₤500 immediately. Holmes also admitted that after Brady had left his home, he travelled to the Sydney coastal suburb of Maroubra and discarded Smith's arm into the surf.