Inside the gruesome death that shocked the TV icon Patti Newton has been left heartbroken and betrayed after learning of a sordid family secret that’s been hidden from her for decades.
After years of being kept in the dark, the beloved Aussie entertainment legend has learned her family was once the subject of a grisly infant murder investigation, dating back several generations.
Patti discovered the disturbing death probe while shooting for the upcoming SBS season of Who Do You Think You Are? – a series where celebrities search their ancestry.
Investigators told the grandmother-of-three that the death of an infant baby, related to her father’s side of the family, was the subject of an intense, high-profile media storm and criminal trial.
This bombshell revelation caused Patti to break down and ‘dissolve into tears’ – horrified that her family harboured such deep, dark secrets for so long.
‘I had no idea it would be so dramatic,’ she told The Daily Telegraph. ‘Every time someone would mention the series before I did it, they’d say “I wonder what they’ll find?” And I’d say, “Oh, they’ll probably find a murderer and I’ll die.” And they did.’
While details on the baby murder are sketchy at this stage, it has reportedly caused a great deal of heartbreak for the devoted mum and grandmother.
‘Patti feels betrayed,’ says a source. ‘She’s such a family person – Bert and her children and her grandchildren mean the world to her.
She’s prided herself on being a true matriarch, proud of her family – and knowing there are all these deep secrets lurking has had an effect on her.
She feels like they’ve been living a lie.
‘Thinking that her family could’ve been caught up in a criminal trial involving the murder of a little baby is devastating to her. She’s really struggling to work out why no-one in her past would have told her before, and why it’s been kept such a secret.
‘She feels betrayed by some of her family, that’s for sure.’
For the full story see this weeks issue of New Idea – out now!
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