Home Alone:
A wealthy family based in Seaforth, Sydney were growing suspicious of their youngest son’s behaviour after he left school. Josh Edgar, 19, was a stellar athlete, playing football, rugby and even swimming to represent his school – he was described as being polite, understanding and kind, however his parents, Sarah and David, noticed a sharp decline in his conversational skills; his temper grew shorter; he became more irritable and he longed for solitude, when he was once regarded as being one of the more talkative and social members of the family.
Sarah and David questioned him regularly as to whether anything was the matter, to which he would always snap back, “nothing’s wrong” or even grow angry at the fact that they had asked. Four months into his change, Sarah asked Josh if he would consider going to a counsellor with her; backing her request by insisting that she also had a few things on her mind that she would like to share with him. He refused, time and time again.
Nearly six months later, David noticed that Josh had started losing weight. At his prime, Josh weighed a steady 90kg yet now he appeared to be closer to 70kg. After making his own enquiries, David came to nothing after Josh brushed it off saying that he was “going for a different look” and that women no longer liked “big muscles.”
Both Sarah and David, in Josh’s absence, went through his belongings behind his back to determine whether he was taking drugs and, if so, which kinds, yet they managed to turn up nothing.
In a last ditch effort to understand what was going on, they called Precise Investigation to arrange a special surveillance operation. The two had planned a trip to Bali for a week, telling Josh that they’d long been waiting for some time off, yet their intentions were entirely different; they actually intended for our investigators to use that time to watch him carefully and monitor his activities.
Josh was under the impression that he would be completely alone for a week when the time came for his parents to leave. That Saturday, the three bid their goodbyes and Sarah and David set off for Bali. Given the nature of the situation, our operative was entrusted with a set of keys to the front and rear gates to the house, allowing us a clear view of the entire ground floor and partial viewing access to the first.
On the first night of his parents’ absence, Josh left the house on his bicycle and rode over to what was presumed to be his friend’s home just a few blocks away. The residence was heavily guarded by dense trees and a solid brick wall on the outside, giving our operative extremely limited access to record or photograph anything going on inside. However, with our agent stationed outside for the entire length of Josh’s stay, it was noted that he hadn’t left the house for more than 28 hours.
On his journey home, Josh was recorded being incredibly active on his bicycle; mounting and jumping over curbs, weaving purposefully and excitedly between moving cars and skidding to a halt at the gate to his house.
As he locked the bike away, he was seen making a phone call with a huge grin on his face, before heading into the kitchen and preparing several batches of popcorn, nachos and dips. He then moved into the living room where he set up his video games console and began to play with the food set up on the coffee table.
Approximately thirty minutes later, three young men turned up at the house, bringing with them two shopping bags loaded with beers, two bottles of Johnnie Walker Black Label and one carrying a backpack, the content of which were unknown.
As they entered Josh’s home, they were greeted with open arms and loud cheers of excitement before all four men went across into the living room, where Josh had set everything up to welcome them. At this point, our operative managed to access the gate and find a discrete surveillance location from within the treeline inside the building’s perimeter.
The man wielding the backpack sat in the centre, between the other three and began rummaging through the bag. He removed a number of clear sandwich bags, a grinder, cigarette papers and what appeared to be a glass pipe. He rubbed his hands together and eagerly enquired as to what the others wanted to do. There seemed to be a small argument between Josh and another of his guests, but the tension was relieved after Josh was offered what appeared to be a joint. The four men kicked back and took turns playing the video game, smoking and passing the marijuana around as they did so.
Roughly three hours later, after all four men were noticeably high, a suggestion was made to switch the game over to a movie instead, which had Josh and another of his friends digging through countless DVDs. As they worked, the man with the backpack picked up one of the sandwich bags and emptied its contents out onto the table… a pretty significant heap of crystal meth. Our operative continued to shoot photographs and, having mounted an HD camera to the tree in front of him, he was continuously recording video of the events as well.
From there, that same man went on to grind the ice into a fine powder, fill the pipe and hand it to his comrade, sat beside him. Josh and the pal helping him find a suitable movie to watch quickened their efforts and chose a disc before jumping onto the couch in anticipation of the pipe being handed to them.
And so it was; all four men shared the crystal meth equally and went from a cheerful high to a gentle stupor, laughing at themselves as they went through the entire heap. In total, the boys kept themselves busy for another four-to-five hours, watching the movie they’ put on three times in a row before passing out where they sat.
The next morning, at approximately 11am, one of the men left the house, leaving Josh and his two buddies sleeping. About two hours later, the man with the backpack woke and immediately lit a cigarette. From there, he went on to inspect the remnants of his stash after the hectic night before and, as he did, he opened another of the clear bags and emptied its contents onto the table.
He prepared a hit for himself, took it and went on to prepare another, waking Josh as he did so and passing the pipe over to him. Josh lit the pipe and took a long, drawn out drag, holding the smoke in his chest for several seconds before exhaling and slumping back into the couch. He tapped the sleeping friend to his right, pointing to the pipe before moving over to the kitchen where he prepared three cups of coffee.
Over the next five days, the three men stayed within the limits of the living room, ordering Dominos pizza and venturing to the local supermarket on one occasion to buy more booze and a few snacks. The rest of their time was spent playing video games, watching television, smoking meth, weed and cigarettes… all inside the house.
On Sarah and David’s return, Josh had managed to have the entire house cleaned and deodorised, leaving no trace of what he and his mates were up to while his parents were away. However, the next morning they came to Precise Investigation’s offices where we presented them with the evidence they so anxiously awaited. Needless to say, they were incredibly hurt, worried, angry and depressed about what they’d seen.
Today, Josh is on a six-month rehabilitation program, trying to overcome his addiction to crystal meth. His parents have since forced him to undergo counselling, along with attending a weekly anonymous support group.
Precise Investigation provides world-class private investigation services to both the corporate and domestic sectors and we’ve personally helped hundreds of clients throughout Australia to overcome and better understand their particular concerns. Whether you’re an employer worried about what your staff get up to when you’re not in the office, you’re a concerned parent or you’re trying to gauge whether someone’s lied to you… Precise Investigation and our team of experts have the means to provide you with the answers you need.
Call Precise Investigation today on 1300 856 011 for a professional private investigation service.
We have field operatives stationed across every major state in Australia, backed by our specialist, dedicated support team. Precise Investigation regularly provides commercial, domestic and governmental investigation services to the likes of Melbourne, Sydney, Hobart, Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane and even the more remote areas of the country, so wherever you are and whatever your issues, rest assured that our team has the expertise you need to regain the peace of mind you ultimately seek.
Please note: All names, locations and identifying features of the businesses and individuals described in this article have been changed to protect the identities of those involved.
