‘I intend to marry her’: Fiance Scott Broadbridge concerned for Sainsbury’s wellbeing
Scott Broadbridge spoke with Sunday Night of his fears for fiancee Cassie Sainsbury. Photo: Facebook Photo: Facebook
Cassandra Sainsbury’s fiance Scott Broadbridge has broken his silence, saying he has “no doubt” Ms Sainsbury is innocent and expressed fears for her wellbeing as she begins to receive psychological treatment in a Colombian jail.
“I would just like to say I have no doubt that Cass is innocent of these charges and I will support her no matter how long this takes,” Mr Broadbridge said on Friday, reading a statement to media while accompanied by his lawyer Steven Kenny.
“Cass and I are engaged to be married and I intend to marry her.
“Cass is a delight of my life, I know that she is not involved in the drug trade and know that she was not deliberately taking drugs or carrying drugs anywhere,” he said.
Mr Broadbridge addresses a media conference on Friday with lawyer Stephen Kenny. Photo: AAP
Mr Broadbridge said he had been in daily contact with his fiancee and hoped to travel to Colombia soon.
“It is extremely stressful for her but we are able to talk every day and that is a great comfort to both of us,” he said.
“She is concerned about the conditions of the jail, which are not ideal, and it is very difficult for her not knowing anyone in the country.”
He asked the media to “stop harassing” him and declined to respond to questions posed by media.
His lawyer Steven Kenny stepped in to field questions.
“I have not given her any advice. At this stage I think there are still a lot of things we need to investigate,” he said.
“I knew I could assist on a personal level. Eighteen months go I was in Colombia at a wedding for a Colombian lawyer, so I have contacts in Colombia that would be helpful.
“I have spoken to a Colombian lawyer but the Colombian lawyer is currently in Adelaide.
“I’m a lawyer. Of course, I believe my client’s innocent.”
In response to questions about Ms Sainsbury’s Instagram posts suggesting she had been travelling before arriving in Colombia, Mr Kenny said: “No, I probably can’t give you a timeline.”
Mr Kenny said he was not aware of either Cassandra or Scott having ties to South America.
‘Absolutely no debts’
On Thursday, Mr Broadbridge told News Corp: “I love Cassie and we’re doing everything we can to get her out.”
He added: “We’re worried for her future … she’s not doing great. I’m just scared for her.”
Mr Broadbridge has engaged a separate lawyer to Ms Sainsbury’s family to represent the accused drug smuggler, disputing some of their claims.
He said that while the 22-year-old Adelaide woman was a personal trainer, she hasn’t been actively working as a trainer for the past six months.
Mr Broadbridge has also slammed media reports of his wife-to-be owing money to several people as untrue, saying she had been unlucky in business.
“There absolutely were no debts,” he told News Corp.
“She ran a business and it didn’t work out. She’s just an ordinary girl with aspirations.”
No planned departure date
The manager of the hotel Ms Sainsbury was staying at in Bogota, Ingrid Hernandez, told News Corp that the Australian’s only visitor had been a “well-dressed young man”, understood to be mystery trickster Angelo.
“Normal height, normal build. He could have been in his late 20s, 30s. He had short brown gelled hair,” she said.
Ms Hermandez said Ms Sainsbury “rarely ventured out” and was “alone most of the time in her room”.
“I offered to arrange for her to see sights but she told me always she was not interested in that information,” she said.
“When she checked in I asked how many days she would stay and she answer me, ‘I’m not sure, I think three days’. For foreign tourists it is unusual because normal tourists have a plan.
“For example, when people arrive here they usually book three days with a flight booked for a time to go to the airport.”