The Aporia · Mosman Park millionaire’s 88-year-old wife charged with attempted murder

Mosman Park millionaire’s 88-year-old wife charged with attempted murder

Read the original at The Sydney Morning Herald ↗

Cite

APA MLA Chicago

Peppiatt, R. (2026, September 28). Mosman Park millionaire’s 88-year-old wife charged with attempted murder. The Sydney Morning Herald. https://www.smh.com.au/national/western-australia/mosman-park-millionaire-s-88-year-old-wife-charged-with-attempted-murder-20260929-p610pp.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Quick Summary

Gay Bernadette Branchi, 88, wife of former Automotive Holdings Group chairman Robert Branchi, was charged with attempted murder after allegedly trying to kill her husband at their Claremont aged care home in Perth. She appeared before the Perth Magistrates Court via audio link on Friday but could not apply for bail due to the seriousness of the charge; her next court appearance is scheduled for September 30 at Stirling Gardens Magistrates Court. The article highlights the couple's significant wealth, including ownership of a $1.6 million room in an exclusive aged care facility and a Mosman Park home purchased in 1995 for $1.5 million.

Written by AI on 2026-09-28, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Gay Bernadette Branchi, 88, was arrested at The Queenslea residential aged care home in Claremont, Perth, on Friday after allegedly attempting to kill her husband Robert Branchi, 90, just days before his birthday. The incident reportedly took place on Thursday, September 24. She appeared in Perth Magistrates Court via an audio link from a bedside hearing where she was heard crying and showed signs of emotional distress. Due to the seriousness of the charge, bail applications must be made at Stirling Gardens Magistrates Court, which only convenes once every two weeks. The court expressed concerns over Mrs Branchi's mental capacity and vulnerability, possibly living with dementia, raising questions about her ability to remain in custody. Property records show that the couple still owns valuable assets including a riverside home worth around $5 million and multiple car dealerships.

Written for “Rich Australians Divorce Drama” on 2026-11-03, grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 21% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.

Wife of wealthy Australian business executive allegedly tries to kill him just days after his birthday Same event

Daily Mail

Hedges 5 of 18 claims Outlet record 69/100

How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

21%

3 of 14 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

not political

takes no side on a contested political question

Publisher signals

61/100

The Sydney Morning Herald's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

Outlets on this story

Crime & Law

Same framing elsewhere

articles that frame the event the way this one does

Analyzed 2026-09-28 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability

Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Sydney Morning Herald · 5927 article(s) · 15 correction(s) detected

Running correction rate · 15 correction(s)

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Who wrote this

Rebecca Peppiatt

17 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction

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🔮 Gay appeared in Perth Magistrates Court on Friday via audio link from a bedside hearing where she could be heard crying.

2026-09-28 · mixed framing · Mosman Park millionaire’s 88-year-old wife charged with attempted murder

Also by Rebecca Peppiatt

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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 17 articles by Rebecca Peppiatt →

Topics

Automotive Holdings Group Claremont Perth Perth Magistrates Court the Supreme Court of WA

Subjects

Branchi PERSON · 5× Perth GPE · 3× Robert Branchi PERSON · 3× Automotive Holdings Group ORG · 2× Claremont GPE · 2× Gay PERSON · 2× Gay Bernadette Branchi PERSON · 1× Perth Magistrates Court ORG · 1× Stirling Gardens GPE · 1× the Supreme Court of WA ORG · 1×

Narrative

Bail applications for murder and attempted murder charges must be heard in Stirling Gardens Magistrates Court, she said, which exclusively handles preliminary proceedings and active case management for serious criminal offences bound for the Supreme Court of WA.

framing: mixed · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-28

🔮 Gay appeared in Perth Magistrates Court on Friday via audio link from a bedside hearing where she could be heard crying.

2026-09-28 · The Sydney Morning Herald

Mosman Park millionaire’s 88-year-old wife charged with attempted murder · mixed framing

Claims (14 extracted, 3 hedged)

The wife of former Automotive Holdings Group chairman Robert Branchi has been arrested and charged with attempted murder over allegations she tried to kill her husband. asserted

she → arrest → husband

Gay Bernadette Branchi, 88, was taken into custody late on Thursday from the Claremont aged care home that she lives at with Robert Branchi. asserted

she → take → Branchi

Gay appeared in Perth Magistrates Court on Friday via audio link from a bedside hearing where she could be heard crying. uncertain

she → appear → hearing

Her legal aid lawyer tried to apply for her to be released on bail, but the magistrate said it was not within her jurisdiction to hear such an application due to the seriousness of the charge. asserted

it → try → charge

which → attempt → WA

Stirling Gardens only sits once a fortnight. asserted

Gardens → sit → ?

The court heard there were some “cognitive mental capacity” issues, before the magistrate stated she was concerned about Mrs Branchi remaining in custody as she was very vulnerable and possibly living with dementia. “I have real concerns as to whether she can be remanded in custody,” she said, before adding, “my hands are tied.” uncertain

hands → hear → custody

The court was told Gay and Robert Branchi shared a room at The Queenslea residential aged care home in Claremont, one of Perth’s most expensive care homes, where lump sum deposits for a room reportedly exceed $1.6 million. uncertain

deposits → tell → million

Records show the couple also still own the riverside four-bedroom Mosman Park home they first bought in 1995 for $1.5 million, when Mr Branchi was still the chairman of Automotive Holdings Group. asserted

Branchi → show → Group

He served as chair of the Perth-based car dealership network from 2004 until he retired in late 2010, before that serving as a director for 25 years. asserted

he → serve → years

He had long been a substantial shareholder of the company, owning more than 17 million shares as of 2007. asserted

He → own → 2007

Mr Branchi is also a friend and mentor to prominent Perth businessman Bronte Howson, who served as chief executive of the company before founding Perth Audi Centre. asserted

who → serve → Centre

In 2016, Mr Branchi sold off shares to net almost $13 million and helms a family foundation that regularly donates to Telethon, as well as the WA Symphony Orchestra. asserted

that → sell → Telethon

Mrs Branchi has been listed to appear in Stirling Gardens on Wednesday, September 30, where it is expected she will apply for bail. asserted

she → list → bail