Dramatic twist after glamorous private schoolgirl turned escort was accused of killing a handsome tradie whose body was found in an apartment fire escape

EXCLUSIVE

An escort accused of supplying drugs to a tradie whose body was found in the stairwell of her apartment has had a manslaughter charge dropped without any explanation from authorities.

Police allege construction manager Paul Browne died three years ago after taking heroin and meth supplied by sex worker Celia Bean and her friend Shayne Johnson.

The former TV reality contestant’s body was discovered in a fire escape at Bean’s apartment building in Zetland in inner Sydney at around 9pm on October 8, 2021.

Police believed the 33-year-old had driven to Rosebery from his nearby home in Zetland the previous night and could have been dead for 19 hours before he was found.

A month after Mr Browne’s death, police have released CCTV footage showing a mystery man wearing a dark tracksuit, cap and white sneakers leaving the scene.

“A large part of our investigation is how he ended up in that corridor and we believe the man depicted in this CCTV footage can assist with that,” Detective Inspector Phil Hallinan said at the time.

Detectives from Strike Force Bernacchi charged Bean, a university-educated university graduate, with manslaughter more than a year later in December 2022.

Johnson, 45, faced the same charges the next day and both he and Bean, 39, were denied bail. Neither has ever entered a plea.

Police accused the pair of gross criminal negligence by failing to call an ambulance when Mr Browne overdosed on the drugs they allegedly supplied.

Parramatta Local Court heard a forensic pathologist determined Mr Browne might have survived if medical attention had been provided earlier.

It was also claimed that a text message exchange between Bean and Johnson suggested they were trying to distance themselves from the incident by stating they were not responsible for Mr Browne’s death.

At Johnson’s first court appearance, his attorney said the prosecution case was based on “conjecture” and “speculation,” and expressed concern that charges had not been filed in more than a year.

Bean’s arrest came shortly after she was served a five-month intensive corrections order for entering a building with intent to commit an offence.

In September 2018, she was sentenced to three months’ imprisonment after conviction for dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage through deception and theft.

At the same time, she was convicted of possessing property suspected of being stolen and of possessing a prohibited drug.

Johnson, who was released from rehab three days before his arrest, had been jailed for a month in October 2022 for possessing a prohibited drug and driving without ever having a license.

He already had a long criminal record for drug and property crimes committed under the surname Teece.

Bean remained in custody for the next 16 months as the case progressed through the courts, until she was granted $2,000 bail on April 19 this year.

She was ordered to stay with her mother at the family home in the Southern Highlands, not to use illegal drugs and not to contact key witnesses.

While on remand, Johnson was sentenced to one year and three months in prison for a previous car theft and aggravated entering a dwelling in company with intent to steal.

That sentence expired in November last year.

Johnson was granted bail on March 27 on a manslaughter charge with strict conditions, including that he reside in the Northern District of New England.

The now 46-year-old was also ordered not to contact prosecution witnesses, not to use drugs or alcohol and not to come within 100km of Sydney.

When Johnson subsequently faced Downing Center Local Court on April 18 on a manslaughter charge, it was withdrawn by the NSW Director of Public Prosecutions.

Bean was in the same court on May 28 when the 41-year-old’s manslaughter charge was also withdrawn and dismissed.

The DPP would not provide an explanation for the withdrawal of the charges.

“The reasons for the decision to withdraw charges are made in accordance with prosecutorial guidelines and are legally privileged,” a spokeswoman said.

“As such, we politely decline to comment.”

A NSW Police spokeswoman confirmed Mr Browne’s death was no longer the subject of an active investigation.

“As charges are not being laid and the coroner has refrained from conducting an investigation, there will be no further investigation by Strike Force Bernacchi pending further information,” the spokeswoman said.

Before becoming an escort, Bean attended the exclusive Frensham School in the NSW Southern Highlands, where she was an accomplished equestrian and later obtained a Bachelor of Science from the University of Sydney.

She also completed a postgraduate diploma in education at the University of Technology Sydney.

But Bean never used her tertiary qualifications, instead working in roles such as receptionist for a law firm and customer service representative at Woolworths.

One of Browne’s friends told Daily Mail Australia after his death that the tradie was “a good looking guy” who didn’t have to pay for sex and was probably just “partying” with Bean.

Isaac Parry said Mr Browne had enjoyed recreational drugs as a younger man, when his interests included “girls, music, clubbing and cryptocurrency”.

Mr Browne auditioned for the X Factor when he was 22 and sang the Robbie Williams hit Angels as a challenge to judges Natalie Bassingthwaighte, Guy Sebastian, Ronan Keating and Mel B.

Responding to all four judges describing his vocal skills as terrible, Mr Browne said his performance was flat because ‘my mouth is a bit dry’ and ‘the song wasn’t in my key’.

Police urged anyone who thought they had information about Mr Browne’s death to get in touch Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.