DeLuney trial: Defence argues no breakdown in relationship between accused and mother
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RNZ News
3 days ago
- RNZ News
Defence to explore potential plea deal in murder trial over brothers killed in Mexico
By Carrington Clarke , ABC Callum, left, and Jake Robinson with their family dog. Photo: Instagram/Supplied Lawyers for the four people charged in connection with the alleged murder of Australian brothers Callum and Jake Robinson have asked for another court delay, to give them more time to discuss a potential plea deal with prosecutors. Judge Oscar Padilla agreed to grant them until a new hearing date on 13 November, but he said this would be the last delay in the case and warned all the lawyers that they would be fined if they were not prepared for the next hearing. Three men - Jesús Gerardo, also known as "El Kekas"; Irineo Francisco and Ángel Jesús - all face charges of aggravated homicide, aggravated robbery, violent robbery and grand theft auto over the killing of the Australian brothers and their American travelling companion, Carter Rhoad, in April last year. Jesús Gerardo is also charged with forced disappearance. The prosecution said a fourth suspect, Ari Gisell, was facing charges of inciting a violent robbery, but was not charged with murder. The defendants' surnames have been withheld for legal reasons. It was Ari Gisell's lawyer who asked the judge for a delay to allow time for discussions to take place with the prosecution regarding a potential plea deal. His motion was then supported by the other defence lawyers. The lawyer said the prosecutor's office was seeking a 32-year sentence for his client, but he believed eight years would be more appropriate given the crime she was accused of. Ari Gisell was romantically involved with one of the other defendants at the time. Photo: Supplied / ABC None of the suspects has entered a plea to any of the charges at this point. Prosecutor Raúl Gerardo Cobo Montejano told the ABC that if the accused pleaded guilty, it was possible they would receive a reduced sentence. The legal manoeuvrer was a surprise to the families of the victims, who were watching proceedings via video link. The judge asked an advocate who was attending proceedings on behalf of "indirect victims" to talk to them privately about what had occurred in court. Last week's hearing was postponed to allow time for both sides to consider arguments about whether to combine El Kekas's forced disappearance charge with the other charges. But there seems to be a dispute within the prosecution's office about exactly what transpired in April. A rescue worker descends into a waterhole where human remains were found near La Bocana Beach in Ensenada, Mexico, on 3 May, 2024. Photo: AFP/ Guillermo Arias The lead prosecutor in the homicide case told the judge he did not agree with the theory that the victims were first kidnapped or detained before being killed, as his colleague had contended. The judge expressed exasperation that there was not a consistent theory from the prosecution office at this point in the case. Irineo Francisco has links to the Sinaloa cartel, according to court documents. Photo: Supplied / ABC The judge has allowed the forced disappearance charge to be rolled in with the other charges, but it is unclear which will be the working theory when the case resumes. Jake and Callum Robinson, and their American friend Carter Rhoad, were found dead after disappearing during a camping trip in Mexico's remote north-west in April last year. They had travelled south to surf while Jake, a 31-year-old doctor from Perth, was visiting Callum, 32, who was living in California after moving to the US to play lacrosse. Both Callum (left) and Jake Robinson are keen surfers. Photo: Supplied / Instagram The defendants' surnames have been withheld for legal reasons. Last week, the ABC revealed that two of the accused, Jesús Gerardo and Irineo Francisco, had suspected links to the Sinaloa cartel. Local authorities had previously said there was no evidence linking the killings to cartels, despite their frequent violent activity in the region. Jesús Gerardo. Photo: Supplied / ABC / Mexican police A court document said the men were transferred from the local Ensenada jail to the maximum-security El Hongo complex last August, after prison authorities raised concerns about their alleged cartel links. The Sinaloa cartel, which was once led by the high-profile crime boss El Chapo, is considered one of Mexico's most brutal. - ABC
Otago Daily Times
3 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
Bible verses, crypto trades and grief: Inside Deluny's diaries
By Kate Green of RNZ Julia DeLuney's diaries, presented as evidence by the Crown during her month-long trial, reveal the highs and lows of cryptocurrency trading, her plans for a Remuera home to retire in, and her grief following the death of her mother. DeLuney was found guilty of murdering Helen Gregory, 79, at the elderly woman's home in Baroda St in Khandallah in January last year. The Crown argued it had been a financially motivated attack, and that DeLuney had been receiving money - or at worst, stealing it - from her mother for at least a year before the murder. Over the course of the trial, her diaries were presented as evidence of her emotional state and financial struggles. They contained little reminders and checklists: "car service, pay credit card $10,000, hair tidy up". But that sat alongside Bible passages, musings about her future, and some existential questions. DeLuney had been a teacher until about 15 years ago. In recent years she had turned her hand to trading cryptocurrency. The court saw photographs of the diary pages, with typed transcriptions alongside. Some entries contained references to FET, WOO, DXY, buying on red days, selling on green days, FOMO of "green candles" (good trades) and speculation about when the US regulating body would approve the first Bitcoin ETF. In early December, she wrote: "Bitcoin hit, $40,000, waiting for FET to break through." Some entries contained Bible passages: "Give back what the locusts have taken away, God, double what he had before! I, Julia, stand for the word of the Lord." The Crown pointed to other entries as a sign she had been struggling mentally - like this one in mid-December: "I need to remember how tough and discouraging these past five-six years have been waiting for such a time as this." As December passed, her diaries begin to reveal a desire to cash out and step back. December 16, 2023: "Having a healthy pullback today after a big green week.... Yes, I'm desperately impatient to resume my life after six years of staring at charts. It's been a terribly traumatic and challenging period of my life. I need to leave this crypto world behind me soon. Please dear lord." And on the last day of the year, there was a glimpse into her dreams for the future. December 31, 2023: "100x from here and we're out of here! New life begins! Remuera goal for 2024, 10m. Generational family home, pool [...], great kitchen, bathrooms, 4+ bedrooms, beautiful tropical garden." The diaries showed how turbulent cryptocurrency trading could be. One early January day, DeLuney wrote the markets were "waking up" - and the next, "Market crashed. Liquidations everywhere." DeLuney's bank records showed between January 2023 and January 2024, she spent more than $155,000 on crypto-currency investments. Cryptocurrency consultant Nicolas Turnbull gave evidence to help the jury understand some of the jargon, but he said there seemed to be "no real structure" to DeLuney's trading. "There's a lot of emotion in it, where if you're trading, and you're doing this as a job ... in my professional opinion you need structure, you need risk management." And as January wore on, the diaries revealed DeLuney's increasing disillusionment with trading. On January 10, she wrote: "It's been an awful year so far, I'm done. Been trying so hard to crack this but as soon as I think it's in my reach, it gets taken away - again and again. I can't keep doing this, I just want a f***ng home and some financial security in old age. It's obviously not happening. F*** life!" On January 24, DeLuney visited her mother to book tickets to the ballet. Her diary entries that day - likely written before she visited her mother that evening - were Bible passages. "This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118.24 And: "For I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4.13 Crown prosecutor Stephanie Bishop told the jury in her closing argument they may never know the details of that evening, but "something happened, something changed" - that led to DeLuney violently assaulting her mother. The next entry was on January 26, 2024 - two days after her mother's death: Alongside a to-do list of funeral arrangements, she quoted Romans 8.28: "For all things work together for good to those who love him and that are called according to his purposes" and Matthew 6.33: "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all those things shall be added unto you." The funeral took place on February 3 - a "beautiful service". "I'm going to miss you forever my one and only darling, beautiful mum, be at rest and in peace with your Lord and savior Jesus Christ," DeLuney wrote. The court saw diary entries up until February 8: "Dear God, I love and miss mum sooo much, please take care of her. Thank you for blessing me with such a loving, kind and wise mum." The jury took only a day to deliberate, returning their guilty verdict on Wednesday, just before 5pm. DeLuney was remanded in custody, to be sentenced in September.
1News
3 days ago
- 1News
Julia Deluney's diaries: Bible verses, crypto and future plans
Julia Deluney's diaries, presented as evidence by the Crown during her month-long trial, reveal the highs and lows of cryptocurrency trading, her plans for a Remuera home to retire in, and her grief following the death of her mother. DeLuney was found guilty of murdering Helen Gregory, 79, at the elderly woman's home in Baroda St in Khandallah in January last year. The Crown argued it had been a financially motivated attack, and that DeLuney had been receiving money - or at worst, stealing it - from her mother for at least a year before the murder. Over the course of the trial, her diaries were presented as evidence of her emotional state and financial struggles. They contained little reminders and checklists: "car service, pay credit card $10,000, hair tidy up". ADVERTISEMENT But that sat alongside Bible passages, musings about her future, and some existential questions. DeLuney had been a teacher until about 15 years ago. In recent years she had turned her hand to trading cryptocurrency. The court saw photographs of the diary pages, with typed transcriptions alongside. Helen Gregory. (Source: Some entries contained references to FET, WOO, DXY, buying on red days, selling on green days, FOMO of "green candles" (good trades) and speculation about when the US regulating body would approve the first Bitcoin ETF. In early December, she wrote: "Bitcoin hit, $40,000, waiting for FET to break through." Some entries contained Bible passages: "Give back what the locusts have taken away, God, double what he had before! I, Julia, stand for the word of the Lord." ADVERTISEMENT The Crown pointed to other entries as a sign she had been struggling mentally - like this one in mid-December: "I need to remember how tough and discouraging these past five-six years have been waiting for such a time as this." As December passed, her diaries begin to reveal a desire to cash out and step back. December 16, 2023: "Having a healthy pullback today after a big green week.... Yes, I'm desperately impatient to resume my life after six years of staring at charts. It's been a terribly traumatic and challenging period of my life. I need to leave this crypto world behind me soon. Please dear lord." And on the last day of the year, there was a glimpse into her dreams for the future. December 31, 2023: "100x from here and we're out of here! New life begins! Remuera goal for 2024, 10m. Generational family home, pool [...], great kitchen, bathrooms, 4+ bedrooms, beautiful tropical garden." The diaries showed how turbulent cryptocurrency trading could be. One early January day, DeLuney wrote the markets were "waking up" - and the next, "Market crashed. Liquidations everywhere." ADVERTISEMENT DeLuney's bank records showed between January 2023 and January 2024, she spent more than $155,000 on crypto-currency investments. Cryptocurrency consultant Nicolas Turnbull gave evidence to help the jury understand some of the jargon, but he said there seemed to be "no real structure" to DeLuney's trading. "There's a lot of emotion in it, where if you're trading, and you're doing this as a job ... in my professional opinion you need structure, you need risk management." And as January wore on, the diaries revealed DeLuney's increasing disillusionment with trading. On January 10, she wrote: "It's been an awful year so far, I'm done. Been trying so hard to crack this but as soon as I think it's in my reach, it gets taken away - again and again. I can't keep doing this, I just want a f***ng home and some financial security in old age. It's obviously not happening. F*** life!" On January 24, DeLuney visited her mother to book tickets to the ballet. Her diary entries that day - likely written before she visited her mother that evening - were Bible passages. ADVERTISEMENT "This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118.24 And: "For I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4.13 Crown prosecutor Stephanie Bishop told the jury in her closing argument they may never know the details of that evening, but "something happened, something changed" - that led to DeLuney violently assaulting her mother. The next entry was on January 26, 2024 - two days after her mother's death: Alongside a to-do list of funeral arrangements, she quoted Romans 8.28: "For all things work together for good to those who love him and that are called according to his purposes" and Matthew 6.33: "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all those things shall be added unto you." The funeral took place on February 3 - a "beautiful service". "I'm going to miss you forever my one and only darling, beautiful mum, be at rest and in peace with your Lord and savior Jesus Christ," DeLuney wrote. ADVERTISEMENT The court saw diary entries up until February 8: "Dear God, I love and miss mum sooo much, please take care of her. Thank you for blessing me with such a loving, kind and wise mum." The jury took only a day to deliberate, returning their guilty verdict on Wednesday, just before 5pm. DeLuney was remanded in custody, to be sentenced in September.
