Lawyers for alleged murderer Beau Lamarre-Condon suddenly quit
Lamarre-Condon, 29, has spent more than a year in prison after allegedly using his service-issued Glock pistol to shoot former partner Jesse Baird, a television presenter with whom he had allegedly become fixated, and Qantas flight attendant Luke Davies, inside a Paddington terrace in February 2024.
His publicly funded lawyer Alexander Terracini was appointed in November last year, when Lamarre-Condon parted ways with his solicitor John Walford.
On Tuesday, Terracini told the Downing Centre Local Court that he and the rest of Lamarre-Condon's legal team sought leave to withdraw from representing him after 'an issue arose yesterday'.
That leave was granted, and Sydney lawyer Ben Archbold was appointed his replacement as members of Baird and Davies' families watched on via video link.
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The court was not told what the issue was, which Magistrate Christopher Halburd noted was 'appropriate'.
The new legal team led Halburd to allow a six-week adjournment despite the Crown's objections.
'Negotiations have been ongoing for now many, many months; there's been [two] case conferences,' prosecutor Brendan Donnelly said.
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West Australian
an hour ago
- West Australian
Surveillance audio of Outback Wrangler star Matt Wright discussing chopper crash to be aired during his trial
Secret surveillance recordings of celebrity croc-wrangler Matt Wright will be played to the jury during his long-awaited trial on charges stemming from the investigation into a fatal chopper crash. The reality television star's high-profile proceedings commenced in the Northern Territory Supreme Court on Wednesday with Crown prosecutor Jason Gullaci SC telling the jury they would hear covertly recorded conversations between Mr Wright, his wife Kaia and others. 'So in the course of this investigation, a covert listening device was installed at the home of Mr Wright and certain conversations were captured that are going to be played to you and are relied on,' Mr Gullaci said. 'There are also some limited telephone intercept calls, so similar to a listening device, albeit calls that were made involving Mr Wright were intercepted and recorded, and again, you will hear some of those calls.' A covertly recorded conversation between Mr Wright and Mr Robinson, when the pilot was in hospital, will also be tendered as evidence. Mr Wright's aviation business Helibrook owned a Robinson R44, registered VH-IDW, that crashed during a crocodile egg collecting mission at West Arnhem Land on February 28, 2022. The helicopter accident at King River killed his Netflix co-star Chris Wilson and left pilot Sebastian Robinson paraplegic. Mr Wright, 45, has pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice in relation to the investigation into the fatal crash. Mr Gullaci told the jury that after taking off from a staging area on the King River, with Mr Robinson flying and Wilson suspended beneath the helicopter on a sling, the helicopter 'got into trouble'. 'The precise reason or cause is unknown but the helicopter crashed,' he said. 'It seems, even though Mr Robinson doesn't have a recollection of it… that Mr Robinson has disconnected the sling from the helicopter.' Mr Gullaci said the chopper's engine may have failed but 'we don't know what happened, is the short answer, and it's not part of the case'. The court heard that on the morning of the crash, Mr Wright flew to the accident site with Mick Burns, who owns the crocodile egg harvesting business, and former NT police officer Neil Mellon. The barrister from Victoria told the jury that different witnesses had provided different accounts of what happened at the crash site. 'These people were close, close friends with both of the men, so they would have been visibly, emotionally distressed and upset,' he said. 'What the evidence I think will reveal though, is that at the crash site, Mr Wright, [pilot Michael] Burbidge and [egg collector Jock] Purcell approached the crashed helicopter. 'They go into the helicopter and they remove some items, but that they — these are my words — play around with the dash.' The crown claims Mr Wright was trying to check whether the Hobbs meter was connected. 'He was concerned that the Hobbs metre was disconnected and that would be revealed by people turning up at the crash,' Mr Gullaci said. 'From the outset he attempts to cover up previous rule-breaking.' In a statutory declaration, Mr Wright told police he had seen about half a tank of fuel in the destroyed chopper when he arrived at the crash site. Mr Gullaci says listening devices later recorded Mr Wright admitting 'I didn't see f***in' any fuel in the tank, zero'. 'F*** mate, I don't know, but there was f***ing zero there,' he was allegedly recorded saying. 'It just had no fuel, he had run out of fuel, I'll just say he was a s**t pilot.' Mr Gullaci said Mr Wright made the statutory declaration with intent to obstruct investigations and avoid suggestions the aircraft operated without adequate fuel or that there was a fuel line problem. Mr Gullaci told the jury that none of Mr Wright's charges related to the cause of the helicopter crash itself but that 'the focus of the prosecution case is on what Mr Wright did after the crash happened'. The crown case is that Mr Wright did not properly record VH-IDW's flying hours and tried to cover that up because he feared that crash investigations would uncover that and it would result in charges against him and his companies. Mr Gullaci says Mr Wright's alleged offending was motivated by fear that 'he could be blamed for the crash'. 'That one of his helicopters has crashed and his very, very close mate Christopher Wilson has been killed and another close friend has been seriously injured, then of course there's going to be scrutiny,' he said. 'If it's uncovered that there's systemic under-recording of hours, then that could be used as a way to blame him for the accident.' The prosecution alleged the crashed helicopter had flown for more hours than was reflected on its Hobbs meter. The court heard that investigators had concluded the destroyed chopper was likely over its 2200 hours. 'If it had exceeded that threshold, the rules are, it shouldn't have been flying,' Mr Gullaci said. The crown will continue its opening address on Thursday morning before Mr Burns is called to give evidence. - With AAP
Perth Now
an hour ago
- Perth Now
Phone taps to be aired in Outback Wrangler star's trial
Secret surveillance recordings of celebrity croc-wrangler Matt Wright will be played to the jury during his long-awaited trial on charges stemming from the investigation into a fatal chopper crash. The reality television star's high-profile proceedings commenced in the Northern Territory Supreme Court on Wednesday with Crown prosecutor Jason Gullaci SC telling the jury they would hear covertly recorded conversations between Mr Wright, his wife Kaia and others. 'So in the course of this investigation, a covert listening device was installed at the home of Mr Wright and certain conversations were captured that are going to be played to you and are relied on,' Mr Gullaci said. 'There are also some limited telephone intercept calls, so similar to a listening device, albeit calls that were made involving Mr Wright were intercepted and recorded, and again, you will hear some of those calls.' A covertly recorded conversation between Mr Wright and Mr Robinson, when the pilot was in hospital, will also be tendered as evidence. Mr Wright's aviation business Helibrook owned a Robinson R44, registered VH-IDW, that crashed during a crocodile egg collecting mission at West Arnhem Land on February 28, 2022. The helicopter accident at King River killed his Netflix co-star Chris Wilson and left pilot Sebastian Robinson paraplegic. Mr Wright, 45, has pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice in relation to the investigation into the fatal crash. Mr Gullaci told the jury that after taking off from a staging area on the King River, with Mr Robinson flying and Wilson suspended beneath the helicopter on a sling, the helicopter 'got into trouble'. 'The precise reason or cause is unknown but the helicopter crashed,' he said. 'It seems, even though Mr Robinson doesn't have a recollection of it… that Mr Robinson has disconnected the sling from the helicopter.' Matt Wright has pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice. (Lloyd Jones/AAP PHOTOS) Credit: AAP Mr Gullaci said the chopper's engine may have failed but 'we don't know what happened, is the short answer, and it's not part of the case'. The court heard that on the morning of the crash, Mr Wright flew to the accident site with Mick Burns, who owns the crocodile egg harvesting business, and former NT police officer Neil Mellon. The barrister from Victoria told the jury that different witnesses had provided different accounts of what happened at the crash site. 'These people were close, close friends with both of the men, so they would have been visibly, emotionally distressed and upset,' he said. 'What the evidence I think will reveal though, is that at the crash site, Mr Wright, [pilot Michael] Burbidge and [egg collector Jock] Purcell approached the crashed helicopter. 'They go into the helicopter and they remove some items, but that they — these are my words — play around with the dash.' The crown claims Mr Wright was trying to check whether the Hobbs meter was connected. 'He was concerned that the Hobbs metre was disconnected and that would be revealed by people turning up at the crash,' Mr Gullaci said. 'From the outset he attempts to cover up previous rule-breaking.' In a statutory declaration, Mr Wright told police he had seen about half a tank of fuel in the destroyed chopper when he arrived at the crash site. Mr Gullaci says listening devices later recorded Mr Wright admitting 'I didn't see f***in' any fuel in the tank, zero'. 'F*** mate, I don't know, but there was f***ing zero there,' he was allegedly recorded saying. 'It just had no fuel, he had run out of fuel, I'll just say he was a s**t pilot.' Mr Gullaci said Mr Wright made the statutory declaration with intent to obstruct investigations and avoid suggestions the aircraft operated without adequate fuel or that there was a fuel line problem. Mr Gullaci told the jury that none of Mr Wright's charges related to the cause of the helicopter crash itself but that 'the focus of the prosecution case is on what Mr Wright did after the crash happened'. The crown case is that Mr Wright did not properly record VH-IDW's flying hours and tried to cover that up because he feared that crash investigations would uncover that and it would result in charges against him and his companies. Mr Gullaci says Mr Wright's alleged offending was motivated by fear that 'he could be blamed for the crash'. 'That one of his helicopters has crashed and his very, very close mate Christopher Wilson has been killed and another close friend has been seriously injured, then of course there's going to be scrutiny,' he said. 'If it's uncovered that there's systemic under-recording of hours, then that could be used as a way to blame him for the accident.' The prosecution alleged the crashed helicopter had flown for more hours than was reflected on its Hobbs meter. The court heard that investigators had concluded the destroyed chopper was likely over its 2200 hours. 'If it had exceeded that threshold, the rules are, it shouldn't have been flying,' Mr Gullaci said. The crown will continue its opening address on Thursday morning before Mr Burns is called to give evidence. - With AAP
The Advertiser
3 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Reality TV star tried to hide flight hours, jury hears
Following a fatal helicopter crash reality TV star Matt Wright tried to get his hands on documents that might betray his under-reporting of flying hours, a jury has heard. The Outback Wrangler star's trial is underway in the Supreme Court in Darwin more than three years after his co-star Chris "Willow" Wilson died in the outback crash that left pilot Sebastian Robinson a paraplegic. They were on a mission to collect crocodile eggs along the King River in Arnhem Land. Wright has pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice following the February 2022 incident in the Northern Territory. The Crown case is that Wright did not properly record helicopter flying hours and was concerned that crash investigators would uncover that, leading to charges against him and his helicopter company. Crown prosecutor Jason Gullaci SC told the jury on Wednesday the charges did not relate to the cause of the accident and it's not alleged Wright was responsible for the crash, the death of Mr Wilson or Mr Robinson's injuries. The jurors have been told part of the evidence would be covertly recorded conversations of Wright and others at his home and on his phone, using listening devices. Mr Gullaci told jurors they would hear evidence that Wright tried to procure the diary, phone and pilot's logbook of Mr Robinson while the seriously injured pilot was in hospital in Brisbane. Wright allegedly asked an associate to seek the documents and the phone from Mr Robinson's family and he reportedly visited a cottage where Mr Robinson lived to source documents. "The prosecution case is that Wright was trying to get his hands on documents that might betray to investigators what was happening," Mr Gullaci said. The trial before Acting Justice Allan Blow continues on Thursday and is expected to take three to five weeks. Following a fatal helicopter crash reality TV star Matt Wright tried to get his hands on documents that might betray his under-reporting of flying hours, a jury has heard. The Outback Wrangler star's trial is underway in the Supreme Court in Darwin more than three years after his co-star Chris "Willow" Wilson died in the outback crash that left pilot Sebastian Robinson a paraplegic. They were on a mission to collect crocodile eggs along the King River in Arnhem Land. Wright has pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice following the February 2022 incident in the Northern Territory. The Crown case is that Wright did not properly record helicopter flying hours and was concerned that crash investigators would uncover that, leading to charges against him and his helicopter company. Crown prosecutor Jason Gullaci SC told the jury on Wednesday the charges did not relate to the cause of the accident and it's not alleged Wright was responsible for the crash, the death of Mr Wilson or Mr Robinson's injuries. The jurors have been told part of the evidence would be covertly recorded conversations of Wright and others at his home and on his phone, using listening devices. Mr Gullaci told jurors they would hear evidence that Wright tried to procure the diary, phone and pilot's logbook of Mr Robinson while the seriously injured pilot was in hospital in Brisbane. Wright allegedly asked an associate to seek the documents and the phone from Mr Robinson's family and he reportedly visited a cottage where Mr Robinson lived to source documents. "The prosecution case is that Wright was trying to get his hands on documents that might betray to investigators what was happening," Mr Gullaci said. The trial before Acting Justice Allan Blow continues on Thursday and is expected to take three to five weeks. Following a fatal helicopter crash reality TV star Matt Wright tried to get his hands on documents that might betray his under-reporting of flying hours, a jury has heard. The Outback Wrangler star's trial is underway in the Supreme Court in Darwin more than three years after his co-star Chris "Willow" Wilson died in the outback crash that left pilot Sebastian Robinson a paraplegic. They were on a mission to collect crocodile eggs along the King River in Arnhem Land. Wright has pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice following the February 2022 incident in the Northern Territory. The Crown case is that Wright did not properly record helicopter flying hours and was concerned that crash investigators would uncover that, leading to charges against him and his helicopter company. Crown prosecutor Jason Gullaci SC told the jury on Wednesday the charges did not relate to the cause of the accident and it's not alleged Wright was responsible for the crash, the death of Mr Wilson or Mr Robinson's injuries. The jurors have been told part of the evidence would be covertly recorded conversations of Wright and others at his home and on his phone, using listening devices. Mr Gullaci told jurors they would hear evidence that Wright tried to procure the diary, phone and pilot's logbook of Mr Robinson while the seriously injured pilot was in hospital in Brisbane. Wright allegedly asked an associate to seek the documents and the phone from Mr Robinson's family and he reportedly visited a cottage where Mr Robinson lived to source documents. "The prosecution case is that Wright was trying to get his hands on documents that might betray to investigators what was happening," Mr Gullaci said. The trial before Acting Justice Allan Blow continues on Thursday and is expected to take three to five weeks. Following a fatal helicopter crash reality TV star Matt Wright tried to get his hands on documents that might betray his under-reporting of flying hours, a jury has heard. The Outback Wrangler star's trial is underway in the Supreme Court in Darwin more than three years after his co-star Chris "Willow" Wilson died in the outback crash that left pilot Sebastian Robinson a paraplegic. They were on a mission to collect crocodile eggs along the King River in Arnhem Land. Wright has pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice following the February 2022 incident in the Northern Territory. The Crown case is that Wright did not properly record helicopter flying hours and was concerned that crash investigators would uncover that, leading to charges against him and his helicopter company. Crown prosecutor Jason Gullaci SC told the jury on Wednesday the charges did not relate to the cause of the accident and it's not alleged Wright was responsible for the crash, the death of Mr Wilson or Mr Robinson's injuries. The jurors have been told part of the evidence would be covertly recorded conversations of Wright and others at his home and on his phone, using listening devices. Mr Gullaci told jurors they would hear evidence that Wright tried to procure the diary, phone and pilot's logbook of Mr Robinson while the seriously injured pilot was in hospital in Brisbane. Wright allegedly asked an associate to seek the documents and the phone from Mr Robinson's family and he reportedly visited a cottage where Mr Robinson lived to source documents. "The prosecution case is that Wright was trying to get his hands on documents that might betray to investigators what was happening," Mr Gullaci said. The trial before Acting Justice Allan Blow continues on Thursday and is expected to take three to five weeks.
