Jury selected for trial of Outback Wrangler Matt Wright over claims he attempted to pervert the course of justice
More than 400 people were summoned to potentially be part of the jury pool for the trial of the Outback Wrangler at the NT Supreme Court.
Mr Wright, a Netflix and Apple TV star has pleaded not guilty to three allegations of attempting to pervert the course of justice, following the death of his mate and co-star Chris 'Willow' Wilson three years ago.
The 34-year-old dad was killed after his chopper crashed into a paperbark swamp at the King River in Arnhem Land on February 28, 2022.
Mr Wilson was dangling in a sling from a Robinson R44 during a crocodile egg collecting mission when the chopper went down, killing him and critically injuring his 28-year-old pilot Sebastian Robinson.
It is alleged that on three occasions over a seven month period Mr Wright attempted to compromise the investigation into the chopper crash.
The number of potential jurors for the trial was whittled down to just over 100 on Wednesday, and prosecutor Jason Gullaci SC asked the potential jury members to declare any conflicts they may have by knowing either Mr Wright, Mr Wilson, his wife Dani Wilson, the legal teams or the dozens of potential witnesses.
Over two hours, 53 people told the court why they could not sit on the potential five-week trial, with five stating they knew Mr Wilson or his widow and seven knew Mr Wright personally and professionally.
All but three potential jurors were dismissed, with Justice Blow commenting 90 minutes into the process: 'I think we started with 107 jury members, I think I've excused half of them and we're still going'.
'The numbers are dwindling,' Mr Gullaci said.
The final jury comprised of four women and eight men, with two female reservists.
Justice Blow said he was aware of significant public interest in the trial, warning the final jurors not to let outside information or gossip influence this process.
'I've been told people have seen all sorts of things about this case on social media, for example,' Justice Blow said.
'If you have read, or heard, or been told anything relating to this case prior to this afternoon, it's very important you ignore (it).'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
Gareth Ward's lawyer calls NSW parliament 'kangaroo court' amid MP's effort to avoid expulsion
A lawyer for Gareth Ward has described state parliament's lower house as a "kangaroo court" as he argued against the expulsion of the NSW MP convicted of sex offences. The independent Kiama MP, who is in custody after his bail was revoked last week, is seeking orders from the Court of Appeal to prevent the legislative assembly from expelling him. Ward's barrister, Peter King, told the court on Thursday his expulsion from parliament would amount to punishment and a denial of procedural fairness. "His existing right as a member of the assembly to speak in the debate to oppose the resolution is lost," Mr King said. "So in short he is to be expelled by a kangaroo court."
ABC News
2 hours ago
- ABC News
Live: Crown lays out case against celebrity crocodile wrangler Matt Wright in NT Supreme Court
The trial of celebrity crocodile wrangler Matt Wright continues today with the prosecution set to resume its opening arguments in the Northern Territory's Supreme Court. On Wednesday, Crown prosecutor Jason Gullaci SC told the jury Mr Wright had been involved in the "systemic under-recording" of flight hours for the helicopter before the fateful crocodile egg collecting trip. Mr Gullaci will continue his opening statement today before defence barrister David Edwardson KC addresses the jury. Mr Wright has pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice. The charges relate to alleged events in the days and months following a fatal helicopter crash three years ago, which killed his close friend and co-star Chris "Willow" Wilson. Mr Wright and Mr Wilson both starred in National Geographic's Outback Wrangler and Netflix series Wild Croc Territory. The 2022 helicopter accident occurred during a crocodile egg-collecting mission in the Northern Territory's remote Arnhem Land.
News.com.au
2 hours ago
- News.com.au
All charges against Ultra Tune boss Sean Buckley dropped
Charges against a high-profile entrepreneur including that he stalked his model ex-partner have been withdrawn. Sean Buckley has faced a long-running legal battle and was first charged in 2020. The boss of Ultra Tune faced one stalking charge after a second charge was dropped on Monday, and also faced charges including 'make threat to kill', 'common law assault' and 'maintain a listening device'. He was accused of stalking his bikini model ex-girlfriend Jennifer Cruz Cole, however his defence was set to argue that she 'set up' her former partner and sought to extort him. But on Thursday morning Magistrate Malcolm Thomas withdrew all charges. 'All charges are struck out,' he said. His co-accused Wade D'Andrea faced one charge of stalking and one charge of maintaining a listening device. Mr D'Andrea's stalking charge was also dropped, and he is expected to enter a plea for the remaining charge on Thursday 14 August.
