4 days ago
Victorian jury hears triple-0 call, views images of human remains in Christmas Eve murder trial
A former CFA captain has told a jury about finding human remains in a burnt car, as three people face trial accused of kidnapping and murdering 19-year-old Charlie Gander.
Kylie Stott, Danny Clarke and Dimitri D'Elio, all residing in Shepparton at the time, have been charged with kidnapping, murder and arson following the death of the Benalla teenager on Christmas Eve in 2022.
At the time of the alleged offending, Ms Stott was aged 37, Mr D'Elio was 24, and Mr Clarke 38.
The trio have pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Mr Gander's body was found after emergency services responded to a car fire on Loch Garry Road, in Bunbartha, about 15 kilometres north of Shepparton.
Current CFA volunteer and former captain of the Tallygaroopna brigade, Jeffrey Gleeson, told the Victorian Supreme Court of crews finding the car near bushland, "fully engulfed" with "smoke emitting from the car".
As two men in breathing apparatus began to put out the fire, Mr Gleeson said he inspected the car's interior and exterior.
"I was walking around near the passenger side. I glanced inside the vehicle, saw what I thought were human remains," he told the court.
Mr Gleeson conferred with a colleague and then decided to halt the fire suppression process to leave the scene as intact as possible for investigators, he told the court.
The jury also viewed photos of the skeletal remains taken by crime scene investigators, including a skull and internal organs.
Bunbartha resident Pauline Dempsey, who alerted emergency services via a triple-0 call, was brought as a witness, and an audio recording of her call played to the jury.
Mrs Dempsey told the court she saw "billowing black smoke" and was concerned for her home and neighbourhood because of the hot and dry conditions. She told the court she saw the car explode and could be heard telling the triple-0 operator that the car had exploded for a second time while on the call.
The jury was also shown footage from police's body-worn cameras as they arrived to inspect the scene. The footage showed Leading Senior Constable Steven Turpin walking towards the burnt-out car, which is situated near trees in a remote area.
During the opening days of the trial, crown prosecutor Mark Gibson KC told the the court they would hear a case "about retribution" and "a desire to punish a person" for what they believed they'd done.
He alleged the trio acted as a team to kidnap, kill and incinerate Mr Gander in an "unnecessary, senseless and callous" act.
He presented evidence to the court including Google searches from Mr D'Elio's phone for a "dead body in burned car" several days before media coverage of the death, as well as records from Ms Stott's phone labelling the victim as "Charlie dead dog Gander".
Mr Gibson alleged their motive was that Mr Gander had told police about the criminal conduct of a person called Tyson May, to whom the trio had a "misplaced alliance".
On Monday, two of the trio's lawyers rejected the prosecution's argument that the matter was linked to a desire for retribution against the teenager.
The jury members are expected to travel to Shepparton and the surrounding area this week to view the sites mentioned in the case as part of court evidence.
