Latest news with #RichardGander
ABC News
16-07-2025
- ABC News
Father of murdered Victorian teenager Charlie Gander 'shattered' by Supreme Court jury verdict
In between dealing with customers at his automotive workshop, Richard Gander has spent weeks watching the Victorian Supreme Court trial of the three people accused of murdering his son Charlie. The 19-year-old's remains were found by emergency services in a burnt car in Bunbartha, in the state's north, on Christmas Eve 2022. Danny Clarke, Dimitri D'Elio and Kylie Stott pleaded not guilty to kidnapping, murder and arson. Yesterday a jury found all three guilty of kidnapping, but only D'Elio was found guilty of murder and arson. Stott was found guilty of manslaughter. Mr Gander said watching the trial unfold was an exhausting experience. "By the end of the day I'm that mentally drained, I'm in bed by 7:30," he said. For nearly 30 days the jury heard a range of evidence and had to look photos of skeletal remains taken by crime scene investigators. "I didn't watch the earlier stuff of certain evidence because I don't think any parent should have to see that," Mr Gander said. He felt "shattered" that not all three accused were found guilty of murder. Mr Gander remembers his son "Chaz" as a "good kid" who played football and loved tinkering with cars. "He was always helping others. A really good kid. A good sportsman. Just a good lad," Mr Gander said. During the trial in Melbourne the jury was shown the final text messages Mr Gander exchanged with his son as they made plans for Christmas. The jury also heard that Mr Gander learnt of his son's death via a phone call from the mother of one of Charlie's football mates. "That was horrific — I just couldn't believe it and hearing it the way I heard it," Mr Gander said. "When that happened, you know, your whole world just stops. And even going to the police station going, 'You know what's going on?' "They're like, 'Oh, we can confirm there was a car burnt and we can't confirm who was in it.'" Mr Gander said it was two or three days before police were able to confirm that his son was dead. "That was a hard time because in the back of your mind, you're thinking … maybe he's going to walk in the door any day now. But it wasn't to be," he said. The Gander family has created a memorial to Charlie on Loch Garry Road in Bunbartha. "We all caught up and we dug a hole and put that cross in there," Mr Gander said. "It's hard going back there" The workshop Mr Gander now runs in Melbourne is in honour of Charlie's love of cars. "He wanted to be a mechanic — that's the reason I brought this workshop, because I said to him, 'Once you become fully qualified, I'll buy you a workshop and we'll run it together.'" "If he was with us, he'd be like, 'This is gold.'" Mr Gander says the family will never get over Charlie's murder. "Once the sentencing is done, we just need to move on I guess," Mr Gander said.
ABC News
05-06-2025
- ABC News
Supreme Court murder trial hears of moment father learned of Charlie Gander's death
A Supreme Court jury in Victoria has been read text messages exchanged between a father and his son shortly before the latter was allegedly kidnapped and murdered. The burnt remains of 19-year-old Charlie Gander were found in a burnt-out car at Bunbartha, in the state's north, on Christmas Eve 2022. Kylie Stott, Dimitri D'Elio and Danny Clarke have pleaded not guilty to kidnapping, murder and arson. At the time of the alleged offending Ms Stott was aged 37, Mr D'Elio 24 and Mr Clarke 38. In court in Melbourne prosecutor Mark Gibson KC read out extracts from a statement from the teenager's father, Richard Gander, as well as text messages between the pair in the lead-up to Christmas. At the time Charlie was living with his father in Benalla and in his statement Mr Gander said he often struggled to keep track of his son's whereabouts and had told him to let him know when he would be home. The court heard Charlie would often stay at friends' houses and not been seen for several days. The court heard that on December 21, 2022 Mr Gander texted Charlie to ask, "Are you alive, mate?" "Yeah, I'm alive. Haha," Charlie responded. The pair made a plan to attend Charlie's aunt's home with the rest of the family for Christmas. In his statement Mr Gander said the last message he received from Charlie was on December 21, 2022 saying "Yeah alright, sounds good". Mr Gander said he was at a work function at the Royal Hotel in Benalla on Christmas Eve when he received a text message at 8:45pm from a woman named Rebecca. "Hi Richard, it's Panda's mum. Can you call me, please?" the court was told the message said. Panda was a football friend of Charlie's and his brother Mitchell. In his statement Mr Gander said he immediately called and heard Rebecca crying and saying, "I'm so sorry about Charlie". "Rebecca told me he's been killed before she started repeating, 'I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry,'" Mr Gander said in his statement. Mr Gander said Rebecca told him that Charlie had been burnt in a car in Shepparton but did not know the precise location. Charlie's body was found after emergency services responded to a vehicle fire on Loch Garry Road at Bunbartha, about 15 kilometres north of Shepparton. Forensic pathologist Paul Bedford conducted the autopsy and told the court that extensive fire damage to the body meant that the cause of death could not be ascertained. He also told the court that toxicology reports had found very high levels of the drug methylamphetamine, commonly known as ice, which may have contributed to Charlie's death. The trial before Justice Michael Croucher continues.
