One of the Northern Territory’s largest councils has been charged over a near-drowning incident, after a weed harvester capsized on a lake, trapping a worker underneath.
Key points:
A City of Palmerston worker was injured after an amphibious weed harvester they were operating tipped and capsized in 2020
NT WorkSafe has charged the City of Palmerston with nine breaches of workplace health and safety laws
The maximum penalty for the combined breaches is a more than $7 million fine
The City of Palmerston — east of Darwin — has been charged by NT WorkSafe with nine counts of breaching the Northern Territory’s workplace health and safety laws and regulations in relation to the February 2020 incident, including four counts of failing to comply with its duty of care .
If found guilty of all charges, the council could be fined up to $7 million.
In a statement, NT WorkSafe said the council worker and a colleague had been taking it in turns using the amphibious weed harvester to clear and remove weeds from a lake in Durack, when the craft had tipped over and capsized.
The worker was briefly trapped underneath the harvester before escaping, but sustained injuries.
“NT WorkSafe will allege that the City of Palmerston failed to follow all the manufacturer’s safety recommendations, which were provided during the purchase of the craft,” WorkSafe NT said.
“One of the recommendation not followed, was when the City of Palmerston modified the craft by installing a crocodile cage, without first consulting with the manufacturer on how this modification would affect the craft’s stability and safety during operation.”
The case is due to come before Darwin Local Court on Monday, August 29.
Mount Isa man Trevor Caulton has been arrested and charged with murder after he allegedly drove a vehicle into a crowd of people, hitting and killing a 13-year-old girl.
Key points:
Mount Isa man Trevor Caulton has been arrested and charged with murder
He allegedly drove a car into a group of people and killed a young girl
After a brief hearing on Monday, the case will next be heard on September 26
Emergency services were called to the corner of Delacour Drive and Dent Street in the Mount Isa suburb of Pioneer after midnight on August 6 and treated the girl for critical head injuries.
Police confirmed she succumbed to her injuries and died at the scene.
Mr Caulton’s lawyer appeared on his behalf via phone at the Mount Isa Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
A full brief of evidence was being prepared and the case would appear for mention at Mount Isa Magistrate’s Court on September 26.
The victim was identified and her family had been contacted, police said.
Paramedics treated the victims at the site of the incident near Dent Street in Pioneer.(ABC North West Queensland: Emily Dobson)
Fears of retribution prompt police warning
Police have called for calm in the community after the tragedy.
Mount Isa Police Acting Superintendent Smith asked the community to assist investigators.(ABC Far North: Brendan Mounter)
“I do have concerns about unrest in the community — this is a distressing case and this poor girl’s life has been taken,” said Mount Isa Police Acting Superintendent Jason Smith.
“We acknowledge the grief in the community and we implore everyone to remain calm around this incident and to assist police with the investigation.
“Sometimes in our community there can be an urge from some to seek retribution. Please know the law has been executed, the alleged offender is in jail and police have done as much as they can.”
The glue that held graziers Mervyn and Maree Schwarz and sons Graham and Ross Tighe together, also pulled in all those who knew them.
This magnetic orbit has been repeatedly described by shell-shocked friends and associates after the execution-style killing of three members of the family on their cattle property at Bogie, west of Bowen, this week.
“You won’t find many families as tied together and that work as hard as they did,” Queensland grazier Warren Drynan said.
Graham Tighe died after a shooting incident at a Bogie property.(Facebook)
Mr Schwarz, 71, Mrs Schwarz, 59, and son Graham John Tighe, 35, were shot dead with a rifle, allegedly by their neighbor Darryl Young, 59, at the gate of their property at Shannonvale Rd on Thursday morning.
Police allege they had met to discuss a property dispute.
Sole survivor Ross Tighe, 30, remains in hospital and is recovering from a gunshot wound to the abdomen.
Incredibly, I have managed to escape, getting into a nearby car and driving 40 kilometers to raise the alarm.
Mr Young, a long-term resident, has been charged with three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.
Darryl Young (right) has been charged with murder.(Supplied)
He remains in custody awaiting his first appearance before a magistrate on Monday.
The family had been at the property to muster cattle on the day of the fatal shootings.
The expansive Bogie farm where the tragic shooting happened was only purchased last year for $10 million, according to property records.
A floral tribute was left at the intersection of Normanby and Peter Delemothe roads.(ABC News: Baz Ruddick)
It’s located just west of Bowen, halfway to the mining town of Collinsville.
The property, known as Shannonvale Station, was owned by the same family from the 1930s to the early 2000s and then had five previous owners before the Schwarz family came to town just months ago.
The 29,856-hectare Shannonvale Rd cattle property was purchased in equal shares by Mr and Mrs Schwarz and Graham Tighe.
Graham is a father of two young children, one only a few weeks old.
The ABC has been told Graham lived at the Bogie property, while Mr and Mrs Schwarz lived at another large farm at The Gums, closer to the town of Tara.
Ross Tighe is recovering in hospital.(Facebook)
That address, known as Doonkoona, comprises 1,961 hectares of grazing land on Humbug Rd, which they bought in 2016 for $2.6 million.
Ross Tighe has been living not far from Rome.
It’s understood many family members are now traveling to be with Ross as he recovers.
But with large extended families from previous marriages, Merv and Maree’s children have been left to put together the pieces, with separate family groups joining to support each other.
The family declined to speak to the ABC.
Chilling deaths against gold rush backdrop
Bogie is harsh cattle country.
Many came to the area during the gold rush in the 1800s and some residents still believe their properties could have a jackpot of gold beneath the earth.
Bogie is described as harsh cattle country.(ABC News: Baz Ruddick)
Dirt roads and cattle grids connect properties dozens of kilometers apart.
Many boundaries are “give and take” perimeters, locals told the ABC.
Only 37 families call the 3,858 square kilometer locality — the size of Singapore, Samoa and the Maldives combined — home.
It was at the front gate of Shannonvale Station, in dense scrubby bushland an hour-and-a-half down a dirt track off the main road to Collinsville, where tragedy struck on Thursday morning.
Police cordoned off Normanby Road while investigating the shooting.(ABC News: Baz Ruddick)
Police say it was a request to meet that drew the family to the front gate along with their neighbor Mr Young.
“We understand there was a conversation that occurred the night before, which was the reason why the parties had met at the gate on the property in the morning,” Acting Superintendent Tom Armitt said.
“There was an invitation [from the alleged gunman] for them to go there.”
One local said disputes over boundaries and cattle had been going on in Bogie for “years and years and years”.
“It’s just rotten around there,” he said.
A family unit like no other
Warren Drynan bought his property at Jackson North, east of Roma, from the Schwarz family in 2014.
He said Ross and Graham had helped build some fences on the farm known as Noonga shortly after the sale.
Mr Drynan never forgot Mr and Mrs Schwarz’s hospitality and the boys’ hardworking nature.
He said the tight-knit family had long-held large parcels of farming land throughout Queensland.
Graziers said the family developed properties many thought too difficult to improve before making a profit and moving onto the next project.
“They’d take on anything,” Mr Drynan said.
“Que [Mervyn] liked doing, was finding these rundown places, clearing them, improving pastures.
“He was just that person, Merv, and Maree and the two boys, they were a family unit who worked hard and long hours.”
Even years later, Mr Schwarz would always stop and have a chat if he saw Mr Drynan at cattle meets.
“We weren’t real social friends by any means, but he was just that person that once you knew him, you could always have a yarn,” Mr Drynan said.
Other people called Mr Schwarz a “scallywag”, saying he was a joker and one of his main gags was about his signature one finger and one toe attached to his right hand after a farming accident.
“He’d always make a joke about shaking your hand,” Mr Drynan said.
“Merv was really just so happy go lucky, the sort of bloke who wore his heart on his sleeve,” another grazier from Tara recalled.
Maree Schwarz has been remembered as a “lovely person”.(Facebook)
Mrs Schwarz is remembered by many as a “lovely person”.
On social media she cradles a new grandbaby with a beaming smile.
“She is beautiful,” she tells a friend in a comment.
While one of Graham’s close friends described the father-of-two as “a top bloke who was a little rough around the edges.”
“He was always up to no good, had some crazy idea and was just a bloody good horseman,” he said.
“I learned more from that family than I could even explain.”
Mr Drynan, like many graziers, was shaken by the killings.
He said the family were “not aggressive” people.
“I just I don’t know how the hell it could happen,” he said.
Mrs Schwarz’s brother-in-law, Greg Austen, said the family had previously lived at Kilcummin, near Clermont in central Queensland, and were much-loved and well-respected members of the community.
“They were terrific, down to earth typical country people,” he said.
“They were typical pumpkin scones and a few beers on a Friday people.”
Mr Austen, a councilor on the Isaac Regional Council, said his children, along with Graham and Ross, would regularly muster cattle together.
“They were very close to them,” he said.
“My family are pretty… in shock. We’ll band together and hold together.”
Sole survivor ‘up and talking’
Ross Tighe suffered a gunshot wound to his abdomen.(Facebook)
Mr Austen said it was an “amazing feat of strength and courage” from Ross to flee the scene, which ultimately led to his survival.
“It was very strong of him to do that, to go that far and raise the alarm,” he said.
Ross was flown by helicopter to the Mackay Base Hospital in a serious, but stable condition.
“He’s OK,” Mr Austen said.
“He’s not out of hospital, but he’s out of surgery. He’s up and talking.
“But he’s got a lot of difficulties ahead of him I imagine.”
Angel Flight CEO Marjorie Pagani told ABC the service would assist family members of the shooting victims to return to Mackay, at the request of Bob Katter’s office.
Police were called to shoot at a property between Collinsville and Bowen.(ABC News: Baz Ruddick)
tragic story unravels
Whitsunday Regional Councilor Mike Brunker said the council would assist police in their investigation.
“I think as the story unravels, it’s going to be just a very sad, tragic story,” he said.
Burdekin MP Dale Last, whose electorate takes in Collinsville and Bogie, said nothing like this had happened in the community in recent memory.
“There are a lot of long-term residents and property owners in the area, and to think something like that could happen in their backyard, it just sent a shockwave through the entire area,” he said.
“But places like Collinsville are very resilient.”
Dale Last says the rural community is in shock.(ABC News: Baz Ruddick)
He said the community had been through a lot in recent years and they banded together when times were tough.
Mr Brunker said he instantly thought of the United States of America when he heard about the shooting, not his own region.
“The last thing you think of is the Bogie community, the remote properties,” he said.
Bogie grazier Bob Gaadie said the community might be spread out, but the incident hit everyone hard.
“It might be 50 to 60 kilometers away, but it’s still your doorstep,” he said.
Police blocked off Normanby Road while investigating the shooting.(ABC News: Baz Ruddick)
The police investigation into the deaths is ongoing and detectives are asking anyone who may have had interactions with the alleged gunman in the past two months to contact them.
Mr Young will appear in the Proserpine Magistrates Court on Monday.
A homeless man who was tackled to the ground and arrested in front of the South Australian Premier at a press conference in Adelaide says he feels he was unfairly targeted by police.
Key points:
Aaron John Rudd was arrested during a press conference held by Peter Malinauskas on June 30
He was handcuffed face-down on the pavement by the Premier’s security
He says he was “just curious to watch”
Aaron John Rudd, 54, was arrested during a scuffle with security at a press conference held by Peter Malinauskas on Hutt Street in Adelaide on June 30.
A plain-clothed police officer asked him to move back because he was getting too close to the Premier.
Rudd was then escorted away by Mr Malinauskas’s security detail and handcuffed face-down on the pavement in scenes that were captured on camera by the gathered media.
Mr Rudd, who arrived at the Adelaide Magistrates Court today with a guitar, is charged with disorderly behavior and resisting police.
After his court hearing, he told the media he meant no harm when he moved closer to the press conference to see what was going on.
“I was just passing by and was curious to watch, see what it was about,” he said.
“I feel very much that I was unfairly targeted.
“I just think it was maybe the ignorance of the police officer, he should be trained better to be more diplomatic about these situations, it’s not the way to handle a situation like that.
“People like that they should be a bit more professional, treat the public with a bit more dignity and respect.”
Mr Rudd was handcuffed face-down on the pavement on June 30. (abcnews)
Mr Rudd said he used to be a full-time carer and has been living on the streets since losing his job and felt passionately about advocating for the rights of disadvantaged people.
“I’m very compassionate and very passionate about street people,” he said.
“These people have a heart and I care for them, I like being around them.”
Mr Rudd said he did not know who Mr Malinauskas was, but felt it was his right to “bear witness” at the press conference.
He said the police officer and security detail were “aggressively intimating” towards him and he tried to defend himself.
“I pushed him, I met him with equal resistance. I was not charged with assault because, as I said to them, this will reflect in footage,” Mr Rudd said.
When asked by reporters if he might write a song about what happened, he said “maybe one day” and that it would be called “freedom for the people, a right to witness.”
A punch-up between brothers has ended in tragedy, with one dead and the other set to remain in custody for now, after being denied bail.
Key points:
Peter Kinthari’s brother had flown in from the remote community of Wadeye before the pair became entangled in a fight
Judge David Woodroffe described the matter as “simply too serious” to allow for bail
The court heard the accused would likely face family retribution while in prison
Peter Kinthari, a 39-year-old father-of-six, has been charged with a manslaughter after the death of his brother in the northern Darwin suburb of Jingili on Wednesday night.
Northern Territory Police have described the death as a “domestic violence incident”.
During a bail application on Friday afternoon, the court heard the brothers, who hailed from the remote community of Wadeye, had “engaged in a fair fight” during a prolonged drinking session.
Lawyer John Blackley, from the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency, said the accused’s brother and his wife had “flown in from Wadeye that day”, before they met with their family members and started drinking heavily.
The two brothers began arguing, with witnesses alleging that verbal taunts soon spilled over into physical violence, with an ensuing altercation lasting at least two hours.
Mr Blackley said, at one stage, the fighting was interrupted by an “intermission” where “both the accused and the deceased were hugging each other and were in good spirits”.
A witness statement alleges they saw Peter Kinthari “absolutely belt” someone else during the altercation.(ABC News: Che Chorley)
Accused could face retribution in prison, court hears
The then escalated once more, with the court hearing allegations read by the prosecutor from a “sober, independent” eyewitness that the accused king had hit his brother to the face.
“I saw the father fellow [Peter Kinthari] absolutely belt the skinnier guy, knocking him from a standing position to the ground,” the witness statement read.
Crown prosecutor Marty Aust said the witness had watched the victim “completely out of it, sitting on the road by himself” when he was approached by his brother, who was yelling at him aggressively.
“I then saw the shorter, fatter bloke strike the skinnier bloke very, very hard. It was hard enough to send the skinny bloke flying backwards … it was so hard I immediately assumed he’d been kicked in the head,” the eyewitness statement said.
“It was a bit hard to see, but it could’ve been a very hard kick or punch to the face, chest, or guts.”
The court heard the 41-year-old brother, whose name is withheld for cultural reasons, is believed to have died from a ruptured pancreas, which the prosecution will allege was caused by blunt force trauma inflicted during the fight.
The defense team said questions remained over the cause of death, citing an incident where the victim fell over in the shower in the immediate wake of the punch-up.
Judge David Woodroffe described the death as a “tragic incident” but refused bail to the accused on the grounds that it was “simply too serious” to do so.
Mr Blackley, who had pushed for bail so his client could look after his children, including two infants, said there was a chance Mr Kinthari would face threats of retribution from family members while on remand.
The accused will next face court in Darwin on September 28.
The vice-chancellor and chief executive of an Australian university has resigned but will defend charges against her, according to her former employer.
Key points:
Brigid Heywood is accused of assaulting a 16-year-old girl in Armidale in March
She has resigned as vice-chancellor of the University of New England
The resignation follows pressure from the National Tertiary Education Union
Brigid Heywood had been with the University of New England, based in Armidale in regional New South Wales, for three years before she was formally charged on Monday.
Police allege Professor Heywood assaulted a 16-year-old girl at a licensed venue in Armidale in March and that the teenager was not physically injured.
In addition to one charge of common assault, Professor Heywood has also been charged with behaving in an offensive manner near a public place or school.
In a statement, University of New England chancellor James Harris said Professor Heywood “strenuously denies there is any truth to the charges and will defend them.”
The National Tertiary Education Union had called for Professor Heywood to stand down while the matter was before the court.
“Professor Heywood and the University Council acknowledges the deep hurt felt by many on hearing of the charges and thanks the community for the patience shown as we worked through these matters,” Mr Harris said in his statement.
“The University Council wants to clearly state that it remains deeply committed to fostering a safe, inclusive and respectful environment for its students, staff and community at all times.”
Professor Heywood is due to face an Armidale court on September 26.
New South Wales South Coast man Harley Thompson, accused of murdering his neighbor in a house fire, has been found not criminally responsible for the death.
Key points:
Harley Thompson lit his neighbor’s house on fire in July 2020
The Supreme Court accepted evidence of his mental health impairment
He has been detained under the supervision of the Mental Health Review Tribunal
The 27-year-old sat in the Mid North Coast Correction Center in Kempsey watching the verdict via a video link today as it was read in the Nowra Supreme Court.
Wearing prison greens with a shaven head and mullet, he was quiet and still through the proceedings.
Mr Thompson initially lied to police about starting the fire on July 31, 2020, but later acknowledged that he did.
Cameron Johnston, 49, was killed in the fire.
Mr Thompson had repeatedly threatened Mr Johnson at his Bomaderry house on the night of the fire, smashed windows and yelled profanity-laden abuse at the man he did not know.
Phone records show Mr Johnson had called police and his housing provider on the night to report what was happening and that he and his son were “scared with just about every window smashed.”
Mr Thompson then “chucked” petrol through the windows of the house and set fire to the curtains.
Neighbors gave evidence that they heard Mr Johnston’s son scream “Dad, dad, dad” and a short time later heard Mr Thompson yell “Burn ****, burn”.
They said he later laughed while almost sounding excited.
An autopsy found Mr Johnston died from carbon monoxide toxicity and had suffered burns to multiple areas of his body.
Mr Thompson’s lawyers said during a trial over the past couple of weeks that he was not responsible for the crime because he had a mental health impairment.
Prosecutors argued he had feigned his symptoms.
The Supreme Court verdict was delivered in the Nowra Courthouse.(ABC Illawarra: Ainslie Druitt-Smith)
‘Satisfied’ with defense of mental health
In his verdict, Justice Michael Walton said he accepted the evidence provided by two expert psychiatrists as well as clinical assessments.
They diagnosed Mr Thompson with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder or depression with psychotic features.
It created severe delusions and auditory hallucinations.
One expert suggested the symptoms had presented when Mr Thompson was admitted to hospital in Victoria in November 2019.
Dr Andrew Ellis gave evidence that Mr Thompson’s symptom of echo des Pensée, which he described as “a very technical psychiatric term of hearing your own thoughts spoken out loud”, was not identified at the time.
Justice Walton told the court having considered all the evidence he was “satisfied that the defense of mental health impairment is established”.
“I have experienced temporary or ongoing disturbances of thought, perception, mood and mostly likely memory,” Justice Walton told the court.
“The disturbances were regarded by the experts as significant for clinical diagnostic purposes and the disturbances significantly impact judgement.”
He said while Mr Thompson also had a substance abuse problem, his impairment was his underlying mental health condition.
“I am satisfied that the accused knew of the nature and the quality of his act but did no reason with a moderate degree of sense and composure about whether the act, as perceived by a reasonable person, was wrong,” Justice Walton said.
“The verdict that will be entered on the indictment is ‘act proven but not criminally responsible’.”
A victim impact statement from Mr Johnston’s son, who was watching the verdict via the video link, was presented but not read aloud in the court.
“I express the condolence of the court and the community to the family and friends of Mr Johnston and in particular Mr Johnston’s father, brother and son,” Justice Walton said.
The Justice ordered Mr Thompson be detained and held under the supervision of the Mental Health Review Tribunal because of his history of escalating mental illness.
A 17-year-old boy who fatally stabbed a teenager at Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast more than two years ago has been sentenced to 10 years in jail but will only spend seven years in custody.
Jack Beasley died after being stabbed once in the chest in December 2019.
Five teenage boys, aged between 15 and 18 at the time, were originally charged over the 17-year-old’s death, but three were acquitted of his manslaughter at a judge-only trial last month.
The remaining two, including a 17-year-old boy, faced a sentencing hearing in Brisbane on Friday after he pleaded guilty to murder earlier this year, admitting to inflicting the fatal wound.
A 20-year-old man pleaded guilty to his manslaughter, accepting he had a common purpose to assault Mr Beasley and his friends, and that an unlawful killing would be a “probable consequence.”
The pair – who cannot be named due to youth justice laws – have also pleaded guilty to two counts each of grievous bodily harm in relation to the stabbing of one of Mr Beasley’s friends, who was seriously injured.
Knife used in ‘senseless’ way amid brawl
During a sentencing hearing on Friday, the court heard the group of teens had crossed paths with Mr Beasley and his friends, who were not known to them, and they had hatched a plan to chase them and pick a fight.
Crown Prosecutor Todd Fuller told the court the older offender took “a lead role” and was one of the “main protagonists” who “instigated the violence” with Mr Beasley.
“He was actively involved in the altercation from the start to finish,” he said.
Police at the scene on Surfers Paradise Boulevard where Mr Beasley died in 2019.(abcnews)
The court heard a physical fight then broke out between some members of the two groups, including Mr Beasley.
Mr Fuller told the court the younger teen then “escalated the level of violence” by using the knife “offensively rather than defensively” and in a “senseless” way.
“The grave nature of his offending speaks for itself,” he said.
‘Left to die on the footpath’
Reading a victim impact statement to the court through tears, Mr Beasley’s mother Belinda Beasley addressed the teens who were sitting in the dock, calling them “cowards.”
“You ran away… and left Jack and [his friend] to die on the footpath with not a care in the world – what sort of people are you?” she said.
“In that one moment you destroyed so many people’s lives.”
Mr Beasley’s parents established the Jack Beasley Foundation in a bid to change attitudes around youth violence among students.(ABC Gold Coast: Dominic Cansdale)
Mrs Beasley described her son as a “beautiful boy” who was “cheeky, fun-loving and easy going” and said his death had turned her life into a “living nightmare”.
“The pain you have brought to our family is indescribable,” she said.
“To lose a child in the way we lost Jack altered our lives forever.
“Being a juvenile is no excuse – everyone knows right from wrong.”
‘Deeply tragic’
In a written statement by the younger teen, read by his defense lawyer James Benjamin, he said he took “full responsibility for my actions and hold myself accountable.”
“I understand I may never be forgiven but I hope one day I will be,” he said in the statement.
The 17-year-old then stood in court and told the judge: “I’m very, very sorry.”
Justice Soraya Ryan described the offenses as “profoundly tragic” and said they had “heartbreaking consequences” for Mr Beasley’s family and wider community implications.
“Good parents of young people are scared when their children leave home to go out because of people like you and your companions,” he said.
Justice Ryan sentenced the 17-year-old boy to 10 years in jail and ordered him to serve 70 per cent of the term.
The 20-year-old man was sentenced to seven years in jail and will be eligible for parole in 12 months.
A man has been sentenced to five years’ jail for killing a man by stabbing him in the heart during a drug-fueled wrestle in Adelaide.
Key points:
Matthew Bristow’s body was found on a footpath in Prospect in 2020
Abdi Abdullah Ali was found guilty of his manslaughter
The court was told Mr Bristow’s death had caused untold grief to his family
Matthew Scott Bristow’s body was found by a passer-by on a footpath at Prospect in February 2020.
He died from a single stab wound to the heart.
Abdi Abdullah Ali was found guilty of manslaughter by an unlawful and dangerous act, but was acquitted of a murder charge.
The Supreme Court heard both men had been affected by drugs and the circumstances of the offending were unclear — but it was likely the men had wrestled with a knife while inside a car.
Matthew Scott Bristow was found dead in Prospect.(Supplied: Facebook)
Justice Anne Bampton said she accepted Ali had no intention of killing Mr Bristow or grievously injuring him, but said Mr Bristow’s death had caused “untold grief” to his family.
His mother had told the court through a victim impact statement that her life had been “consumed by agony.”
“She poignantly said that her son died alone and that the blood that spilled on the lonely street of Prospect was her blood,” Justice Bampton said.
The court heard Ali, who was born in Somalia, turned to alcohol and drugs as a teenager and woke up in a car in Adelaide one day after attending a party in Melbourne.
“It seemed you had been stuck here, treading water, drinking, taking drugs and living a much less productive lifestyle,” Justice Bampton said.
She sentenced Ali to five years and three months’ jail with a non-parole period of four years and two months.
A Victorian father who killed his two-year-old son in a quad bike crash because he was doing donuts with the toddler on his lap has wept after learning that he is likely to avoid jail.
WARNING: This story contains details that may distress some readers.
Key points:
Christopher Browne is likely to be sentenced to a community-based order over the fatal crash
The court heard Browne was “overwhelmed” by post-traumatic stress
Prosecutors initially pushed for jail time, but accepted a community-based order was appropriate
Christopher Browne was behind the wheel when he lost control of the buggy during the dangerous manoeuvre and it overturned, flinging his son Lincoln from the vehicle at their home in Barnawartha North, near the New South Wales border, on Christmas Day in 2020.
Lincoln was sitting on his father’s knee and was only being held in place. No one was wearing a helmet.
Browne escaped the crash with minor injuries, as did his sister, who was in the passenger seat.
He today appeared in the County Court of Victoria and pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death and conduct endangering persons.
Judge Michael Cahill said he accepted that Browne was “profoundly remorseful.”
“I have formed the view in all the circumstances in this case that a community correction order is the appropriate sentence for Mr Browne,” the judge said.
“Living with the loss of his child is punishment more than any court could impose.”
Browne, who appeared by videolink from Wodonga, wiped away tears as the judge spoke.
Father was trying to ‘scare’ sister in lead-up to crash, court hears
On December 25, 2020, Browne opened presents and ate brunch with family members at his home in Barnawartha North.
Just before lunchtime, Browne took his Polaris buggy out to give his guests rides.
He got into the driver’s seat and sat on top of the seatbelt, which was already clipped in, while his sister got into the passenger side and put on her restraints.
Court documents reveal that Browne placed Lincoln, who wanted to go for a ride, on his left knee and held him in place.
He then drove out into a paddock and performed several donuts before driving back up the driveway, where he reached speeds of up to 70 kilometers per hour.
He turned the buggy around and drove back into the paddock to perform another donut when he lost control of the vehicle and it flipped, flinging the toddler.
The court heard the buggy was estimated to be traveling at 45kph at the time.
The event was witnessed by Michael Hart, the partner of Browne’s sister.
“Lincoln fell out … and went straight under. The buggy landed straight on top of him,” he later told investigators.
The two-year-old died at the scene.
The court heard Browne has been overwhelmed by post-traumatic stress in the aftermath of his son’s death.(Facebook)
Browne later told investigators that he was trying to “scare” his sister.
“I tried to show my sister my new car … My brother-in-law, her partner, said not to go too hard to scare her ’cause he wanted to get one, which her being my sister made me feel like I wanted to ,” he said.
He told police that he had one mid-strength beer during lunch and a pre-mixed drink before and during brunch, but tests revealed he had no alcohol in his system after the crash.
“Mr Brown has been overwhelmed by his post-traumatic stress,” Judge Cahill said.
“At times, the only thing that keeps him going is his sense of responsibility to look after his wife and the younger child.”
None of Browne’s family members made victim impact statements to the court and he was supported by his wife during the hearing.
Prosecutor Erin Ramsay initially pushed for jail time but ultimately accepted that a community-based order was an appropriate sentence.
“There should be a very significant amount of unpaid community work attached to such an order given that the order’s really being made in lieu of what would otherwise be imprisonment,” she said.
Browne’s bail was extended ahead of his sentence next week.
