ADFA cadet accused of raping fellow Defence member pleads not guilty

ADFA cadet accused of raping fellow Defence member pleads not guilty

By Jana Black

A 19-year-old Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) cadet charged with raping a female cadet in Canberra has pleaded not guilty.

It is alleged Jack Toby Mitchell raped the 18-year-old woman while she was sleeping after a night out in May.

Police arrested the man in the early hours of June 3 and faced court the same day.

Today Mitchell entered the plea of not guilty, through his lawyer Adrian McKenna of Ben Aulich & Associates, to one charge of sexual intercourse without consent in the ACT Magistrates Court.

The court previously heard Mitchell and the woman had been drinking at a Canberra nightclub with friends and decided to catch a taxi back to ADFA with a third male cadet.

On arrival, the pair left the third cadet and returned to Mitchell’s room where it was alleged he raped the woman while she was sleeping.

The court also heard Mitchell and the woman had known each other for about four months and both lived on campus.

Mitchell was previously granted bail under strict conditions and bail was continued today.

The conditions included he not go within 100 metres of the woman and that he not attempt to contact her, including through other cadets.

Alternative accommodation was to be arranged in order for Mitchell to meet the bail conditions.

The Department of Defence released a statement earlier this month which said it was assisting police and providing support to the individuals concerned.

The matter has been adjourned until September.

The alleged assault is the latest in a series of incidents at the Academy, including the ‘Skype sex scandal’.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-06-23/adfa-cadet-charged-with-raping-pleads-not-guilty/7537072

 

First of four childcare worker enters not guilty pleas in children assault case

The first of a group of childcare workers accused of assaulting children at a northside service has entered not guilty pleas.

The woman​, 49, and three others are facing charges of physical abuse on children under their care at the Northside Community Services’ Civic Early Childhood Centre dating back to last year.

It is alleged three workers employed excessive use of force on children as young as one. They have been charged with 13 offences of common assault between them.

A fourth worker was also issued with a court summons, but the exact nature of those allegations is unclear.

The woman’s case appeared in the ACT Magistrates Court on Tuesday morning, the first of any of the group to appear before a court.

 

The worker did not appear, but lawyer Adrian McKenna, Ben Aulich & Associates, entered not guilty pleas on her behalf.

She is facing four charges of common assault.

Such cases are typically given a hearing date straight away, but Mr McKenna asked for more time because of the matter’s “complex and relatively serious” nature.

The woman will next appear on January 27.

The allegations have prompted numerous inquiries by police, the ACT Government, and the service provider itself.

It took some time for proper reports to be made about the assaults to management, who were only alerted in April this year.

Acting chief executive officer Kate Cvetanovski​ has previously told Fairfax Media that the leadership team then immediately contacted police, the ACT government and Care and Protection.

The staff members involved were stood down as soon as the service leadership was made aware of the allegations.

 

Lawyer accuses police of ‘unlawful home invasion’, illegal detention of woman

Police have been accused of conducting an “unlawful home invasion” and illegally detaining a Canberra woman twice in one day.

The allegations were aired during evidence in a common assault case in the ACT Magistrates Court earlier this week, where defence barrister Steven Whybrow, instructed by Jane Carey of Ben Aulich & Associates, forcefully cross-examined an officer about an encounter with his client.

Police went to the O’Connor home of the 40 year old woman in November, after receiving reports from neighbours that she was having an argument about her five-year-old son with her mother.

When police arrived, there was no breach of the peace, the argument had finished, and there was no ongoing fear for the child’s safety. The woman, who has no criminal record, didn’t invite them in, and they didn’t have a warrant.

Police entered the home, and said the woman told them she had taken valium and alcohol and no longer had “anything to live for”.

Officers told the woman they were detaining her. Mr Whybrow alleged they made no further attempts to ascertain her mental state, or ask how many tablets she may have ingested.

A constable told the ACT Magistrates Court on Tuesday that police feared she may overdose or self-harm, and so emergency powers under the ACT’s Mental Health Act were used to immediately detain her.

Those powers are only to be used when police believe there is a risk of suicide, self-harm, or serious harm to others. Police are required to transfer the detainee to an “approved health facility” when using such powers.  That did not occur.

The woman did not comply with attempts to detain her and after being followed through the home and “corralled” into a corner of her garage, she lashed out at an officer, slapping one with an open palm.

She was charged with common assault, but Mr Whybrow is arguing self-defence, claiming the act occurred in the face of illegal behaviour by police.

Despite police’s apparent fears of an overdose, the woman was taken to the ACT Watch House, not the hospital, where she allegedly waited for 30 minutes before a doctor was called.

The officers who attended her home are thought to have made no checks with police operations about her mental health history, asked no questions about the number of valium tablets ingested, and made no contact with the ACT Mental Health’s Crisis Assessment and Treatment Team.

As part of new measures introduced in recent years, police have immediate access to mental health clinicians and records through their operations centre.

One constable, who was at the scene, told the court police only used the mental health information if “you’ve got the time”.

“It’s something that can be done. It’s not something that has to be done.”

The woman was transferred to the hospital from the ACT Watch House. Once at the hospital, she was no longer deemed to be “in custody”, so she left before mental health workers could assess her.

Upon learning of her exit from hospital, police drove to her home and watched her arrive in a taxi.

They then told her she was under arrest, again, this time taking her directly to hospital because of concerns for her safety.

Mr Whybrow asked:

“What concerns?”

The officer replied:

“She had taken alcohol and valium and said she had nothing left to live for. I’d say that’s fairly serious.”

Mr Whybrow replied:

“So serious that you don’t even have anyone take her to the hospital [the first time]?”

Mr Whybrow described her imprisonment as “totally unlawful” and police actions as an “unlawful home invasion”.

Earlier, the barrister told the court that records that should have been filled out to justify the use of the emergency mental health powers appeared not to exist.

He expressed concern that they may suddenly appear before the next hearing date.

Special Magistrate Ken Cush said there should be further discussions made between the parties about the continuance of the case.

Mr Cush said prosecutors had a duty to decide whether it was in the interests of justice to proceed with the charge.

He said even if evidence was not excluded, and the case against the woman proved, he would likely give her a non-conviction order for the minor charge of common assault, given her lack of criminal history.

The matter will return to the ACT Magistrates Court next month.

Credit: Christopher Knaus, Canberra Times

Canberra woman alleges she suffered spinal injury after a ‘rough ride’ in police custody

Kirsty Toomey recovering in hospital after her injury in police custody

A Canberra woman alleges she suffered a spinal injury after a “rough ride” while in police custody on the weekend.

Kirsty Toomey, 25, underwent surgery on Monday to fix damage to a section of her neck, which had previously been fused.

She will be forced to wear a neck brace for the next three months as part of her recovery.

Late last year, Ms Toomey had a 360-degree fusion, at the front and back, of the vertebrae in her neck.

Scans upon her admission to hospital on Sunday showed the back part of the fusion had separated.

Ms Toomey’s lawyers, from Ben Aulich & Associates, believe the injury may have been caused by a “rough ride” while in custody.

A rough ride is when a police wagon – which has no seatbelts or restraints in the back – is driven erratically so a detainee is thrown violently about.

Ms Toomey had a warrant out for her arrest for failing to appear in court on a driving-while-disqualified charge.

ACT Policing confirmed Ms Toomey had been arrested about 10.20am on Sunday and taken to the ACT watch-house.

“The female complained of a medical condition and as a result was transported, by ACT Ambulance Service, to the Canberra Hospital for treatment,” the police said.

“For privacy reasons we are unable to comment on the female’s medical condition or history.”

ACT Emergency Services received a call about 11.45am, and an ambulance arrived at 12.05pm.

Paramedics assessed a female patient then departed with her about 12.15pm and arrived at Canberra Hospital at 12.27pm.

Ms Toomey’s lawyer, Peter Woodhouse, said she had gone to the Alexander Maconochie Centre on Sunday morning to visit an inmate when police arrested her.

“She was co-operative and not handcuffed,” Mr Woodhouse said.

“When police went to put her in the back of the paddy-wagon, she told them about her neck problem and asked whether she could sit in the front.

“They commented on the scar on her neck from the previous operation, which was then discussed briefly.”

But Mr Woodhouse said officers refused her request and put her in the back of the vehicle.

He said she became concerned when police started to drive, so crouched down in an attempt to brace herself.

“The vehicle accelerated quickly, she thinks over a speed bump, and she bounced upwards, the back of her neck connecting with the top of the pod,” Mr Woodhouse said.

“She was in immediate pain. She asked the police to stop repeatedly, they didn’t.”

Ms Toomey alleges she could not lift her neck or head and could not get out of the vehicle upon arriving at the ACT watch-house about 11am.

She complained of severe pain and asked to see a doctor, but was told she would have to wait, Mr Woodhouse said.

Ms Toomey was then placed in a cell and given blankets when she asked for a pillow.

She alleges she complained on multiple occasions and asked to see a doctor.

“She believes she passed out from the pain [and] was woken by the doctor touching her face, ” Mr Woodhouse said.

“The doctor questioned and examined her briefly [before telling] police she needed an ambulance and had to be taken to hospital immediately.”

Mr Woodhouse said he had requested copies of CCTV footage and records from the ACT watch-house, but the AFP had not yet provided the material.

“I am very concerned somebody can suffer such a serious injury in police custody and despite repeated requests for medical assistance, has to wait many hours to be seen by a doctor.”

Ms Toomey was granted bail by Magistrate Robert Cook during an unopposed bedside application on Wednesday.

The 25-year-old expects to be released from hospital to begin her recovery this weekend.

Credit: Michael Inman, Canberra Times

Alleged indecent assaults by former priest were ‘furtive, clandestine acts’, court told

An 85-year-old former priest has gone on trial in Canberra charged with molesting a young girl in the 1990s.

Edward Evans is facing six charges of committing acts of indecency against the girl, who was aged between 10 and 13 at the time.

Most of the incidents are alleged to have happened in Evans’s house, where the girl’s family would sometimes go after church.

Evans is alleged to have touched the girl inappropriately several times, including when he was sitting beside her at the dining table.

In another incident he is alleged to have pulled the girl on to his lap in a car, and committed an act of indecency while the pair waited for the girl’s mother.

The alleged victim did not tell anyone at the time, only telling her husband in 2004, and then much later her family when she finally went to police.

Prosecutor Sara Gul told the jury Evans was a trusted priest to a devout family and said he had sexually abused the girl over three or four years.

Ms Gul said the girl felt she could not complain because she did not want to upset her family.

“These sexual assaults were very furtive, but also very public, around other people,” she said.

“These were clandestine acts. Real flash in the pan stuff.”

Defence lawyer urges jury to put aside any preconceptions

Ms Gul also told the court there would be evidence that Evans did not deny touching the girl, but said it had been in a different context and that the girl had pursued him.

She urged the jury to consider when the car incident allegedly happened the girl was 13 and Evans was 67.

Evans’ barrister Steve Whybrow, instructed by Ben Aulich & Associates, told the court it was a case with emotive issues, in the current context.

He urged the jury to put aside any preconceptions.

“The fact there is now a royal commission on child abuse … does not in any way impact on this case,” he said.

“Take everything with a grain of salt at this stage.”

Mr Wybrow questioned the girl’s evidence, saying incidental touching was inevitable at times.

He also rejected a key issue of the prosecution case, saying there was nothing furtive or clandestine about the acts, given the woman claimed many of the things were done in front of other people.

Mr Wybrow told the jury “these are allegations brought by her nearly 20 years later”.

He said nobody could corroborate the allegations, and that the jury could expect the woman’s parents to say she was an affectionate child and they never saw him touch her.

Credit: Elizabeth Byrne, ABC News

Adrian McKenna talks about technology used to stalk and harass domestic violence victims in the ACT

Women who have fled to the ACT to escape abusive relationships are increasingly being stalked and harassed by violent ex-partners who use online tracking devices and social media to hunt them down.

Domestic Violence Crisis Service ACT executive director Mirjana Wilson said in the past year staff had worked with many women whose abusive partners had tracked their movements using GPS apps or devices installed on the victim’s mobile phones or inside their cars – often without their knowledge.

They had also used Facebook posts, synced smartphone and social media accounts and computer spyware programs to secretly glean information of their partner’s whereabouts.

Some of them had also harnessed readily available computer programs and apps designed to nab cheating spouses, or those used by parents to monitor teenage children.

“This is a new and emerging method for people who use violence to in intimate relationships to track and intimidate but it’s an area I don’t think we’re as across as we need to be,” Ms Wilson said.

“It has such greater potential to allow people to monitor a person 24/7 and I think that’s really frightening.”

It was also common for perpetrators to install hidden cameras inside their partner’s houses, sometimes through devices such as smart televisions.

“Then when they ring it’s not to threaten, harass or intimidate, it’s to say ‘why did you cook that for dinner?’, or ‘the house is looking messy, why don’t you tidy it up?’,” Ms Wilson said.

“It’s just really insidious.”

“It’s that stuff which makes it so new and different to traditional power and control tactics.”

Beryl Women’s Refuge manager Robyn Martin said the organisation became “hyper-vigilant” and had to boost staff training and security after a male partner of one of their clients used technology to track her to one of their Canberra properties recently.

Fears of being located

“It raised many concerns because where our office is located, four families are located in the same space.”

Other clients from the ACT and interstate had been tracked to the organisation’s refuges via GPS devices or Facebook and Ms Martin said it caused already vulnerable women to feel “harassed, fearful, stalked”.

“They’re fearful of being located and having their lives interrupted again and fearful around their children’s safety and having their children taken from them.

“There’s an extra level of fear, and we don’t want to create fear in them, but it’s about making them aware of keeping safe because it affects everyone else.”

The concerning behaviour was identified as an escalating problem Australia-wide during last year’s Senate inquiry into domestic violence, and Canberra’s crisis workers said more needed to be done in the territory to address it.

Both the crisis service and women’s refuge had introduced questions and education around technology into their regular safety planning sessions with women escaping domestic violence.

But Ms Martin said there was a desperate need for extra awareness, resources and training for victims and frontline support workers.

“It’s an emerging trend and it’s an added pressure on top of what we’re already doing.”

Lawyer Adrian McKenna, of Ben Aulich and Associates, said harassment using smartphones and social media was “no doubt” happening more often and the evidence was increasingly being tendered in family violence cases.

“The bad part of it is, it can certainly prolong violence against a partner,” Mr McKenna said.

“The good thing about Facebook messages and text messaging is that it’s often very compelling evidence.”

Mr McKenna said threats or messages communicated via technology could be corroborative of a complaint or a defence and often had far more weight than “word on word” evidence in court.

They could also be used as evidence of stalking and threats if they were taken to police, or if the victim decided to seek a domestic violence or protection order from the court.

“The message that really needs to get out there for victims is not to delete messages when they arrive.

“And if you’re on the other side, it can easily end up before the courts and it’s virtually indisputable.”

Credit: Megan Gorey, Canberra Times

Lyons man who attacked possum with pole escapes conviction

A Lyons man left food out for a possum only to bludgeon it with a pole after it came too close to his home, a court has heard.

But a Canberra magistrate declined to convict Domaneco Zizi, 86, for animal cruelty, as she had seen no evidence of the harm suffered by the possum.

The ACT Magistrates Court heard on Wednesday that Mr Zizi had previously fed the possum in his backyard, but then attacked it with a pole when it attempted to enter the roof cavity of his Woden home by crawling along a power cable.

Neighbours filmed the violent incident about 3pm on October 25 and handed the footage to the RSPCA.

The disturbing footage – which was played in court on Wednesday – shows a two-to-three metre piece of PVC pipe striking the possum about 12 times as it clings to an electrical wire near a home.

The native animal – which is a protected species – then loses its grasp on the wire and hangs on by its tail, where it is then struck a further four times until it falls out of sight.

Mr Zizi’s lawyer, Jessica Vogel of Ben Aulich & Associates, said her client denied striking the animal once it fell to the ground.

Mr Zizi pleaded in the Magistrates Court to cruelty to animals.

A charge of aggravated cruelty was dropped by prosecutors on Wednesday.

The court heard the grandfather was a loving and dedicated family man who was “deeply ashamed” of his actions.

Ms Vogel said the attack on the helpless animal, while inexcusable, been a compulsive act to prevent it from entering the roof cavity of his home.

The lawyer said Mr Zizi’s family members had previously had damage caused to their property by the native species, and he feared a repeat in his own home.

The court heard he was the sole carer of his 90-year-old wife and struggled to manage both the housework and her needs as his own health deteriorated.

Character references, tendered on his behalf, described the attack as “out of character”.

Ms Vogel asked the court to grant the octogenarian a section 17 – which would allow him to avoid conviction on account of his good character.

But prosecutor Soraya Saikal argued the courts needed to send a strong message to the community that animal cruelty would not be tolerated.

Ms Saikal said the offence had been low-to-mid range, but had been a cruel attack on a “completely harmless” animal.

Magistrate Beth Campbell described the incident as “unpleasant conduct”, but said the court had seen no evidence of harm or injury caused to the possum.

The magistrate said the case was not an appropriate vehicle for general deterrence because of Mr Zizi’s subjective circumstances, including his age and crime-free life.

Ms Campbell declined to convict Mr Zizi, but ordered he sign a one-year good behaviour order.

Credit: Michael Inman, Canberra Times

Emergence of Canberra Comanchero chapter linked to southside shooting

Tensions between Rebels bikies and a newly established Canberra Comanchero chapter are reaching boiling point as police probe links between the feud and a southside shooting.

Police fear Rebels bikies peppered the home and car of a rival gang member with bullets as a spate of shootings gripped Canberra’s suburbs this month.

The capital’s status as a one-club town dramatically altered with the emergence of the Comanchero last year.

It is understood the fledgling chapter was established by former Rebels who left the club before patching over.

Patching over – or switching gangs – is seen as a treacherous act punishable by retribution by former associates seeking payback.

There have been members of other outlaw motorcycle gangs in Canberra for years, but never a blatant incursion by a rival group setting up a chapter in the traditional Rebels stronghold.

But ACT Policing said it had no concerns of tit-for-tat attacks escalating into a bikie war across Canberra’s suburbs.

At about five members, the sole Comanchero chapter is dwarfed by the long established Rebels with five chapters and an estimated 60 members.

The authorities said it had been aware of the newcomers and its intentions to recruit new members in the territory.

“Intelligence on OMCG activity in other jurisdictions shows there is a dynamic within these criminal organisations in which perceived weaknesses are exploited by rival gangs,” a police spokesman said.

But the police said it had no concerns other gangs would seek to establish footholds in the ACT as interstate anti-bikie laws continue to bite.

“Taskforce Nemesis will draw on … resources as necessary to ensure that there is not a shift of OMCG activities to the ACT from other states and territories.”

It is understood members of Canberra’s rival clubs have previously clashed, mostly in Civic, but no arrests have been made and no formal complaints received by police.

The recent shooting would represent an escalation of the violence between the gangs.

Police believe only one of the recent five southside shootings are bikie linked.

It is understood an alleged Comanchero member was the target.

“The other four [shootings] do not appear to be OMCG-related however we are open-minded to the possibility should evidence come to light,” a police spokesman said.

If the link is established it would be the second time tensions between outlaw gangs has publicly erupted in Canberra in recent months.

Three Rebels bikies are currently before the courts accused bashing of two Finks members outside Belconnen mall in October.

Fakatounaulupe Ngata, 35, Dean Stephen Reid, 26, of Holt, and Kirk Jacques Newman, 27, have pleaded not guilty in the ACT Magistrates Court to charges of participating in criminal group and aggravated robbery.

It is alleged the trio stalked the shopping centre and confronted two men in motorcycle clothing at an entrance about 6pm on October 4.

The Rebels members are accused of assaulting the two men before stripping them of clothing emblazoned with the word FINKS.

Ngata – who police say is the Rebels ACT sergeant-at-arms – was on Friday locked up on remand for breaching bail conditions.

Ngata’s bail includes a condition that he not leave his Queanbeyan home unless in the company of his partner.

Court documents said Ngata was arrested about 4.40pm on Thursday after attending a meeting at the Rebels Mitchell clubhouse.

The court heard his partner had been at work when he received an urgent call to attend an emergency club meeting.

Ngata’s lawyer, Adrian McKenna, on Friday said his client had been “extremely naive” to think the call – which he said had not been an emergency – justified breaching his bail.

Mr McKenna asked the court to give Ngata one last chance.

But magistrate Robert Cook refused Ngata bail, saying he could not be satisfied the accused would abide by conditions if released.

Credit: Michael Inman, Canberra Times

No extra jail time for murder plot trio

Canberra prosecutors have lost a bid to increase the jail sentences of three young men who plotted to kill a Canberra teenager.

The ACT Court of Appeal on Friday dismissed the attempt, saying the Crown had not proven the trial judge had erred in sentencing.

And, even if there had been an error, the judges said they would still have thrown out the matter anyway.

An ACT Supreme Court jury found Alexander Raymond Iacuone, 23, Alexander Duffy, 24, and another man, who cannot be named as he was under 18 at the time, guilty of conspiracy to murder in 2013.

In 2008, the trio conspired to use a baseball bat to murder the victim.

They lured the 17-year-old victim from his Tuggeranong home, chased him into bushland, before choking and beating him with a baseball bat.

But the teen managed to escape and raise the alarm.

Iacuone and the juvenile were arrested in a car near the victim’s home.

Duffy had previously tried to help the victim and then left the area.

Iacuone was sentenced to five years’ jail, to be served in full-time custody for 18 months, followed by 12 months’ weekend detention, and then suspended for the remaining two years and six months upon entering a three-and-a-half-year good behaviour order.

The juvenile, who is now in his 20’s, was sentenced to four years’ jail, with one year in full time custody, nine months in periodic detention, and the rest suspended on condition of a three-year good behaviour order.

Duffy was sentenced to two years and nine months’ jail, to be served by way of 18 months periodic detention, with the rest of the sentence to be suspended.

At an appeal hearing in August, Director of Public Prosecutions Jon White, SC, argued that the sentence length did not reflect the seriousness of the crime.

But lawyers for two of the trio, Ben Aulich & Associates argued the punishment had been within range.

The three appeal judges – Chief Justice Helen Murrell, Justice Richard Refshauge, and Justice Iain Ross – reserved their decision and handed it down on Friday.

“The Crown has advanced nothing that would compel the conclusion that the sentencing judge erred in principle in the exercise of his sentencing discretion,” the judgment said.

“Had an error been disclosed, we would have exercised our residual discretion and declined to intervene on the basis that this matter is not a suitable vehicle to further the primary purpose of a Crown appeal, being to lay down principles for the governance and guidance of sentencing courts.”

The judges said the five year delay between arrest and trial and the subsequent delay caused by the appeal would have warranted the exercise of the court’s residual discretion.

“During that period, the offenders have demonstrated rehabilitation.

“Second, [the juvenile] has now served his period of full-time detention.

“Any decision to intervene in relation to only one or two of the sentences would have disturbed the parity between the sentences.”

Credit: Michael Inman, Canberra Times

Spurned man allegedly hid in former eHarmony lover’s home with gun

A Canberra man spurned by an eHarmony lover allegedly armed himself with a gun, hid in her apartment and trapped her inside for three hours.

Drew Francis Thompson, 28, is on trial in the ACT Supreme Court for alleged offences against the young woman, whom he said had treated him like a “doormat” following five weeks of intimacy. Thompson pleaded not guilty.

The pair met in early 2013 on dating site eHarmony, but the woman began distancing herself from him.

She told the court on Wednesday he annoyed her, dressed poorly, and was not as intelligent as she. She also said she was disappointed he still lived with his parents.

But Thompson, the court heard, couldn’t take the hint.

His persistence culminated in a very public argument at Dickson shops, where the woman used “harsh words” to Thompson.

Prosecutor Sara Gul said the humiliation was the backdrop for Thompson’s alleged actions.

“The Crown says, against this background, he wanted to show her

how damaging breaching someone’s trust can be.”

It is alleged that Thompson went to her apartment in Lyneham in November last year, taking a gun, and hiding inside with latex gloves on.

He is accused of waiting for her to come home, before springing out, and putting his hand around her mouth as she screamed.

She said he kept her inside for three hours, before she convinced him to leave.

“I thought about running but I didn’t think I could get out before he got the gun,” she told the court.

Thompson allegedly ran when police turned up at his home. A search warrant revealed a firearm in his father’s gun safe and latex gloves in the garage.

Police also found two notes, one of which the Crown says read: “Mum, Dad, and Chris, if you’ve read this then I must have really f—ed up.”

The note allegedly referred to the woman’s personal attack on him in Dickson, and said she “destroyed what little happiness I had left in my life”.

Thompson is fighting the charges of aggravated burglary and unlawful confinement.

Barrister Jack Pappas, instructed by Ben Aulich & Associates, used his opening address to tell the jury the woman had simply lied about the incident.

“There are no shades of grey in this case … this young lady lied,” he said.

Mr Pappas said his client would tell them he turned up at the house, upset about the breakup, but that she invited him in, and they talked for three hours before he left.

He said it was not for the defence to explain why the woman had lied.

But Mr Pappas said she had encouraged Thompson to believe they had a future together, but later realised she couldn’t break “the nexus” between them.

Mr Pappas said it was clear to the woman that Thompson simply wasn’t getting her hints, and questioned whether it became so overbearing for her that she decided to make up the allegations.

“Did she finally decide that there was only one way to get rid of this guy?” he asked the jury.

The court heard there will be no DNA evidence from the latex gloves or the gun police found at Thompson’s Watson home.

Mr Pappas said there would also be no evidence of forced entry into the woman’s apartment, or that Thompson had a duplicate key.

There was also nothing to suggest Thompson had a way of accessing his father’s gun safe, he said.

Mr Pappas said the case was simply based on the “say-so” of the complainant.

He suggested the note found by police was misinterpreted.

“Words, ladies and gentleman, can mean all sorts of things depending on how you read them, the emphasis, the punctuation even, and the circumstances in which they were written,” he said.

The trial continues on Thursday before Acting Justice David Robinson in the ACT Supreme Court, when Mr Pappas is expected to continue his cross-examination of the complainant.

Credit: Christopher Knaus, Canberra Times