A MAN dying of serious burns told a police officer three men had attacked him, but the Crown asserts it was his partner who was responsible for his fatal injuries, a Supreme Court jury has heard.
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Kate Stone, 41, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of her 45-year-old partner, Darren Reid.
On Tuesday, the court heard Mr Reid died in December 2016 after he sustained burns to 95 per cent of his body, including his airways.
Crown prosecutor Melissa Mahady told the court in her opening address that Ms Stone doused Mr Reid with enamel thinner and set him alight at their Long Gully home on December 18, 2016.
In response, Ms Stone’s defence barrister Peter Kilduff told the jury his client denied any involvement in her partner’s death.
“In this trial, there is no issue that Darren Reid was murdered… The only issue is whether Ms Stone, his partner, was the murderer,” Mr Kilduff said.
Ms Mahady told the court emergency services were called to reports of a fire at a Derwent Drive home at 11.39pm on December 18, 2016.
Firefighters arrived about 11.49pm and found a small fire at the rear of the property’s porch, with a single bed base fully engulfed by flames.
Mr Reid was found, severely burnt, in the bath.
He was taken to Bendigo hospital then airlifted to The Alfred in Melbourne, but his injuries were deemed 'not survivable'.
He died on the afternoon of December 19.
Ms Mahady said Mr Reid and Ms Stone moved to the Derwent Drive address where the incident occurred in September, 2016.
She told the jury they would hear evidence from neighbours who reported hearing fighting between Ms Stone and Mr Reid during the months they lived in Derwent Drive.
Ms Mahady also said the jury would hear from Mr Reid’s mother that in November, 2016, she received a phone call from her son, during which he said he had been locked out of the house by Ms Stone after she chased him down the road with a kitchen knife and threatened to kill him.
The prosecutor told the jury they would hear evidence from witnesses that they heard arguing between the accused and the victim through the afternoon, evening and into the night of the fire.
The court heard Mr Reid was still conscious and talking while travelling in the ambulance to Bendigo hospital, and told the accompanying police officer that a male, who he did not know, was responsible for setting him alight.
He then reportedly told her it was three males, who had attacked him and his “other half” about three weeks prior.
But Ms Mahady said Mr Reid’s assertions were not consistent with the evidence.
In the hours following the fire, Ms Mahady said, Ms Stone visited Mr Reid’s stepmother’s home and told her he had been bashed, then visited his sister and told her he was burnt by a man who had recently gotten out of prison and had two others with him.
Ms Mahady said Ms Stone was initially treated by police as a witness.
She said Ms Stone told police a Jason Baxter, accompanied by a man called Gibbo and a third man she could not name, were responsible for the attack. She reportedly said it was a continuation of an earlier dispute that arose at a splash park.
The court heard Ms Stone made a sworn statement to police on December 20, and told them she and Mr Reid heard people in their garden on the night of December 18 and went to confront them.
In the statement, Ms Stone said it was well-lit and she identified Mr Baxter and Gibbo, with a third man. Mr Baxter was holding a fuel can from their shed and after a short argument, Ms Stone said, he doused both her and Mr Reid with fuel, then set her partner alight.
The court heard police arrested Mr Baxter and two men named Paul Gibson and Glenn Anderson, but all denied involvement.
Ms Mahady said Ms Stone failed to identify Mr Baxter and Mr Gibson from photo boards, but incorrectly identified another man involved in the splash park incident as Mr Baxter.
The court heard investigators established the ignition point of the fire was at the rear of the home’s porch and found an enamel thinner tin discarded over a neighbour’s fence, with its cap found inside the accused’s home.
Residue found on the porch and clothing taken from the bathtub, Ms Mahady said, matched the enamel thinner.
Ms Mahady said tests of Mr Baxter and Mr Gibson’s clothing revealed no trace of flammable liquid, and nor was their DNA found on the fuel tin.
Both men, along with the man Ms Stone incorrectly identified as Mr Baxter, were excluded from involvement by police due to their alibis on the night, she said.
Ms Mahady said Ms Stone sustained minor burns to her forearm and thigh, which were inconsistent with her reports she had embraced Mr Reid when he was set alight.
She said Ms Stone’s clothing contained no traces of the enamel thinner, and investigators found no trace of a fire near the shed.
CCTV footage from a neighbour’s property also showed the backyard was in total darkness, Ms Mahady said, in contrast to Ms Stone’s claim it was well-lit.
Ms Mahady said the jury would also hear evidence from neighbours that Ms Stone had admitted to setting Mr Reid alight.
In his response, defence lawyer Mr Kilduff reinforced the point that it was on the prosecution to prove Ms Stone’s guilt beyond reasonable doubt, and not hers to prove she was innocent.
Mr Kilduff asked the jury to concentrate on a number of things throughout the trial, including the question of motive, what Mr Reid said in the ambulance, and what neighbours said they saw and heard.
He asked the jury to consider his client’s version of events, telling them Ms Stone denied making any confessions to her neighbours.
Mr Kilduff said he would suggest the Crown had not proven Ms Stone was guilty.
The trial continues before Justice Lesley Taylor.
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