Rohen Hanson found guilty of the murder of Dee Annear in bush hut near Taree

A Supreme Court jury has found a man guilty of murdering his partner while on a camping trip at Bulga Forest on the Mid North Coast of NSW in 2021.

The cabin on Pole Dump Forest Rd, Bulga Forest, where 34-year-old Dee Annear was found dead. Credit: NBN News

A Supreme Court jury has found Rohen James Hanson guilty of murdering his partner Dee Annear while on a camping trip at Bulga Forest on the Mid North Coast of NSW.

The jury took just 24 hours to return a guilty verdict against Hanson, four years on from Ms Annear’s death.

The 34-year-old was found dead near a remote bush hut she and Hanson had spent the night in on Pole Dump Forest Rd at Bulga Forest, west of Taree, on September 18, 2021 following a violent argument

An autopsy found she had died from blunt force trauma.

An RFS crew who made the gruesome find were told by Hanson that Ms Annear had succumbed to injuries following a car crash kilometres away from the cabin.

Dee Annear who was killed by her boyfriend Rohen Hanson on a camping trip at Bulga in 2021.

Police gathering evidence at the crime scene. Credit: NBN News

They were told the pair had a fight and she had left to light at fire, but when he returned to the site he found her unresponsive and despite best efforts, couldn’t revive her.

During the trial Hanson was painted as a liar as it was heard there were many inconsistencies in his story to police.

The jury also heard the young woman had endured an abusive and “volatile” relationship at the hands of her killer boyfriend.

Ms Annear’s mother Carolyn Butt told the jury the pair were always “fighting a lot” and on one occasion while at their Wingham home she found him on top of her daughter punching her in the head.

It was also heard on another occasion when her mother and partner went camping with the couple in Tuncurry, Hanson walked up and headbutted the 34-year-old directly in the face causing her to fall off her chair.

A neighbour also recounted to the jury that when Ms Annear and Hanson were drunk during a celebration at the house, they started bickering before he pushed her into a coffee table.

Later that evening, the court heard he stomped on her head and punched her in the face. 

Hanson will prepare to be sentenced, with submissions to be made on September 5.

Originally published as Rohen Hanson found guilty of the murder of Dee Annear in bush hut near Taree