Aaron Bunt and William Currey indicate manslaughter plea after murder trial derails
A murder trial has seemingly collapsed oveer questions about whether an allegedly beaten man would have survived if taken to hospital.
The trial of an alleged murder in a Toowoomba sharehouse appears to have been abandoned following legal discussions around whether the alleged victim would have survived with medical intervention.
Legal representatives for Aaron John Leslie Bunt, William John Currey and Debbie Jane Richards indicated to the Toowoomba Supreme Court on November 26 all three would plead guilty to manslaughter in relation to the 2021 death of 53-year-old Len Andrew Hegarty.
Police previously alleged Mr Hegarty was badly beaten and left to die by Mr Bunt and Mr Currey in the house he shared with Mr Bunt and Ms Richards.
Witness statements made at Mr Bunt and Mr Currey’s committal hearing claimed Mr Bunt and Ms Richards carried Mr Hegarty back to his room after the alleged beating and left him, despite his injuries.
Following Mr Hegarty’s death, Mr Bunt and Mr Currey were charged murder while Ms Richards was charged with manslaughter and accessory after the fact to murder.
The trial was set down for September 29, 2025 but vacated on September 5 when prosecution advised they were not ready to proceed.
On that day, Crown prosecutor Andrew Walklate said a crucial neurologist’s report was still being sought by the Crown, delaying proceedings.
Mr Walklate advised the report would provide insight into whether or not Mr Hegarty would have survived the alleged beating if taken to hospital in the aftermath.
“It is my view, regardless of anyone else’s, that the report the Crown is seeking is critical to all three submissions (from the defendants) that the prosecution has received,” Mr Walklate said.
“In each case, if the report does not establish that the injuries were survivable then the prosecution will have difficulty in establishing a reckless indifference murder against Bunt or Currey and establishing a negligence manslaughter against Richards.
“The report is also essential to the trial, for different but largely the same reasons.”
By November, it appeared a trial date would not be reset and the allegations of murder would be dropped.
“We’re seeking a date for sentence, Mr David Jones KC of counsel is briefed,” Ms Richards’ solicitor Alysha Jacobsen told the court on November 26, indicating the other defendants would also be seeking a sentence date.
Justice Martin Burns asked the solicitors if all three were indicating a plea of guilty on a charge of manslaughter; to which the solicitors agreed.
Despite this, court records show Mr Bunt and Mr Currey remain charged with murder and Ms Richard remains charged with accessory after the fact to murder.
None of the three defendants have entered pleas.
Courthouse officials advised any changes indicated at the November 26 Supreme Court sittings were yet to be formalised.
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions declined to comment on the apparent changes to the case.
“As this matter remains before the court, the Office will not be providing any comment,” a spokesperson for the ODPP said.
Justice Burns adjourned the case to February 4, 2026 before the Toowoomba Supreme Court where a date for all three sentences is likely to be established.
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Originally published as Aaron Bunt and William Currey indicate manslaughter plea after murder trial derails
