Dates locked in for court hearing into Hillcrest tragedy

Dates have been confirmed for when the jumping castle operator at the centre of the Hillcrest tragedy will fight charges against her.

Hillcrest court thumbnail

Almost three years after the Hillcrest tragedy, the court dates to determine whether the jumping castle operator at the centre of the incident failed in her duty to comply with health and safety requirements have been confirmed.

The hearing will occur between November 5 and 15 at the Devonport Magistrates Court.

The dates were finalised during a directions hearing at the same court on Monday afternoon.

Rosemary Gamble, owner of jumping castle company Taz-Zorb, has pleaded not guilty to one count of failing to comply with health and safety duty category 2.

A category two offence is when a person is exposed to a risk of death or serious injury or illness.

Tributes at Hillcrest Primary School.

Students Zane Mellor, Peter Dodt, Jalailah Jayne-Marie Jones, Addison Stewart, Jye Sheehan, and Chace Harrison were killed at Hillcrest Primary School on December 16, 2021, after being flung about 10m into the air while inside an inflatable jumping castle, with three other children also injured in the incident.

During the directions hearing, Crown prosecutor Madeleine Wilson said she and Defence Lawyer Chris Dockray were working on a “factual matrix” containing agreed facts in the lead-up to the jumping castle going airborne - which is anticipated to be around 700 pages long.

“There have been several iterations of the document back and forth between the parties to date, but I understand that both parties are still committed to the idea of having a document that sets out some of the factual background and will relieve the need for each individual to give evidence,” Ms Wilson said.

“What is anticipated - and I believe that both parties are committed to this idea - is annexed to the agreed fact will be a number of transcripts and statements from witnesses, including children.”

Hillcrest primary school memorial.

Ms Wilson also said two of the prosecution witnesses would be employees from East Inflatables, the Chinese company that made the jumping castle the children were in on the day of the Hillcrest tragedy.

Hobart-based Magistrate Robert Webster, who has also served as a coroner, will be the sitting judge during the hearing.

The magistrate is expected to visit Hillcrest Primary School and see the jumping castle the day before the hearing starts.

Given the public interest the hearing is expected to generate, Magistrate Webster said that a video feed would be sent to the Paranaple Centre less than 500 metres down the road so that the public could watch the court proceedings from there.

Originally published as Dates locked in for court hearing into Hillcrest tragedy