Defence cases begin for trio standing trial for murdering Morphett Vale man Steven Hinrichsen
A woman accused of scheming to murder her husband with two other men says she cannot have been guilty of the charges against her.
Police & Courts
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A woman charged with the murder of her husband cannot have been a party to any plan to kill him because she was asleep, a court has heard.
Tanya Hinrichsen, 43, is standing trial alongside her boyfriend Gavin Scott Skinner, 46, and his friend Robert John Thrupp, 47, for the murder of her husband Steven Hinrichsen.
Mr Hinrichsen, 63, stabbed to death at his Morphett Vale home on the morning of December 15, 2018.
On Thursday, counsel for Mrs Hinrichsen and Mr Skinner each told the jury they could not be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that their clients were responsible for the murder of Mr Hinrichsen.
Opening the trial last month, prosecutor Carmen Matteo had told the jury the two men violently killed Hinrichsen, and alleged Mrs Hinrichsen was involved in the plan.
They said she took just 36 seconds to grant “permission” in response to a text from Mr Skinner saying he was “ready to go on a hunting spree”.
But Grant Algie QC, for Mrs Hinrichsen, suggested those and other texts between the couple indicated Mrs Hinrichsen used a “subtle process of acquiescence or agreement coupled with the mechanism of talking him down” when dealing with Mr Skinner.
He told the jury several witnesses saw Mrs Hinrichsen asleep on a couch at the time her husband was killed and she “could not have been a party to any plan formed by the men” to kill Mr Hinrichsen.
Instead, he said “her day was complete” because she had found somewhere else to live and had gathered some belongings from the marital home.
Ms Matteo had told the jury Mr Hinrichsen was stabbed multiple times because he was an “inconvenience and an impediment” to his wife’s new relationship with Mr Skinner.
“Steven Hinrichsen was killed for the simple and painfully obvious reason that he was in the way of Tanya Hinrichsen and Gavin Skinner’s wish to be together,” she said.
Bill Boucaut QC, for Mr Skinner, told the jury there was “a lot not to like about Mr Skinner” but that “does not mean he is necessarily guilty of murder”.
Instead, he said it would be “bizarre” if Mr Skinner “would take the extreme step of killing Mr Hinrichsen” because he said “everybody, including the police” knew he had previously twice assaulted Mr Hinrichsen in the weeks before he died.
“That just doesn’t make any sense at all,” Mr Boucaut told the jury.
He said the prosecution case was “fraught with problems” and that crime scene evidence indicated there could have been two separate attacks on Mr Hinrichsen.
Chris Weir, for Mr Thrupp, is expected to deliver closing submissions for his client on Friday.
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