Everything we know about the police case against Lisa Lines and her alleged attempts to murder ex-partner Jonathon Hawtin
Three people have appeared in court charged over a bizarre series of alleged plots to kill Jonathon Hawtin, who was left a tetraplegic after an axe attack in the Adelaide Hills.
Police & Courts
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Two weeks after she was arrested on a tiny Pacific island, Lisa Lines has appeared in court charged with attempting to murder and then plotting to kill her former partner – who is now a tetraplegic – Jonathon Hawtin.
The case has made headlines around the world given the bizarre allegations of a surprise axe attack, multiple murder plots, the alleged victim initially being put on trial for attempted murder, and an international police operation to bring the alleged perpetrator back to Australia to face justice.
Here is what we know so far about the alleged crimes and those accused of committing them.
The allegations
Ms Lines, 43, is charged with two counts of attempting to murder Mr Hawtin, as well as plotting to kill him and his mother, Rohnda Hawtin.
In the first alleged incident, Mr Hawtin was allegedly attacked with an axe to the back of the head in the garage of the home he previously shared with Ms Lines at Littlehampton on October 29, 2017.
In a bail application in the Adelaide Magistrates Court, Director of Public Prosecutions Martin Hinton KC said the allegations against Ms Lines, her then-lover Zacharia Bruckner and another alleged lover, Letiticia Fortune, were “quite involved”.
He told the court that during the initial incident, Mr Bruckner invited Mr Hawtin into the garage.
“There took place an altercation which resulted in Mr Bruckner being shot and Mr Hawtin being rendered a tetraplegic because of a number of axe wounds to the back of his neck,” he said.
Mr Hawtin was initially charged with the attempted murder of Mr Bruckner but was acquitted after a month-long trial in the Supreme Court in 2019.
Mr Hinton told the court the investigation was then reopened and “it was discovered the crime scene evidence didn’t quite add up”.
“In actual fact, it pointed to Mr Hawtin being the victim and not the accused.”
The court heard a subsequent alleged attempt on Mr Hawtin’s life occurred while he lay paralysed at the Hampstead Rehabilitation Centre.
Mr Hinton said Ms Fortune allegedly attempted to smother Mr Hawtin at the facility on New Year’s Day, 2018.
He said she was allegedly spotted inside the corridor of the facility with a bag and pillow.
Mr Hinton said the prosecution will also allege that Ms Lines left Australia in early 2020 and that while she was overseas she had conspired with Mr Bruckner to secure the services of a hitman to “finish the job” – allegedly a plot to kill Mr Hawtin and his mother.
“Little did they know that the person with whom they were speaking, whose services they were attempting to enlist, was an undercover police officer,” he said.
Craig Caldicott, for Ms Lines, has told the court his client denied the allegations and would be pleading not guilty.
The arrests
Ms Lines was arrested on the tiny island of Palau, southeast of the Philippines, on November 15. Mr Hinton told the court she had been living in Taiwan after first leaving Australia and travelling to Thailand.
While overseas, he said she had also managed – “by virtue of financial payment” – to gain citizenship to Vanuatu, and a passport.
The court heard none of those countries shared extradition treaties with Australia, allowing Ms Lines to remain “beyond the reaches” of Australian authorities.
Mr Hinton said her arrest came after police learned she was travelling to Palau, where they were able to arrange for her arrest.
At the same time, police arrested Mr Bruckner in Brisbane, while Ms Fortune was arrested about a week later on November 24.
After her arrest, Ms Lines was held in isolation under 24/7 guard at Koror Jail in Palau amid concerns she posed a safety threat to herself and other inmates.
Police say Ms Lines, who had been travelling under several aliases, was arrested using the name Scarlett Ellis Lee.
Palau prison bosses told The Advertiser she was “crying a lot” in the days after her arrest and had been giving guards cash to buy her food because she didn’t like the jailhouse meals.
Palau Bureau of Public Safety acting director Rickley Antonio said Ms Lines was kept under constant guard in the juvenile ward of Koror Jail at the request of Australian authorities.
“It’s a priority so we can keep a watch on her,” Mr Antonio said.
Who are the accused?
LISA LINES: Ms Lines is the former partner of Mr Hawtin. The couple met in Adelaide in about 2012 before moving interstate. According to Ms Lines’ LinkedIn page, she is a historian, author and academic editor. She studied in Adelaide, gaining PhDs in history and creative writing from Adelaide and Flinders University.
The profile also indicates Ms Lines has worked as a lecturer at all three SA universities and started her own specialised academic editing business, Capstone Editing, in April 2017.
She has also written a book about female participants in the Spanish Civil War.
ZACHARIA BRUCKNER: Mr Bruckner met Ms Lines while he was studying and she was working as a lecturer at the Australian Defence Force Academy in 2014. He later began working for Ms Lines at Capstone Editing in 2016 and moved into the family home.
He moved to Littlehampton with Ms Lines and Mr Hawtin in 2017. He later began a relationship with Ms Lines after her relationship with Mr Hawtin ended and he moved out.
LETITICIA FORTUNE: Ms Fortune, 34, of Everard Park, is understood to be an ex-lover of Ms Lines. They are understood to have met via an online dating app. According to her LinkedIn page, Ms Fortune has worked as an Aboriginal youth worker.
She is yet to enter a plea to a charge of attempting to murder Mr Hawtin while he was in rehabilitation.
During her bail application, Mr Hinton suggested she was easily manipulated. “When someone is manipulable to that extent, it is of great concern to the protection of the community,” he said.
Andrew Williams, for Ms Fortune, told the court his client was interviewed by police in 2018 but had not heard anything further until the charge was laid.
Who is Jonathon Hawtin?
Mr Hawtin worked as a plumber and had also been the primary carer of the children he shared with Ms Lines.
He suffered irreparable damage to his spine in the alleged axe attack and became a tetraplegic, paralysed from the neck down. He requires the use of a wheelchair to move around.
In a statement released after Ms Lines and Ms Fortune appeared in court on Monday, Mr Hawtin said he was “profoundly relieved” his children were safe “after six long years”.
“This has been a cruel and exhausting struggle, my mother and I have been through hell, but we never gave up and we never would have,” he said.
He thanked police for their “determined efforts”.
“The complexity of this operation is hard to overstate, and what they have achieved – working across international jurisdictions and co-ordinating with numerous other agencies — deserves special recognition,” he said.
He said his family would continue to face a lot of challenges as they “pick up the pieces” and rebuild.
What happens next?
Ms Fortune will return to court next week for a continuing bail application, while Ms Lines and Mr Bruckner are set to reappear in court next May for a charge determination hearing.
SA Police are also continuing their investigation and have requested anyone who has been in contact with Ms Lines either before she left Australia, or while she was overseas, to get in touch.
“Anyone that has information in relation to the three arrested people, or any other information that may assist the investigation and has not yet spoken to police, is asked to contact Crime Stoppers,” a spokesman said.
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