Letiticia Fortune granted release on home detention bail as new details of alleged kill attempt emerge

A woman accused of attempting to smother a man who became a tetraplegic after an earlier attempt on his life allegedly confessed her plan in text messages, a court has heard.

A woman accused of planning to smother a man who lay paralysed after an earlier alleged attempt on his life was allegedly told to go off her medication so she could “plead insanity”, a court has heard.

Letiticia Fortune, 34, of Everard Park, is charged with the attempted murder of Jonathon Hawtin, who was the ex-partner of her then lover, Lisa Lines, 43.

The court has previously heard Mr Hawtin had been rendered a tetraplegic in an earlier attempt on his life, which police allege was orchestrated by Ms Lines and another of her lovers, Zacharia Bruckner, 36.

Ms Fortune appeared in the Adelaide Magistrates Court seeking release on bail after her arrest last month.

Leticia Fortune is escorted to a court apperance ... she was granted home detention bail on Monday. Picture: 7NEWS

Letiticia Fortune in an earlier image. Picture: Supplied

Prosecutor Timisha Ward told the court Ms Fortune had allegedly confessed the plan in text messages to another person, who was neither Ms Lines, nor Mr Bruckner.

“(They are) messages in which Ms Fortune made admissions that had planned to smother Mr Hawtin with a pillow and that her and the co-accused Ms Lines had planned for Ms Fortune to attend on the New Year’s Day (2018) in the early hours of the morning because there would be less security working,” Ms Ward said.

“Ms Fortune had also made admissions that Ms Lines had suggested that she come off her medication in case she got caught and that way she could plead insanity.”

Lisa Lines was extradited to Adelaide on November 24 on charges of attempted murder. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Kelly Barnes

Ms Ward said home detention bail was not opposed, but sought a condition that Ms Fortune be banned from contacting five people, including the person she messaged about the plot and Ms Lines’ brother.

Ms Fortune is yet to enter a plea to the charge of attempted murder.

Andrew Williams, for Ms Fortune, told the court his client had no criminal history, a stable job and planned to live at the share house she had been residing in for three years.

He repeated his submissions from last week, that Ms Fortune had been interviewed by police at the time of the alleged incident, but had heard nothing since.

“There’s nothing new since that time, as I understand it, and no action was taken then,” he said.

SA Police allege Ms Lines attempted to murder Mr Hawtin in the Adelaide Hills in October 2017 and then continued to plot to kill him and his mother Rohnda Hawtin using a hit man. She is yet to enter pleas to two counts of attempted murder and two counts of conspiracy to murder.

Some of the charges relate to an incident at Littlehampton in October 2017, during which police allege Ms Lines, and Mr Bruckner, 36, attempted to murder Mr Hawtin, 36, in a brutal axe attack. Mr Bruckner is yet to enter pleas to a charge of attempted murder and two counts of conspiracy to murder.

Mr Bruckner was shot and Mr Hawtin, who was left a tetraplegic as a result of his injuries, was charged with attempted murder before being acquitted at trial in 2019.

The case was reopened after crime scene evidence was re-examined and police came to believe Mr Hawtin was the victim.

Magistrate John Wells granted Ms Fortune home detention bail on strict conditions, including electronic monitoring and the non-contact clauses sought. She is also banned from communicating with Ms Lines and Mr Bruckner.

All three accused are next scheduled to appear in court in May.