Police allege Anastasia Marshall colluded with co-accused to avoid the blame, court hears
New claims in the alleged murder of an Adelaide mother can now be revealed after a court-imposed secrecy order on the allegations was lifted.
Police & Courts
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A woman accused of “colluding” with a man to murder her ex-wife was recorded by police calling her co-accused in prison and planning to “pin it all on him,” a court has heard.
Shocking new allegations about the duo accused of murdering mother-of-two Krystal Marshall can now be revealed after the court lifted a suppression order prohibiting the publication of the details.
On Monday, the ex-partner of alleged murder victim Krystal Marshall, who was found dead in a house fire at her Aldinga Beach home in October last year, returned to the Adelaide Magistrates Court continuing her application for bail.
Magistrate Kate White ordered further home detention compliance reports and was unable to reach a conclusion on bail for Krystal’s accused murderer Anastasia Marshall, however lifted an interim suppression order on allegations Ms Marshall had been plotting with her co-accused to interfere with the investigation.
Police allege Ms Marshall, 29, was conspiring with her co-accused, a 48-year-old man who cannot yet be identified, to avoid any blame for her former partner’s death.
At her first bail hearing on Friday, October 23, prosecutor Matt Dunn told the court he was opposed to any form of bail given the content of Ms Marshall’s conversations with her co-accused while he was in custody.
“There’s been some quite extreme concerns regarding interference with the investigation,” Mr Dunn said.
“I understand from the investigating officer that there have been numerous occasions where the defendant has been in contact with the co-accused through the prison system. There are, from my understanding, recordings of the defendant and co-accused speaking where they discuss ‘sticking to the plan’, discuss ‘pinning it on’ the co-accused and the co-accused telling the defendant to say she’s scared of him in order for him to take the wrap.
“There have been other occasions where the defendant has been communicating using other peoples phones with the co-accused from prison discussing details regarding witnesses. There have been conversations where it’s been discussed tracking down where certain witnesses live, which obviously gives rise to that concern from prosecution.
“She’s given three conflicting versions of events to police, and we say she’s just not a suitable candidate for bail.”
Nick Vadasz, for Ms Marshall, on Friday asked the court for a suppression order on that alleged conversation, however Ms White on Monday lifted the order, allowing media to finally report the allegations.
A police prosecutor told the court a copy of the transcribed phone calls between Ms Marshall and her co-accused had been provided to Mr Vadasz, who strongly contested his client’s involvement in the “collusion”.
“I have been through the prison calls, I note they’re all calls by the co-accused to Ms Marshall and not the other way around,” Mr Vadasz said.
“She didn’t solicit those calls, and with respect to the allegation there were conversations regarding her interference with witnesses, that was not contained in those conversations.
“The submission made by prosecution about the telephone calls, at least from Ms Marshall’s point of view, is a false allegation.”
A police prosecutor replied, saying the interferences made between Ms Marshall and her co-accused were not direct, but the pair had been colluding.
“Prosecutions position on the interference remains within the transcripts there are oblique not direct references to third parties who may have knowledge, but also collusion between the accused,” he said.
Ms Marshall will return to court next week for her continuing bail application.
Outside court, Mr Vadasz said his client was “very distressed”.
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