Wendie-Sue Dent found guilty of poisoning murder of David Lawrence
Wendie-Sue Dent murdered Morphett Vale man David Lawrence with her own medication to claim his $300,000 estate, a jury has found. Here’s what they weren’t told in court.
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Wendie-Sue Dent was forced to concede, in court, that she had lied about her lover’s murder – and told friends “whatever popped into my head” about his death – before her trial even began, it can be revealed.
The Advertiser can now report evidence that went unheard by Supreme Court jurors, following Dent’s conviction on Tuesday for poisoning David Lawrence.
During the seven-week trial, jurors were played phone recordings in which Dent told friends Mr Lawrence had died of asbestosis.
In those calls, Dent also claimed she was a registered nurse, had worked for and befriended State Coroner Mark Johns, and had performed autopsies.
Dent did not give evidence before the jury but did take the witness stand during pre-trial legal argument in a failed attempt to have key evidence thrown out.
Prosecutor Emily Telfer SC took that opportunity to cross-examine Dent about the phone calls, as well as her long criminal history.
“Have you ever done autopsies?” Ms Telfer asked.
“Never,” Dent replied, adding: “This is obviously me (in the recordings) but I don’t remember any of this.”
Dent conceded she had “never” so much as spoken with Mr Johns, and “didn’t know” why she claimed Mr Lawrence’s bowels had been “eaten away”.
Asked if she had “ever been a registered nurse”, Dent replied “no”.
“When you said Mr Lawrence’s bowel was ‘almost eaten away’, you don’t have any evidence of that, do you?” Ms Telfer asked.
“Was it just something that popped into your head?”
Dent replied: “Yeah … it’s all a mess when I read it (the evidence) … none of it makes any sense.
“I have no idea why I said this stuff … the only thing I can put it down to is my medication … I’ve no answer for it, I really don’t.
“You just run off at the mouth when you’ve got that much medication on board – you just run off at the mouth.”
On Tuesday, after six hours’ deliberation, the jury of six woman and six men found Dent guilty of murdering Mr Lawrence in December 2015.
The 61-year-old, of Dapto in NSW, had denied poisoning him with her medication – including 20, 100mg tablets of morphine – to claim his $300,000 estate.
She had also denied falsifying paperwork, including a will and handwritten notations on the back of his prized artwork, to be named his sole beneficiary.
Her counsel had urged jurors to reject key evidence – including that of Mr Lawrence’s siblings who had, they claimed, “not told the truth” – and acquit their client.
They branded the prosecution case “a snapshot, not the full picture” and claimed it took jurors “down a path” of “misrepresentation and confusion”.
By their verdict, jurors rejected those submissions.
Prior to the trial, Dent had sought to have her first interview with police – conducted at Dapto, in a motor home bought with Mr Lawrence’s money – excluded from jurors.
To back that bid, Dent gave evidence claiming she had felt “intimidated” by “hostile” detectives and so had gone along with their requests, against her legal right to silence.
She said she had little experience with police – a claim Ms Telfer submitted was false, pointing to Dent’s convictions:
IN 1995, 1997 and 1999 for forging prescriptions.
IN 1997, 1998 and 2003 for larceny, leading to suspended prison terms.
IN 2006 and 2007 for dishonestly taking property, also leading to suspended sentences.
Ms Telfer said Dent “looked sharp” in the police interview and more than capable of handling questions, which the killer rejected.
“Can I ask you something? You said to me I was sharp – do I look sharp there?” she asked.
“I’m not sharp.”
Dent was remanded in custody to face sentencing submissions in three weeks.
In a statement, Mr Lawrence’s family said the verdict brought to an end many “very difficult” years and expressed their gratitude toward police and prosecutors.
“This horrible episode would have been difficult to get through without the support of our close family and friends,” the statement says.
“Our past few years are something few families experience, our tight connections have been so important and we are so grateful for them.”