Inside trial of Brett Gordon Williams charged with murder of Craig Dunn
A landlord on trial for allegedly killing his tenant has given a jury his version of what happened to the “catnapping” gasfitter the day of his death. LATEST.
Police & Courts
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A landlord on trial for murder has told the jury that while he assaulted his tenant the morning of his death, he did not cause the injuries that killed him.
Brett Gordon Williams, 60, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of gasfitter and tenant Craig Dunn, 62, who was found dead at the industrial complex in Urangan where he rented a space from Mr Williams on April 4, 2022.
Mr Williams told the Maryborough Supreme Court an inspection was to be carried out at the complex on the morning of the alleged murder as the property, where Mr Dunn had lived for about a year, had been sold.
He claimed he had received complaints about Mr Dunn during his time as a tenant and suspected he had broken a window at the complex, the court heard.
He also told the jury he had come to suspect someone had been “catnapping” strays which Mr Williams had taken in but while he had spoken to trial witness Paul Donohue (who previously testified that he’d cared for a cat briefly after Mr Dunn stole it) about these suspicions, he had never confronted Mr Dunn about taking the cat.
Mr Williams said on the morning of April 4, 2022, he and Mr Dunn had a confrontation over a gantry that was on its side.
He said the discussion had “started friendly, but he (Mr Dunn) wasn’t very friendly” and when he asked what Mr Dunn was doing with the gantry on its side, he allegedly replied that he was cutting it up and that he would “get the boys around here now”.
Mr Williams claimed he had told Mr Dunn “no” and reminded him he had been notified of the upcoming inspection but told the jury Mr Dunn said he would get the boys around and “there was nothing you could f**king do about it”.
The landlord said Mr Dunn had been aggressive and had clenched his fists, so he then hit Mr Dunn in the face twice, first with his left hand and then right hand.
After he hit him, Mr Dunn fell over and he had been bleeding from the nose, Mr Williams said, telling the jury he then said to Mr Dunn: “now we will address the camera issue”.
The court heard that referred to CCTV cameras that had been installed at the unit at the complex where Mr Dunn lived, which pointed towards Mr Williams’ unit.
When they went into Mr Dunn’s unit, Mr Williams said Mr Dunn had stomped on his foot, at which point he had shoved him.
Mr Williams then went upstairs to take the CCTV camera because “I was sick of him filming me”, he told the court, while explaining he had no recollection of taking the second camera.
He told the court he intended to throw the cameras “in the bin somewhere” and before leaving, also took Mr Dunn’s phone.
He said this was because he didn’t want Mr Dunn to ring his friends and cause him more problems, but he had intended to return it to him later.
He also claimed there was no further altercation between him and Mr Dunn that morning and that he had hidden Mr Dunn’s phone on Elizabeth St near Hervey Bay’s botanical gardens before putting the cameras in a bin on the Esplanade.
Upon arriving back at the complex, Mr Williams said that he had seen his cat in the driveway near one of the units.
He said he had gone over to get a key and had walked to unit 7 to lock it up.
It was then, Mr Williams said, that he first saw Mr Dunn lying on the floor in the pool shed.
He said he had gone to Mr Dunn and said “Craig” and could see blood coming from his mouth, but that he was still alive.
He had returned to his unit and called triple-0 and asked for an ambulance and the police before returning to Mr Dunn.
Mr Williams said he had been in shock in the wake of finding Mr Dunn seriously injured.
He had later changed for the meeting regarding the sale of property, the court heard, putting his clothes into the washing machine.
Mr Williams said he was not aware his clothing was marked with blood, and he had not started the washing machine.
Crown prosecutor Stephen Muir cross examined Mr Williams, putting it to him that police would not have known what they were “walking into”.
“I didn’t know what I was walking into,” he responded.
Mr Muir said Mr Williams accepted that he had assaulted Mr Dunn in the carpark.
“I hit him twice in the carpark,” he replied.
He said after Mr Dunn stomped on his foot, he had also pushed him.
“What I’m suggesting to you sir is that there was a significant assault that you did to Mr Dunn in the pool shed after those first two incidents,” Mr Muir said.
“No,” Mr Williams said.
“No, definitely not.”
The trial, being heard before Justice Peter Davis, is expected to finish on Wednesday before the jury begins its deliberations.
NEW FOOTAGE, TRIPLE-O CALL PLAYED
The trial of a landlord accused of killing his tenant will continue this week after fresh footage in the crown’s case was tendered to the court.
The footage shown to the jury depicts Mr Williams pulling up to the fenceline of the botanical gardens on Elizabeth St, Urangan in a white Toyota Prado, hopping out and heading to the bushes.
He lingers in these bushes for several seconds, before getting back in the driver’s side door and driving towards the Charlton Esplanade.
The botanical gardens are where Mr Dunn’s phone was located hours after the alleged murder.
The recording of a phone call made by Mr Williams at 7.49am of the morning of the incident was also played to the jury, with the accused being heard to say he will “need an ambulance” to the operator.
The operator then asks Mr Williams to tell her “exactly what’s happened”, but he ends the call without responding.
More pictures shown to the jury depicted swelling on Mr Williams’ right hand, as well as a bruise on his palm.
During the cross-examination of Senior Sergeant and arresting officer Michael Pollitt, Mr Eberhardt questioned him on why hairs found in Mr Dunn’s palms and zip ties close to his body were not sent off for forensic analysis until 2024.
Mr Pollitt said they were not part of the initial 25 samples to be sent, later explaining police have to prioritise the exhibits that are sent for testing.
The trial will continue tomorrow, where the prosecution are expected to close their case.
‘He died quickly’: Murder trial hears blow by blow seconds until death
The forensic pathologist who performed an autopsy on an alleged murder victim has detailed the injuries she says led to his death, including rib fractures that punctured his lung, a broken nose and fractures to his skull and spinal column.
Brett Gordon Williams, 60, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of gas fitter and tenant Craig Dunn, 62, who was found dead at the industrial complex where he rented a premises from Mr Williams on April 4, 2022.
Forensic pathologist Rebecca Williams carried out the autopsy on Mr Dunn’s body.
She testified before the jury during the trial on Friday, with Crown prosecutor Stephen Muir asking questions before she was cross examined by defence barrister Craig Eberhardt.
Dr Williams, who had been working as a forensic pathologist for 23 years, was given leave to refer to the autopsy report during her testimony.
The autopsy had included an external examination of Mr Dunn’s body as well as an internal post-mortem examination, Dr Williams said.
Dr Williams estimated she had carried out about 5000 autopsies during her time as a forensic pathologist.
Photographs had been taken by police during the examination, she said, including a photo of Mr Dunn’s polo shirt, which showed the collar was partly detached from his shirt for a length of 12cm.
A photo of the shirt was shown to the jury, along with an image of Mr Dunn’s face during the post-mortem examination.
Dr Williams said Mr Dunn had “many signs” of recent injury, particularly involving his face and his arms.
She said she had observed injuries to Mr Dunn’s head during the external examination, including bruises and abrasions, lacerations around the eyebrows and a broken nose.
Dr Williams said the photo showed the injuries that she had been referring to, including the bridge of his nose, which looked “a little bit flattened”, lacerations to the eyebrows and collection of bruising and abrasions around his lips and cheeks.
During the internal examination, thin bleeding over the surface of the brain and bleeding deeper in his brain was observed.
A fracture in the floor of his skull was later discovered, Dr Williams said.
A fracture was also identified in Mr Dunn’s spinal column at the part of the neck closest to the chest, Dr Williams said.
The fracture was not displaced and there was no overt compromise of the spinal cord, she said.
In regard to Mr Dunn’s torso, he had a number of bruises and abrasions noticed during the external examination.
During the internal examination significant injuries were discovered, including fractured ribs, particularly on the right side of his chest wall, which had resulted in a free-floating part of chest wall, Dr Williams said.
She said the fractured ribs had resulted in a partially collapsed lung.
Mr Dunn’s right elbow was also found to be dislocated during the examination.
In addition to the injuries Mr Dunn had, he was also found to have “significant natural diseases” including emphysema and Dr Williams said he was known to be a cigarette smoker.
Mr Dunn had severe narrowing of the arteries to the heart and Dr Williams said both of these
diseases were included in his cause of death as being significant conditions that would have contributed to his death.
She said Mr Dunn had multiple blunt force injuries which would have been life threatening “and in fact life ending as it turned out to be for him”.
“In particular those chest injuries would have caused him to die very, very quickly,” she said.
Dr Williams said she wouldn’t have expected his head injuries to cause him to die in a short time frame, or the elbow injury.
“But really at the end of the day, all of these injuries mount up and cumulatively lead to his death,” she said.
Dr Williams said because he had significant natural disease, he was going to die “much more quickly” than someone who did not have those conditions.
The cause of death had therefore been determined to be firstly multiple blunt force injuries with his other significant health conditions listed as secondary causes.
Dr Williams said it would require a “severe degree of force” to cause the degree of injuries in this matter.
She estimated that within seconds to a few minutes Mr Dunn would have succumbed to his injuries, especially given the state of his health.
During the cross examination Mr Eberhardt said Mr Dunn’s left lung hadn’t been injured and was still functioning, suggesting he would have been getting some air from his left lung.
Mr Eberhardt said Dr Williams had not known there were three places where blood had been found at the scene, which suggested Mr Dunn had not been unconscious and had been moving around.
“You must accept, mustn’t you, that he was up and moving around while he was expiring frothy, irregular pattern blood,” Mr Eberhardt said.
Dr Williams said she was not familiar with the crime scene, but that could have been the result of Mr Dunn’s broken nose.
He said Dr Williams had no way of knowing if the fractured ribs had immediately punctured his lung, or if it had happened later if he had fallen.
Dr Williams said that was possible.
Mr Eberhardt said there was no way of knowing if when he suffered the fractured ribs he had also suffered the punctured lungs.
“Well yes, that’s fair to say,” Dr Williams said.
Mr Eberhardt said Mr Dunn could have fallen heavily from the balcony, dislocating his elbow, breaking his neck and causing those rib fractures.
“Absolutely,” Dr Williams said.
“He might then, perhaps in shock, have got up and moved some distance and perhaps in the process of getting up and falling over again caused the existing injuries to puncture his lung,” Mr Eberhardt said.
Dr Williams said she did not accept that.
But Mr Eberhardt suggested it was “entirely possible”.
“You can’t say what his will to live was,” he said.
But Dr Williams said she felt it was highly implausible that Mr Dunn could sustain those injuries from such a fall and then keep moving.
Mr Eberhardt asked if Dr Williams was aware that there was no suggestion of the use of any weapon in the case.
She said she wasn’t privy to other testing in the case and had only prepared the autopsy report.
The trial has already heard testimony from police officers and acquaintances of Mr Dunn and Mr Williams.
The trial will continue on Monday.
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