Jay Brogden murder trial: Gavin Philip Parnell pleads not guilty

The verdict for a former Whitsunday father of seven accused of murdering Jay Brogden in a violent clash on a boat in waters off Shute Harbour has been handed down.

A former Whitsunday father of seven has been found guilty of murdering Jay Brogden in a violent clash on a boat in waters off Shute Harbour.

The family of the 21 year old, who sat through the trial, wept as the verdict against Gavin Philip Parnell was delivered.

Gavin Philip Parnell was found guilty of murdering Jay Brogden.

Mr Brogden‘s mother Gina Merritt read her victim impact statement aloud in court, telling her son’s killer “you had choices that day”.

“Gavin you did not just take a life that day,” the heartbroken mother said.

“For 15 years we have not been able to properly mourn the loss of Jay.

“We‘ve had to relive the trauma that’s been at the forefront of our lives over and over again.”

She said the family had spent 15 years searching for answers.

“So desperate to find Jay we put our own lives on hold,” she said.

The shocking details played out in a series of conversations linked to Parnell that a Mackay Supreme Court jury heard over a seven day trial.

Jay Brogden, 21, who vanished in Cannonvale, north Queensland, on April 21, 20

That same jury spent more than five hours deliberating its verdict.

As he heard the words Parnell put his head in his hands before staring straight ahead.

Parnell had pleaded not guilty to murdering the 21 year old, who went missing in late April 2007, and hasn’t been seen since.

His body has never been found.

The court heard Parnell was friends with Mr Brogden and even called him his “best mate”.

He claimed another man he labelled a drug “kingpin” in Airlie Beach forced him to hold a gun to Mr Brogden while as this other man screamed threats that he would kill him (Mr Parnell) and his family.

Parnell’s former partner and the mother of his children said this other man as the killer’s best friend, but he described him as his acquaintance/drug dealer.

The court heard he claimed Mr Brogden and the other man had gone into business together and things had gone sour.

He said the other man, who had a propensity for violence, believed Mr Brogden had stolen $30,000 worth of meth and wanted to sort it out.

Parnell was arrested in September 2019 for the murder of Jay Brogden.

Parnell claimed this kingpin had said they should take Mr Brogden somewhere quiet and then organised a fishing trip near White Rock.

During the fishing trip Parnell said the other man “snapped” and pointed a gun to his back before handing him a second “homemade” gun screaming “do it, do it, do it”.

Parnell, in giving evidence during his murder trial, told the jury the boat was rocking, he was petrified, shaking, had urinated himself as he held the gun, which was pointed at Mr Brogden, it went off and then he saw blood at back right side of his head.

He further claimed the other man forced him to help tip Mr Brogden’s body over the side of the boat and then splash water to clean up the blood.

The Crown argued Parnell had deliberately shot Mr Brogden.

After hearing evidence from about 30 witnesses including Mr Brogden’s family, friends and family of Parnell and the killer himself, a jury began deliberating at 3.12pm – and determined they would sit into the night.

Just after 9pm the eight-women and four-men jury indicated it had reached a decision.

Parnell was found guilty of murder and he was jailed for life.

He has spent 960 days in pre sentence custody which was declared as time already served.

‘A rather unusual murder trial’: Jay Brogden kill case enters final stage

If a jury accepted a murder accused’s version that a gun “accidentally” went off shooting Jay Brogden in the head 15 years ago then Gavin Philip Parnell “is acquitted”.

A Crown prosecutor has argued there was “no path” to manslaughter and by law “duress or compulsion” was not available as a defence for murder.

Mr Parnell has pleaded not guilty to murdering the 21 year old in April 2007, when he vanished.

His body has never been seen.

Mackay Supreme Court heard the jury did not have to decide on whether Mr Brogden is dead or if Mr Parnell caused his death.

Justice David North said there was a large body of evidence in the case that Mr Brogden was shot in the head and his body tipped over the side of a boat in waters off Shute Harbour.

The issue is whether the Crown had proved beyond reasonable doubt the “death causing act was an unlawful act” and there was “an intention to kill or cause grievous bodily harm”.

“The case was litigated on the basis that Mr Brogden died as a result of a bullet wound caused following the discharge of a firearm that was at the time held by … Mr Parnell,” Justice North said.

Over seven days and via more than 30 witnesses, a jury heard evidence Mr Parnell was linked to Mr Brogden’s death.

He told the court he had been fishing with Mr Brogden and a third man, who “snapped”, and forced him to hold a gun at the young man over a $30,000 drug debt.

He claimed the other man thought Mr Brogden had stolen drugs from his home and had organised a fishing trip to talk about the matter.

Crown prosecutor Nathan Crane said Mr Parnell knew why the trio was on the boat.

“This wasn’t innocent. This is not three naive people who got on that boat,” Mr Crane said, adding Mr Parnell knew the other man to be particularly violent.

“You’re on the boat, you know there to be a discussion about a failed drug debt.

“It would be difficult to accept any proposition that three people had got on that boat might not have considered the potentiality of violence on that boat.”

Mr Crane said Mr Parnell takes and “points a gun at Jay”.

He claimed it “accidentally” went off, but Mr Crane argued it would “have to be the unluckiest event” for that to happen.

“In all those circumstances, that barrel being faced at Jay’s head and the gun goes off,” Mr Crane said.

Mr Crane told the jury if they accepted Mr Parnell’s version that it was an unwilled act “he’s acquitted”.

“If you consider the motive … if you consider the intention … about someone taking a gun to the head of another,” Mr Crane told the jury.

“In my submission to you, you can’t get to manslaughter … there’s no path to it.

“Sometimes intention can be circumstantial … we have to look at the surrounding facts.”

Mr Parnell had said the other man forced him to hold the gun at Mr Brogden by threatening to kill him (Mr Parnell) and his family.

Mr Crane argued it was not “a credible threat” against his family at the time given they were not on the boat.

“His motive to intentionally kill is to save his own bacon,” Mr Crane said.

When Mr Parnell gave evidence he gave a description of the handmade gun he had been handed – which Mr Crane pointed out had never been found.

But barrister Damian Walsh, in his address to the jury, said his client had already made comments to police about Mr Brogden’s death knowing he could go to jail for life as well as admitting his own extensive drug history.

Mr Walsh said there was evidence before the jury the other man was a violent, unpredictable man, was capable of threatening people with firearms and had access to such weapons.

He asked the jury to put themselves in his client’s shoes.

“You’re out on a boat with a crazy man, we know the crazy man can get guns,” Mr Walsh said.

“The crazy man puts a gun to your back, gives you a gun.

“Do it, do it, do it, threatening your wife, your children, your family

“You’re shaking, you wet your pants, the boat’s rocking. Could the gun have just gone off accidentally?”

The handmade gun is held together with duct tape and did not have a trigger guard, the court heard.

“Would such a gun even have a trigger pressure? It’s homemade,” Mr Walsh said, adding one thing garnered from this was “Mr Parnell did not intend to pull the trigger”.

“He did not intend to kill Jay Brogden,” he said.

Justice North told the jury it was “a rather unusual murder trial for modern times” in that there was no DNA, forensic, pathologist or medical evidence because there was no body.

“If you’ve been reflecting on it, we’re aware of it too,” Justice North said.

He is giving his directions to the jury before they begin deliberations.

‘I’m not lying’: Crown says murder accused made up story about Jay Brogden death

A Crown prosecutor has suggested a man charged with murdering Jay Brogden 15 years ago is making up claims a gun “accidentally” went off shooting the young man in the head.

Gavin Philip Parnell has pleaded not guilty to the murder.

Crown prosecutor Nathan Crane has further suggested Mr Parnell changed his story once he realised he could not pin fault on another man he claimed had been in boat with him and Mr Brogden when he was killed.

The 21 year old was last seen in April 2007. His body has never been recovered.

Mr Parnell has told a Mackay Supreme Court jury he was forced to take a gun from another man and as he held it towards Mr Brogden it went off and he slumped over during a fishing trip off Shute Harbour.

He has denied in court deliberately pulling the trigger.

Jay Brogden vanished in the Whitsundays in April 2007.

He has further alleged the third man in the boat forced him to help dispose of the body by pitching it over the side into the water.

Mr Crane told Mr Parnell, who told police and a number of friends and family members he was involved in Mr Brogden’s death, at no point did he mention the gun had “accidentally” gone off.

“You told the police that you were forced by (the other man) to take Jay’s life,” Mr Crane said.

“Yes,” Mr Parnell said.

“You told police that it was over him (Mr Brogden) stealing drugs that come from a local club in town,” Mr Crane said.

“That’s what I was told,” Mr Parnell said.

Mr Crane said Mr Parnell had told police “(the other man) had a gun to me, abusing me, yelling and screaming at me to take his life, Jay was crying, I was a mess, and I did it”.

“Yes,” Mr Parnell said.

“And at no stage whatsoever during the course of any of those interviews you told the police that this was an accident,” Mr Crane said.

“I don’t believe so … I always blame myself for that weapon going off,” Mr Parnell said.

“This is the defence that you have come up with for the purposes of this trial,” Mr Crane suggested.

“I have not come up with a defence, this is what has happened,” Mr Parnell said.

“You thought your defence back then in September of 2019 (when he spoke to police) was that (the other man) had made you do it, you would just tell the jury that and you would get off,” Mr Crane suggested.

“And now in the trial two years later you’re now talking about the weapon discharging accidentally.”

“I’m not lying to the jury to try and get off, I’m owning my part … of what happened that day,” Mr Parnell said.

Mr Parnell claimed in court he did not tell police the full truth and that he had also given “throw off” comments to friends and family while he was under the influence of drugs and alcohol.

The court heard Mr Parnell had a 2.5-hour interview with police in March 2019 during which he had told them about a rumour Mr Brogden had been mixed up with this other man and “something sour” had happened between them.

“You said those things knowing very well that you had killed Jay,” Mr Crane said.

“With the firearm that went off yes,” Mr Parnell said.

“You were on that boat because of the sour thing that had happened … and then the police started asking you about different versions you gave to them about Jay’s disappearance,” Mr Crane asked, to which Mr Parnell said he “can’t recall”.

Under questioning from Mr Crane, Mr Parnell admitted he knew the other man had been “screaming and frothing” about Mr Brogden about five days before the fishing trip.

“You knew (the other man) and Jay were going to talk about a substantial quantity of drugs,” Mr Crane said.

“They were going out for a conversation … yes,” Mr Parnell said, but denied organising the fishing trip for the other man.

“We were fishing and he went irate.”

Mr Parnell could not answer how long the other man yelled at Mr Brogden.

He said he had issues with his memory and as a result there were “things I can and cannot remember … due to trauma”.

Mr Crane grilled Mr Parnell on how he came to have the weapon, how he held the weapon, and what happened to Mr Brogden afterwards.

Mr Parnell answered he could not recall to the majority of the questions.

Mr Crane asked Mr Parnell if he had checked on his friend after the gun went off and he said “no”, saying he was “in shock”.

The court heard Mr Parnell had been holding his arm extended with the weapon pointed at Mr Brogden.

“You took the gun … and you pulled the trigger and you shot Jay in the head,” Mr Crane suggested.

Mr Parnell denied pulling the trigger multiple times.

A jury has heard evidence from almost 30 witnesses including Mr Parnell’s family, former partner and friends, people who used to be linked to the Airlie Beach drug world and police.

The court heard in October 2018 Mr Parnell directed police to a site off Shute Harbour where he alleges Mr Brogden’s body was tipped overboard and a second location where he says the other man pitched the murder weapon into the water.

An experienced police diver told the court they did not find anything but this was not unusual given the amount of time since Mr Brogden went missing.

The court heard a second man is also charged with Mr Brogden’s murder and his trial is listed for later this year.

The trial, under Justice David North, continues.

Murder accused vomits while recalling Jay Brogden killing

A murder accused who claims he did not mean to shoot his mate in the head began vomiting midway through recalling for a jury what happened the day Jay Brogden was killed.

Gavin Philip Parnell was telling a Mackay Supreme Court jury how he had splashed water to clean blood from a boat after Mr Brogden was shot when he dramatically began vomiting while in the witness box and the jury was asked to leave the room.

Mr Parnell opted to give evidence in the trial against him.

He has pleaded not guilty to murdering Mr Brogden, who vanished in April 2007. His body has never been found.

Mr Parnell told the jury he had been friends with Mr Brogden for about 12 months and the pair would often go fishing together.

Gavin Philip Parnell pleaded not guilty to murdering Jay Brogden.

He said Mr Brogden had been “down on his luck and needed some money”.

“I vouched for him so he could move for (another man),” Mr Parnell said, telling the jury Mr Brogden began working for this third man.

The court heard the third man had alleged Mr Brogden had stolen a large amount of methylamphetamines from his house.

“Jay denied it,” Mr Parnell said

“I told (the other man) that Jay had nothing to do with it.

“I presumed that was the end of it.”

Mr Parnell said the third man suggested a “spur of the moment” fishing trip and he and Mr Brogden went along.

The court heard during the fishing trip the third man allegedly “started yelling and screaming” at Mr Brogden “that he stole from him and he f – ked him”.

Mr Parnell said the other man told him to move to the back of the boat and he did.

He said the other man was yelling at him as well because he gave Mr Brogden credibility.

Mr Parnell said he “felt a barrel in (his) back”.

He told the court the other man had carried a duffel bag onto the boat but he did not see any weapons.

“By this time he was saying ‘do it, do it, do it’,” Mr Parnell said, adding the other man was “threatening my family”.

“I was handed a gun.”

Mr Parnell described the makeshift gun as being held together with duct tape and did not have a trigger guard.

Barrister Damian Walsh asked what Mr Brogden was doing at this point.

“He was crying,” Mr Parnell said, becoming emotional in the dock.

He told the jury he was “petrified” and “shaking profusely”.

“The firearm that I was holding went off,” Mr Parnell said.

Mr Walsh asked if his client intended to hurt Mr Brogden or pull the trigger, to which he said no.

Mr Parnell said he “can’t” explain how the gun went off.

He told the court he then had to help the third man push Mr Brogden over the side of the boat.

He said the third man threw the gun that shot Mr Brogden into the water.

“I threw water around the boat … to clean the initial blood,” Mr Parnell said.

At this point he began vomiting while sitting in the witness box and court was briefly adjourned.

Upon resumption Mr Parnell said the third man then made him pay off Mr Brogden’s drug debt which totalled about $30,000 by selling drugs.

Mr Parnell said after Mr Brogden’s death he developed “extreme anxiety, extreme depression, PTSD”, that he fell into heavy drug use and became a “junkie”.

Mr Parnell said as a result of this “I can’t remember things”.

The trial continues.

‘Shaking in fear’: Jay Brogden murder accused to give evidence

A jury empanelled in a Whitsunday cold case murder is set to hear explosive first hand claims about how a gun “accidentally” went off as Gavin Parnell held the makeshift weapon to Jay Brogden’s head, a court heard.

“Jay slumped over,” barrister Damian Walsh said of the evidence he expected his client to give.

“There was a bit of blood.

“Then he felt like time stopped.”

Mr Parnell is set to give evidence this afternoon in the murder trial against him.

He has pleaded not guilty to murdering Mr Brogden, who has not been seen since April 2007. His body has never been found.

Mr Walsh, for Mr Parnell, said during his opening to the Mackay Supreme Court jury his client would give evidence he was “sweating and his hands were wet, he was shaking in fear”.

The court heard Mr Parnell has claimed he, Mr Brogden and a third man had gone fishing when the third man became angry and accused Mr Brogden of “ripping” him off.

Mr Walsh said his client claimed the third man pointed a gun to his back and handed him another gun and threatened Mr Parnell and his family.

The court heard the third man is also charged with murdering Mr Brogden and will face trial later this year.

Mr Walsh said his client will say he was holding the gun to Mr Brogden’s head when “the gun went off”.

“He didn’t believe he pulled the trigger,” Mr Walsh said.

“If the trigger got pulled, it was by accident.

“He was terrified, he was shaking, the boat was rocking, he’d wet his pants and (a third man) had a gun in his back.”

The trial under Justice David North continues.

‘Pissed my pants’: Murder accused’s fear if he refused to shoot mate

A man accused of murdering Jay Brogden told police he had a gun to his back when he was forced to shoot his friend on a boat in the Whitsundays.

He said he was so “petrified” he “pissed his pants” and was forced to pull the trigger, having been “dragged into it” because he had vouched for his mate being “trustworthy” and a “money maker”.

Gavin Philip Parnell took part in a number of recorded interviews with police after his arrest in New South Wales in September 2019.

He has pleaded not guilty in Mackay Supreme Court to murder.

Mr Brogden went missing in April 2007 and has not been seen since, nor his body found.

Mr Parnell took part in a number of recorded interviews with police including during his extradition from NSW to Queensland on September 26, 2019.

During the drive to Queensland, while standing on the side of the Pacific Motorway near Ballina, Mr Parnell spoke to police, telling them he had shot Mr Brogden but had been forced to do it.

In the recording played to the jury, Mr Parnell told homicide detective Matthew Young and Whitsunday CIB detective Luke Searle he was “forced” to shoot Mr Brogden.

The mostly inaudible recording was played to the supreme court jury, towards the end of which Mr Parnell was heard to say he “did what he was told” and “I did it”.

Under further questions on the recording, Mr Parnell said he was forced to shoot Mr Brogden, indicating to the officers he struck the Whitsunday man in the side of the head.

In a separate recording at Brisbane watch-house, Mr Parnell said Mr Brogden had half a pound of meth from a third man who then confronted Mr Parnell about it.

He estimated it to be about $30,000 worth of meth.

Mr Parnell said the man told him to speak to Mr Brogden about the theft which he did a few days later, and then the third man suggested a fishing trip so the trio could speak about it in a “calm” or “peaceful” setting.

He said during that trip, the third man “snapped”, handed Mr Parnell a gun he described as homemade and took .22 calibre rounds, and pointed another gun at his back.

“He’s pulled a gun out, given it to me,” Mr Parnell said.

He said the third man was swearing and Mr Parnell had “started to piss myself”.

“It happened. I did it, I did what he said,” Mr Parnell said.

Mr Parnell became increasingly agitated toward the end of the recording, telling police he did not want to break down over recalling it and that it had “opened up wounds”.

In a different interview with Detective Sergeant Michael Cameron and Detective Duncan Gorrie, Mr Parnell said he recognised the .22 calibre rounds from his experience “roo hunting” and believed the weapon to be homemade.

He said the third man on the boat threw it overboard.

Mr Parnell said he could not describe the gun he said was pointed at him but he knew “it was a sawn-off” gun of some kind.

“This has been 12 years of brewing,” Mr Parnell said.

“I don’t know if this is going to break me.

“I pissed my pants, I was terrified.”

Mr Parnell said there was “a bit” of blood in the boat but when pressed did not explain a quantity.

He said he did a “spot clean” of the boat with buckets of water.

He said an earlier version of events he told police, that a man named Drew Hutchinson had killed Mr Brogden, was a “cover story”.

The trial before Justice David North continues on Wednesday.

‘Fed him to the sharks’: Witness describes alleged boat murder

A father accused of murdering Jay Brogden gave his mother and sister different stories on how he was linked to an alleged homicide, a court heard.

He also told police another man had been tied up with the Outlaws motorcycle gang and had a business deal with Mr Brogden before the 21 year old had gone missing 15 years ago.

Witnesses have alleged Gavin Philip Parnell said he shot the 21 year old in the head under duress after another man threatened his life.

Mr Parnell has pleaded not guilty in Mackay Supreme Court to murder.

Mr Brogden went missing in April 2007 and has never been seen since. His body has never been found.

The court heard Mr Parnell told police he understood Mr Brogden and the third man had gone into business together and “something sour happened”.

Mr Parnell said he had heard a rumour something had gone missing.

“It could have been drugs, it could have been money,” Mr Parnell told police during an interview in March 2019 that was played for the jury on Monday.

“I’m not 100 per cent sure.”

The detectives asked Mr Parnell what people were saying.

“That he did it. Just that (the third man) dealt with the situation apparently,” Mr Parnell said.

The court heard detectives pushed Mr Parnell on what happened.

“I don’t know how they got rid of him,” he said.

When asked who “they” were, he said “I don’t know”.

A jury has heard varied evidence in relation to Mr Parnell’s relationship with the third man.

His former partner and mother of his seven children said they were “best mates”.

However he told police he bought drugs from and did drugs with him.

The court has heard Mr Parnell and Mr Brogden were good friends and would often go fishing together.

During the interview, homicide detectives pushed Mr Parnell for information about the third man – he told them “I know he was a bit of a cook” in relation to drugs.

The court heard Mr Parnell also told police the man had been getting “it from a couple of the local bikies in town”.

When pushed, Mr Parnell said “the Outlaws”, before saying “the Rebels” and then correcting himself and saying it was “the Outlaws”.

Mr Parnell’s mother and sister also gave evidence on Monday that he had told them he was linked to Mr Brogden’s death.

His sister Katie Hunold said Mr Parnell had told her the night before her wedding in June 2007 that “he and his mate killed him (Mr Brogden)”.

She said her brother had told her Mr Brogden had been killed with a gun.

“(He) said that they had put a gun to his head … (and) told him that if he didn’t shoot Jay, they would shoot him,” Mrs Hunold said.

Mrs Hunold said her brother told her they had dumped Mr Brogden in mangroves between Airlie Beach and Bowen, closer to Bowen.

Defence barrister Damian Walsh asked if Mr Parnell had told her “how the gun went off”.

“I don’t understand the question,” she said, visibly emotional while giving evidence.

“He told me that they made him shoot him.”

Mr Parnell’s mother Donna Balma said her son, while briefly living with her in 2014, had told her he, Mr Brogden and another man – “an older guy” went fishing together and the older man had “pulled out a gun and shot Jay”.

“He said that he was told he had to help get rid of the body and if he didn’t he could join him,” Ms Balma said.

“He just said they put the body overboard.”

The court heard Mr Parnell told his mum he “was very scared” of the older guy, who he said “had a lot of connections”.

The court heard at the time this conversation occurred, Ms Balma was not well and receiving cancer treatment.

The court heard the third man stabbed Ben Ware more than 20 times in 2009.

Mr Ware claimed he had been drinking with Mr Parnell and the other man when they began talking about some guy “they’d coaxed down to Funnel Bay … and they’d gotten rid of him”.

“They said that they fed him to the sharks,” Mr Ware told the court.

Defence barrister Damian Walsh suggested this was “fabrication on your part to get the reward” on offer for information leading to the arrest of those involved in Mr Brogden’s alleged murder.

“You suggest wrong,” Mr Ware said.

The trial, under Justice David North, continues on Tuesday.

‘I shot my best f--king friend’: Family, friends recall words of alleged killer

A former Airlie Beach father of seven allegedly told at least six people he was linked to a man’s death after Jay Brogden went missing 15 years ago.

Mackay Supreme Court heard claims Gavin Philip Parnell had shot the 21 year old in the head before his body was dumped in Whitsunday Passage.

Mr Parnell has pleaded not guilty to murdering Mr Brogden, who has not been seen since April 21, 2007 and his body has never been found.

A jury has heard allegations Mr Parnell and Mr Brogden had gone fishing with a third man when Mr Brogden was shot to death with a shotgun over $60,000 of stolen meth belonging to the other man.

Mr Parnell allegedly told his former partner’s mother Margaret Murray and her partner Robert Murray he had been forced to shoot Mr Brogden.

“He told me that he shot Jay more or less,” Mrs Murray told the court.

“He said there was himself, Jay and somebody else. I don’t know who the other person was.”

Barrister Damian Walsh, instructed by AW Bale and Son Solicitors, questioned if Mr Parnell could have been handed the gun.

“Could have happened but that’s not how I was told,” Mrs Murray said.

Mrs Murray told the jury Mr Parnell had told her the third person on the boat had said “one of you (is) going to die”.

“And Gavin picked up the gun and shot Jay and then they threw him overboard,” Mrs Murray said.

Mr Walsh asked why Mrs Murray did not go to the police, to which she said she had not previously found the police very helpful and she did not think she would be believed.

The court heard the conversation allegedly occurred at a family barbecue at Cannonvale – people were drinking, but no one was drunk, Mr Murray said.

Mr Murray said Mr Parnell had told him three people went out on a boat and only two came back.

“Did he say he picked up a gun or a gun was handed to him?” Mr Walsh asked.

“A gun was put down between them,” Mr Murray said.

Mr Murray told the court Mr Parnell had told him a threat was made by a third person on the boat that “one of yous (sic) isn’t coming back”.

He said Gavin told him he picked up the gun and shot Mr Brogden.

“I’m suggesting to you the gun was handed to him,” Mr Walsh said.

“Not that I remember. I remember him saying the gun was placed between them, he picked it up,” Mr Murray said.

Mr Walsh asked if there had been an “ultimatum or a threat”, to which Mr Murray said yes.

Both Mr and Mrs Murray said Mr Parnell did not mention the name of the third man alleged to be in the boat.

Mrs Murray’s son Paul O’Brien also gave evidence that Mr Parnell had told him “Jay had been shot”.

Mr O’Brien said Mr Parnell told him “him and (another man) had taken him (Jay) out on a boat and had shot him”.

“Out Shute Harbour way there’s a place called Whitsunday Passage,” he said.

Mr O’Brien said Mr Parnell had told him Mr Brogden had owed him and the other man money.

When Crown prosecutor Nathan Crane asked if Mr Parnell told him who had shot Mr Brogden in the head, he said “I can’t recall”.

Elizabeth O’Brien, who is the sister of Mr Parnell’s former partner, said at her 21st birthday party Mr Parnell had told her: “They made me shoot him. I shot my best f--king friend, El.

“They are the words he said to me.

“He went on to say he was thinking of my sister and the children.”

Gavin Philip Parnell has pleaded not guilty to murdering Jay Brogden.

Ms O’Brien told barrister Mr Walsh that Mr Parnell was not a man to usually cry and he had been in tears.

“Yeah he was distraught,” she said.

The court heard witnesses had made these statements to police at least eight years after the alleged conversations.

The jury earlier heard Mr Parnell had allegedly told his then partner Mellisa Holloway, mother of his seven children, that he had shot Mr Brogden when they were out fishing with the third man.

Amanda Hardke had lived at Reefos at Airlie Beach at the same time as Mr Parnell and Ms Holloway and said her partner Daniel Hardke often went fishing with him.

She told the court of a time when Mr Parnell had allegedly gone to her cabin and they had been speaking about what happened to Mr Brogden.

Mrs Hardke said Mr Parnell was “visibly upset” and said “I think I’ve been involved in a murder”.

Ms Hardke said Mr Parnell said he had been on a boat fishing with Mr Brogden and someone else and that he had heard a “bang and a splash”.

Mr Crane asked if Mr Parnell had said what happened to Mr Brogden.

“That he was gone,” Ms Hardke said.

The trial, under Justice David North, resumes Monday.

‘I shot the c--t’: Murder accused allegedly said Jay Brogden was ‘shark s--t’

A father of seven accused of murdering Jay Brogden in the Whitsundays allegedly told his then partner the young man was “swimming with the fishes”.

Mellisa Holloway is the former partner of Gavin Philip Parnell, who had pleaded not guilty to killing Mr Brogden 15 years ago.

The 21 year old’s body has never been found since he went missing in early 2007.

Mackay Supreme Court heard Mr Brogden and Mr Parnell had been close friends and would often go fishing together.

Ms Holloway, who said she had seven children with Mr Parnell, told the court Mr Brogden often stayed at the home she shared with Mr Parnell.

A few months after Mr Brogden went missing when Ms Holloway and Mr Parnell had moved to Brisbane she told the court there had been a news report on television about the disappearance.

Ms Holloway told the jury Mr Parnell had said “they probably won’t find him because he’s swimming with the fishes”.

The court heard there was no further discussion until about two weeks later when Mr Parnell had told Ms Holloway “him, Jay and Drew went fishing and that Drew pulled out a gun and said it was either he had to shoot Jay or Drew would shoot them point”.

Crown prosecutor Nathan Crane pushed further and Ms Holloway said Mr Parnell told her “that he shot Jay … on the water where they were fishing”.

Ms Holloway said during both conversations Mr Parnell’s demeanour had been “casual”.

Defence barrister Damian Walsh, instructed by AW Bale and Son Solicitors, asked if Mr Parnell had been “withdrawn” when he returned from fishing and if he had remained like that for a month or longer afterwards, to which Ms Holloway said “yes”.

Mr Walsh asked if the first time Ms Holloway had to recall these conversations was in 2019, 12 years later and she said yes.

“Are you satisfied that they are the exact terms of the conversation or could there be some differences?” he said.

Ms Holloway said she was sure that was what had been said but also admitted she had problems with her memory.

“When he told you this, you didn’t believe him did you?” Mr Walsh asked.

“No,” she said.

Mr Walsh pressed Ms Holloway if Mr Parnell could have said “he put the gun to Jay’s head and it just went off”.

At first Ms Holloway said ‘no’ before soon after saying ‘I don’t know’, but under re-examination from Mr Crane, she clarified he did not remember Mr Parnell saying that.

Mr Walsh also asked Ms Holloway if she remembered a different conversation where Mr Parnell had allegedly grinned and told someone “I shot the c -- t … me and (another man) took him out fishing and I shot the c -- t with a shotgun and threw him overboard. He’s shark shit”, while holding a beer, and she said ‘no’.

Daniel Hall, who also gave evidence on Friday, recalled a morning when he had to clean what he believed was “congealed blood” from a boat.

The court previously heard Mr Parnell has alleged another man was present when Mr Brogden was killed.

The court heard Mr Parnell told police the other man had threatened him and as a result he had shot Mr Brogden in the head over claims the 21 year old had stolen $60,000 worth of meth.

Mr Hall said he had been living at the other man’s house when he left in a car, that also contained Mr Parnell, one morning and was away all day.

Mr Hall said when the other man returned “he was covered from head to toe in blood”.

He said the following morning he and a friend Michael Chengody had cleaned a red and white boat that was in the other man’s yard in the hope of scoring from marijuana.

“I was cleaning what I was told to be fish guts,” Mr Hall said, adding it had looked like congealed blood”.

The court heard he could not be sure if this happened in 2007 or 2008.

Mr Hall admitted he had been a heavy marijuana smoker at the time and later moved on to harder drugs like speed and ecstasy.

Mr Walsh questioned Mr Hall on the moment he had watched the other man stab a different person “21 times” in his bed.

Mr Hall said it had been because this person – Ben Ware – had allegedly stolen drugs from the other man’s freezer.

“You know him to be a man with an uncontrollable, violent temper?” Mr Walsh asked.

“That’s correct,” Mr Hall said, later adding he was and still is “petrified” of the other man.

Mr Hall broke down when Mr Walsh pushed him on discrepancies between what he told police and had said in court including who had been present when he had cleaned the boat.

The court heard in one statement to police he had said it was the other man, but in court on Friday he was adamant it was Mr Chengody.

Mr Walsh also asked Mr Hall about the reward for information in relation to Mr Brogden’s disappearance.

“I knew there was an investigation but I didn’t know about the reward,” he said.

Mr Walsh suggested there was “never an episode when you cleaned a boat”.

“There was an episode,” Mr Walsh said.

The trial, under Justice David North, continues.

‘Behaved like an animal’: Alleged murder victim bashed ex girlfriend before he went missing

A jury heard Jay Brogden allegedly bashed his former girlfriend immediately before he went missing.

It has been alleged in court Mr Brogden was shot to death and dumped in waters off Shute Harbour in early 2007.

His body has never been found.

Gavin Philip Parnell has pleaded not guilty to murdering the 21 year old.

Mackay Supreme Court heard the night of April 21, 2007, when Mr Brogden was last seen, he had been involved in a violent fight with Patricia Heath, the mother of his child.

Ms Heath told the jury she had gone to Mr Brogden’s aunt’s home at Pioneer Bay Apartments where the pair began arguing and she believed it had been about their daughter.

She said she could not remember if he had hit her first or had grabbed her throat and then hit her.

Ms Heath said she had initially been standing but ended up on the floor.

Caroline Merritt, Mr Brogden’s aunt who also gave evidence on day one of the murder trial, said when she looked over Ms Heath “was on the floor”.

“Jay was on top of her continuing to punch her,” Ms Merritt said.

“I pulled Jay off Patricia and told him to leave.

“I told him to f – k off … that he had behaved like an animal.”

Ms Merritt said Mr Brogden had hung around a little longer asking if Ms Heath was OK before he left the unit.

“I told him I loved him and to come back tomorrow,” Ms Merritt said.

She told the jury this was the last time she saw her nephew.

Ms Heath said she had received a text message from a payphone that she had believed was from Mr Brogden that read “I love you, bye”.

She told the court she had called the police the night he had attacked her and she thought she received the text when she was sitting in her car after going into the police station about two days later.

Ms Merritt told the court she had gone to visit Mr Parnell after her nephew went missing.

“What did he say,” Crown prosecutor Nathan Crane asked.

Ms Merritt said Mr Parnell told her he did not know where Mr Brogden was and then “got shaken and teary”.

The court heard Ms Merritt received a number of items belonging to Mr Brogden after his disappearance.

Defence barrister Damian Walsh questioned if the items included ammunition and if Mr Brogden had told her he kept a gun.

“Yes,” Ms Merritt said.

Mr Walsh questioned injuries Mr Brogden had caused to Ms Heath’s eye and lip and if she had seen “blood on the floor” and she said “yes”.

Mr Walsh questioned both Ms Merritt and Ms Health on whether Mr Brogden took drugs.

The court heard he smoked marijuana and Ms Health said he used speed.

The court heard he had used meth when he lived in Canberra before moving to Airlie Beach.

Mr Walsh also questioned both Ms Merritt and Ms Heath about the rumours they heard about Mr Brogden’s death.

The court heard a number of people had been linked to Mr Brogden’s disappearance including allegations another man was with Mr Parnell the day police say he shot the 21 year old.

The court heard there were also rumours that Ms Heath’s brother and father and a man named Mark Shoesmith were linked to the disappearance.

Mr Walsh questioned Ms Heath on whether Mr Brogden and the other man were friends.

“I wouldn’t say they were friends,” she said.

The trial continues.

‘There was blood everywhere’: Alleged shooting murder over $60k of stolen meth

A jury has heard explosive claims Jay Brogden was allegedly shot in the head and his body dumped over the side of a boat in Whitsunday Passage over $60,000 worth of meth.

The accused shooter is Gavin Philip Parnell, who a court heard would claim he fired the gun that took the 21 year old’s life under duress.

Why?

Crown prosecutor Nathan Crane, in his opening address to Mackay Supreme Court, said Mr Parnell allegedly shot the young man because he had stolen a significant amount of meth from another man.

Mr Parnell has pleaded not guilty to murdering Mr Brogden between April 20 and May 10, 2007 in the Whitsundays.

His body has never been found.

Mr Crane said Mr Parnell alleged it was the other man “who had implored him, who had threatened him to shoot Jay over drugs that Jay had apparently stolen”.

The court heard Mr Parnell allegedly told police Mr Brogden was murdered on a boat during a fishing trip.

Mr Crane told the jury Mr Parnell allegedly told police the other man had been “screaming” at him and he (Mr Parnell) had shot Mr Brogden.

The court heard the conversation had been recorded and would be played for the jury during the murder trial.

“He said there was blood everywhere and the body went over the boat,” Mr Crane said, adding Mr Parnell allegedly said the gun had been thrown overboard in one of the channels.

“You will hear Mr Parnell say during the course of that recording ‘I’ve been trying to get that out for the last three hours’.

“He at that point tells the police that he will take them to the place … the crown will ask you to infer that that means the place where Jay was shot and his body dumped.”

This alleged confession, which was recorded, occurred in September 2019 when police were driving Mr Parnell from New South Wales to Brisbane where officers sought more detail.

“Mr Parnell … described how (the other man) was a very violent man,” Mr Crane said.

“Mr Parnell had vouched for Jay with respect to (the other man) and after that vouching … Jay had stolen a significant quantity of methylamphetamine from (the other man).”

The court heard the amount was about “half a pound”, which according to Mr Parnell was worth about $60,000.

Mr Crane said Mr Parnell had alleged Mr Brogden may have been a “low level” marijuana dealer.

They court heard Mr Parnell and Mr Brogden had been friends.

The court heard Mr Parnell said the other man knew this because there were cameras at his Airlie Beach home.

“He knew about or had evidence of Jay’s theft,” Mr Crane said, adding that Mr Parnell allegedly told Mr Brogden what the other man had accused him of doing.

“And he recalls that Jay denied it.”

The court heard it was alleged Mr Parnell and the other man had decided to go fishing with Mr Brogden “somewhere calm and peaceful”.

“And he and (the other man) had picked up Jay,” Mr Crane said.

“There’s some distress during the course of the interview, it stops and starts in terms of the manner of speech.

“But Mr Parnell tells the police that he had a homemade or a makeshift gun, probably a .22 calibre gun and he shot Jay and he will point to the side of his head where … the bullet entered Jay.”

Mr Crane said there was a signed statement to go with this conversation with police.

The court heard expert police divers scoured the area, about 15 minutes from Shute Harbour, for Mr Brogden’s body and the alleged murder weapon but “they didn’t find anything”.

Mr Crane said this was not a surprise to the divers given the alleged offending occurred 15 years ago.

The court heard Mr Parnell had given a different story to police in March 2019 – he allegedly told police a man named Drew Hutchinson, not the other man, had been on the boat with him and Mr Brogden.

The court heard Mr Parnell allegedly initially told police Mr Hutchinson had shot Mr Brogden and there was “blood all over the boat”.

The court heard there were rumours Mr Hutchinson was angry over work Mr Brogden had done on his car – that either he was ripped off or the work was botched.

Three reserve jurors have been selected to sit in with the eight-woman, four-man jury for the trial, which will stretch well into next week.

More than 130 witness names were read out during jury selection, however not all will be called to give evidence.

The first witness called was Mr Brogden’s mother, who said her son had moved to Airlie Beach when he was 18 and had just celebrated his 21st birthday the month before he went missing.

The trial continues.