Witnesses give evidence at trial of Craig Paul Carrington in Rockhampton

Witnesses have given evidence at the District Court trial of Craig Paul Carrington in Rockhampton. Here’s what they said in court.

Craig Paul Carrington (right) at Rockhampton Courthouse with David Mills, part of his legal team.

Witnesses have given evidence at the District Court trial of a man accused of deliberately setting fire to his North Rockhampton house before allegedly making an insurance claim on the property.

Craig Paul Carrington, 50, has pleaded not guilty to charges of arson and attempted fraud.

On the opening day of the trial on Monday, September 26, the jury heard that on August 8, 2020, a fire started in the kitchen of Mr Carrington’s house in Bedford Street, Berserker.

The first witness called by the Crown to give evidence at the trial was Karissa Roxanne Haynes, 23.

The jury heard Ms Haynes was a student studying nursing at CQUniversity and that she knew Mr Carrington through her mum.

Ms Haynes told the court that in August 2020 she was looking for a place to rent and Mr Carrington’s house was a place she was considering.

The jury heard arrangements were made for Ms Haynes to go and view the house on the morning of the fire (August 8, 2020) but that viewing did not eventuate.

Ms Haynes said in a “very short” phone call with Mr Carrington, she informed him that she no longer wanted to look at the property.

“He called me and he said ‘did you still want to look at the property?’ and I said ‘no, um, we’re possibly having approval for other homes um, that were more to our liking’,” Ms Haynes said.

Crown Prosecutor Samantha O’Rourke asked Ms Haynes if Mr Carrington said anything in response to that, and Ms Haynes said: “He said that it was all good and okay, um, and that he won’t worry about attending then.

“And that phone call was at, um, around 10 o’clock...”

Craig Paul Carrington at Rockhampton Courthouse on September 26, 2022.

Defence barrister Sheridan Shaw asked Ms Haynes if Mr Carrington seemed normal on that phone call.

Ms Haynes replied: “Seemed fine.”

Ms Shaw: “Not angry at you for not being there or anything like that?”

Ms Haynes: “No, not angry.”

Ms Shaw: “Can I put to you that he told you he was already there, when he spoke to you.”

Ms Haynes: “I can’t recall if he was already there, um.”

The second witness called by the Crown, Kayla Louise Hooper, 34, told the court she lived next door to Mr Carrington’s Bedford Street house and at the time of the fire she was washing.

“I heard a pop first, like a balloon going off,” Ms Hooper said.

“And then the washing machine beeped so I went to go outside ‘cause our washing machine’s on the veranda.

“And I hung the washing out, well I started to, and next door, 158, was singing out about 162.

“I didn’t notice the fire at first, I was just drifting.

“And then I looked over and seen the fire, so I asked my partner Damien to call Triple Zero and I took the washing next door and that was it.”

Ms Hooper went on to say that she could only see “the smoke, it was just black smoke” coming from “what looked like the kitchen”.

She said she didn’t see any flames.

Ms Hooper said when emergency services were there she saw Mr Carrington in her front yard.

Ms O’Rourke asked: “And without going into the detail of anything said, could you describe his demeanour?”

Ms Hooper replied: “Ah, usual Craig, ah jolly. Cheerful.”

Ms Shaw asked Ms Hooper about a conversation she had with Mr Carrington where he mentioned he was going to demolish the house.

“Did he also mention to you that he was thinking about raising the property?”

Ms Hooper: “Ah yes, that’s why the fence was getting moved for a retaining wall or something.”

Ms Shaw: “Did he mention to you he was also thinking about building a studio apartment underneath the house...?”

Ms Hooper: “Um, I don’t know. Can’t recall. He said he was going to change it.”

Craig Paul Carrington (right) at Rockhampton Courthouse with David Mills, part of his legal team.

The third witness called by the Crown was Damien Mark Armstrong, 34, who told the court he was a self-employed welder who lived with his partner Ms Hooper at the time of the fire.

Mr Armstrong said he knew Mr Carrington and had met him “probably a year before” the fire.

Ms O’Rourke asked Mr Armstrong if he often saw Mr Carrington at the property to which Mr Armstrong replied: “Not often.”

In relation to the day of the fire, Ms O’Rourke asked Mr Armstrong if he saw smoke and flames at the time.

He replied “yes” before confirming he called Triple Zero.

Ms Shaw asked Mr Armstrong if he, prior to the fire, had spoken to Mr Carrington about his plans for the property.

Mr Armstrong replied: “Yes.”

Ms Shaw: “You’d seen some fill being delivered to the property, is that right?”

Mr Armstrong: “Yes.”

Ms Shaw: “And he told you he was planning to raise the house, is that right?”

Mr Armstrong: “Ah, no. Put a retaining wall down the back.”

Ms Shaw: “Did he tell you about wanting to build a second house on the property?”

Mr Armstrong: “Yes.”

The fourth witness called by the Crown was Queensland Fire and Emergency Services fire-fighter Robert Allan Efimenko, who told the court he was a Station Officer with 30 years experience as a fire-fighter.

Mr Efimenko told the court he attended the Bedford Street fire “as the first arriving officer” and when he arrived at the scene at 10.49am, there was “a lot of grey smoke coming through the roof sheeting”.

Mr Efimenko added that as he looked down the right-hand side there was “flames and black smoke” coming out of windows.

Mr Efimenko said the flames were “approximately 2.4 to 3m” and the fire was brought under control at 11.06am.

Ms Shaw asked Mr Efimenko: “As part of being in control of the scene, you tried to find the electrical box for the house, is that correct?”

Mr Efimenko replied: “That is correct.”

Ms Shaw: “You were unable to locate that, is that true?”

Mr Efimenko: “Ah, that is correct.”

Ms Shaw: “So you weren’t able to check whether power was on or off to the building?”

Mr Efimenko: “Um, that is correct, yes.”

The trial continues.