Jury returns split verdict over Wangaratta teen Charlie Gander’s death
A jury has delivered a split verdict against three men accused of kidnapping and killing teenager Charlie Gander in regional Victoria, finding just one man guilty of murder.
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A jury has returned a split verdict against three people accused of kidnapping and killing a teenager in regional Victoria.
Kylie Stott, 40, Dimitri D’Elio, 27, and Danny Clarke, 41, faced a six-week Supreme Court trial, accused of killing Charlie Gander, 19, whose charred remains were found in a burnt-out Ford Territory near Bunbartha, northwest of Shepparton, on Christmas Eve 2022.
On Tuesday, the jury returned its verdict and found D’Elio guilty of murder, Stott guilty of an alternate charge of manslaughter and Clarke not guilty of both charges.
All three were found guilty of kidnapping.
D’Elio was also found guilty of arson but Stott and Clarke were acquitted of the offence.
The trial heard the trio acted as a team to exact revenge on Mr Gander, believing he had “ratted on” another man, Tyson May.
Emergency services were called to a vehicle fire on Loch Garry Rd, a rural area near Shepparton, about 10am on December 24, 2022.
In his opening, Crown prosecutor Mark Gibson KC said Mr Gander’s charred body was found in an “unorthodox position” behind the driver’s seat of the burnt-out Ford Territory.
While the exact location and cause of death were unknown, the prosecutor said Mr Gander was likely bashed and stabbed — noting a bloodied knife was found inside Mr D’Elio’s car — or injected with methamphetamine.
The jury was told CCTV from a farmhouse captured Mr Gander and his accused killers travelling along the road in two vehicles shortly before the fire.
About five weeks before his murder, police conducted a firearm prohibition order compliance check at Mr May’s home in Shepparton.
The jury heard that as officers arrived, Mr Gander was seen running out the back and throwing a Coles shopping bag containing a homemade firearm over a neighbour’s fence.
Both men were arrested and interviewed separately.
Mr Gander allegedly told police he had been given the gun and instructed to dispose of it.
“Mr Gander told the police that the truth of the situation was that, and this was his eventual downfall. This was his fate,” Mr Gibson said.
Both men were charged, with Mr May remanded in custody and Mr Gander bailed.
Mr Gibson said Mr Gander’s perceived betrayal motivated Ms Stott to orchestrate the killing.
“She hated Charlie for what she described as him being a rat against one of her good friends,” he said.
Mr D’Elio allegedly helped carry out the murder because of his “deep affection” for Ms Stott, despite their 12-year age gap, while Mr Clarke was enlisted as a “second male” to assist in the killing.
Mr Gibson said the prosecution case was circumstantial, relying on witness testimony, CCTV footage, photographs and social media messages.
D’Elio and Stott, who remain in custody, will face a pre-sentence hearing at a later date.
Originally published as Jury returns split verdict over Wangaratta teen Charlie Gander’s death
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