Anthony Stott death: Court hears how Lauren Grainger broke down telling police she was ‘a f---ing idiot’ for detaining teacher

A woman accused of kidnapping a Brisbane private school teacher hours before his bizarre death was drunk and “stupid” but was acting in self-defence when he entered her home like “a zombie” with “crazy eyes” and a knife, a court has heard.

A woman accused of kidnapping Brisbane private school teacher Anthony Stott hours before his bizarre death was drunk and “stupid” but was acting in self-defence when he entered her home like “a zombie” with “crazy eyes” and a knife, a court has heard.

The farmer broke down as she told police she was “freaking out” when he walked in at 3.30am but was “a f---ing idiot” for detaining him, Lismore District Court heard.

Stott, 43, a respected St Peters Lutheran College teacher, was killed by a semi-trailer on the M1 in February 2020 after being held captive at a Cudgera Creek farm in northern NSW.

It followed a mysterious mid-air meltdown on a flight from Sydney to Brisbane the previous day – during which he masturbated and yelled obscenities – as well as a late-night, high-speed drive from Brisbane which ended with him skidding off the M1 in his BMW and abandoning it.

Anthony Sott had a mysterious mid-air meltdown on a flight from Sydney to Brisbane during which he masturbated and yelled obscenities. Picture: NSW Police

Lauren Grainger is standing trial, having pleaded not guilty to the aggravated kidnapping of Stott.

Her co-accused, ex-partner Mark Frost and a Craig Button, pleaded guilty earlier this year and were given reduced sentences to testify against her.

A video of a police interview with Grainger at the farm was played to the jury on Friday.

In it, Grainger told detectives she and then partner Frost were in the farmhouse when Stott “came running in the back door”.

“I just screamed,” she told them.

“He had a knife. And I was just like, ‘what the f--k?’. What are you doing? What are you doing? What are you doing?’”

Judge Jeffrey McLennan SC on Friday directed the jury to find Grainger not guilty of causing Stott bodily harm with a golf club, but said they now had to determine if she kidnapped him to gain information.

The court heard Grainger would testify in her own defence on Monday after the Crown closed its case.

Defence barrister David Funch, instructed by Howden Saggers Lawyers, told jurors that Grainger might have been drunk and “stupid” on the night of the incident “but she’s not a kidnapper”.

He said she would tell the jury that she was acting in self-defence when confronted by a knife-wielding Stott at her back door.

Lauren Grainger. Photo Supplied Greg Stolz

“She jolted backwards out of fear and shock,” Mr Funch told the court.

“He was just stood there, staring at her, with what she described as crazy eyes. It was as if he was a zombie.

“It was utterly bizarre. Her first impression was that he was a drug addict.”

Mr Funch said Stott lunged towards her and an “absolutely terrified” Grainger “let out a high-pitched squeal”, causing Frost to “pounce” on Stott and restrain him.

The court had heard that Grainger and Frost were produce farmers who kept thousands of dollars in cash at the house and had been robbed six months earlier.

Stott had dropped the knife and was taken by Frost to the shed, where Button tied him to the chair.

“I was screaming at him … like what, why were you in my house?’,” she said.

Grainger said when Stott told her he was going to Sydney, she said: “No you’re not mate. You’re not going to Sydney.”

Grainger told cops she was a “f---ing idiot” and a “dumb arse” for detaining Stott and felt “really, really bad … I feel like I’ve caused this person’s death”.

“He’s walked out of here, straight there (to the M1) and bang,” she said.

Mr Funch said Stott lunged towards her and an “absolutely terrified” Grainger “let out a high-pitched squeal”, causing Frost to “pounce” on Stott and restrain him.

The jury heard Stott had dropped the knife and was taken by Frost to the shed, where Button tied him to the chair.

The jury heard Stott told Grainger he had been to the house before to rob it, and she took photos of him tied to the chair and texted them to friends, asking if they knew him.

Mr Funch said when Stott was released about three hours after he was detained, he begged Grainger, Frost and Button not to call police and walked from the property.

“It wasn’t like he just broke free or (was) running for his life,” he said.

Mr Funch said Grainger had initially lied to police because she was “absolutely petrified” at being implicated in Stott’s death, but later made a full confession.

He said the jury would find that while Grainger might have been drunk and stupid – and that “there might have been 50 (other) ways to handle that situation” – she was not a kidnapper.

The prosecution closed its case on Friday and Grainger was expected to give evidence in her own defence.