Skye Anne Wallis and Kari O’Brien charged with murder of police officer David Masters

A driver and passenger in a stolen car that allegedly hit and killed a police officer on the Bruce Highway near Brisbane have both been charged with his murder in an “unusual” situation prosecutors allege is based on the hours that led up to his death.

Senior Constable David (Dave) Masters was tragically killed overnight on the Bruce Highway trying to stop a stolen vehicle. Picture Supplied.

“I think we just killed a copper.”

They were the words allegedly spoken by a woman charged with the murder of police officer David Masters who was hit by a stolen car while laying out road spikes north of Brisbane.

The alleged driver Skye Anne Wallis and her passenger Kari Louise O’Brien, 27, have both been charged with the murder of Snr Con Masters on the Bruce Highway at Burpengary in the early hours of June 26, 2021.

Police at the scene on the Bruce Highway. Photo Steve Pohlner

The “unusual” charge of murder for O’Brien is based on the crown alleging the two women were engaged in the unlawful purpose of evading police for many hours and a probable consequence of that was Wallis would drive at a police officer committing felony murder.

“We’ve got hours, hours of place evasion at extremely high speeds and that’s their agreement,” said crown prosecutor Michael Lehane who opposed an application for bail by O’Brien in Brisbane’s Supreme Court on Friday.

“It goes over many hours involving high risk and the crown would argue naturally if you keep pushing the envelope as a question of probability there’s a strong likelihood that something of this nature would occur.

“The police aren’t going to just allow this to continue to happen hence we have this tragedy which the crown says both are criminally liable for on a count of murder.”

Kari O’Brien

He opposed bail on the grounds O’Brien posed a risk of further offending and failing to appear.

Her barrister Chris Wilson, instructed by Wallace O’Hagan Lawyers, argued the crown case for murder was weak as O’Brien was the passenger.

“The prosecution already accepts that a charge of murder in these circumstances is unusual,” he said.

“The act of driving at a police officer and killing him recklessly or otherwise has to be, on the crown case, a probable consequence – not possible, not something that some idiot might do – it has to be a probable consequence of this earlier behaviour at 7.30 in the evening or 11 o’clock in the evening the day before.

“No one as a passenger in a car would expect a driver to do such a thing or let alone a jury find that it’s probable that any driver who decides to flee police would later on do something like that.”

He said they would “almost certainly” be making a submission that O’Brien had no case to answer on the murder charge.

Skye Wallis

Mr Wilson said O’Brien’s mother was offering a $30,000 surety if granted bail and far from posing a risk of failing to appear in court his client had an incentive to show up.

“She wouldn’t want to be absent from her trial. She would want to be there to defend it on that basis that it’s novel and her involvement is at its highest accessorial,” he said.

Mr Lehane said he believe it was the “opposite”.

“Wouldn’t she feel that hey the main person responsible, is the person who drove. Why should I be liable under the party provisions … and I’m going to be spending the rest of my life potentially in jail because of that,” he said.

“There is strength in this case.”

Mr Lehane said there was strong evidence in the alleged post offence statements that O’Brien was a party to an agreement with Wallis to avoid police

“She doesn’t distance herself after the event to the contrary they go Wallis’ mother’s place and then we have, on the evidence of Michelle Wallis, the applicant saying ‘I think we just killed a copper’,” Mr Lehane said.

“Wallis says ‘what the f**k have I done…’”

Justice Catherine Muir, who cut-off Mr Lehane at this point saying she could read, will hand down her decision on bail this afternoon.

Police at the scene of Snr Con Masters’ death. Photo Steve Pohlner

O’Brien was granted bail by Justice Muir whose “initial assessment” of the crown’s prospects of obtaining a conviction for murder “cannot be regarded as particularly high”.

The court heard O’Brien had been in custody for three years and Justice Muir said a trial could be two years away.

“That will be five years in total for offences that she has on my initial assessment some reasonable prospects of defending,” she said.

The court heard O’Brien, who has struggled with meth addiction, had a criminal history in

Involving 14 breaches of bail.

Justice Muir found the risk of failing to appear in this case was somewhat reduced given there were reasonable prospects of an acquittal.

“In my view all of the risk can be adequately managed by the imposition of strict conditions,” she said.

Queensland Police Union president Ian Leavers slammed the decision and said Dave’s widow Sharon was devastated by the decision.

“I’m not just disappointed with this person receiving bail I’m disappointed with the delays in the court process,” Mr Leavers said.

“While it may only feel like yesterday to those of us who knew Dave, it doesn’t feel any less emotional three years on. This person should have been dealt with instead of being in a debacle today about bail.”

The union spoke with the Masters family about the decision today.

“The QPU has been in touch with Dave’s widow Sharon and she’s devastated plus feeling let down,” Mr Leavers said.

The bail conditions imposed on O’Brien was a $30,000 surety to be provided by her mother who the defendant must live with, a 7pm to 5am curfew, a requirement to report to police three times a week.

O’Brien must also not drink, take drugs or possess weapons and must attend a drug rehab program.

She is allowed only one phone with no encryption apps and cannot apply for a passport, leave Queensland or contact witnesses.

O’Brien will be required to wear a GPS tracking device.

Apart from murder, O’Brien is also charged with unlawful use of a motor vehicle and arson in relation to the alleged events of June 26 2021. The crown alleges the stolen Hyundai Kona that struck and killed Snr Con Masters the car was torched. These charges are listed for a committal hearing in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on May 27.

She is also facing 21 unrelated charges involving four fails to appear, offences of dishonesty and relatively minor drug complaints.

The offences were allegedly committed while O’Brien was subject to parole and/or suspended sentences, the court heard.