Harriet Wran phone intercepts: Her mums tells her ‘I love you and I’m not abandoning you’

IT’S the case that shocked Sydney — the daughter of former NSW premier Neville Wran caught up in the death of a drug dealer. Here are the incredible details and exclusive conversations between Harriet and her mother.

• EXCLUSIVE: Read Harriet Wran’s statement to police
• Inside the filthy drug den where drug dealer Daniel McNulty died
• Sex and drug binge after murder of drug dealer Daniel McNulty
• How her dad illness and death triggered her ice drug addiction

FEARING she had ruined the reputation of her famous family, Harriet Wran gathered the courage to ring her mother from behind bars and begged her to “just forget about me”.

As the call began, Wran dreaded the guilt that came with opening up to Jill Hickson-Wran about how her addiction to the drug ice had heaped shame upon their wealthy family and taken her to her lowest ebb: being charged with murdering a drug dealer.

The daughter of former NSW premier Neville Wran offered the heartbreaking, only solution she could stomach.

“Maybe you should just forget about me like, just ...” Wran told her mother  at  the  beginning  of the call that was made after her arrest on August 13, 2014, which was being recorded by NSW Corrective Services.

Hear our re-enectment of the phone calls between Harriet and Jill Wran above

Police evidence image taken from a computer screen showing Harriet Wran smoking an Ice Pipe.

Before Wran could continue, Ms Hickson-Wran cut her daughter off and said: “I love you, Harriet.”

READ HARRIET WRAN’S FULL POLICE STATEMENT

But Wran, a former SCEGGS Darlinghurst student whose parents own multi-million dollar homes in Woollahra and Palm Beach, was stuck on the line of thought.

“I know but like, just leave me behind like,” she told her mother.

Ms Hickson-Wran ended discussion  on  the  topic by saying: “No darling.”

Harriet Wran being taken to and from court last week, where her murder charge was dropped. Picture: Adam Taylor

Wran made the call after she had been charged and  refused  bail over her role in the stabbing murder of ice dealer ­Daniel McNulty on August 10, 2014. Last Tuesday, Wran pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of being an accessory to murder and robbery in company, on the agreement that prosecutors agreed to withdraw the murder charge.

Jill Hickson-Wran supports her daughter. Picture: John Grainger

Wran’s one-time boyfriend, heroin junkie Michael “Asia” Lee, 36, and ice addict Lloyd Edward Haines, 31, have both pleaded guilty to murder and other charges.

Ms Hickson-Wran, a noted socialite from Woollahra who married Wran in 1976 at age 28, told her daughter she was facing her own issues after the arrest, which included struggling to “go down the street”.

The now 28-year-old opened the call by telling Ms Hickson-Wran “I’m all right”, before asking “what about you?”

Ms Hickson-Wran replied: “I’ve been having a very tough week,” and added “emotionally (a) very tough week”, before saying “it’s hard even to just ... go down the street.”

When Wran asked “because of what I’ve done?”, Ms Hickson-Wran said “yeah”.

“It’s too deep to tell you but I, I’m really, oh …” Ms Hickson-Wran said before her daughter interrupted the sentence.

Wran said she was “so sorry” ­before  asking  her mother if she had “completely ruined your ­reputation?”

Ms Hickson-Wran replied: “Well maybe not, I don’t know yet.”

She then added: “I do feel a great swell of sympathy but I’d rather not be a victim of sympathy. I’d rather be someone respected and admired. Thanks for asking, darling.”

It was then that Wran told her mother to abandon her and spoke about her guilt. “That’s why I can’t ask you how you’re doing ’cause I don’t want to know,” Wran said.

The emotional declaration appeared to move Ms Hickson-Wran who said: “Thank you, darling.

“I really appreciate you ringing me back today. It’s beautiful,” she continued.

“It’s really beautiful. I, I do understand.

“When you say these things, I understand,” Ms Hickson-Wran said.

“I love you and I’m not abandoning you.”

Harriet Wran gives a eulogy at her father Neville’s funeral. Picture: Adam Taylor

Wran then softened.

“I don’t think you should,” she said. “I f ... ed up too much (and) I feel like you should just move on and just…,” she said.

Baby Harriet being held by her mum Jill in 1988. Picture: John Hawryluk

Before she could finish, Ms Hickson-Wran interjected: “But, darling, that’s not possible, it’s not possible,  so  we’re  going to move on together.”

The conversation then turned to whether Wran could check into rehab or a psychiatric centre while she was behind bars.

“They put me under house ­arrest. Can they put me under house arrest?” Wran asked.

“No, I don’t know, darling,” Ms Hickson-Wran replied. “We’re looking at a treatment for your bulimia rather than drug rehab as the first step ... because you will be detoxed.”

When Wran questioned how the condition could be treated, Ms Hickson-Wran said: “Don’t know ... as you know you’ve got a whole lot of complex issues.”

“Yeah, I know, I know, I know but like I thought that the drug thing would be what they want,” Wran told her mother.

When the maximum time for the call had been reached, Wran said: “Have we already hit six ­minutes?”

“I don’t know, darling, surely not,” Ms Hickson-Wran replied.

The mother added: “Anyway, look I do thank you for ringing, you’ve helped me enormously by ringing this morning.”

Wran replied: “Oh, you know I hung up and I realised that I knew why …” But she was cut off   by  her ­mother who said: “Bye darling. See you tomorrow”.

Wran replied: “OK. Love you. Bye.”