Anthony Stott death: Court hears of in-flight meltdown

The bizarre behaviour of a Brisbane private school teacher in the hours before his death has been revealed at the trial of his alleged kidnapper.

Anthony Stott at Brisbane Airport

A jury has been told of the bizarre behaviour of Brisbane private school teacher Anthony Stott in the hours before he was allegedly kidnapped and run over by a semi-trailer, including him masturbating and yelling obscenities on a flight.

Stott’s mysterious mid-air meltdown on the plane from Sydney Brisbane the day before his death were revealed in a statement of facts tendered to Lismore District Court on Wednesday.

The court also heard how a northern NSW farmer, who admitted kidnapping Stott, did not want to call police because he feared his captive might be a “badass” who could burn down his property.

Mark Frost was giving evidence at the trial of his ex-partner Lauren Grainger, who has pleaded not guilty to kidnapping 43-year-old Stott at Frost’s Tweed Valley produce farm and causing him bodily harm.

The respected St Peters Lutheran College teacher died on February 10, 2020, when he was hit by a semi-trailer on the M1 after allegedly being held tied to a chair and hit with a golf club in a shed at the Cudgera Creek farm.

It’s alleged a wet, barefoot and “dishevelled” Stott had wandered on to the remote property about 3.30am “looking like an ice junkie” after a mysterious high-speed late-night drive from Brisbane which ended when he skidded off the highway in his silver BMW and abandoned it.

The property where Anthony Stott was allegedly detained

The court heard Frost and his friend Craig Button had pleaded guilty to the kidnapping and received reduced sentences for giving evidence against Grainger, whose lawyers have suggested she was acting in self-defence.

In an agreed statement of facts he read to the court by Judge Jeffrey McLennan SC, it was revealed that Stott suddenly unravelled during a Sydney-Brisbane flight the afternoon before his death.

“He was observed happily chatting to himself, having a joke and a giggle,” the statement read.

“Some time into the flight, Stott was observed to become suddenly agitated. He was yelling and swearing for about five minutes, saying things like ‘f..k you everyone, f..k off, f..k you all’. He was giving the finger in the air and got louder.”

Stott was also seen practising yoga and meditation “to try to calm himself down” before he undid his jeans and “started playing with himself”, according to the facts.

Stott stopped after a male passenger said: “What the f..k do you think you’re doing, c..t?”

Later that night, Stott left his Fortitude Valley house on his fateful drive – leaving the front door open and his wallet and phone behind.

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Frost, cross-examined by defence barrister David Funch, admitted he had signed the statement despite having no knowledge of some of the details.

He said if he had known about the aircraft incident, “I would have felt this fella’s (Stott) sick”.

“If he would have said he was sick, I would have called an ambulance. I didn’t really want to call the police,” he told the court.

Earlier, Frost told the court he did not did not want to call the police because he didn’t know if Stott was a “badass dude (who might) hurt my farm, burn it down, wreck my crops”.

Stott had also pleaded to let him go and not call police, Frost said.

Crown prosecutor Josh Hanna reminded Frost that he had pledged to give evidence “truthfully and frankly” and grilled him over inconsistencies in testimony at his sentencing hearing in June and at the Grainger trial.

Frost denied making up evidence that Stott was bleeding when he arrived at the farm and accused Mr Hanna of “nitpicking and grasping at straws”.

Frost said his recollection of events was a “jumble in my mind now” and he was “a bit rattled”.

He said he was “pumped full of adrenaline” during the incident and “time was standing still”.

“It was two-and-a-half years ago … this was the worst day of my life and I chose to try and forget it,” he told the court.

Originally published as Anthony Stott death: Court hears of in-flight meltdown