Anthony Stott death: Farmer tells court why he didn’t tell cops he’d kidnapped teacher

A farmer who kidnapped Brisbane private school teacher Anthony Stott in the lead-up to his bizarre death has angrily denied making up evidence in the case to benefit his ex-lover and co-accused. Here’s what he told the court.

A farmer who kidnapped Brisbane private school teacher Anthony Stott did not want to call police because he feared his captive might be a “badass” who could burn down his property, a court has heard.

The farmer has also angrily denied making up evidence in the bizarre case to benefit his ex-lover and co-accused.

Mark Frost was giving evidence at the trial of Lauren Grainger, who has pleaded not guilty to kidnapping Stott at Frost’s northern NSW 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 onto 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.

Lismore District 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.

Button, who was visiting the farm where Frost and Grainger lived, told the court on Tuesday that Stott looked like an “ice junkie” and had threatened the three of them with an umbrella.

On Wednesday, Frost told the court he 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”.

Mark Frost. Picture: Brendan Beirne/MEDIA MODE

A photo of a mobile phone screen showing Anthony Stott tied to a chair.

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.

The trial continues.

Originally published as Anthony Stott death: Farmer tells court why he didn’t tell cops he’d kidnapped teacher