Anthony Stott murder trial hears teacher ‘looked like an ice junkie’ as he arrived at Cudgera Creek farmhouse

A respected Brisbane private school teacher “looked like an ice junkie” when he stumbled into a farmhouse hours before his bizarre death.

Brisbane private school teacher Anthony Stott “looked like an ice junkie” when he stumbled into a northern NSW farmhouse where he was allegedly held captive for several hours before his bizarre death, a court has been told.

Stott allegedly appeared “psychotic” and was feared to be armed as he waved an umbrella aggressively at three people at the farm before he was allegedly tied to a chair and struck with a golf club, Lismore District Court has been told.

“He was waving it around like he was going to whack us,” one of the trio, Craig Button, told the court.

“I thought he was an ice junkie … and violent.”

Button was giving evidence at the trial of Lauren Grainger, who has pleaded not guilty to kidnapping Stott and causing him bodily harm.

Stott, a respected French teacher at St Peters Lutheran College, died in February 2020 when he was hit by a semi-trailer on the M1 after allegedly being held captive at the Cudgera Creek farmhouse for several hours and struck with a golf club.

The court heard he wandered onto the property about 3.30am on July 10, 2020, after abandoning his silver BMW on the M1 following an “erratic” high-speed, late night drive from Brisbane.

Button and his friend Mark Frost pleaded guilty to kidnapping offences and received reduced sentences in return for testifying against Grainger, the court was told.

Mark Frost, pictured outside Lismore District Court on Tuesday, said Lauren Grainger “screamed like she’d seen a snake” when Stott entered the property.

A Logan crane rigger, Button told the court he was visiting Frost and his-then girlfriend Grainger when the drama happened.

He said they had been drinking and he was “maggoted” when he went to sleep in his car, only to be woken by Frost yelling: “We’ve got an intruder.”

Button said looked through his car window to see Button walking a barefoot Stott from the farmhouse with his arm behind his back in a “police hold”.

He said Stott “looked like an ice junkie … psychotic and on drugs”.

“He was definitely untidy (and) extremely wet and dirty. He had a smell to him.

“We were in a panic. Lauren was freaking out going “F..k, what’s going on?”

Mr Stott was taken to the shed where Frost let go of him, only for the teacher to grab an umbrella and begin waving it at the trio.

“He wasn’t happy, he was aggressive,” Button said.

Lismore court Lismore court Lismore court

He said he tied Mr Stott to the chair by the chest, arms and neck “for our own safety”.

Button said the three of them then began yelling at Stott, demanding to know “what the hell he was doing there”.

“It was pretty hectic – adrenaline, fright, we were all saying things at once,” he said.

“You’ve got to realise that this lady (Grainger) is scared.”

Stott responded to questions with “gibber”, Button told the court.

At one stage, Stott said his sister had dropped him at the property and also claimed he had been there before and stole “pot” from the kitchen.

Members of Anthony Stott’s family leave Lismore Court with a police officer on Tuesday.

Button said Grainger picked up a golf club and was “whacking” the floor and chair with it as the interrogation continued.

He said he did not see Grainger actually hit Stott but heard him say “ouch” twice.

The court heard Grainger took photos of Stott while he was tied to a chair and texted them to friends, asking if they knew him.

The jury has been shown one of the photos of a bound Stott looking directly into the camera.

Button said they decided to free Stott and loaded him onto the back of a ute while he was still tied to the chair and drove him about 4km from the property.

The northern NSW property where Mr Stott was allegedly detained. Picture: Scott Powick

But they returned because it was getting light and they were worried someone would see them and “think something bad was going on”, Button told the court.

He said he untied Stott back at the farmhouse, wiping blood from the teacher’s arm injury on his own pants.

“We said ‘on your way buster – don’t come back’,” Button said.

“(We told him) ‘tell your mates not to come here too’ because we thought he was trouble.”

Button said soon after Stott walked and jogged from the property, they heard a “big thud”.

“I said, “mate, I reckon it was the guy (Stott) getting hit (by the semi-trailer”,” he said.

“Mark said, “I feel sick.”

Frost told the court Grainger “screamed like she’d seen a snake” when Stott entered the property.

“He just looked spaced, like he was on drugs,” he said.

“I I didn’t see any weapon but I was told that he had one. I had one thing on my mind – to get us some safety.”

Frost said his “big mistake was that I didn’t ring the cops”.

The trial continues.

Originally published as Anthony Stott murder trial hears teacher ‘looked like an ice junkie’ as he arrived at Cudgera Creek farmhouse