‘Suspicion is not enough’ to convict Nicho Hynes’ mum Julie of heroin supply, trial hears

A 12-person jury will have to decide whether “the facts speak for themselves” or if “suspicion is not enough” to convict NRL star Nicho Hynes’ mum Julie of heroin supply.

The Crown and defence have concluded their respective cases in the trial of Dally M winning halfback Nicho Hynes’ mum, Julie Hynes, who has pleaded not guilty to one count of heroin supply.

In his closing address Crown Prosecutor Peter Lowe told Gosford District Court the 50-year-old’s fingerprints were found in an “odd spot” on a hydraulic press located in the tiny bathroom of her granny flat at Blackwall and that it was “inconceivable” she didn’t know it was being used to package heroin.

He said her fingerprint was found at the top of the 226kg red hydraulic press and could not be “innocently explained” by her using the machine to steady herself as she moved past it to use the toilet.

Mr Lowe said phone records and text messages from Ms Hynes phone detailed how she had been “up all night” with Luke Murphy and called another friend Michael William Selvage, 59, to come over and help Mr Murphy find a bolt “at 3am” to ensure the hydraulic press was working.

He said Mr Selvage — who is also on trial for a single count of knowingly supplying heroin — was “down on his luck” and agreed to be picked up by Mr Murphy, who he had “never met before” because he stood to gain something from assisting them.

NRL star Nicho Hynes (left) and his brother Wade accompanied their mum Julie to court on Wednesday. Picture: Fiona Killman

Michael Selvage is the co-accused in the alleged heroin supply trial.

He said it was the Crown’s case that 29-year-old Mr Murphy was at Ms Hynes’ flat at Commonwealth Ave, Blackwall, to pack 11 “bricks” of heroin weighing about 360g each using the press when he became overwhelmed by the drug and suffered an accidental, fatal overdose on May 25, 2021.

He said Ms Hynes had gone out to buy them all “a big breakfast” as a reward for a “hard night’s work” when Mr Selvage also became overwhelmed by the exposure to heroin and had to lie down.

The red hydraulic press found in the bathroom. Picture: Supplied

Mr Lowe said in the days after Mr Murphy’s death, Mr Selvage offered various accounts of why he was at the granny flat and what he had done.

Mr Lowe said Mr Selvage said he got a call from Ms Hynes and believed he had been invited over “to have a root” with her and, upon using the bathroom where he sat down to urinate, saw an unknown white powder and proceeded to sweep it up with a dustpan.

Mr Lowe said Mr Selvage was “fully aware” of what was going on when he entered the bathroom and saw “dust everywhere” and that he swept it up because “he knew it had a value”.

“This is a case where the facts and the circumstances speak for themselves,” Mr Lowe told the court.

Crime scene images tendered in the trial of NRL Nicho Hynes’ mum Julie Hynes over allegations of heroin supply. Picture: Supplied

However Ms Hynes barrister Brian Murray said “suspicion was not enough” to convict his client and that it was not against the law “to have a 50-tonne press in your bathroom”.

He said there was no evidence of how the press got there, who assembled it or how long it had been there.

Mr Murray said there was also no evidence Ms Hynes had any idea the press was being used to package heroin and “suspicion is not enough” to convict her at the requisite standard of beyond reasonable doubt.

Mr Selvage’s barrister Jacob Tate will give his closing address to the jury on Wednesday.