Former Queensland MP Jason Costigan’s daughter Brianna Costigan cleared of charges
The daughter of former Queensland MP Jason Costigan has had her court case thrown out after police spent a year alleging she had broken into her neighbour’s storage unit to steal a barbecue.
Central Sydney
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The daughter of former Queensland MP Jason Costigan has had her court case thrown out after police spent a year alleging she had broken into her neighbour’s storage unit to steal a barbecue.
Brianna Costigan, 21, appeared in Sydney Downing Centre Court on Tuesday to fight the charge of breaking into her neighbour’s storage unit to steal a barbecue and a pram in December 2020.
Ms Costigan was arrested on January 6 last year after police claimed she broke into her neighbour’s storage area in their shared building in Zetland to steal a Yoyo pram and a Weber barbecue. The combined value of both items was estimated at less than $60,000.
Ms Costigan had pleaded not guilty to the charge and was preparing to contest the charge in a hearing in the Downing Centre on Wednesday. However, the prosecution elected to withdraw the charges all together after more than a year in court.
It was a surprise announcement that Ms Costigan’s lawyer, Rayan Kadadi, said was well overdue.
“My client intended to defend this charge from the beginning,” Ms Kadadi said.
“The prosecution in my opinion did not have sufficient evidence to prove the offence. After a morning of negotiations with the police and the prosecution, they decided to rightfully withdraw the charge.”
Ms Kadadi said her client could have been spared a lot of time and money if the charge had been withdrawn earlier in the protracted court process.
“It’s a shame that my client was subject to bail conditions and had to deal with the stress of these proceedings for a year,” she said.
Ms Costigan was arrested after a tumultuous year of her life in 2020 in which she reportedly converted to Islam, and married and subsequently separated from Ahmed Taha.
The daughter of the former Queensland MP Jason Costigan was also charged with dealing cocaine in 2020, but the charges were dismissed on mental health grounds. Meanwhile, her former husband was jailed for supplying drugs on an ongoing basis and will be eligible for release in May 2023.
In November, Moss Vale court heard Ms Costigan applied for a bail variation to allow her to move from Castle Hill to Moss Vale in the Southern Highlands for the quieter life.
Ms Costigan took to Instagram to celebrate her freedom after a year of being on bail and reporting to police.
In a post shared to her private page, she thanked her lawyer for getting the charge withdrawn and said it was “Time to move on with my life. Here I come! #2022”.
For the year-long anguish the police allegations caused, Ms Kadadi quipped it “(m)ust have been a very special BBQ.”
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