Daniel Clulow death: Holly Powers, Maddison Day convicted of hindering arrest of Darren Butler
A man suspected at the time of the murder of Illawarra dad-of-seven Daniel Clulow avoided arrest for almost two weeks. The two woman, his then girlfriend and an ex, who protected him have now learnt their fate.
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Two glamorous young women embedded in a murky ‘ice’-filled world have narrowly avoided an immediate return to prison after they helped source a hotel room, drugs, cash and transport for a man wanted for murder.
Holly Powers and Maddison Maureen Day have been convicted of hindering the arrest of 27-year-old Darren Butler in May last year. At the time, Butler was suspected of the murder of Illawarra dad-of-seven Daniel Clulow who died in a fatal Princes Highway crash when a car he was travelling in collided with a fuel tanker.
It’s alleged Mr Clulow was being chased by a car driven by Butler over a money dispute, with shots allegedly fired at his car by passenger Andrew Russell.
Butler and Russell were ultimately charged with manslaughter and have entered pleas of not guilty, with the men to stand trial next year.
Butler went to ground following the deadly incident and allegedly enlisted the help of ex-girlfriend Day and then romantic partner Powers.
Phone taps tendered to court revealed the women knew Butler was involved in the horrific crash and that he was “gonna get done”, but still helped him for days.
Two days after the fatal incident, Powers and Day worked together to organise accommodation for Butler at Jamberoo Resort which was raided by police before he could even check in, court documents reveal.
Later that day police warned both women about protecting Butler, with the pair denying any contact with him.
“You may be charged with accessory after the fact to murder,” said a police officer. “It may f**k your entire life. Don’t f**k your entire life for a guy you have only known for three months.”
Shaken by the events in prior days, Powers contacted her boss that night and told her she couldn’t work because of the situation.
“The guy I was seeing like … it involves him so I’ve … I didn’t …. I mean like I knew how serious it was but like I just don’t know me head’s been everywhere since it happened,” she said. “ … like its f***in pretty much a murder investigation.”
On another occasion Butler allegedly contacted Powers again saying he needed “rocks” from Day, understood to be methylamphetamine, and he would pick them up from Day’s house. The court heard he never received the drugs.
Wollongong District Court heard both women were frequent users of ‘ice’, with Day smoking up to 2g a day.
The court heard Day and Powers, after being remanded in custody for six months and three and a half months respectively, had removed themselves from their drug mates, with Day completing full-time rehabilitation and Powers moving out of town.
Judge Andrew Haesler condemned the woman for helping hide a suspected murderer.
“It is of vital importance that where someone is wanted for a serious crime, and there can be no more serious crime than murder, that (the police) receive the full co-operation from the public,” he said.
Day and Powers were sentenced to one year and 10 months and one year and one month jail respectively, with both women immediately placed on parole on time served.