Mariah Powell: Glam ex-lover spared more jail time after helping wanted man Darren Butler escape cops
A glamorous young mum has been spared extra jail time after helping her former boyfriend avoid arrest on a murder charge, with a judge finding it would be “ cruel” to send her back to prison.
Illawarra Star
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A glamorous young mother has been spared further jail time after helping her former boyfriend avoid arrest on a murder charge, with a judge finding it would be “unnecessarily cruel” to send her back to prison.
Mariah Shea Powell faced the NSW District Court in Wollongong for sentencing on Friday, after she admitted to helping Darren Butler evade police following a fatal petrol tanker crash that killed Illawarra father-of-seven Daniel Merrett in May 2019.
The 27-year-old told the court she acted out of loyalty to her former lover in the days following the crash, despite being warned against it by police.
“There was the chaos of his life colliding with mine,” she said. “I wanted to protect him out of love… I had no idea it would escalate…. Life became surreal to me like a nightmare I couldn’t wake up from.”
Mr Merrett, also known as Daniel Clulow, was killed on May 18 last year, after the car he was travelling in crashed into the back of a petrol tanker, while allegedly being chased and shot at by another vehicle. Mr Merrett died at the scene of the horrific crash, suffering severe head and brain injuries, while the three other people in the car were seriously injured.
Police allege Mr Merrett’s car was being chased by Butler, Andrew Russell and Holly Green, following a dispute with Mr Merrett about a sum of money. It will be alleged Russell fired shots at the vehicle from a rifle, while Butler was driving the car.
Butler, who police allege spent almost two weeks on the run after a warrant was issued for his arrest, was charged with murder which was eventually downgraded tomanslaughter, while Russell is also facing a charge of manslaughter.
In documents tendered to the court, it’s alleged Butler went to ground for almost two weeks after Mr Clulow’s death, enlisting the help of his girlfriend Holly Powers, as well as his former girlfriends Maddison Day and Powell, who had been warned by police not to assist him.
On May 20, its alleged Butler stole an associate’s Nissan Navara. On May 21, when Powers, Day and the owner of the vehicle were together, they received a phone call from a mystery man, who told the owner of the car to transfer the registration to Butler, saying “if you don’t your family’s gone”.
The owner of the car agreed, and with Day’s encouragement, wrote on a piece of paper that he sold the car to Butler for $10,000 in the days prior.
Powell later called Powers to see if they had transferred the registration online saying “can you please make sure he does it babe …. It covers his tracks too like it’s a win, win situation pretty much.”
It’s alleged on that day, Butler and Green used the Navara to flee to Victoria, prompting Powell to drive to Melbourne in a white Mitsubishi van on May 23 so he had transport while on the run.
Butler later used that vehicle to return to NSW.
Powell was stopped by police while returning home the following day, with officers finding her in possession of letters from Butler and Green to their respective families.
She was arrested on the spot and charged with being an accessory after the fact to murder. She spent the following six months in custody, where she was bashed on one occasion, before being granted bail.
In April, she pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of hindering the apprehension of a person who committed a serious offence.
On Friday, Powell’s lawyer Nancy Mikhail told the court her client had genuine remorse for actions, and that the time she had spent in custody was particularly onerous given she was away from her son who suffers from autism.
In a letter to the court Ms Powell said “jail was my hell, I did not cope” and said she planned to finish a beauty diploma at TAFE to provide a “better life” for her and her son.
Judge Andrew Haesler sentenced Powell to two years and one month jail, with a non-parole period of six months, which was backdated to include the time she’d already spent behind bars.
“It doesn't matter she was in love or confused or deluded,” he said.
“It is relevant at the time she was depressed, anxious, medicated and vulnerable to manipulation…. It would be unnecessarily cruel to (return her to custody).”
Butler and Russell will face trial next year, while Day and Powers were sentenced to one year and 10 months and one year and one month jail respectively last month, with both women immediately placed on parole on time served.