Karen Yerbury tells court about her arrest and fears for Regan Yerbury
A senior cop alleged to have been involved in an insurance payout plot has told a court of her very public arrest and how she feared for her ex-NRL cheerleader daughter.
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- Cheerleader, cop mum, coach and associate 'cooked up scheme'
- What cop mum allegedly said to officers after her arrest
When a senior police officer charged with fraud wound up inside a custody cell within the same police command she was stationed at, the only thing she thought of was her daughter.
Suspended senior sergeant Karen Yerbury spent her 54th birthday at Downing Centre Local Court testifying about the day she was arrested at Hurstville train station on her way to work and charged with fraud over an alleged attempt to fake her car’s theft for a $30,000 insurance payout.
Her daughter, ex-NRL cheerleader Regan Yerbury, Regan’s athletics coach Gavin Dunn and his associate Glenn Stone have also been charged with dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage over two alleged plots to fake the Mazda Cx-5’s theft from the Yerburys’ Engadine home in May 2017 and February 2018.
“(When I was arrested) I was gobsmacked,” Karen Yerbury told Magistrate Julie Huber on Wednesday.
“I was in a public place, I’d just exited a busy train, these two men in suits came up to me ... and told me I was under arrest for fraud - I was mortified, I was in full view of the public, I was shaking, I was jittery, I was practically hyperventilating.”
The Yerburys, Dunn and Stone have pleaded not guilty to what police say was a bizarre plot to fake the theft of Karen Yerbury’s car for the insurance windfall.
Karen Yerbury confirmed she had discussed “certain conduct involving the car” with Regan Yerbury in 2017, though her solicitor did not elaborate on the nature of the discussion.
However, she told the court she had said to police during her interview while in custody there was no way her daughter could be involved in the alleged crime.
“I was concerned about Regan because I hadn’t seen her the night before ... and they were saying things like they needed to find her for her safety, I honestly was freaking out,” Karen Yerbury said.
“I took that to mean that she was involved in criminal associations and I was shaken and scared and I said no - they were attempting to implicate Regan in something and that worried me and that scared me.”
In response to questions from her solicitor, Karen Yerbury said she could not remember part of her interview with police in which she allegedly said “I want to protect (Regan) this is the only way to protect her”.
Crown prosecutor Kate Kenny had told the court on Monday she would rely on text messages between Regan Yerbury and Dunn prior to the first alleged theft to prove what police say was a deliberate plot to fake the car’s disappearance.
On Tuesday the court heard Karen Yerbury had said to the arresting officers that she thought she knew what it was all about following a phone call the week before.
Detective Wesley Reddenbach had testified Karen Yerbury said “I think I know what this is about, I got a phone call about Gavin Dunn stealing my car”.
“I was at a Melbourne Cup event and I got a missed call from police,” Karen Yerbury told the court.
“We had a conversation about people going to court in relation to the theft of the vehicle and (the officer) said Eric Insurance had contacted him and given him information that Gavin Dunn was involved in the theft of the vehicle.”
The hearing has now blown out due to the sheer volume of evidence and the magistrate, prosecution and defence now anticipate they will need 10 more days to hear the case in full in addition to the five scheduled dates this week.
Suspended senior sergeant Karen Yerbury spent her 54th birthday at Downing Centre Local Court testifying about the day she was arrested at Hurstville train station on her way to work and charged with fraud over an alleged attempt to fake her car’s theft for a $30,000 insurance payout.