Joshua David Wright pleads guilty to the murder of housemate John Simpson at Laguna

A man who brutally shot his housemate in the head before dumping his body in a shallow grave on their remote Hunter Valley rental property has pleaded guilty to murder.

Homicide Squad detectives extradited Joshua Wright from Victoria and charged him over the murder of Lagaun man and housemate John Simpson. Picture: NSW Police

A man who brutally shot housemate John Simpson in the head before dumping his body in a shallow grave on their remote Hunter Valley rental property has pleaded guilty to murder.

In Newcastle Local Court on Wednesday, Joshua David Wright, 35, admitted to killing Mr Simpson between 6pm on April 13, 2023, and noon the following day when he was shot in the head at the Laguna property.

He also pleaded guilty to possession of a stolen firearm - relating to a .223 calibre rifle stolen from Rothbury winery in 2018 - while three charges of possess unauthorised firearm and possession of ammunition will be taken into account on sentencing.

He’s been committed for sentence in the Sydney Supreme Court on April 4.

Strike Force Blakely, headed up by the NSW Homicide Squad, was established a few weeks after Mr Simpson was reported missing at Laguna in April 2023.

When Joshua Wright was extradited for John Simpson’s murder. Picture: NSW Police

John Simpson went missing on April 13, 2023 before his body was located at Laguna, near Cessnock, on May 16. Picture: NSW Police.

Police made a public plea about the 42-year-old’s last known sighting on a section of Great North Rd at Laguna when he was seen on the side of the road after his vehicle had broken down and was doing some makeshift repairs.

The farm worker’s disappearance prompted several multi-agency searches in and around the area before a gruesome discovery of Mr Simpson’s body in a shallow bush grave on the rental property he shared with Wright, on May 16.

Police on the property at Great North Rd, Laguna on July 18, 2023 conducting searches. Picture: Dan Proudman.

It was around three months later, Wright was extradited by homicide detectives from Victoria after being arrested by the state’s fugitive squad and charged with murder.

Court documents state that the firearm charge related to a .177 calibre Gamo Model Spectra single shot air rifle Wright had in his possession on May 11.

David Mark Thomas was also arrested by the Strike Force at Cessnock and was charged with being an accessory after the fact to murder.

He’s yet to enter a plea and will appear in Newcastle Local Court next week.