Jury deadlocked on whether Justin Dilosa killed Danielle Easey, as ex-lover found guilty of murder

After a woman was found guilty of murdering young mum Danielle Easey, jurors went back to deliberate again on her co-accused but were ultimately unable to reach a verdict. Read how the trial unfolded.

Danielle Easey was stabbed and beaten to death before her body was wrapped in plastic and dumped in a creek in Lake Macquarie in 2019.

A jury has failed to reach a verdict, deadlocked on their decision as to whether Justin Dilosa colluded with former partner Carol McHenry to brutally murder young mum Danielle Easey.

After McHenry was found guilty of murder in the NSW Supreme Court on Monday, jurors went back to deliberate again as they struggled to come to an agreeance on 34-year-old Dilosa.

It was just a day later that the jury returned and told Justice Robertson Wright they could not reach a unanimous decision on the murder charge against Dilosa before being directed to return and deliberate to see whether a majority verdict could be reached.

After deliberating for several more days, the court heard on Thursday the jury could not reach either a unanimous or 10-1 majority verdict and the panel was discharged.

The matter was adjourned to the NSW Supreme Court on February 10.

Danielle Easey was stabbed to death on August 17, 2019.

Ms Easey was stabbed to death in McHenry’s Narara home on August 17, 2019 before her body was wrapped in plastic and a doona and two weeks later dumped at Cockle Creek near Killingworth, west of Newcastle, where she was later found by a passing motorist.

During the almost two month trial, the ex-lovers both denied their role in the killing and blamed each other.

Carol McHenry was found guilty of murder. The jury could not come to an agreement on a verdict on the charge of murder against Justin Dilosa and has been discharged. Picture: Facebook

Dilosa gave evidence he was tasked with wrapping Ms Easey up after she was killed by McHenry and that she had threatened him saying, “I’ll make sure you do 20 years”.

The court heard he stored the body in his van until eventually disposing of it, before he had to clean up the “mess”.

He told the jury he had been “back and forward” in taking the blame for McHenry, and had set it up so no-one could be implicated and that he would take responsibility.

McHenry will be sentenced in April.

The crime scene at 13 Reeves St Narara in relation to the murder of Danielle Easey. Picture: Sue Graham

How the trial unfolded

The trial heard Dilosa and McHenry were once a loving couple, their “pretty intense” relationship headed for marriage after just three months.

But a strong addiction to ‘ice’ would ultimately be their demise, before Justin Dilosa, 34, and Carol McHenry, 33, turned on one another, blaming each other for the brutal murder of young mum Danielle Easey.

Ms Easey was the victim of an ill-fated night on August 17, 2019 where she was stabbed to death at McHenry’s Narara home before her body was wrapped in plastic and a doona, and shoved in a white cupboard and van.

Two weeks later the young mum was discarded, her body dumped at Cockle Creek near Killingworth, west of Newcastle.

She was later found by a passing motorist.

Dilosa and McHenry were charged in September 2019.

Video stills of the crime scene at Narara. Picture: NSW Police

During the trial Dilosa gave evidence telling the jury he was tasked with wrapping Ms Easey up after she was killed by McHenry.

The court heard he stored the body in his van until eventually disposing of it, before he had to clean up the ‘mess’, saying he had been “back and forward” in taking the blame for his ex-partner and set it up so no-one could be implicated and that he would take responsibility.

The court also heard he had thrown the murder weapons, a knife and hammer, into a fire pit in the backyard of his Cardiff home while friends were there.

He told the jury at one point he pleaded with McHenry to fess-up to police.

The jury heard in a conversation with one of the witnesses which was recorded by police, Dilosa claimed he had set it up so no-one else could be implicated and that he would take responsibility.

Detectives arrested McHenry, who has since been found guilty of the murder of Easey.

“At the time they (the comments) were genuine, but on and off in that period depending on my thought pattern, how I was being treated, it flipped back and forward,” Dilosa told the jury.

He told the jury at one point he pleaded with McHenry to fess-up to police.

“I remember saying to Carol, you need to take the blame for what you did, take the blame for the murder. It come off a comment she made to me something about a dead body in my van,” Dilosa recalled.

“She said I’ll make sure you do 20 years for this.”

During the trial the jury heard how McHenry was “petrified” of Dilosa and was too scared to come forward after what he had done, helping him to cover up the killing.

Arrest image of Dilosa. Picture: NSW Police

Witness Natalie Beveridge told the jury of a conversation she had with McHenry about the night of the attack, where her friend had said she had heard arguing from her bedroom and when she went to investigate, she saw Dilosa attack Ms Easey from behind with an object.

The court also heard Dilosa had told friends he had killed Ms Easey because the “crack ran out” and she was “going to hurt his friends”, a claim denied by Dilosa.

Witness Jacob Collins told the jury it was on two occasions his friend had conversations with him and made confessions about what he had done to Ms Easey.

A former Cardiff chicken processing plant was cordoned off by police investigating the murder of Danielle Easey. Picture: Peter Lorimer

“Justin had said he had killed her and said something about it was all good until the crack ran out and said that chick was no good and was going to hurt his friends and then it happened, he stabbed her in head and back and that he would do it again,” Mr Collins said giving evidence.

He said he told Dilosa to hand himself in but that his reply was that he wasn’t going to.

Through the trial, the jury heard claims of significant lies and “level of deceit” shown by both Dilosa and McHenry.

Crown prosecutor John Stanhope told the court it sounded “far-fetched” that Dilosa had gone to the lengths of wrapping Ms Easey’s body on behalf of McHenry, and that he took responsibility for the murder.

Danielle Easey was remembered as having a heart “full of love”. Picture: Peter Lorimer

Mr Stanhope also detailed the number of versions McHenry had given to police about what had happened to Ms Easey, questioning her credibility, and whether she was acting out of fear at all.

When Dilosa was asked if he had killed Ms Easey, he replied “no”.

Tributes flowed for Ms Easey after her murder, with family saying she had a heart “full of love”.

“She was a beautiful person and a brilliant mother. She used to drop the kids off to be babysat and return in an hour because she would rather be with them,” her mum Jen Collier said.

“She gave her kids all they needed and so much more.”