Jayden Walmsley-Hume, Katie Walmsley: Closing statements begin in Nowra murder trial

The Crown has delivered its closing address in the south coast murder trial of a mother and son, who allegedly ran an Indigenous teenager down as part of a revenge plot.

Alleged murder victim Taj Hart.

The prosecutor in a NSW south coast murder trial has labelled an alleged hit-and-run attack “deliberate”, telling a jury the death of an Indigenous teenager was “not an accident”.

The Crown presented its closing statements on Wednesday in the three-week trial of Jayden Walmsley-Hume and his mother, Katie Walmsley, who are accused of murdering 18-year-old Taj Hart in a hit-and-run revenge plot in South Nowra more than two years ago.

The pair have pleaded not guilty to murder charges, while Walmsley has also denied being an accessory after the fact to murder.

The weeks-long trial began in the Supreme Court in Wollongong on July 17, when the jury heard how the mother and son, from Currarong, allegedly ran down Mr Hart on Old Southern Rd, South Nowra, on February 24, 2022.

In the NSW Supreme Court on Wednesday, Crown prosecutor Kate Ratcliffe told the jury they had heard the main pieces of evidence detailing how the pair intended to hit Mr Hart with the Mitsubishi Triton and intended to cause serious injury “at the very least”.

The trial is taking place at the Wollongong courthouse.

The jury previously heard how Walmsley-Hume drove the car - with his mother in the passenger seat - off the road at speed.

They allegedly hit Mr Hart, who was walking along the side of the road, before returning to the road and driving away.

The jury was previously shown an image of Old Southern Rd, South Nowra.

In the Crown’s closing statement, Ms Ratcliffe said there were multiple important items of evidence which pointed to murder.

She pointed to the alleged existing animosity and “hatred” Walmsley-Hume had for Mr Hart, reminding the jury of how Mr Hart had allegedly “seriously injured” the accused’s arm.

Ms Ratcliffe said this animosity was shared by Walmsley, who became angered at her son’s injury.

“The Crown also relies on the CCTV footage along Old Southern Rd, and that’s perhaps the most important evidence in the Crown case,” she said.

“It shows in an indisputable form what the accused did when they saw Taj Hart walking along Old Southern Rd.

“It shows the speed of the vehicle, the U-turn and the travel off the road directly at Mr Hart.”

Ms Ratcliffe said Mr Hart succumbed to his injuries shortly after the vehicle allegedly hit him, having suffered lacerations and injuries to his lungs.

She delivered her closing statement the day after Walmsley-Hume addressed the jury in cross-examination, saying he thought he hit a pole.

He said he discovered Mr Hart had been hit by a car later in the day on social media.

“I seen there was a post, I think it’s called Shoalhaven Incident Updates or something, and it said there was a hit-and-run on Old Southern Rd in Nowra and it said they were giving him CPR,” he told the jury.

“I started getting really worried, I started reading more comments and my heart hit the ground.”

However, on Wednesday, Ms Ratcliffe told the jury this was “not an accident”.

“The Crown case is that this was a deliberate act uninterrupted by the passenger,” she said.

“When you look at this evidence, you might ask if this was an accident like Jayden Walmsley-Hume told you it was yesterday.

“If you were going to hit something, would you instinctively stop or would you speed up?

“If you were the passenger, you would instinctively grab the steering wheel to move it from this path.

“There was no evidence this happened.”

Justice Robertson Wright adjourned the trial to Thursday, when defence barristers Sharyn Hall SC and Edward Anderson are expected to present their closing statements.

Ms Hall previously told the jury Walmsley-Hume had intended to slightly injure Mr Hart as payback for his arm, not kill him.

Mr Anderson argued Walmsley was not a murderer in his opening address, telling jurors they could not convict his client unless they were satisfied she had agreed with her son to kill Mr Hart.

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