One-time fugitive Mark Horne reveals why he skipped bail and fled to Darwin, sparking nationwide manhunt

The man once dubbed the state’s most wanted fugitive has finally revealed to a court why he cut off his ankle monitor and fled interstate, breaching his $500k bail and sparking a nationwide manhunt that lasted more than three months.

A man once dubbed the state’s most wanted fugitive has told a court he skipped his $500,000 bail and fled interstate after being told there was a hit out on his life.

Mark Anthony Horne was on Supreme Court bail, charged over his involvement in the non-fatal shooting of a truck driver and the theft of $550,000 during a robbery at Lithgow in 2020, when he famously went on the run in October 2022, just weeks out from his NSW District Court trial.

The 33-year-old cut off his electronic ankle monitor and caught a private plane to Brisbane out of Bankstown Airport, prompting the start of a nationwide manhunt.

Police released this image of Mark Horne, taken moments after he was found hiding in a yacht bound for Indonesia in late January 2023.

More than three months later, Northern Territory police discovered Horne hiding in the hull of a luxury yacht moored in Darwin, but bound for Indonesia.

The fugitive was in possession of false documents and a large sum of Australian cash when he was found cowering behind fuel containers.

Horne was extradited to Sydney and remanded in custody.

He eventually admitted his role in the Lithgow hold-up, entering a guilty plea to a charge of robbery in company causing grievous bodily harm.

But the reason behind his decision to flee the state almost two years ago has remained a mystery - until now.

In an affidavit tendered to Parramatta District Court this week, Horne’s girlfriend, Emily Lefoe, said her partner was in fear for his life when he went on the run - care of an unexpected visit from police.

Police pictures of Mark Horne, released after he cut off his ankle monitor and fled interstate in October 2022.

Horne has distinctive tattoos on his neck.

She attached screen shots from CCTV showing detectives speaking with Horne on the front lawn of their home in the days before he fled.

She claimed Horne came inside after the conversation and said he’d been told there was a “hit” or “contract” out on him and that his life was in danger.

No further details about the alleged hit were aired in court, including who may have been behind it or if indeed the threat itself was even real.

However, barrister Peter Lange asked the court to accept that fear for his own safety and that of his family had been the primary motivating factor for Horne in skipping bail, and not his desire to avoid his upcoming joint trial with co-accused Sam Elomari, Ricky Lefoe, Jordan Wakeham and Joshua Thompson.

The trial of the latter four proceeded but was abandoned mid-way through and the charges dropped.

However the Director of Public Prosecutions revived its case against the four men after Horne was rearrested.

Horne pictured after arriving in NSW following his extradition from the Northern Territory. Picture: NSW Police

The Crown alleged the five men robbed truck driver Keith Carstairs at a rest stop on the Great Western Highway at Mount Lambie on September 29, 2020, shooting him twice in the foot and once in the thigh before he eventually gave up the location of $550,000 in cash that had been stashed in his prime mover in Perth three days earlier.

Mr Carstairs was flown to Westmead Hospital after contacting emergency services and underwent major surgery.

Earlier this year, the DPP withdrew the charges against Elomari, Lefoe, Wakeham and Thompson for a second time and were ordered to pay more than $200,000 in legal costs for Lefoe and Thompson, who had both hired private lawyers to defend them.

Horne had been due to stand trial in March next year but pleaded guilty to the robbery charge last month in a plea deal with prosecutors.

He will be sentenced by Judge Stephen Hanley on Monday.