Tweed’s Lauren Grainger jailed for kidnapping Brisbane teacher Anthony Stott before he was hit by truck and killed on M1

A Tweed woman has been jailed for the bizarre kidnapping of Brisbane teacher Anthony Stott, who was later hit by a truck and died – but an appeal has been flagged.

Lauren Grainger outside Lismore District Court.

A northern NSW woman must spend more than a year behind bars for her role in the “very unusual” kidnapping of Brisbane teacher Anthony Stott, who was later hit by a truck and died.

Lauren Claire Grainger, 42, of Bilambil in the Tweed was one of three people implicated in the illegal detention of the Queensland private school teacher at Cudgera Creek.

Grainger pleaded not guilty to the aggravated kidnapping of Mr Stott, but was found guilty by a jury.

The 43-year-old died when he fled Grainger and then-partner Mark Frost’s Tweed Valley property and was then hit by the semi-trailer on the M1 on February 10, 2020.

Police at the Cudgera Creek property after teacher Antony Stott’s death. Picture: Scott Powick

Lismore District Court heard Mr Stott was tied up to a chair in a farm shed for hours after he abandoned his BMW on the side of the road and entered the couple’s home early in the morning, before he was detected by Grainger.

Grainger told the court Mr Stott entered the home with a knife and “crazy eyes”.

Prosecutor Josh Hanna said Mr Stott was “marched out” to a shed for a “drunken, violent interrogation” and questioned: “Who the f--k sent you here?”

Anthony Stott tied to a chair before his death on the M1.

“In the completely wrong suspicion that he was there for sinister purposes, they restrained him, tied him up and conducted a drunken, violent interrogation over the next several hours,” he said.

A jury took less than two hours to find Grainger guilty in September 2022.

Frost and friend Craig Button earlier pleaded guilty to a charge of detaining Mr Stott with intent to obtain information.

Both men’s sentences were reduced because they testified against Grainger.

The court heard Mr Stott was erratic and upset passengers on a flight into Brisbane following a trip to Peru.

He was caught masturbating and curled up into a ball pretending to do yoga to “calm himself” the day before his death.

Mr Stott’s car was photographed over the speed limit by two speed cameras as he drove southbound, eventually stopping near the property of more than seven hectares.

Anthony Stott before his death.

Grainger appeared visibly upset and was seen hunched over with her hands shaking in the dock of Lismore District Court during sentencing on April 13.

Judge Jennifer English told the court Grainger was a mature woman with no prior criminal history, and an “unconvincing, unreliable witness”.

She said key facts included whether Mr Stott was indeed armed with a knife, whether Grainger hit him with a golf club and the length of time the St Peters Lutheran College teacher was detained.

Judge English said there were aspects of Grainger was “minimising her culpability” and parts of her testimony were “in contradiction” and “untruthful”.

The Cudgera Creek property. Picture: Scott Powick

“I was unable to find her genuinely remorseful,” she said.

Judge English told the court the sentences imposed on the two co-accused by a trial judge who has since retired were “extraordinarily lenient”.

She said the detention of the victim was more than unreasonable.

“She (Grainger) used the weapon to threaten the victim,” Ms English said.

The judge told the court the trio were not criminally responsible for what happened after Mr Stott left the property.

Lauren Grainger outside Lismore District Court.

Ms English noted the maximum penalty for illegally detaining a person for advantage was 20 years imprisonment.

Grainger was sentenced to two years and six months in prison with a non-parole period of 15 months. She will be eligible for parole on June 4, 2024.

Grainger’s father, Derek Grainger said the outcome was “disappointing” and the family’s lawyer, Nicole Conlan, said an appeal was being considered.

Originally published as Tweed’s Lauren Grainger jailed for kidnapping Brisbane teacher Anthony Stott before he was hit by truck and killed on M1