NewsBite

Paul Cohrs took real estate agent hostage during cross-country killing spree

A man who took a real estate agent hostage during a cross-border killing spree that left his mum and brother dead was suffering from a delusional disorder at the time, a jury has been told.

Paul Cohrs arrives at the Melbourne Supreme Court. Picture: Ian Currie
Paul Cohrs arrives at the Melbourne Supreme Court. Picture: Ian Currie

A man who took a real estate agent hostage during a cross-border killing spree was suffering from a delusional disorder at the time, a jury has been told.

Paul Cohrs is standing trial in the Supreme Court for the shooting murder of his mother Bette Cohrs-Schulz at her Red Cliffs home, south of Mildura, on October 30, 2018.

Earlier that day, he shot dead his brother Raymond Cohrs some 100km away at his rural NSW homestead.

The homestead was the subject of a bitter family dispute involving real estate agent Michael Fernandez, who spent hours captive in handcuffs at the property after witnessing Raymond’s killing.

The court heard there was no dispute that Mr Cohrs, then aged 58, killed his mother and brother – just whether he was sound of mind at the time.

Defence lawyer Lucien Richter said Mr Cohrs was suffering from a delusional disorder and wrongly believing his brother murdered their father, whom died by suicide in 1984.

He told the jury expert psychiatric evidence will prove on the balance of probabilities that Mr Cohrs is not guilty of murder due to mental impairment.

“This is a tragic case. We don’t expect you to look past the fact two people were killed by Mr Cohrs,” Mr Richter said, telling the jury it was their job to determine whether his client knew at the time that murdering his mother was wrong.

Paul Cohrs at the Melbourne Supreme Court. Picture: Ian Currie
Paul Cohrs at the Melbourne Supreme Court. Picture: Ian Currie

Prosecutor Melissa Mahady told the jury there was evidence Mr Cohrs had the mental capacity to understand what he had done.

She said the killings followed long-running financial and legal disputes involving family businesses, in which Ms Cohrs-Schulz and her son Raymond were united against Mr Cohrs.

The day of the killings, Mr Fernandez and Raymond attended Mr Cohrs’ Lake Victoria Station homestead to value it for sale due to growing debts, allegedly accrued by Mr Cohrs through “reckless spending” of family business funds.

The court heard Mr Cohrs pulled a single-barrel shotgun from his car and fired twice at his brother who was just 3m away.

Mr Cohrs told Mr Fernandez, who was scared for his life, that his brother “deserved it”.

The court heard he then walked over to his brother and asked: “Have you had enough pain yet?” before shooting him in the torso and head and taking Mr Fernandez to a shearing shed where he was handcuffed for hours as Mr Cohrs travelled across the border to shoot dead his mum.

The trial will resume on Monday.
The trial will resume on Monday.

The 81-year-old was killed by a single gunshot wound to the chest inside in the kitchen of her home where her four-year-old great grandson was present.

The court heard Mr Cohrs then got petrol, confessed to his daughter, telling her “don’t worry about me, I’m at peace with what I’ve done” before calling local police, alerting them to the killing of his ‘grandmother’ by an unknown person.

He then returned to his NSW home, freed Mr Fernandez, produced a handwritten suicide note and shot himself in the chest when police arrived.

The court heard he told police “I can’t believe that didn’t kill me” and that going to jail would be his “worst nightmare”.

Asked why he shot his mother and brother, he told police: “They are the most evil people in the world”.

The trial resumes on Monday.

The criminal case involving Raymond Cohrs will take place in the NSW jurisdiction.

Original URL: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/police-courts-victoria/paul-cohrs-took-real-estate-agent-hostage-during-crosscountry-killing-spree/news-story/f404f4721187e8fb3b2ba8cd28d7d3ee