Union boss John Setka’s estranged wife Emam Walters found guilty of threatening to kill him

A court has found the estranged wife of construction union boss John Setka guilty of telling a private investigator she wanted a gun and that she would try to lure the CFMEU heavyweight to her home so she could kill him.

Emma Walters, the estranged wife of construction union boss John Setka, has been spared conviction after she was found guilty of threatening to kill her husband.

In a secretly recorded conversation Walters, 47, told a private investigator she needed a gun and wanted to “lure” the Victorian secretary of the CFMEU to her home so she could kill him, claiming she feared being assaulted and raped by him.

The former lawyer later told police she was using “florid language” and needed to protect herself and her children from Mr Setka.

But Melbourne Magistrate Leon Fluxman on Friday rejected the claim, finding Walters guilty of threatening to kill him.

“She was a trained lawyer who would’ve well understood the importance of words,” he said.

“She well understood what she was saying.

“In my view, it conveys a threat to kill Mr Setka.”

Emma Walters (centre), the estranged wife of John Setka, arrives at Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday with her lawyers. Picture: NCA Newswire / Nicki Connolly

Wearing white high heels and a suit jacket, Walters sat quietly behind her lawyer as Mr Fluxman returned his verdict.

Mr Fluxman accepted Walters had been at the end of her “tether” and felt “desperate, unsupported and violated” at the time of the incident.

“That does not excuse the offending but context is always important,” he said.

He fined her $1500 without conviction.

When asked if she understood, Walters replied: “Yes your Honour.”

Earlier, Walters’ barrister Emily Clark pushed for a good behaviour bond, saying a conviction would be a barrier for her client to return to her legal career.

Private investigator Adrian Peeters secretly recorded the conversation with Walters at her West Footscray home on March 21, later providing it to police because he feared for Mr Setka’s safety.

Victorian CFMEU secretary John Setka is estranged from his wife Emma Walters. Picture: Roy VanDerVegt

“I’m going to have to lure him in here, and I’m going to have to use it,” Walters says in the video, at times slurring her words.

“I know how to use a gun alright, I just need a gun and I’m willing to deal with the consequences of having to going through the court process of self-defence, I have that capacity.

“I have to kill my children’s father to survive and that is not a very good position to be in.”

In the recording, she also told Mr Peeters their conversation “never” happened and Mr Setka’s death could not look premeditated.

Mr Peeters told an earlier hearing he went to her home believing he had been hired to remove any bugging or listening devices.

Emma Walters during her interview with police. Picture: Supplied.

But he said the conversation quickly “shifted” to her asking him to help her obtain a “piece”, a slang term for a gun, prompting him to secretly record.

“I was taken aback, I was a bit shocked,” he said.

“They’re talking to me about a possible murder … I was a bit uneasy and felt for my own safety I needed to record it.”

Mr Fluxman on Friday said Mr Peeters was a credible and reliable witness.

After her arrest, Walters denied she wanted to kill her husband, telling investigators the allegations were “lies” while also detailing allegations of family violence.

“Have I got any intent to kill John Setka? No,” she said in her police interview.

“But do I have responsibility to protect myself and the children? Yes.”

Walters was initially charged with incitement to commit conspiracy to murder but that charge was dropped in August.

Last month, Mr Fluxman dismissed an attempted firearm possession charge, finding prosecutors had failed to provide detail on the type of firearm she was trying to obtain.

Flanked by her lawyers, Walters refused to comment as she left court.