‘She was already dead when I shot her’: Simone Quinlan’s horrifying final hours detailed in court

SIMONE Quinlan was found incinerated at the bottom of a mineshaft. What she suffered beforehand defies belief.

Wayne Marmo insists he didn’t kill Simone Quinlan, he just shot her five times in the head.

WAYNE Marmo insists he didn’t kill Simone Quinlan — he just shot her five times in the head.

The Melton mother-of-two was already dead when Marmo shot her, dumped her body down a mineshaft and incinerated her corpse on the outskirts of Melbourne on August 25, 2015, his lawyer has told the court at his murder trial.

Defence lawyer Scott Johns said Ms Quinlan was instead killed by her boyfriend, Marmo’s mate Brendan Neil in a “violent, controlling rage”.

Yesterday, the Supreme Court of Victoria heard Ms Quinlan was brutally bashed in the chest and head, had her face taped up, was “thrown around like a rag doll” and repeatedly struck with a hammer in Mr Neil’s house.

Her body was then wrapped in a blanket and placed in Marmo’s ute and was driven to Kangaroo Flat, near Bendigo where he dumped her down a mineshaft. Petrol was then used to burn her body.

Prosecutor Kevin Doyle said according to witness statements, Marmo and two other friends were sitting in the house house during his attack on Ms Quinlan, smoking ice, while Marmo began cutting the barrel off a shotgun.

Meanwhile, Neil launched an attack that “went on for hours ... he threw her around like a ragdoll”.

The court heard that on the way to the mineshaft, Marmo, who was 24 at the time, shot her to make sure she was dead.

Mother-of-two Simone Quinlan, 33, was found incinerated down a mineshaft, but suffered horribly in the hours beforehand.

Mr Johns said it appeared Ms Quinlan was already dead before leaving the house, meaning Marmo was guilty instead of the lesser charge of attempted murder.

Mr Doyle told the jury pathologists had not been able to determine the exact cause of death — gunshot wound to the head, blunt impact to the head, or the result of having her nose and mouth taped up. However, he said “it doesn’t matter” what caused her death, as Marmo was “complicit” in her murder.

“A person can be guilty of a crime whether or not they committed the precise acts that killed the person,” Mr Doyle told the jury.

“One way or another, he’s guilty of murder.”

The court heard that in the lead-up to her killing, Ms Quinlan had been in a violent relationship with Neil, wanted to leave him, and had been messaging friends asking for help.

Police at Kangaroo Flat where Ms Quinlan’s body was found. Picture Daryl Pinder

The court heard their relationship had been characterised by use of the drug ice, and that in the past she had contacted the police complaining he’d attacked her with a baseball bat.

Witnesses, who cannot be named for legal reasons, have claimed to have seen Ms Quinlan’s death and the subsequent dumping of her body.

They are expected to give evidence this week about how they were present when Ms Quinlan’s body was wrapped in a blanket and placed in Marmo’s Hilux. They then accompanied Marmo on the drive to Kangaroo Flat, near Bendigo, where she was finally dumped and set alight.

Ms Quinlan was reported missing for nearly a month before her remains were eventually found.

At the time, her father Wayne Quinlan told of the harrowing decison he made to personally identify what was left of her, because he could not bear to wait another week for DNA tests to prove it was his daughter, whom was known to his family as “Possum”.

“I have asked the police if I can come and see her,” he told the Herald Sun in October 2015, in the days after she was found.

“To me, it’s something I need to do. I need to see for myself.”

“I just want my girl home...I don’t even want to imagine what could’ve happened to her.”

Mr Quinlan said his daughter, who is survived by two young children, had struggled with drug problems but was a loving mother.

“Simone has brought our family so much joy in our life,” he said.

The trial continues.