9 words samurai sword murder accused said more than 60 times
A court heard three hours of Hannah Quinn’s interview about the samurai sword killing of Jett McKee - and she couldn’t stop saying the same 9 words.
A sobbing Hannah Quinn repeatedly couldn’t recall details in a police interview about the samurai sword death of rapper Jett McKee, saying more than 60 times “I can’t remember”, “I don’t remember” or “I don’t know”.
Ms Quinn told police she was “panicking, crying … freaked out … really distressed … shocked … terrified … didn’t know what was going on” after her boyfriend Blake Davis struck Mr McKee over the head with the sword, a court has heard.
In an interview recorded four days after Mr McKee’s death, police asked Ms Quinn whether she had thought about rendering him assistance after she saw the sword blow, and if she had discussed helping the bleeding man with Mr Blake.
“I was just really panicked and shocked … we were just so scared someone would try and attack us didn’t know what was going on,” she replied.
Ms Quinn, a former kindergarten teaching student and Mr Blake, an actor, have pleaded not guilty to the alleged murder of Jett McKee near the home of Mr Blake on Hereford Street, Forest Lodge on Friday, August 10, 2018.
Ms Quinn, crying in a Newtown Police Station interview room with her barrister Tom Hughes behind her, said everything was “hazy” after the alleged attack and she didn’t know where she was.
Just over three hours of a more than five-hour interview with Ms Quinn was played at the NSW Supreme Court trial on Monday of her and Mr Davis before Justice Natalie Adams.
Ms Quinn agreed she and Mr Davis had ended up in an alley after running from the scene of Mr McKee’s attack.
Ms Quinn, who said she could see “some sirens, a helicopter”, was asked what she was thinking at that point.
“I wasn’t thinking anything … I was just so shocked and couldn’t believe what happened, just crying and shaking and traumatised from what I’ve seen, couldn’t think straight at all.
“And just Blake’s eye was bleeding really bad.
“Blake was blacking out at times he really wasn’t okay. Just didn’t know what to do. … he was in and out of consciousness … just hazy and not okay.”
The trial has heard that Mr McKee had entered Mr Blake’s flat to rob the couple, who have been described as “drug dealers”, and took Ms Quinn’s black shoulder bag.
The rapper, who had a poker machine addiction, had allegedly struck the actor in the eye with a knuckleduster, then fled, and was chased down the street by the couple before the fatal sword blow.
In the recorded police interview on August 14, 2018, Ms Quinn said Mr Kee, armed with a pistol, had threatened that “more people would be coming if we didn’t give him money … people who knew our families”.
Ms Quinn said she couldn’t remember the size or the shape of the pistol, or the make of her bag which she had discarded because “the strap was broken”, or any detail about the samurai sword.
After Mr McKee was struck with the sword, Ms Quinn said she just “turned … and ran straight away”.
She agreed she had seen “lots” of blood from Mr McKee’s head, but asked what she thought about the extent of his injuries, she replied “I really just tried not to think about it. I didn’t know and I didn’t want to know
“It was the most horrible thing I had seen. I just couldn’t contemplate was that was.”
Ms Quinn said she and Mr Davis had gone back to his place, via a side street where he found a tarp in which to wrap the samurai sword, while she was “panicking, crying, just freaking out, I was really distressed”.
Asked if she or Mr Davis had picked up anything from inside the house, Ms Quinn said “I’d rather not answer that”.
But after a short break from the police interview to confer with her counsel Mr Hughes, Ms Quinn said she had noticed Mr Davis pick up brown paper bag.
She said she had not known what was in the bag, but later while hiding out in the alley he told her he had placed their savings and some weapons in it, in case Mr Mckee’s threatened “people” went to the flat.
Images have been tendered to the trial of an Uber Eats bag with the name “Hannah” written on it, $21,000 in cash, a golden replica pistol, mobile phones and nunchucks.
Police video has been shown at the trial of officers retrieving a further sum of more than $3000 from the Hereford Street flat, plus 122.1 grams of cannabis.
Asked by police at Newtown station about any valuables at Hereford Street Mr McKee might have been after, Ms Quinn said there was money, about $8000 or $9000 she had saved.
“I wanted to buy a van to drive around Australia and we’ve been saving up,” she said.
Asked where in the flat her money had been, Ms Quinn said, “I don’t actually know, I’m sorry, I can’t remember” and said it was a “holiday fund” they had together.
Asked why it wasn’t in the bank, she said she’s worked for “cash in hand for years” and that he kept it in a secret location for “safekeeping … I just bring it over, he just adds to it”.
Asked if there was any reason why she didn’t know the money’s location, she said “I just trusted him” and that they wanted to “travel as long as possible … while we’re still young”.
Ms Quinn told police that while on the run, she’d had to look after Mr Davis who “wasn’t okay” after being struck with the knuckleduster.
“He wasn’t able to walk straight and stuff. His whole demeanour was … off balance,” she said, explaining she had to help him move around.
“He seemed to almost pass out and come to and have no idea what was going on.”