Update on Mandurah boat crash that killed AFL star Rhett Bazzo’s mum
A man accused of skippering a boat that crashed and killed both his wife and the mother of an AFL star will go to trial.
The man accused of being behind the wheel of a boat that crashed in Perth’s south, killing both his wife and the mother of an AFL player, has entered pleas of not guilty to manslaughter.
John Burdon, 47, pleaded not guilty to two charges of unlawfully kill another under such circumstances as not to constitute murder in Perth’s Stirling Gardens Magistrates Court on Wednesday morning.
The charges relate to the deaths of his wife Deborah Burdon, 54, and her friend Kylie Bazzo, 52, in a boat crash in the waterways of Mandurah late on the night of January 21.
Police allege Mr Burdon was behind the wheel of the vessel when it crashed into a red channel marker, throwing the two women into the water, where Ms Burdon was found dead shortly after.
Ms Bazzo’s body wasn’t found until the following night.
Another 54-year-old man on-board the boat at the time was unharmed, but Mr Burdon suffered serious injuries in the crash and made his first couple of court appearances supported by crutches.
He did not appear to have the walking aides with him on Wednesday. He only spoke to confirm his name and to softly say “not guilty” after each charge was read aloud.
A court hearing in August was told his defence was still waiting on the results of a toxicology report, while the court was told in another hearing that Mr Burdon previously had a drink-driving conviction from 2019.
His bail was extended on the same conditions, and he’s due for his first appearance in the WA Supreme Court for a committal mention hearing on December 18 when trial dates could be set.
Ms Bazzo was the mother of West Coast Eagles young gun Rhett Bazzo and the wife of the late WAFL champion Steve Bazzo, who died of cancer in 2015.
She was also named chief executive of the Peel Thunder WAFL club in 2000, making her the first woman to be appointed to that role in the WAFL.