Key witness was ‘high’ during torture of murdered Queensland man Shaun Barker

HE was locked in an Esky and had honey poured on his genitals to attract ants before he died, in what has been described as one of the most horrific crimes of its time.

Missing man Shaun Barker’s body was found in April 2014, months after he was allegedly tortured.

A QUEENSLAND man was locked in an Esky and had honey poured on his genitals to attract ants before he died, a Brisbane court has heard.

The remains of Shaun Barker, 33, were found in Toolara State Forest near Gympie five months after he was allegedly tortured for days in December 2013.

Police have charged Matthew Leslie Armitage, 23, his 46-year-old father Stephen John Armitage and William Francis Dean, 38 — all of whom who had a drug connection to Mr Barker — with

murder, torture, deprivation of liberty and interfering with a corpse.

Police believe the motive for the murder was drug related and it has emerged the key witness in the murder case was high on ice when the alleged crime occurred.

Police accuse Matthew and Stephen Armitage and Dean of locking their victim in a commercial Esky as well as zip-tying him to a tree with honey spread on his genitals to attract ants, Brisbane Magistrates Court heard on Thursday.

Shaun Barker. Picture: Queensland Police

Mr Barker, a father from Robina on the Gold Coast, was reported missing by his family in January 2014, having been last seen at a Broadbeach service station on December 10.

It sparked a large investigation by police under the code name Operation Mike Dorado.

Police allege the three men abducted Mr Barker from the service station before taking him to a residence in Cooloolah Cove, north of Gympie.

His body was burnt and buried in the Toolara State Forest, where his skull and other skeletal remains were uncovered in April.

His car was also found, dumped in council forestry in Pacific Pines.

“He was a brother, father, son, a family man,” Mr Barker’s distraught brother-in-law Matthew Mollenhauer said at the time.

“She (Shaun’s daughter) asks for Daddy but she’s too young to understand.

“My wife and Shaun’s parents are all very upset, it’s quite hard for us at the moment. We’re shocked this has happened.”

Mr Barker’s three alleged killers were arrested and charged in October last year.

South Eastern Regional Crime Coordinator Detective Superintendent David Hutchinson said after the arrests that Mr Barker’s murder was “one of the most horrific ones in recent times”.

“It is certainly a pretty terrible set of circumstances that Mr Barker has been through,” he said, adding that up to 30 detectives had been involved in the case.

“It’s been very resource intensive,” he said.

“The detectives have been working around the clock on this basically since January when Mr Barker was reported missing.”

Police were hunting for this Landcruiser aftert Shaun Barker’s disappearance. Picture: Queensland Police

The magistrate heard on Thursday that witness Kane Ostwald was with the trio when they realised Mr Barker had died in the Esky, but later admitted he was using ice daily at the time.

“As time went by, I became paranoid and would lie to those closest to me, and the drug caused me to have impaired functioning,” he said in his witness statement.

Matthew Armitage’s Legal Aid lawyer Jeff Hunter applied to cross-examine Mr Ostwald’s mother about her son’s drug use.

“Obviously methamphetamine psychosis is a notorious disability that users of the drug suffer from,” Mr Hunter told the court.

But prosecutor Jacqueline Ball said Mr Ostwald was the best person to give evidence about his own drug use.

She said Mr Ostwald’s mother, Lissa Couchman, told police she “had never seen Kane using drugs”.

Mr Hunter said addicts were notoriously dishonest when it came to talking about their behaviour.

Magistrate Wendy Cull agreed there was no reason why Mr Hunter should not be allowed to at least ask the questions, even if Ms Couchman had nothing relevant to provide.

The case has been adjourned for a three-day committal hearing in January 2016.