Lauren Grainger guilty of teacher Anthony Stott’s kidnap before M1 death

Lauren Grainger has been found guilty of kidnapping a teacher after he broke into her farmhouse before being hit by a semi-trailer on the M1.

A woman has been found guilty of kidnapping a teacher after he broke into her farmhouse and was later hit by a semi-trailer and killed.

Lauren Grainger had pleaded not guilty to the aggravated kidnapping of Anthony Stott, who died when he was hit on the M1 after leaving her and partner Mark Frost’s Tweed Valley property in February 2020.

A jury left to deliberate just after 10am on Wednesday and reached their verdict less than two hours later.

Judge Jeffrey McLennan SC granted Grainger bail after the guilty verdict.

She is due to be sentenced on December 6.

Frost, who has since split from Grainger, and friend Craig Button earlier pleaded guilty to one count each of detaining Mr Stott with intent to obtain information and were given reduced sentences on the grounds they testified against Grainger.

Lauren Grainger outside Lismore District Court

Mr Stott was tied to a chair in the farm’s shed during the hours-long ordeal, which began when he drove his BMW off the M1 at Cudgera Creek and abandoned it on the side of a road.

He entered the couple’s house via a backdoor around 3.30am before being spotted by Grainger.

Prosecutor Josh Hanna told the court on Friday Mr Stott was then “marched out” to a shed for a “drunken, violent interrogation”.

Grainger claimed she saw Mr Stott with a knife while at the property.

Mr Stott was photographed while tied to the chair, which was allegedly hit with a golf club by Grainger.

Mr Hanna said the group’s actions were “completely over the top and unreasonable” regardless of circumstances.

Photo of a mobile phone screen showing St Peter's teacher Anthony Stott tied to a chair. He would later die on the M1 after being hit by a truck.

“They didn’t give him an opportunity to explain who he was or what he was doing there – they went completely overboard in their response,” Mr Hanna said in court.

“In the completely wrong suspicion that he was there for sinister purposes, they restrained him, tied him up and conducted a drunken, violent interrogation over the next several hours.”

Mr Hanna went on to say the length of time Mr Stott was detained was proof enough that the actions weren’t justified.

Tweed-Byron police at a Cudgera Creek property where Anthony Stott was allegedly detained. Photo: Scott Powick

“They claim they were confused and scared and angry,” he told the court.

“You couldn’t believe all that (the accused did) was necessary.”

“They had Mr Stott for hours, even though they were drunk.”

On Monday, Grainger testified she played a supporting role in the saga, which unfolded after Mr Stott entered the house with “crazy eyes” and a knife in the early hours.

“It was starting to get light, the boys wanted to get him off the farm and send him on his way,” she told the court.

“The boys put him in the back of a ute with a tourniquet on and went to dump him in a paddock so he wouldn’t be able to find his way back to the house.

“It’s a big property; we didn’t know where he was going to be.”

Once Mr Stott was released from the farm, Grainger said he wandered through paddocks, for 10 to 15 minutes, leaning on one post “like a gargoyle”.

Anthony Stott had taught at St Peters Lutheran College in Brisbane before his death. Photo Facebook

Grainger said once he was out of sight, she heard an impact that she feared was a traffic collision.

“I said, ‘I think he’s been hit.’ I was freaking out,” she said.

“I was worried he was hit by a car or a truck.”

The collision took place around 7am, according to Grainger, at which time she went to assist a farm worker who arrived for their shift on the property.

She said Frost went to sleep around the same time.

“I pretty much didn’t stop crying from 7 in the morning for the whole day,” she said.

“I was just so freaked out by what happened.”

That afternoon, NSW Police filmed Grainger walking two officers through a part of the property to a shed, and explaining the early morning’s events.

The video was shown in court on Friday.

Mr Stott had taught at St Peters Lutheran College in Brisbane before his death.