Woman killed in submerged toolbox made desperate bid to flee alleged murderers, court hears
A woman found dead in a submerged toolbox south of Brisbane made a desperate attempt to escape from her alleged murderers, a jury has heard.
A friend of one of the people found dead in a submerged toolbox south of Brisbane has told a court he was asked to help restrain a woman as she tried to escape from her alleged killers.
Lelan Harrington, a friend of deceased Brisbane man Cory Breton, was grilled by defence barrister John Fraser over his actions the night Mr Breton and Iuliana Triscaru died, and the subsequent “list of lies” to police.
Mr Harrington gave evidence at Brisbane Supreme Court on Thursday that he raised the alarm when Ms Triscaru escaped from the toolbox on January 24, 2016.
Four men – Trent Michael Thrupp, Davy Malu Junior Taiao, Stou Daniels and Waylon Ngaketo Cowan Walker – have been charged with the murders of Mr Breton and Ms Triscaru.
During combative exchanges with Mr Fraser, Mr Harrington said he was heading upstairs at the Kingston unit when he saw Ms Triscaru, who had escaped from the toolbox.
He raised the alarm despite Ms Triscaru motioning him to be quiet.
Mr Harrington told the court he was told to help restrain the distressed Ms Triscaru by Thrupp.
He said he did not initially think the pair were going to die.
“When they left, you understood what was going to happen was they (Cory and Iuliana) were going to be driven somewhere, let out of the box and made to walk home,” Mr Fraser asked Mr Harrington.
“Yes … that’s what I was assuming,” Mr Harrington replied.
The Crown alleges Mr Breton and Ms Triscaru were lured to a unit in Kingston and assaulted, tied up and forced into a large toolbox that was dumped in a lagoon at Scrubby Creek, near Logan.
Police pulled the toolbox containing the pair’s decomposing bodies from the water on February 11, 2016.
Thrupp, Taiao and Daniels have also been charged with two counts of torture.
All four men have pleaded not guilty to their charges.
Mr Harrington received a suspended jail term in 2018 for his actions on the night the pair died.
Under cross examination, Mr Harrington was accused of lying to police in an attempt to minimise his involvement.
“I didn’t want to get charged with murder,” Mr Harrington said when questioned about his false statements by Mr Fraser.
“When you spoke to them on February 9, 2016, you were really aware you could be in a lot of trouble,” Mr Fraser said.
“You were quite prepared to deliberately lie to minimise your involvement and as a consequence of that get other people in trouble.”
Tony Kimmins, Trent Thrupp’s defence lawyer, questioned Mr Harrington on his history of drug abuse and mental health issues.
He suggested that in the three days until January 24 he had only had about three hours of sleep.
On Wednesday, Cory Breton’s partner Miranda Parkinson gave evidence of the last time she saw him alive and the frantic calls she made to his phone, not realising Mr Breton’s grisly fate.
The trial continues.